On September 4, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) issued a settlement order (the Order) against Universal Navigation Inc. d/b/a Uniswap Labs (Uniswap).1 The Order asserted that Uniswap, through its front-end...more
On January 16, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced an $18 million settlement order (Order) with J.P. Morgan Securities LLC (JPMS) that finds that the language of release agreements JPMS entered into with...more
On October 16, 2023, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) Division of Examinations (the “Division”) released its annual Examination Priorities for fiscal year 2024 (the (“Report”), marking the first time the...more
10/26/2023
/ Anti-Money Laundering ,
Artificial Intelligence ,
Broker-Dealer ,
Conflicts of Interest ,
Cryptoassets ,
Customer Protection Rule ,
Cybersecurity ,
Disclosure ,
Emerging Technology Companies ,
Information Security ,
Investment Adviser ,
Regulation Best Interest ,
SEC Examination Priorities ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
On July 13, Judge Analisa Torres, district judge for the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, issued a substantial order (the Order) on cross motions for summary judgment in the U.S. Securities...more
In this episode of “Crypto Innovators,” Adam Benayoun talks about his journey from entrepreneur to angel investor to founding partner of Collider Ventures, which invests in Web3 focused companies across such sectors as...more
Hosts Ethan Silver and Eric Swartz welcome Alan Orwick, CEO of Dominant Strategies, the developer of Quai Network, to Lowenstein Crypto Innovators podcast to discuss Quai Network's revolutionary proof-of-work 2.0. They also...more
On February 15, 2023, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) released a proposed rule change (the Proposed Rule) redesignating the “custody rule” (i.e., Rule 206(4)-2 of the Investment Advisers Act of 1940, as...more
On February 7, 2023, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) Division of Examinations (the “Division”) released its annual Priorities Report1 for upcoming examinations of registered investment advisers...more
2/17/2023
/ Anti-Money Laundering ,
Broker-Dealer ,
Conflicts of Interest ,
Cryptoassets ,
Customer Protection Rule ,
Cyber Crimes ,
Cybersecurity ,
Emerging Technologies ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Investment Adviser ,
Marketing ,
Popular ,
Portfolio Managers ,
Private Funds ,
Registered Investment Advisors ,
SEC Examination Priorities ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
New Jersey is poised to adopt sweeping cryptocurrency and blockchain regulations with the passage of the Digital Asset and Blockchain Technology Act (the Act). If adopted, the Act would radically change the regulatory...more
FINRA has provided an update on its targeted exam sweep related to option account opening, supervision, and disclosure (the Update). While the sweep is ongoing, FINRA’s recent release serves as a helpful reminder for...more
Takeaways:
•‘Forward Contracts’ on securities that (1) cannot be legally transferred, or (2) are subject to transfer restrictions at the time of contract, may now be considered ‘security-based swaps’ and subject to the...more
Gone are the days when you had to walk into a physical branch to open a brokerage account. Each trade used to cost money, and account minimums were high. Not anymore. Now any American with internet access and a bank account...more
While we would be remiss not to laud the SEC’s statement as a step in the right direction, the shortcomings are inescapable.
On Dec. 23, 2020, the SEC published a statement proposing a framework for broker-dealers to...more
In 2020, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority Inc. (FINRA) settled alleged rule violations with various large investment firms, including Merrill Lynch, Citigroup Global Markets Inc. (CGMI), Transamerica Financial...more
What You Need To Know:
•The SEC proposes to exempt two types of Finders from broker-dealer registration pursuant if they satisfy certain conditions.
•Tier I Finders may provide potential investors’ contact information to...more
10/20/2020
/ Broker-Dealer ,
Capital Investments ,
Disclosure ,
Exemptions ,
Finders ,
Hedge Funds ,
Investors ,
Private Equity Funds ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Exchange Act ,
Third Party Funding ,
Unregistered Brokers ,
Venture Capital ,
Written Agreements
The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority’s new request for digital assets activities adds more confusion to the regulatory environment.
The United States Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, or FINRA, has once again...more
Examining COMP’s ability to pass the Howey test for being qualified as investment contracts and to be considered a security.
Innovation springs eternal in the digital asset ecosystem, and with Compound’s launch of its...more
Some key areas for brokers to assess in determining whether they’re subject to the new rules as implementation date approaches.
The June 30, 2020 implementation date of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's...more
What You Need To Know;
• The Form CRS must be filed with the SEC by June 30, 2020, at the latest.
• All investment advisers, broker-dealers, or dual registrants that service retail investors may now file the Form CRS with the...more
What You Need To Know:
-The implementation date for Reg. BI and Form CRS remains June 30, 2020.
-The SEC’s initial compliance review will be focused on “good-faith efforts.” Firms should make good faith efforts to implement...more