Eleven spot bitcoin-based exchange-traded products (ETPs) were finally approved by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on January 10, 2024, after multiple such ETPs had been rejected by the SEC over the last ten...more
Digital asset investment among proprietary trading firms, family offices, and asset managers peaked in the fall of 2021, dipped a bit in the summer of 2022, and now it’s on the rise again — even with the turbulence in the...more
The recent collapse of FTX and other companies transacting in cryptoassets prompted staff of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission to advise public reporting companies to double-check that they are adequately disclosing...more
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
Any Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC)-supervised institution that is considering engaging in crypto-related activity must now notify the FDIC of its intent and provide all necessary information to create a dialogue...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
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
On the fifth anniversary of the introduction of New York’s virtual currency regulation, the New York State Department of Financial Services (DFS) announced a number of initiatives presumably to make it easier for virtual...more
The International Organization of Securities Commissions articulated considerations for worldwide regulators evaluating cryptoasset trading platforms within their regulatory perimeter. However, IOSCO noted this assessment...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
A non-US-based investment and brokerage firm agreed to settle spoofing allegations by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission by payment of a US $700,000 fine. In accepting this settlement, the CFTC emphasized the...more
1/22/2020
/ Annual Reports ,
CFTC ,
Chief Compliance Officers ,
Cooperation ,
Cryptoassets ,
Dubai ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Enforcement Statistics ,
Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) ,
Market Manipulation ,
National Futures Association ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Self-Reporting ,
Spoofing ,
Virtual Currency
The New York State Department of Financial Services proposed a self-certification regime for the approval of new digital coins by licensed virtual currency firms similar to the process applied by the Commodity Futures Trading...more
12/17/2019
/ Bitcoin ,
BitLicense ,
Broker-Dealer ,
CFTC ,
Cryptoassets ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Cybersecurity ,
Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) ,
Final Rules ,
Financial Institutions ,
Initial Coin Offering (ICOs) ,
NYDFS ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Self-Certification ,
Swap Dealers ,
Virtual Currency
A social media company and its wholly owned subsidiary sued by the Securities and Exchange Commission for conducting an offering of an unregistered digital security claimed that the agency was wrong in its characterization of...more
11/19/2019
/ Broker-Dealer ,
CFTC ,
Cross-Border Transactions ,
Cryptoassets ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Deferred Prosecution Agreements ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Initial Coin Offering (ICOs) ,
IOSCO ,
Professional Disciplinary Actions ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Exchange Act ,
Swap Dealers ,
Unregistered Securities ,
Virtual Currency
A broker-dealer and its chief executive officer settled charges brought in 2017 by the Securities and Exchange Commission that the firm facilitated manipulative conduct by a customer, despite being alerted by regulators and...more
10/15/2019
/ Bitcoin ,
Broker-Dealer ,
CFTC ,
Civil Monetary Penalty ,
Derivatives ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Enforcement Guidance ,
ETFs ,
Ether ,
Executive Orders ,
Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) ,
Gag Orders ,
IRS ,
Misappropriation ,
National Futures Association ,
Price Manipulation ,
Respondeat Superior ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Spoofing ,
Virtual Currency ,
Wash Sale Rules
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
BROKER-DEALER -
FINRA Publishes Notice to Members Encouraging Continued Disclosure of Digital Assets Activities –
On July 18, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) published Regulatory Notice 19-24...more
7/22/2019
/ Broker-Dealer ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Digital Assets ,
EU ,
European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) ,
Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) ,
Financial Markets ,
New Guidance ,
Proposed Rules ,
Public Offerings ,
Reporting Requirements ,
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
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
Last week may not have been the best of times or the worst of times (to borrow from Charles Dickens), but it was undoubtedly a time that three United States financial services regulators issued important guidance on disparate...more
5/14/2019
/ CFTC ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) ,
FinCEN ,
Initial Coin Offering (ICOs) ,
New Guidance ,
Proposed Rules ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Virtual Currency ,
Whistleblowers
New York regulators continued an aggressive approach against certain entities engaged in virtual currency businesses when the state's Attorney General’s office obtained an ex parte order precluding companies associated with a...more
4/30/2019
/ Bitcoin ,
BitLicense ,
CFTC ,
Commodity Exchange Act (CEA) ,
Cryptoassets ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) ,
Financial Instruments ,
FinTech ,
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) ,
LabCFTC ,
NYDFS ,
NYSE ,
Proposed Rules ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Spoofing ,
Virtual Currency ,
Wire Fraud
The New York State Department of Financial Services cancelled the temporary authority of a major cryptocurrency exchange to operate in New York, saying its failure to meet anti-money laundering, AML compliance officer quality...more
4/16/2019
/ Anti-Money Laundering ,
BitLicense ,
Capital Requirements ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Department of Financial Services ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) ,
Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) ,
Money Transmitter ,
No-Action Letters ,
NYDFS ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Safe Harbors ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Token Sales ,
Virtual Currency
The Commodity Futures Trading Commission issued a request for input regarding the virtual currency ether. It wants to understand better how bitcoin and ether are different, and any unique qualities of ether (ETH), as it...more
12/17/2018
/ Banking Sector ,
Blockchain ,
Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) ,
CFTC ,
Disruptive Trading Practices ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Ether Tokens ,
Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) ,
Initial Public Offering (IPO) ,
Internal Controls ,
NFA ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Virtual Currency
A federal judge said that it is not a violation of federal law for a trading firm and its chief executive officer to be smarter than their counterparties in ruling against the Commodity Futures Trading Commission in an...more
12/11/2018
/ BSA/AML ,
CFTC ,
Commodity Trading Advisors (CTAs) ,
CPOs ,
Cybersecurity ,
Enforcement Actions ,
EU ,
FinCEN ,
National Futures Association ,
Price Manipulation ,
UK ,
UK Brexit ,
Virtual Currency
The Commodity Futures Trading Commission’s Division of Enforcement issued its annual report last week; it said the purpose of its enforcement program was to engender a “true culture of compliance.” The Division suggested the...more
11/20/2018
/ Blockchain ,
CFTC ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Digital Realty Trust Inc v Somers ,
Dodd-Frank ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Initial Coin Offering (ICOs) ,
Registration Requirement ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Token Sales ,
Virtual Currency ,
Whistleblowers