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)
Following the wider outbreak of the coronavirus (COVID-19) around the world, radical—and sometimes controversial—actions have been and are further expected to be taken by national, federal and local governments and...more
3/16/2020
/ Acquisitions ,
Business Interruption ,
Capital Markets ,
Commercial Insurance Policies ,
Contract Terms ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Corporate Financing ,
Corporate Governance ,
Crisis Management ,
Debt Restructuring ,
Emergency Management Plans ,
Employer Responsibilities ,
Health Insurance ,
Healthcare Facilities ,
Life Sciences ,
Mergers ,
Portfolio Companies ,
Private Equity ,
Private Equity Firms ,
Private Equity Funds ,
Regulatory Standards ,
Risk Assessment ,
Risk Mitigation ,
Supply Chain
The emergence of blockchain technology has transformed and will continue to disrupt the way companies in various industries conduct business. The technology, strategy and laws in this space are constantly evolving, and as...more
1/24/2020
/ Blockchain ,
Business Development ,
Business Model ,
Corporate Executives ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) ,
Events ,
FinTech ,
Initial Coin Offering (ICOs) ,
Investors ,
Popular ,
Regulatory Standards
The emergence of blockchain technology has transformed and will continue to disrupt the way companies in various industries conduct business. The technology, strategy and laws in this space are constantly evolving, and as...more
McDermott Will & Emery host an in-depth discussion and networking opportunity at our FinTech Digital Identities Forum.
A panel of industry experts provide an update on international blockchain developments and regulations...more
11/12/2019
/ Banking Sector ,
Blockchain ,
Events ,
Financial Services Industry ,
FinTech ,
New Rules ,
Popular ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Securities Tokens ,
Securities Transactions ,
Technology Sector
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
The SEC Divisions of Corporation Finance, Investment Management, and Trading and Markets recently issued a statement addressing the SEC’s recent digital asset securities actions. This statement confirms the applicability of...more
In two recent enforcement actions, the SEC looked past formal offering documents and cited statements made on Reddit, YouTube and other social media to determine that the AirFox and Paragon ICOs were unregistered sales of...more
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
Following a three-day bench trial, US District Judge Jack B. Weinstein found in favor of the CFTC and ordered a permanent injunction banning Patrick K. McDonnell from dealing in virtual currency and ordering a judgment for...more
Since the inception of Bitcoin in 2009, certain digital tokens (often referred to as cryptocurrencies) have been popularized as secure, decentralized and private alternatives to government-controlled currencies. More...more
Proceeds from ICOs topped $5 billion in 2017, $1 billion of which originated in the United States. Since blockchain technology has a variety of applications and blockchain tokens may have a variety of characteristics, it is...more
The Director of the SEC’s Division of Corporation Finance William Hinman gave a speech in which he discussed whether a digital asset originally offered as a security can become something other than a security over time. The...more
US state and federal regulators recently offered carrots to guide market actors toward better behavior and are using the stick of enforcement actions to discourage fraud in ICOs and other cryptocurrency-related offerings....more
Trading venues for blockchain tokens and other digital assets, such as exchanges and alternative trading systems and other liquidity providers are becoming subject to increased regulatory scrutiny from both federal and state...more
The Office of Foreign Asset Control of the Department of Treasury (OFAC) forecasted that it “may include as identifiers on the SDN List specific digital currency addresses associated with blocked persons.”
SDN stands for...more
As US regulators have been active in terms of virtual currency regulation, there are three important updates to which attention should be paid. The New York State DFS guidance, the FinCEN letter to Senator Wyden and the...more
3/27/2018
/ Anti-Money Laundering ,
Blockchain ,
CFTC ,
Commodities ,
Department of Financial Services ,
FinCEN ,
Fraud ,
Fraud Prevention ,
Initial Coin Offering (ICOs) ,
Market Participants ,
Money Transmitter ,
New Guidance ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
U.S. Treasury ,
Virtual Currency
On February 7, 2018, the New York Department of Financial Services issued “Guidance on Prevention of Market Manipulation and Other Wrongful Activity” imposing stringent reporting requirements of which virtual currency...more
As 2017 fades in the rear view mirror of the speeding car that is blockchain, five significant regulatory issues will likely be speedbumps for blockchain tokens in 2018. Pundits spend much time talking about blockchain tokens...more
The SEC has recently taken significant public steps in the regulation of token sales (popularly known as initial coin offerings, or ICOs) relating to blockchain. While the SEC Guidance provides clarity for critical points and...more
On October 9, 2017, the Uniform Law Commission released a proposed state statute, which, if adopted, will require a new type of state licensure for persons engaging in “virtual business activities.” The proposed regulation...more
On October 17, 2017, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission’s LabCFTC released “A CFTC Primer on Virtual Currencies.” The Primer provides an overview or virtual currencies and their potential uses, discusses the role of...more