It is well known that insider trading—the practice of buying and selling stocks, bonds, or other securities based on material, non-public information—is unlawful. For that reason, many companies have compliance programs and...more
While the crypto community is rightfully focused on the Ripple case to see how the SEC will fare in court on enforcements alleging cryptocurrency offerings are a security, a lesser-known case may provide clarity first. The...more
6/1/2022
/ Blockchain ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Digital Assets ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Initial Coin Offering (ICOs) ,
Investment ,
Investors ,
Motion for Judgment ,
Motion To Intervene ,
Securities ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Summary Judgment ,
Token Sales ,
Unregistered Securities
In an apparent follow up to President Biden’s March Executive Order on Digital Assets (which we previously discussed here), this week, California Governor Gavin Newsom signed a similar executive order aiming to foster...more
5/6/2022
/ Blockchain ,
California ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Digital Assets ,
Executive Orders ,
Governor Newsom ,
Joe Biden ,
New Legislation ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
State Legislatures ,
Technology ,
Transparency
“NFT” was 2021’s word of the year. This isn’t too surprising—they’re everywhere! The market cap for NFT transactions jumped from roughly $400 million at the beginning of 2021 to over $7 billion by year’s end. What’s next...more
For the past decade the crypto space has been described as the wild west. The crypto cowboys and cowgirls have innovated and moved the industry forward, despite some regulatory uncertainty. Innovation always leads regulatory...more
For some time now we have cautioned companies to seek legal advice for certain business models relating to NFTs. According to a recent report, the SEC is now targeting certain NFT uses. According to the report, the SEC is...more
At least three different types of marketplaces facilitate the sale and/or resale of NFTs. These include open marketplaces, curated marketplaces and proprietary marketplaces. Other variations do exist, however, and it is...more
When the artist Beeple recently sold a digital work of art for $69 million, it caught the world’s attention especially because that one-of-a-kind digital art was a non-fungible token (NFT). In this episode, we’re taking a...more
The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) published a report on Regulatory Approaches to the Tokenisation of Assets (Jan. 2021). The report notes that: “Policy makers in different jurisdictions have...more
Posted in Blockchain, Blockchain Games
Microsoft has announced a partnership with Enjin to offer a blockchain based recognition program. Azure Heroes aims to reward individuals for verifiable acts of impact?such as coaching,...more
Money laundering is no game. Yet, some games have been used for money laundering. That’s what prompted Valve to announce that it would end the online sales of loot box “keys” for its game Counter-Strike Global Offensive...more
The leaders of the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission, the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the “Agencies”) issued a joint statement to remind persons engaged in...more
10/15/2019
/ AML/CFT ,
Anti-Money Laundering ,
Bank Secrecy Act ,
Banks ,
Broker-Dealer ,
CFTC ,
Commodity Exchange Act (CEA) ,
Compliance ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Digital Assets ,
FinCEN ,
Joint Statements ,
Money Services Business ,
Mutual Funds ,
NFA ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Suspicious Activity Reports (SARs) ,
Terrorism Funding
1. Blockchain Games and Collectibles Are on the Rise – The use of blockchain (or distributed ledger) technology for games (a.k.a blockchain games) and token-based digital collectibles is on the rise. The overnight popularity...more
3/20/2019
/ Bank Secrecy Act ,
Blockchain ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Digital Assets ,
Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) ,
FinCEN ,
Gambling ,
Initial Coin Offering (ICOs) ,
Intellectual Property Protection ,
Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs) ,
Patent Applications ,
Patents ,
Popular ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Technology Sector ,
Token Sales ,
Video Games
Smart contracts, also referred to as chaincode in the Hyperledger world, are one of the most powerful aspects of blockchain and Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT). This “self-executing” code can receive various inputs and,...more
11/28/2018
/ Blockchain ,
CFTC ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Digital Assets ,
Digital Currency ,
Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Initial Coin Offering (ICOs) ,
Risk Management ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Exchanges ,
Smart Contracts ,
Technology Sector ,
Token Sales ,
Unregistered Securities
Blockchain is a revolutionary technology that has great potential to solve many of the fundamental challenges facing the music industry today. In fact, this technology is uniquely suited to address issues across the various...more
10/2/2018
/ Artists ,
Blockchain ,
Copyright ,
Copyright Ownership ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Data Privacy ,
Digital Assets ,
Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) ,
Intellectual Property Protection ,
Licensing Rules ,
Music Industry ,
Patents ,
Risk Management ,
Royalties ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Smart Contracts ,
Technology Sector ,
Token Sales
As we have previously reported, the number of blockchain patents being filed and granted is continuing to increase. According to a Thomson Reuters report, 225 out of the 406 blockchain patents (55.4%) filed in 2017 came from...more
5/23/2018
/ Blockchain ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Digital Assets ,
Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) ,
Intellectual Property Protection ,
Patent Applications ,
Patents ,
Popular ,
Technology Sector ,
Token Sales ,
Video Games
The SEC issued a cease and desist order against Munchee’s $15 million ICO, opining that the tokens were securities for which no there was registration statement filed or in effect with the Commission nor a qualifying...more