Podcast: Is Cryptocurrency a Security (like an orange grove)?
In a recent decision in SEC v. Payward, Inc. (d/b/a “Kraken”), Judge Orrick of the Northern District of California denied Kraken's motion to dismiss the SEC's suit against it. In its complaint, the SEC alleges that Kraken...more
...A recent decision in an SEC enforcement action against Coinbase, the largest crypto-asset trading platform in the U.S., provides some long-awaited guidance on a topic that has been the subject of considerable debate in the...more
The gloves are off. The SEC’s recent enforcement actions against leading crypto exchanges suggest that the SEC has decided that time’s up for the crypto industry as it currently exists in the United States....more
Dapper Labs was founded in 2018 shortly after the debut of its first NFT collection, “CryptoKitties,” which was so successful it created a bottleneck of transactions on the decentralized Ethereum Network. Seeking faster...more
While a conclusion to the much-hyped case may be approaching, market participants should be wary of doomsday prognostications. As a new year begins, the digital assets industry is still enduring a deep and widespread crypto...more
Even before the collapse of Sam Bankman-Fried’s FTX empire, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) was paying increasing attention to the market for cryptocurrencies. Back in June, the Chair of the SEC, Gary Gensler,...more
“Decentralization” refers to the movement of supervision and decision-making away from a single central actor, and toward a dispersed network of actors. Such networks are facilitated by the use of blockchain technology and...more
A key question for any company considering the issuance of cryptocurrency is whether that digital asset will be treated by regulators as a security, like BP stock, or a commodity, like Bitcoin. In 2019, the Securities and...more
A recent class certification decision (Williams v. Kucoin et al.[1]) from a magistrate judge in the Southern District of New York provides insight on how courts view those who enable trading in cryptocurrencies and...more
With offerings across a growing number of online platforms and increased trading volume, NFT issuers, promoters, and buyers should consider the legal and regulatory implications relating to NFTs and federal securities laws. ...more
Recent SEC guidance on digital assets cleared a path for at least certain stable coins or payment tokens to avoid securities regulation. However, Latham & Watkins attorneys say there are still a number of open questions that...more
Federal regulators start to address some of the recent questions about digital assets such as tokens and virtual currencies, though many questions remain. U.S. Regulators and Congress are grappling with how to manage the...more
On April 24, 2019, Skadden hosted a webinar titled “The Current State of Cryptocurrency Enforcement and Securities Litigation.” The presented topics largely focused on the SEC’s evolving regulatory approach to cryptocurrency...more
The regulatory framework for virtual currencies is evolving, as federal and state regulators and courts wrestle with the circumstances in which cryptocurrencies are securities. For instance, the staff of the Securities and...more
When assessing whether a digital asset is a security, the key question to ask is whether a third party is driving the expectation of a return, says a senior Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) official....more
On July 25, 2017, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) published an investigative report (the “Report”) cautioning market participants that the offer and sale of digital assets such as “coins” or “tokens,”...more