Katten's Financial Markets and Funds Quick Take is a monthly newsletter highlighting key noteworthy developments potentially affecting financial markets and funds....more
9/18/2023
/ Biden Administration ,
Bitcoin ,
Blockchain ,
China ,
Cryptoassets ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
False Claims Act (FCA) ,
Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Fund Managers ,
Loans ,
Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs) ,
Securities ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
UK ,
UK Brexit
A developer and financial backers of a renowned decentralized finance protocol cannot be held liable to private litigants for the activities of unrelated bad actors that utilized the protocol to launch and offer for sale scam...more
An offering of non-fungible tokens was deemed an unlawful offering of securities without registration by the Securities and Exchange Commission in a novel Order of first impression accepting a settlement of proposed charges...more
As the great American philosopher and baseball legend Yogi Berra once said, "The future ain't what it used to be."
Yogi was prescient (as usual) as this observation has been fulfilled by the decision of a federal court...more
Katten Named Leader in Blockchain and Cryptocurrency in Chambers FinTech 2023 Guide -
Katten announced that the firm had attained a superior ranking in the Chambers FinTech 2023 guide. Katten was recognized as a leader in...more
Natural persons and legal entities are potentially jointly and severally liable for all of a decentralized autonomous organization's (DAO) violations of the Commodity Exchange Act (CEA) and Commodity Futures Trading...more
9/30/2022
/ Blockchain ,
CFTC ,
Commodity Broker ,
Commodity Exchange Act (CEA) ,
Commodity Trading Advisors (CTAs) ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Corporate Officers ,
Digital Assets ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Voting Powers
Two natural persons who voted governance tokens issued by a decentralized finance (DeFi) protocol were charged with being “personally liable” for alleged violations of the Commodity Exchange Act (CEA) and regulations of the...more
State-chartered crypto banking entities and other crypto financial institutions will now be subject to a "transparent and equitable framework" when applying for direct access to the Federal Reserve's payment systems...more
Developments continue at a frenetic pace in the crypto industry. Issues barely on the radar screen 18 months ago have come front and center in today’s headlines. Areas with relatively small market capitalizations a year ago...more
9/14/2021
/ Bitcoin ,
Blockchain ,
CFTC ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Decentralized Finance (DeFi) ,
Digital Currency ,
Financial Instruments ,
Financial Markets ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Popular ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Virtual Currency
The blockchain technology that powers cryptocurrency originated in an obscure white paper, anonymously published under the name Satoshi Nakamoto in 2008. In the 13 years following its publication, the cryptocurrency industry...more
7/16/2021
/ Blockchain ,
CFTC ,
Corporate Culture ,
Corporate Governance ,
Corporate Social Responsibility ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
EU ,
Green Initiatives ,
Human Rights ,
Popular ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Sustainability
On June 13, Louisiana passed the Virtual Currency Businesses Act (VCBA), becoming the second state to enact a stand-alone virtual currency law and the first state to base virtual currency licensing requirements on the Uniform...more
Last week a federal district court ruled that a social media company’s initial fundraising to build a blockchain application as well as its later, proposed distribution of digital tokens to serve as virtual currency and for...more
Last week, a commissioner at the Securities and Exchange Commission proposed a rule that would provide a bright line when a digital asset initially issued to raise funds to help develop a new network might later be regarded...more
2/11/2020
/ AML/CFT ,
Blockchain ,
Broker-Dealer ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Digital Assets ,
Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Initial Coin Offering (ICOs) ,
Registration Requirement ,
Safe Harbors ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Token Sales ,
Virtual Currency
Will the fourth time be the charm? This week, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission will try for the fourth time since 2011 to revise its speculative position limits rules. Details have not been made public, but Heath...more
1/28/2020
/ Aiding and Abetting ,
Blockchain ,
Bona Fide Hedging ,
CBOE Futures Exchange (CFE) ,
CFTC ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Derivatives ,
Dodd-Frank ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Initial Coin Offering (ICOs) ,
Position Limits ,
Proposed Amendments ,
Proposed Regulation ,
Proposed Rules ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Spoofing ,
Swaps
The Commodity Futures Trading Commission issued revised guidance for mandatory chief compliance officer annual compliance reports for futures commission merchants and swap dealers. However, the proposed recommendations are...more
12/10/2019
/ Annual Reports ,
Blockchain ,
CFTC ,
Chief Compliance Officers ,
Compliance ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Guidance Update ,
Investment Adviser ,
New Guidance ,
Oral Communications ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Swap Dealers
