ollowing the approval and launch of Bitcoin Exchange Traded Funds (EFTs) in January 2024, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) approved eight Ethereum ETFs for listing and trading on SEC-regulated exchanges on...more
On June 5, 2024, a three-judge panel in the U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the Securities and Exchange Commission exceeded its statutory authority in adopting the so-called “Private Fund Advisers Rule” (or the...more
On January 10, 2024, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) approved the launch of several BTC Exchange-Traded Funds (ETFs).[1] The approval order resolves the critical legal and regulatory issues entailed in...more
OpenAI, the high-flying developer of the groundbreaking ChatGPT AI chatbot and its associated foundational large language models, recently made headlines that set the corporate governance world abuzz. On a quiet Friday in...more
The landscape of mergers and acquisitions is undergoing a seismic shift powered by the adoption of distributed ledger and other blockchain derivative technology across industries.
Recent challenges in the cryptocurrency...more
9/15/2023
/ Acquisitions ,
Automation Systems ,
Blockchain ,
Coinbase ,
Cross-Border Transactions ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Decentralized Finance (DeFi) ,
Digital Assets ,
Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) ,
Investors ,
Mergers ,
Tokenization
Foley & Lardner LLP is closely monitoring the rapidly changing landscape surrounding the recent bank insolvencies.
On Tuesday, March 21, at 5:00 p.m. CT, Foley hosted a webinar where a panel of presenters discussed the...more
Following the recent closures of Silicon Valley Bank, Signature Bank, and Silvergate Bank and Credit Suisse’s takeover by Swiss-based rival UBS, ramifications for blockchain tech and crypto-based assets and deals are...more
3/31/2023
/ Bitcoin ,
Blockchain ,
Cryptoassets ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Financial Institutions ,
Infrastructure ,
New Regulations ,
Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs) ,
Popular ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Technology Sector
Secretary of the Treasury Janet L. Yellen, Federal Reserve Board Chair Jerome H. Powell, and Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) Chairman Martin J. Gruenberg issued a joint statement this evening approving actions...more
Hundreds of public companies have filed current reports on Form 8-K since Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) became insolvent and was taken over by the FDIC. The disclosures made to date have been primarily “voluntary” filings, made...more
On February 9, 2023, the SEC announced that Kraken had settled charges alleging that it violated securities laws by failing to register the offer and sale of its “crypto asset staking-as-a-service program.” To settle the...more
On January 26, 2022, the California Department of Financial Protection and Innovation (DFPI) announced its participation in a $22.5 million multi-state settlement with Nexo Capital Inc. (Nexo) relating to unregistered...more
While the story of the first ten months of 2022 was surviving crypto winter, there was also some optimism that better times were coming.
There is a newly elected Congress and new leadership, which many had hoped would be...more
It's no secret that cryptocurrency markets and the larger digital assets economy have been roiled by recent instability, resulting in discussions about how regulatory initiatives, rising inflationary pressure, and public...more
8/3/2022
/ Anti-Money Laundering ,
Biden Administration ,
Blockchain ,
Copyright ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Cryptoassets ,
Decentralized Finance (DeFi) ,
Digital Assets ,
Enforcement ,
Executive Orders ,
Howey ,
Income Taxes ,
Investor Protection ,
Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs) ,
Risk Assessment ,
Royalties ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Virtual Currency ,
Warranties
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission is adding 20 positions to its Crypto Assets and Cyber Unit.
These positions are all enforcement-related. None of the new staff will be charged with carrying out the SEC's...more
5/27/2022
/ 401k ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Cybersecurity ,
Digital Assets ,
Enforcement ,
Executive Orders ,
Fraud ,
Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs) ,
Popular ,
Proposed Rules ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Stablecoins
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) recently announced that it will be adding 20 positions to its newly renamed Crypto Assets and Cyber Unit, including fraud analysts, investigative staff attorneys, trial counsels,...more
5/13/2022
/ 401k ,
CFTC ,
Cryptoassets ,
Decentralized Finance (DeFi) ,
Executive Orders ,
Fraud ,
Investment Company Act of 1940 ,
Investors ,
Joe Biden ,
Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs) ,
Retirement Funds ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Settlement ,
Stablecoins
On March 9, 2022, President Joe Biden signed the “Executive Order on Ensuring Responsible Development of Digital Assets” (the order), outlining his administration’s intention to begin a strategic review of potential...more
3/16/2022
/ Bitcoin ,
Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDCs) ,
Department of Homeland Security (DHS) ,
Digital Assets ,
Digital Currency ,
Ether ,
Federal Reserve ,
Global Market ,
Joe Biden ,
Money Laundering ,
Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs) ,
Risk Mitigation ,
U.S. Treasury
As the web further decentralizes based on blockchains, we are seeing new technology business models, particularly in the ecommerce sector, incorporate digital tokens into transaction flows by using digitally native tokens as...more
As financial markets wrap up the year 2021 and launch into 2022 at warp speed, the “DeFi” world has a new star called the “DAO.”
Decentralized finance, short-handed as “DeFi”, refers to peer-to-peer finance enabled by...more
On December 18, 2020, the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) issued a notice of proposed rulemaking that would require banks and money service businesses (MSBs) “to submit reports, keep records, and verify the...more
On October 19, 2020, The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) announced its first action against a bitcoin mixer: a $60 million civil penalty against Larry Dean Harmon. Harmon was the founder and operator of Helix...more
On September 23, 2020, the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) announced that it had adopted amendments to Rule 14a-8 under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (the “Amendments”). Rule 14a-8 governs the eligibility, on...more
On August 26, 2020, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) announced it had adopted a series of amendments (the “Amendments”) to Regulation S-K to modernize the description of business (Item 101), legal...more
9/14/2020
/ Amended Regulation ,
Business Strategies ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Federal Register ,
Financial Statements ,
Human Capital ,
Item 105 ,
MD&A Statements ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
Risk Factors ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
On Wednesday, August 26, 2020, the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) changed the investment landscape as we know it by modestly relaxing the eligibility rules for investment in private offerings. The Adopting...more
9/10/2020
/ Accredited Investors ,
Certifications ,
Family Offices ,
Federal Register ,
Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) ,
Investment Company Act of 1940 ,
Investors ,
Limited Liability Company (LLC) ,
Private Offerings ,
Proposed Amendments ,
Qualified Institutional Buyers ,
Rural Business Investment Companies (RBICs) ,
Securities Act of 1933 ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
The SEC Staff has published additional guidance for public companies about disclosure considerations related to the COVID-19 pandemic. When preparing upcoming SEC disclosure documents, public companies should consider this...more
The fintech industry has been changing rapidly. Digital assets, distributed ledger technology and central bank digital currencies are gaining momentum. Multi-trillion-dollar United States Federal Reserve System money creation...more
6/30/2020
/ Bankers ,
Bitcoin ,
Blockchain ,
Bribery ,
Brokers ,
China ,
Corruption ,
Cyber Crimes ,
Digital Assets ,
Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) ,
Family Offices ,
Federal Reserve ,
FinTech ,
Forgery ,
Fraud ,
Inflation Adjustments ,
International Trade ,
Investment Funds ,
Mutual Funds ,
Registered Investment Advisors