Each month, we publish a roundup of the most important SEC enforcement developments for busy in-house lawyers and compliance professionals. This month, we examine: •The SEC’s case against crypto firm Kraken is permitted to...more
Of particular importance for the crypto industry, the opinion analyzes the SEC’s allegations that Binance and BAM offered and sold various tokens and programs to investors as investment contracts without registering them with...more
The legislation allows decentralized autonomous organizations to gain legal entity status and operate within the bounds of applicable law. ...more
The number of securities class action settlements declined 21% relative to 2022, following the 15-year high set in 2022, according to a new report released today by Cornerstone Research. Despite the decline in settlement...more
The Securities and Exchange Commission recently brought its first two enforcement actions against issuers of non-fungible tokens (NFTs), resulting in cease-and-desist orders, penalties and other remedies, finding that the...more
On August 28, 2023, the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) charged Impact Theory, LLC (“Impact Theory”), a media and entertainment company headquartered in Los Angeles, with conducting an unregistered securities...more
In Short - The Situation: Recently, two judges in Southern District of New York were required to apply the Howey test in separate cases to decide whether sales of certain crypto assets were investment contracts, and thus...more
Specifically, the SEC wants a change to persuade the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit – now, not later – of its view that Torres got it wrong when she determined that the company's offer and sale of its XRP token...more
Earlier this month, a federal trial court judge issued an opinion ruling on whether sales of a digital token, XRP, constituted a “security” for purposes of federal securities laws. Some headlines reporting the ruling have...more
In the span of two days, June 5 and June 6, 2023, the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) commenced proceedings against the largest crypto asset exchange in the world, Binance.com; its affiliated US exchange,...more
INTRODUCTION- This article is the sixth in a series that explains how the SEC has structured a campaign to suppress and eradicate cryptocurrency and digital tokens, why the SEC lacks jurisdiction over creators of...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
In granting the SEC’s motion for summary judgment, a federal court ruled that sales of LBC tokens were securities transactions. On November 7, 2022, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) prevailed in a motion for...more
In December 2020, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filed an action against Ripple Labs, Inc. and two of its executives, alleging they raised over $1.3 billion through an unregistered ongoing securities offering of...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
Popular crowdfunding platforms, like Kickstarter and IndieGoGo operate backer-based platforms similar to noisenights. In backer-based crowdfunding, backers who contribute a minimum amount usually receive the product or...more
On July 14, 2021 the SEC issued a consented-to Cease and Desist Order against U.K.-based cryptocurrency review website owner Blotics Ltd. (formerly doing business as Coinschedule Ltd.) for violating Section 17(a) of the...more
Late last year, the SEC filed a litigated action in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York against Ripple Labs Inc. and two of its executive officers (collectively, “Ripple”), alleging that Ripple...more
Federal court grants summary judgment to the SEC on its claim that sales of digital tokens constitute investment contracts under the Securities Act. On September 30, 2020, U.S. District Judge Alvin Hellerstein granted...more
Simple Agreements for Future Tokens pose difficult and controversial legal questions under U.S. securities, commodities and tax laws. SAFT holders face significant difficulties in securing liquidity, and regulatory issues...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
Last August, Nevada Secretary of State Barbara Cegavske issued a Summary Order to Cease and Desist on Thomas Becker and Wellington Sports Club, LLC, Einstein Sports Advisory, Ltd., and Welscorp, Inc. The gist of Secretary of...more
Anyone who has studied securities regulation has been exposed to the United States Supreme Court's decision in SEC v. W.J. Howey, 328 U.S. 293 (1946) establishing the definition of "investment contract" under the Securities...more
On April 11, Blockstack Token LLC (“Blockstack”) filed a preliminary offering circular with the SEC for a $50 million token offering under Regulation A of the Securities Act. The offering circular is now under review with the...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