The recent decision in Securities and Exchange Commission v. Binance Holdings Limited et al (Binance) has cast further doubt on the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC’s) pursuit of jurisdiction over stablecoins....more
In the span of two days, June 5 and June 6, 2023, the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) commenced proceedings against the largest crypto asset exchange in the world, Binance.com; its affiliated US exchange,...more
6/14/2023
/ Coinbase ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Crypto Exchanges ,
Cryptoassets ,
Investment Contract ,
Securities Act of 1933 ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Exchange Act ,
Securities Violations ,
Trading Platforms ,
Unregistered Securities
A California federal court recently held that all governance token holders were responsible for any losses suffered in a security incident. Specifically, the court, in denying a motion to dismiss, ruled in part in favor of a...more
4/11/2023
/ Asset Tokens ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Cybersecurity ,
Data Breach ,
Decentralized Autonomous Organization (DAO) ,
Digital Assets ,
Investors ,
Limited Liability Company (LLC) ,
Negligence ,
Personal Liability ,
Putative Class Actions ,
Securities Tokens
The recent and sudden failures of Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank, and the threat of other bank failures, have led to intense public focus on what caused these banks to run into trouble, who is to blame, and what...more
4/10/2023
/ Banking Regulators ,
Banks ,
Board of Directors ,
Corporate Officers ,
Depository Institutions ,
Enforcement ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Financial Institutions ,
Indemnification Clauses ,
Mismanagement ,
Personal Liability ,
Risk Management ,
Silicon Valley
Throughout a tumultuous 2022, the digital currency and blockchain space saw a number of significant investigation, litigation, and enforcement matters as regulators continue their laser focus on the industry. This Year in...more
2/14/2023
/ Bankruptcy Court ,
Blockchain ,
Crypto Exchanges ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Digital Assets ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Insider Trading ,
Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs) ,
Popular ,
Stablecoins ,
Unregistered Securities
On July 21, 2022, the SEC charged three individuals with insider trading of digital assets via a scheme to trade ahead of multiple announcements regarding crypto assets being made available on a United States-based digital...more
7/25/2022
/ Criminal Conspiracy ,
Crypto Exchanges ,
Cryptoassets ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Digital Assets ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Howey ,
Indictments ,
Material Nonpublic Information ,
Securities ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Wire Fraud
On May 6, 2022, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission announced that it settled charges against NVIDIA Corporation alleging that the company’s disclosures regarding the impacts of increased use of its gaming products by...more
5/10/2022
/ Bitcoin Mining ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Cryptoassets ,
Decentralized Finance (DeFi) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Misleading Statements ,
NVIDIA ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
Regulation S-K ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Securities Act of 1933 ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Exchange Act ,
Securities Violations ,
Settlement
On February 4, 2022, the Treasury Department’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FINCEN) jumped into the regulatory discussion about non-fungible tokens (“NFTs”) - more with a whisper than a bang - in a report on its...more
2/18/2022
/ Anti-Money Laundering ,
Art Dealers ,
Bank Secrecy Act ,
Blockchain ,
BSA/AML ,
Compliance ,
Financial Institutions ,
FinCEN ,
Fine Art ,
Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs) ,
U.S. Treasury
The U.S. Securities & Exchange Commission (“SEC”) filed a complaint against Ripple Labs, Inc. (“Ripple”) and two of its executives, Brad Garlinghouse and Chris Larsen, on December 22, 2020 in the U.S. District Court for the...more
1/26/2021
/ Blockchain ,
Corporate Executives ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Digital Assets ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Popular ,
Ripple ,
Section 5 ,
Securities Act of 1933 ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Violations ,
Unregistered Securities
The SEC, in one of the Commission’s final acts under the leadership of Chair Jay Clayton, approved enforcement action aimed at Ripple Labs, Inc. (“Ripple”) and two of its executives, Brad Garlinghouse and Chris Larsen. The...more
The emergence of COVID-19 has led to increased litigation and government activity across all industries, and this trend is only likely to accelerate. To assist you in better understanding your risk, we have examined matters...more
On April 23, 2020, the U.S. Small Business Administration (“SBA”) issued additional guidance in the form of “Frequently Asked Questions” that could have significant ramifications for companies that have applied, or are...more
As former federal prosecutors, the authors have investigated and prosecuted individuals who committed various crimes relating to TARP funding and other crisis aid. With the passage of the U.S. CARES Act and more than $349...more
In 2018, Telegram - which was formed in 2013 and quickly became known for its Telegram Messenger app - sold $1.7 billion worth of Grams to 175 entities and high net-worth individuals (the “Initial Purchasers”). Telegram and...more
In a recent decision in Securities and Exchange Commission v. Telegram Group Inc. and TON Issuer Inc., the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York granted a motion for a preliminary injunction by...more
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) finally provided some good news, and guidance, regarding permissible token sales. On June 14, 2018, William Hinman, Director of the SEC Division of Corporation Finance, speaking at...more
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) last week sued Longfin Corp., a financial technology company that recently entered the cryptocurrency space, as well as Longfin’s CEO and three others affiliated with the company....more
FinCEN has taken the position that a person or developer that sells convertible virtual currency, including in the form of tokens sold in an ICO, in exchange for real currency or a substitute for currency, is a money services...more
On December 11, 2017, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) issued a cease-and-desist order to Munchee Inc. (Munchee), a company that was in the process of a $15 million initial coin offering (ICO), for selling...more
The new SEC Enforcement Cyber Unit will target cyber-related misconduct, including violations involving distributed ledger technology, initial coin offerings and misconduct perpetrated using the dark web....more
Protostarr, a block-chain based startup, has shut down its decentralized application and refunded its initial coin offering (ICO) participants following a request for information from the U.S. Securities and Exchange...more
Today the SEC issued an Investor Alert warning investors about companies asserting they are engaging in an ICO, when in fact it is a scam. Specifically, “The SEC’s Office of Investor Education and Advocacy is warning...more
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced on Tuesday, July 25, 2017, that Initial Coin Offerings (ICOs) and other market participants offering digital assets by “virtual” organizations may be subject to the...more
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced on Tuesday, July 25, 2017, that Initial Coin Offerings (ICOs) and other market participants offering digital assets by “virtual” organizations may be subject to the...more
The SEC has issued long awaited guidance regarding token sales, also referred to as ICOs. We will issue a summary of this guidance shortly, but in the interim please find the links to the SEC’s press release, investigative...more