On September 7, 2023, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) simultaneously filed and settled charges against three decentralized finance (DeFi) platforms, signaling a significant step toward CFTC regulatory...more
On August 28, 2023, the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced an enforcement action against Impact Theory, LLC, alleging that Impact Theory’s public sale of approximately $30 million in crypto assets violated...more
On July 21, 2022, the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filed a civil enforcement action alleging that from at least June 2021 to April 2022, the three named defendants orchestrated and perpetrated an insider...more
8/11/2022
/ CFTC ,
Coinbase ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Crypto Exchanges ,
Cryptoassets ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Illegal Tipping ,
Indictments ,
Insider Trading ,
Popular ,
Rule 10(b) ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Exchange Act of 1934 ,
Wire Fraud
The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) has filed a civil enforcement action in the US District Court for the Western District of Texas charging Cornelius Johannes Steynberg and Mirror Trading International...more
The cryptocurrency legal and compliance landscape is constantly changing, and there’s more scrutiny than ever before on the industry. Please join leading experts from McDermott Will & Emery and Bates Group for a discussion on...more
The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) sent shockwaves across the cryptocurrency industry when it issued a $1.25 million settlement order with Kraken, one of the industry’s largest market participants. The next day,...more
10/4/2021
/ Bitcoin ,
CFTC ,
Commodity Exchange Act (CEA) ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Ethereum ,
New Guidance ,
Regulatory Agencies ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Settlement ,
U.S. Treasury
On August 10, 2021, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) announced that the US District Court for the Southern District of New York entered a consent order against HDR Global Trading Limited, 100x Holding Limited,...more
8/12/2021
/ CFTC ,
Civil Monetary Penalty ,
Commodities ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Derivatives ,
Digital Assets ,
Enforcement Actions ,
FinCEN ,
Popular ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
The SEC Division of Corporate Finance recently issued a no-action letter to Pocketful of Quarters, confirming that the Division will not recommend any enforcement action if the company sells its blockchain-based tokens...more
8/12/2019
/ Blockchain ,
Division of Corporate Finance ,
Enforcement Actions ,
FinTech ,
Howey ,
No-Action Letters ,
Securities Act of 1933 ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Exchange Act ,
Securities Tokens ,
Token Sales
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
6/13/2019
/ Blockchain ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Digital Assets ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Howey ,
Initial Coin Offering (ICOs) ,
Investment Contract ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Exchange Act ,
Securities Violations ,
Token Sales ,
Unregistered Securities ,
Virtual Currency
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
4/10/2019
/ Blockchain ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Digital Assets ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Howey ,
Initial Coin Offering (ICOs) ,
Intellectual Property Protection ,
Internet Retailers ,
Investment Contract ,
Investors ,
New Guidance ,
Popular ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Token Sales ,
Virtual Currency
US regulators have stepped up their activity in terms of enforcing the regulation of virtual currencies and on September 11, 2018, issued four relevant decisions: FINRA’s first disciplinary action involving cryptocurrencies;...more