Creating A User Friendly Blockchain with Andrew Levine, CEO, Koinos Group
An Introduction to Crypto for Financial Services Professionals
New Blockchain Networks, Applications and Integrations Launch - The software company that developed the protocol for the world’s largest decentralized exchange (DEX) recently announced the launch of Unichain, an Ethereum...more
Crypto Exchanges and Stablecoin Issuers Announce Multiple New Products - Multiple crypto sector companies have recently announced new products. In a press release, LayerZero, “an omnichain interoperability protocol that...more
Civil and criminal litigation heated up this summer in high-profile crypto matters that will affect crypto projects moving forward. For their quarterly crypto lit update, partner David Feder and associates Rebecca...more
Leading U.S. Crypto Companies Announce Multiple New Products, Integrations - A major U.S. cryptocurrency exchange recently announced the launch of cbBTC – an ERC20 token backed 1:1 by bitcoin held by the exchange. The new...more
According to recent reports, two U.S. multinational financial technology companies have integrated Ethereum Name Service (ENS), a decentralized naming system built on the Ethereum blockchain, into their payment platforms....more
The SEC has charged a leading developer on the Ethereum blockchain with engaging in the unregistered offer and sale of certain securities through a “liquid staking” program and with failing to register as a broker in...more
On June 15, 2023, the Polsinelli Blockchain+ team put out our first Bi-Weekly rundown of some of the key stories in the Web3, blockchain, and crypto ecosystems curated by Polsinelli attorneys navigating the intersections of...more
Crypto assets are some of the most rapidly evolving and increasingly adopted assets in the world. Decentralized Finance (DeFi) is emerging as a blockchain-based alternative to traditional banking and financial services and...more
Crypto Product News: BTC/ETH ETNs, Custody, Insurance, Tokenized Treasuries - The London Stock Exchange (LSE) recently published a market notice addressing applications for Bitcoin and Ether exchange traded notes (ETNs),...more
Federal and state regulators have taken an increased interest in regulating cryptocurrencies, digital assets, and the larger blockchain ecosystem. This landscape is opaque and rapidly evolving, and many industry participants...more
The Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) issued a cease-and-desist order on August 28, 2023, charging Impact Theory, LLC (“Impact Theory”) with conducting an unregistered offering of crypto asset securities in violation...more
In a published settlement of the charges on August 28, 2023, the US Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) stated that non-fungible tokens (“NFTs”) issued by Impact Theory, LLC (“Impact”) were “securities” under US...more
Summary - The SEC’s focus on the crypto industry expanded this week to include non-fungible tokens (NFTs). In its first NFT-enforcement action, the SEC settled with Impact Theory, a media and entertainment company, over...more
On July 31, 2013, the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) formally charged the enigmatic crypto-personality Richard Heart (whose real name, as I learned from the complaint, is Richard Schueler) and his three...more
Federal District Court Enters Default Judgment Based on NFT Service of Process - A federal district court judge in Florida entered a $2.2 million default judgment against a defendant on whom the judge previously authorized...more
European Bank Launches Stablecoin; Financial Firms Expand Crypto Products - A subsidiary of a major European financial services firm recently launched EUR CoinVertible (EURCV), an Ethereum ERC20 stablecoin backed 1:1 by...more
In his famous 2018 speech, William Hinman, Digital Asset Transactions: When Howey Met Gary (Plastic), the Director of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”), asked...more
“Z” Doors Are Open: Rival Zero Knowledge EVMs Launch - Earlier this week, a technology innovation lab reportedly released a public Alpha version of its “zero-knowledge Ethereum Virtual Machine” (zkEVM), which has been...more
DeFi Protocols Announce Updates, US Bank Introduces Deposit Token Concept - According to recent reports, Rocket Pool, a decentralized finance (DeFi) protocol used as an Ethereum (ETH) staking service, has reached $1...more
Online cryptocurrency promotion—and promotion on social media in particular—has garnered national media attention in recent months. First, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced that it had entered into a...more
The SEC has rung the bell again on a celebrity touting a crypto token offering without adequate disclosure of a paid role. On October 3, 2022, the Securities and Exchange Commission released its order instituting cease and...more
Ms. Kardashian found herself on the wrong side of the law Monday, when the SEC entered a cease-and-desist order against her (the “Kardashian Order”), finding her in violation of Section 17(b) of the Securities Act of 1933....more
Ethereum Network Completes Transition to Proof of Stake Consensus - After years of development and delays, Ethereum’s long-awaited “merge” occurred this week, changing the network’s consensus mechanism from proof-of-work...more
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has not hesitated to conclude that crypto assets are securities subject to the Securities Act of 1933, but with BlockFi, the SEC went a step further and, for the first time with...more
The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) sent shockwaves across the cryptocurrency industry when it issued a $1.25 million settlement order with Kraken, one of the industry’s largest market participants. The next day,...more