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
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
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
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
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
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 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