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Virtual Currency › Howey

Virtual Currency (aka Digital Currency or Digital Money) is a type of currency or medium of exchange that is not issued by any government nor guaranteed by a government currency. Despite lacking legal tender... more +
Virtual Currency (aka Digital Currency or Digital Money) is a type of currency or medium of exchange that is not issued by any government nor guaranteed by a government currency. Despite lacking legal tender status, Virtual Currency is still traded and exchanged in some environments, typically online environments or communities. Bitcoin is the most well-known form of Virtual Currency.    less -
Foley & Lardner LLP

Top Trends in Digital Assets for 2022

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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

Manatt, Phelps & Phillips, LLP

Focus on Crypto and Blockchain: Regulatory Fog Begins to Lift, but Many Questions Remain

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The cryptocurrency and blockchain industry has developed over the past decade with a large and increasingly glaring void: What regulations ultimately will apply and who will regulate the space? Much regulatory focus to date...more

Patterson Belknap Webb & Tyler LLP

A Brief Overview of the SEC’s Guidance on Cryptocurrencies in the Context of the Commission’s Enforcement Action Against Ripple...

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A key question for any company considering the issuance of cryptocurrency is whether that digital asset will be treated by regulators as a security, like BP stock, or a commodity, like Bitcoin.  In 2019, the Securities and...more

Dechert LLP

“Hashing” It Out: Federal Jury Decides Some Cryptocurrency Products are not Securities

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Whether a cryptocurrency product is a security is an issue with serious regulatory consequences. In recent years, the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) has taken a broad position that various crypto assets are...more

Farrell Fritz, P.C.

Crypto Reform Goes to Congress: Proposed Three-Year Safe Harbor for Distribution of Pre-“Network Maturity” Digital Tokens

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Background: Crypto Catch 22 - Followers of the SEC’s efforts to regulate digital tokens will recall former SEC Corp Fin Director William Hinman’s speech at the June 14, 2018 Yahoo Finance Conference in which he introduced...more

Amundsen Davis LLC

Ripple Effect: SEC Lawsuit against Cryptocurrency Company May Provide Guidance For Crypto Industry

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On December 21, 2020, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filed a high-profile enforcement action against a major cryptocurrency company. The SEC complaint alleges violations of federal securities laws by defendant...more

Orrick - On the Chain

The SEC Gets its Kiks out of a Successful Application of the Howey Test

Orrick - On the Chain on

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

Cozen O'Connor

Has the SAFT Been KIKed to the Curb?

Cozen O'Connor on

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

Proskauer - Blockchain and the Law

CFTC Chairman States Ether is a Commodity

Proskauer - Blockchain and the Law on

In remarks made at the Yahoo! All Markets Summit in New York, Heath Tarbert, Chairman of the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), said that he believed the Ether cryptocurrency was a “commodity” and should be...more

Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP

All Eyes Are on Regulation of Digital Assets as Federal Agencies and Lawmakers Seek to Bring Clarity: Part 1—The SEC, Utility...

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Federal regulators start to address some of the recent questions about digital assets such as tokens and virtual currencies, though many questions remain. U.S. Regulators and Congress are grappling with how to manage the...more

Perkins Coie

Blockchain Week in Review - August 2019 #2

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U.S. Regulatory - Kik Files Answer to SEC Complaint - On August 7, Canadian messaging company Kik Interactive Inc. (“Kik”) filed its answer to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s (“SEC”) complaint filed in the...more

Katten Muchin Rosenman LLP

Bridging the Weeks - July 2019 #5

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A federal appellate court in California issued a decision effectively ratifying the Commodity Futures Trading Commission’s expansive view of its authority to bring enforcement actions addressing a diverse range of purported...more

McDermott Will & Emery

The SEC Takes Aim at Another Initial Coin Offering

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A recent complaint concerning KIK Interactive Inc. filed in the US District Court of the Southern District of New York reveals some SEC priorities for cryptocurrency enforcement actions. The complaint indicates that the SEC...more

McDermott Will & Emery

Blockchain Tokens: The SEC Staff Issues Its Framework for Determining Whether an ICO is an Issuance of Securities

McDermott Will & Emery on

In its long-awaited guidance, the Staff of the Securities and Exchange Commission recently provided a lengthy list of factors to consider when determining whether an initial coin offering (ICO) is a security. While the...more

Mintz

Digital Tokens: Rethinking the Term “Cryptocurrency”

Mintz on

What are the similarities between a one dollar bill, a share of a company, and a prepaid gift card? The answer is … not so much! The same is true of the similarities between virtual currencies, security tokens, and utility...more

Winstead PC

Federal Court Evaluates When Cryptocurrency May Constitute a Security in a Criminal Case

Winstead PC on

The regulatory framework for virtual currencies is evolving, as federal and state regulators and courts wrestle with the circumstances in which cryptocurrencies are securities. For instance, the staff of the Securities and...more

Proskauer - Blockchain and the Law

Federal Judge Rules Securities Laws May Cover ICOs

Proskauer - Blockchain and the Law on

U.S. District Judge Raymond Dearie of the Eastern District of New York has ruled that initial coin offerings (ICOs) may be subject to securities law. The ruling came in the court’s denial of defendant Maksim Zaslavkiy’s...more

Perkins Coie

Blockchain Week in Review - June 2018

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...On June 28, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission and the Securities and Exchange Commission announced a new Memorandum of Understanding meant to allow two agencies to further coordinate in areas of common interest. ...more

Proskauer - Blockchain and the Law

SEC Flexes Funny Bone in Fictional Token Offering

Proskauer - Blockchain and the Law on

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

Perkins Coie

Open Session of the U.S. Senate’s Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Hears Joint Testimony from Heads of the SEC,...

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On February 6, 2018, the United States Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs conducted a hearing entitled “Virtual Currencies: The Oversight Role of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and the U.S....more

Proskauer - The Capital Commitment

Chairman Clayton Asks Lawyers to Knock it Off with the Unregistered Coin Offerings

Proskauer - The Capital Commitment on

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

Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP

The SEC’s Shutdown of the Munchee ICO

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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

WilmerHale

SEC Confirms Certain ICOs Are Securities Offerings; Regulators Renew Focus on Cryptocurrencies

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What Is an ICO? An ICO, or initial coin offering, is the sale of virtual coins or tokens, often as a means of capital raising by startup companies that are involved in blockchain technology. Depending on the terms of the...more

Katten Muchin Rosenman LLP

SEC Warns That Digital Tokens May Be Securities

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On July 25, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC or the Commission) published a Report of Investigation (Report) pursuant to Section 21(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 19341 concluding that digital tokens issued...more

Stinson - Corporate & Securities Law Blog

When is an Initial Coin Offering a Security?

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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

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