Crypto in the Crosshairs: What Regulatory Themes Characterized 2020?
Cryptocurrency, Legitimate Uses, and Legal Issues
Episode 3 - The Freeman Law Project - Cryptocurrency Regulation and Taxation: A Brief Primer
Summer Enforcement Action Review; Raising Money in a Pandemic - Investment Management Roundtable Discussion
Investment Management and Private Funds Roundtable: TALF 2020 and PPP Update
Videocast: Asset management regulation in 2020 videocast series – FinTech initiatives
Theoretical No More: Blockchain Technology, Cryptocurrencies and the Tax, Legal and Business Implications
The world of cryptocurrencies on blockchains and the world of traditional assets in markets have often stood in stark contrast to one another since Bitcoin’s creation in 2008. The lack of a reliable bridge between these two...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
Last week’s wild ride in the crypto-verse started, of all places, in New Hampshire. On Monday, a federal judge ruled that LBRY Credits (“LBC”) are securities, and thus LBRY violated Section 5 of the Securities Act of 1933 by...more
The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has filed an enforcement action against crypto influencer Ian Balina in the Western District of Texas alleging that he promoted unregistered securities in connection with the...more
How Indonesia’s regulatory framework is handling Crypto assets. Every business involved with crypto assets in the Indonesia market should be aware of regulatory and policy changes by the Indonesian regulators – the...more
Throughout 2021, the SEC followed through on its commitment to aggressively enforce the federal securities laws in digital assets markets. These efforts have resulted in the SEC sharpening its focus on cryptocurrency...more
Uses of Cryptocurrency Overview- As previously detailed, there are a number of regulations surrounding Cryptocurrencies which vary by location (State Regulations) and by federal agency (FINCEN Regulations, IRS Regulations,...more
On Sept. 14, Gary Gensler, chair of the Securities and Exchange Commission, testified before the Senate Banking Committee that the agency has authority using the existing, “broad” definition of a “security” to regulate the...more
Gary Gensler asserts the SEC’s broad powers over digital assets, and puts consumer protection at the forefront. On August 3, 2021, Gary Gensler, chairman of the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), gave a speech on...more
Reports Address CBDCs and Security Tokens, Banks Launch Crypto Initiatives - A recent report released by the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) analyzes results from a survey of 50 central banks in the first quarter of...more
In the intersection of financial markets and the internet, sometimes it seems like the only certainty in the year of cryptocurrency and “meme stocks,” like GameStop and AMC, is the continuing legal haze of cryptocurrencies....more
Many investors, traditional and progressive, are looking hard at cryptocurrency investments as a way to diversify their portfolios. However, there are still multiple known “unknowns” about this new market, including the...more
Ethereum 2.0 Moves Closer to Launch, Blockchain Identity Solutions Announced - After having launched last week, the deposit contract for the newest upgrade to the Ethereum blockchain, Ethereum 2.0, now tops out at over 50,000...more
Ever since the creation of Bitcoin in the late 2000s, the SEC has warned that, depending on the circumstances, “initial coin offerings” (ICOs) involving digital tokens or coins may be subject to regulation under the federal...more
The next recession will be the first to occur since Bitcoin and other crypto-assets became prevalent in UK businesses. This Client Alert highlights how UK courts and insolvency officeholders may deal with crypto-assets in an...more
Exchanges Expand in US and Gibraltar; India Supreme Court Ruling Favors Industry - Late last week, a major global messenger app based in Japan announced that it has launched BitFront, a new global cryptocurrency exchange...more
Strikeout for Bitcoin ETF - Another ETF bites the dust. On February 26th the SEC rejected the application of NYSE Acre for the approval of an exchange traded fund sponsored by the New York firm of Wilshire Phoenix to...more
Hollywood martial arts sensei Steven Seagal was recently karate-chopped by the SEC for his alleged undisclosed payments for Twitter-touting a security that was being offered and sold in an initial coin offering. In a settled...more
When is a digital asset a security or a commodity? Are SAFTs safe? Does hyping blockchain create an expectation of profit? Is blockchain a trademark, trade secret or neither? Are free tokens tax-free? Who is Satoshi Nakamoto?...more
Many crypto entrepreneurs are seeking to build decentralized networks in which a token serves as a means of exchange on, or provides access to a function of the network. In the course of building out the network, they need...more
The Situation: Authorities in China have cracked down on privately developed cryptocurrency, yet have heavily invested in and encouraged the development of other blockchain applications and services. The Result: The rapidly...more
It was a year filled with tantalizing tidbits and many loose ends. 2019 marked the 10th year since blockchain technology was released into the wild by its still unknown inventor, Satoshi Nakamoto, who mined the first bitcoin...more
Digital assets and Blockchain technologies which were once described as the tools of criminals, are now a key part of efforts by traditional financial services firms to transform their businesses and innovative firms looking...more
Blockchain Solutions Advance in Manufacturing, Food, Pharma and Grant Management - Last week, one of the world’s largest industrial cobalt producers announced plans to join the Responsible Sourcing Blockchain Network (RSBN)....more
Ethereum Fork Implemented, Exchanges Expand Services, New Bitcoin Network Data - The Ethereum network’s Istanbul hard fork went forward late last week with the support of node operators, miners and cryptocurrency exchanges. ...more