Although the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has postponed broker-related digital asset reporting, a less publicized requirement that applies long-standing reporting rules for physical cash payments to businesses that accept...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
6/14/2023
/ Coinbase ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Crypto Exchanges ,
Cryptoassets ,
Investment Contract ,
Securities Act of 1933 ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Exchange Act ,
Securities Violations ,
Trading Platforms ,
Unregistered Securities
The focus on enforcement has done little to clarify regulatory expectations regarding current facts and market practices.
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has used and continues to use enforcement actions as...more
On February 16, 2023, we circulated a client alert, “SEC Proposes Radical Transformation of Custody Rule Into New Safeguarding Rule,” concerning the proposed significant transformation of Rule 206(4)-2 (the Custody Rule)...more
On February 15, 2023, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) released a proposed rulemaking (the Proposal) that would transform existing Rule 206(4)-2 (the Custody Rule) under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940 (the...more
Throughout a tumultuous 2022, the digital currency and blockchain space saw a number of significant investigation, litigation, and enforcement matters as regulators continue their laser focus on the industry. This Year in...more
2/14/2023
/ Bankruptcy Court ,
Blockchain ,
Crypto Exchanges ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Digital Assets ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Insider Trading ,
Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs) ,
Popular ,
Stablecoins ,
Unregistered Securities
An interview with Mitzi Chang, Partner at Goodwin by Richard Hsu...more
In a first of its kind enforcement action, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (“CFTC”) is attempting to hold participating members of a decentralized autonomous organization (“DAO”) liable for alleged violations of the...more
10/5/2022
/ Anti-Money Laundering ,
CFTC ,
Commodity Exchange Act (CEA) ,
Criminal Liability ,
Decentralized Finance (DeFi) ,
Digital Assets ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Futures Commission Merchants (FCMs) ,
Illegal Trading ,
Market Participants ,
Registration Requirement ,
Retail Investors ,
Swap Execution Facilities
On July 21, 2022, the SEC charged three individuals with insider trading of digital assets via a scheme to trade ahead of multiple announcements regarding crypto assets being made available on a United States-based digital...more
7/25/2022
/ Criminal Conspiracy ,
Crypto Exchanges ,
Cryptoassets ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Digital Assets ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Howey ,
Indictments ,
Material Nonpublic Information ,
Securities ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Wire Fraud
The U.S. Securities & Exchange Commission (“SEC”) filed a complaint against Ripple Labs, Inc. (“Ripple”) and two of its executives, Brad Garlinghouse and Chris Larsen, on December 22, 2020 in the U.S. District Court for the...more
1/26/2021
/ Blockchain ,
Corporate Executives ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Digital Assets ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Popular ,
Ripple ,
Section 5 ,
Securities Act of 1933 ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Violations ,
Unregistered Securities
The SEC, in one of the Commission’s final acts under the leadership of Chair Jay Clayton, approved enforcement action aimed at Ripple Labs, Inc. (“Ripple”) and two of its executives, Brad Garlinghouse and Chris Larsen. The...more
In 2018, Telegram - which was formed in 2013 and quickly became known for its Telegram Messenger app - sold $1.7 billion worth of Grams to 175 entities and high net-worth individuals (the “Initial Purchasers”). Telegram and...more
In a recent decision in Securities and Exchange Commission v. Telegram Group Inc. and TON Issuer Inc., the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York granted a motion for a preliminary injunction by...more
Basis, one of the most well-funded crypto-startups, had plans to create an algorithmic central bank that aimed to create a price-stable cryptocurrency within a decentralized monetary system. In its April 2018 fundraising...more
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) finally provided some good news, and guidance, regarding permissible token sales. On June 14, 2018, William Hinman, Director of the SEC Division of Corporation Finance, speaking at...more
FinCEN has taken the position that a person or developer that sells convertible virtual currency, including in the form of tokens sold in an ICO, in exchange for real currency or a substitute for currency, is a money services...more
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced on Tuesday, July 25, 2017, that Initial Coin Offerings (ICOs) and other market participants offering digital assets by “virtual” organizations may be subject to the...more