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
Cryptocurrency enforcement continues to be a high priority for the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). In 2023, the SEC administration under Chair Gary Gensler brought a total of 46 cryptocurrency-related...more
The Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) brought three enforcement actions concerning digital assets in rapid succession in a week, underlining that the Division of Enforcement is as committed to crypto enforcement...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
Recently, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) issued an Investor Alert (the Alert) warning investors to use caution before investing in initial exchange offerings (IEOs) through online trading platforms. The...more
In 2019, regulators continued to consider whether and how to regulate blockchain technology. After the two previous years that included a high number of initial coin offerings (ICOs), many of which involved allegedly...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
On December 18, 2019, the Securities and Exchange Commission announced settled charges against blockchain technology company Blockchain of Things Inc. (BCOT) for conducting an unregistered initial coin offering (ICO) of...more
A social media company and its wholly owned subsidiary sued by the Securities and Exchange Commission for conducting an offering of an unregistered digital security claimed that the agency was wrong in its characterization of...more
A recent complaint concerning KIK Interactive Inc. filed in the US District Court of the Southern District of New York reveals some SEC priorities for cryptocurrency enforcement actions. The complaint indicates that the SEC...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
Through two publications on April 3, 2018, the Staff of the Securities and Exchange Commission provided greater clarity on the application of the federal securities laws to blockchain-based “digital assets.”1 While the Staff...more
In this issue, we examine the release of the much-anticipated Strategic Hub for Innovation and Financial Technology (FinHub) guidance for analyzing how U.S. federal securities laws apply to initial coin offerings, the...more
On February 20, 2019, the SEC announced that it settled charges against Gladius Network LLC (“Gladius”) for failing to register non-exempt offers and sales of securities in violation of Sections 5(a) and 5(c) of the...more
Initial Coin Offerings, or ICOs, have emerged at the intersection of cryptocurrencies and blockchain. Compared to a traditional equity offering in the United States where a company issues stock to investors in exchange for...more
On February 20, 2019, the Enforcement Division of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) issued an Order Instituting Cease-And-Desist Proceedings Pursuant To Section 8a Of The Securities Act Of 1933, Making...more
Crypto currency has been all the fashion. Most proponents that have been confronted by a regulator – the SEC or CFTC generally – have quickly resolved the matter. Few have tried to litigate with the agencies and those who...more
An increasingly sophisticated and active OCIE division, innovative market disruptors, a maturing credit cycle, and a philosophical change in how the private fund industry views and utilizes litigation are likely to lead to...more
On February 14, 2019, Judge Gonzalo P. Curiel of the United States District Court for the Southern District of California reversed his November 2018 decision and granted a motion for preliminary injunction filed by the...more
Two United States congressmen introduced legislation in late December that would exclude certain digital currencies from being defined as securities – a bill that, if enacted, may finally provide the cryptocurrency industry...more
As we prepare for a new year of regulatory initiates and actions, we believe it is important to take inventory of the most significant regulatory events from the past year. True to its word, the SEC focused on reducing...more
The end of the year has been a very busy time for the SEC in the digital asset space. From speeches to the issuance of joint statements to enforcement actions, there are many things to highlight, discuss and consider. This...more
In an enforcement action filed on November 8, 2018, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ordered that 31-year-old Zachary Coburn, founder of the EtherDelta cryptocurrency exchange, cease and desist from operating the...more
This quarter’s issue includes summaries and associated court opinions of selected cases principally decided between September 2018 and October 2018. ...more
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission announced two settled enforcement actions on November 16, 2018, imposing registration requirements and civil penalties against issuers of initial coin offerings (ICOs) for failing...more
In a time when information is increasingly shared through social media, companies—particularly publicly traded ones—must recognize and consider the potential legal ramifications that could arise from statements made by...more