An interesting and thoughtful whitepaper called “A Legal Framework for Decentralized Autonomous Organizations” was co-authored by a general counsel of one of the major venture investors in the blockchain space suggesting a...more
On Tuesday, April 20, 2021, the House of Representatives passed the Eliminate Barriers to Innovation Act of 2021 (the “Act”). The Act was initially introduced in March with an overarching aim to clarify the roles of the...more
4/28/2021
/ Bitcoin ,
Blockchain ,
CFTC ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Digital Assets ,
Innovative Technology ,
Jurisdiction ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Virtual Currency ,
Working Groups
On April 14, 2021, the U.S. Senate confirmed Gary Gensler as the new Chair of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Over the last few years the SEC has taken an assertive position in considering many digital assets to...more
4/26/2021
/ Administrative Agencies ,
Administrative Appointments ,
Biden Administration ,
Bitcoin ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Digital Currency ,
ETFs ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Senate Confirmation Hearings
On November 24, 2020, the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) proposed amendments to Rule 701 and Form S-8 (the “Proposals”) under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”)....more
Earlier this month the staff of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) published a statement in response to a letter issued by the Wyoming Division of Banking on the custody of digital assets. The SEC staff...more
On November 2, 2020, the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) adopted final rules under the Securities Act of 1933 (the “Securities Act”) expanding a number of private placement exemptions. The amendments were adopted...more
11/17/2020
/ Capital Raising ,
Crowdfunding ,
EDGAR ,
Harmonization Rules ,
Investment Opportunities ,
Regulation A ,
Regulation CF ,
Regulation D ,
Rule 504 ,
Rule 701 ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Regulation ,
Small Offering Exemptions ,
Testing-the-Waters Communications
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) Division of Trading and Markets recently issued a no action letter to FINRA that may help to streamline the settlement of digital asset securities transactions by...more
On June 15, Jay Clayton, the Chairman of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) re-confirmed there will be no delay in the compliance date for Regulation Best Interest and Form CRS. In the statement, Chairman...more
FINRA recently published a paper on the development of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in the financial services industry. The paper follows a July 2018 request for comments from the industry on the potential challenges...more
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s Strategic Hub for Innovation and Financial Technology (FinHub) has announced the launch of virtual peer-to-peer meet-ups (P2Ps)....more
New York DFS has launched DFS Next, a new platform for engaging entrepreneurs in financial services and promoting innovation. One of the initial efforts that DFS Next will offer is FastForward, a program to support digital...more
In Mary Poppins the magical nanny tells the children in her charge that “a spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go down.” In the spirit of helping the medicine of regulation go down, the FSB has published for consultation 10...more
On June 5, 2019, the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) adopted Regulation Best Interest (“Regulation Best Interest” or “Reg BI”), which establishes a new standard of conduct under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934...more
4/19/2020
/ Best Interest Standard ,
Broker-Dealer ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) ,
Form CRS ,
Investment Adviser ,
Investment Management ,
OCIE ,
Regulation Best Interest ,
Retail Investors ,
SEC Examination Priorities ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Regulation ,
Standard of Care ,
Standard of Conduct
Like Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid gloriously diving off a cliff, Telegram is about to take the fall and is trying to take the SEC with it. However, Telegram and supporters are making a number of important arguments in...more
All fans of the Simple Agreement for Future Tokens (SAFT) should read the SEC's brief in support of motion for summary judgment in the Kik case....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
2/14/2020
/ Bitcoin ,
Blockchain ,
Cryptocurrency ,
De Minimus Quantity Exemption ,
Digital Currency ,
Financial Instruments ,
Financial Markets ,
FinTech ,
Initial Coin Offering (ICOs) ,
Investment Opportunities ,
IRS ,
Popular ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Regulation ,
Tax Liability ,
Tax Planning ,
Token Sales ,
Virtual Currency
On July 8, 2019, the staff of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) Division of Trading and Markets and the staff of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (“FINRA”) issued a joint statement outlining...more
9/13/2019
/ Alternative Trading System (ATS) ,
Broker-Dealer ,
Clearing Agencies ,
Custody Rule ,
Customer Protection Rule ,
Digital Assets ,
Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Financial Transactions ,
Investment ,
Investors ,
Joint Statements ,
Regulatory Standards ,
Rule 15c3-3 ,
Rulemaking Process ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Tokens ,
Securities Transactions ,
Trading Platforms
“Hello, Dave. You're looking well today.”
In the iconic science fiction movie, 2001: A Space Odyssey, the HAL 9000 computer courteously greeted his astronaut human companion Dave Bowman. HAL was a Heuristically...more
4/21/2017
/ Algorithms ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Markets ,
Financial Services Industry ,
FinTech ,
Investment Adviser ,
Popular ,
Regulatory Standards ,
Robo-Advisors ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
Blockchain technology has captured the imagination of the financial services industry. Unfortunately, the adoption of the technology is impaired by a lack of clarity from regulators including the U.S. Securities and Exchange...more
In This Issue:
- Requirements and Obligations Governing Crowdfunding Offerings
- Regulation of Crowdfunding Portals
- Additional Notable Provisions of the Proposed Rules
- Next Steps
- For More Information...more
In This Issue:
- Covered Persons
- Disqualifying Events
- The Pre-Effectiveness Event Exclusion
- Waivers and Exclusions
- Ramifications of Rule 506 Disqualification
- Excerpt from Covered...more
8/6/2013
/ Advertising ,
Bad Actors ,
Disqualification ,
Dodd-Frank ,
General Solicitation ,
JOBS Act ,
Private Placements ,
Regulation D ,
Rule 144A ,
Rule 506 Offerings ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)