Last week, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission publicized a cascade of settlements of enforcement actions alleging breaches of laws and rules related to supervision, spoofing, reporting, and misappropriation of...more
10/8/2019
/ Blockchain ,
Broker-Dealer ,
CFTC ,
Chief Compliance Officers ,
Commodity Exchange Act (CEA) ,
Commodity Futures Contracts ,
Compliance ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) ,
Misleading Statements ,
Policies and Procedures ,
Recordkeeping Requirements ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Spoofing ,
Swap Dealers
Two food giants agreed to resolve charges brought by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission that they manipulated or attempted to manipulate prices of the Chicago Board of Trade’s December 2011 wheat futures contract and...more
8/19/2019
/ Amended Rules ,
Bitcoin ,
Blockchain ,
CFTC ,
Commodity Futures Contracts ,
Consent Order ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) ,
Initial Coin Offering (ICOs) ,
NYDFS ,
Price Manipulation ,
Registration Requirement ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
Last week a Canada-based social media company answered charges filed against it by the Securities and Exchange Commission in June 2019 that alleged its 2017 initial sale of digital tokens constituted an unlawful securities...more
8/13/2019
/ Bitcoin ,
Blockchain ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Digital Assets ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) ,
Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) ,
Initial Coin Offering (ICOs) ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Token Sales ,
UK ,
Virtual Currency
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
7/30/2019
/ Anti-Fraud Provisions ,
Anti-Money Laundering ,
Blockchain ,
CFTC ,
Commodity Exchange Act (CEA) ,
Consumer Protection Act ,
Dodd-Frank ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Facebook ,
Howey ,
Interstate Commerce ,
IRS ,
Portfolio Managers ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Token Sales ,
Virtual Currency
The United Kingdom’s Financial Conduct Authority proposed to ban the marketing and sale in or from the UK to retail persons of derivatives and exchange-traded notes based on cryptocurrencies and utility digital tokens,...more
7/9/2019
/ Bitcoin ,
Blockchain ,
CFTC ,
Cryptoassets ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Derivatives ,
Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) ,
Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) ,
Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) ,
Hong Kong ,
Margin Requirements ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Spoofing ,
Token Sales ,
Utility Tokens ,
Virtual Currency
On May 9, the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network of the US Department of the Treasury (FinCEN) issued guidance relating to how its regulations apply to certain businesses that transact in "convertible virtual currencies"...more
6/26/2019
/ Bank Secrecy Act ,
Blockchain ,
CFTC ,
Convertible Virtual Currencies (CVCs) ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) ,
Exemptions ,
Financial Institutions ,
FinCEN ,
Initial Coin Offering (ICOs) ,
Money Laundering ,
Money Services Business ,
Money Transfer ,
Money Transmitter ,
New Guidance ,
Popular ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Token Sales
Last week, a Canada-based social media company was sued by the Securities and Exchange Commission for purportedly conducting an unregistered securities offering to United States persons in connection with an initial coin...more
6/11/2019
/ ASIC ,
Blockchain ,
Broker-Dealer ,
CFTC ,
Cryptoassets ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) ,
Financial Stability Board ,
Initial Coin Offering (ICOs) ,
Investment Adviser ,
IOSCO ,
New Regulations ,
Proposed Rules ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Violations ,
Token Sales ,
Unregistered Securities ,
Virtual Currency
The New York Department of Financial Services was told by a federal court in New York that it could proceed with its lawsuit challenging plans of the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency to accept and consider...more
5/7/2019
/ Banking Sector ,
Blockchain ,
CFTC ,
Cryptoassets ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) ,
Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) ,
FinTech ,
National Bank Charters ,
NYDFS ,
OCC ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
Special Purpose National Bank Charter
(You Say Security, I Say Utility; Midtrial Acquittal) -
The Securities and Exchange Commission’s FinHub group issued guidance last week, providing a checklist of characteristics to help determine whether a cryptoasset may...more
4/9/2019
/ Aiding and Abetting ,
Blockchain ,
CFTC ,
Criminal Conspiracy ,
Cryptoassets ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
FinHub ,
Howey ,
Initial Coin Offering (ICOs) ,
No-Action Letters ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Smart Contracts ,
Token Sales ,
UK Brexit
The US Department of Justice vehemently opposed the request for a new trial by the first person charged, convicted and sentenced under the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act’s prohibition against...more
2/26/2019
/ Anti-Money Laundering ,
Blockchain ,
CFTC ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Dodd-Frank ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Hong Kong ,
Howey ,
Initial Coin Offering (ICOs) ,
ISDA ,
Professional Disciplinary Actions ,
Registration Requirement ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Token Sales ,
Unregistered Securities