Podcast: Is Cryptocurrency a Security (like an orange grove)?
On August 9, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) sent a letter to U.S. District Judge Analisa Torres requesting leave to file an interlocutory appeal in SEC v. Ripple Labs, Inc. as to the two adverse liability...more
For the past several years, many have viewed “SEC v. Ripple” as one of the defining conflicts in the US crypto regulatory landscape. At the heart of this dispute is the question of whether digital tokens are “securities” for...more
The New Hampshire District Court recently granted summary judgment in favor of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in SEC v. LBRY, Inc., concluding that the native token of the blockchain protocol and network...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
Congress comes back in session after the Labor Day weekend with a final push before the November elections. Over 20 bills regarding digital assets have been introduced to Congress, addressing a wide variety of areas including...more
This article is the fifth in a multi-part series in which we explain how the SEC has structured its anti-cryptocurrency campaign, why the SEC has over-reached its regulatory authority in attacking the creators of digital...more
On February 14, 2022, BlockFi Lending LLC (BlockFi) settled charges with the SEC and state securities regulators for a total of $100 million in penalties. BlockFi was charged with a failure to register the offer and sales of...more
In a closely-watched cryptocurrency case, on September 30, the Southern District of New York ruled in favor of the SEC in SEC v. Kik Interactive, Inc., holding that the Kin tokens Kik had offered and sold through a pre-sale...more
On September 30, 2020, SDNY Judge Alvin Hellerstein issued a decision of major significance for the digital token industry in Securities and Exchange Commission v. Kik Interactive, Inc. This is only the second federal court...more
The SEC issues second no-action letter for a digital token, but will “utility” token offerings reach the next level? Gamers, rejoice! In only its second no-action letter to date for digital tokens, the SEC cleared the way...more
On June 4, 2019, the SEC sued Kik Interactive Inc. (“Kik”), a privately held Canadian company, in the Southern District of New York, alleging that Kik’s offer and sale of $100 million worth of Kin tokens in 2017 constituted...more
Last week, the Securities and Exchange Commission obtained a reversal of a November 2018 decision by a federal court in California that denied it a preliminary injunction against an issuer of digital tokens that the SEC...more
The Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) has taken to using humor and sarcasm to educate retail investors about the potential risks of purchasing tokens in initial coin offerings (“ICOs”)....more
In his recent remarks at the Securities Regulation Institute, SEC Chairman Jay Clayton had some stern words for market professionals, especially lawyers, involved in initial coin offerings (ICOs). He expressed concern that...more
Commission’s action shows the limited utility of the utility token-security token distinction. Regulator finds that sellers of blockchain-based digital coins cannot dodge securities law by calling the coins “utility...more
As discussed in a post from last week, the SEC determined that Initial Coin Offerings can be securities. The finding stems from the SEC’s investigation into The DAO’s offering and sale of DAO Tokens (a form of virtual...more
Many initial coin offerings (ICOs) have recently raised large amounts of capital without the regulatory constraints of traditional initial public offerings (IPOs) and other capital-raising strategies. On July 25, the U.S....more
On July 25, 2017, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) issued a report (“Report”) detailing its investigation into whether the DAO (an unincorporated “decentralized autonomous organization”), Slock.it UG...more