On November 19, 2020, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) adopted amendments to certain financial disclosure requirements of Regulation S-K, including those applicable to the Management’s Discussion and Analysis of...more
Recent and significant regulatory and legislative events in the digital asset space demonstrate the evolving and expanding approach by U.S. and international regulators to the burgeoning digital asset markets. These...more
10/31/2020
/ Banks ,
Blockchain ,
CFTC ,
Civil Monetary Penalty ,
Consent Order ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Derivatives ,
Digital Assets ,
Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
FinCEN ,
Global Market ,
Initial Coin Offering (ICOs) ,
Legislative Agendas ,
OCC ,
OECD ,
Offshore Listings ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
Restricted Transactions ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Tokens ,
Smart Contracts ,
Stablecoins ,
Summary Judgment ,
Taxation ,
UK ,
Virtual Currency
On October 15, 2020, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) voted 3-2 to adopt new rules on speculative position limits (the Final Rule). The Final Rule will become effective 60 days after publication in the Federal...more
U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) rules require reporting companies to file material agreements as exhibits to periodic reports, registration statements and certain other disclosure documents. Often times those...more
On September 9, 2020, the staff of the SEC Division of Corporation Finance (Staff) updated CF Disclosure Guidance: Topic No. 7 (Confidential Treatment Applications Submitted Pursuant to Rules 406 and 24b-2) to explain the...more
On August 26, 2020, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) voted 3-2 to modernize Regulation S-K rules requiring business description, legal proceedings and risk factor disclosures. The amendments are intended to update...more
On July 10, 2020, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) voted 3-1 to approve proposed rules that, among other things, would raise the Form 13F reporting threshold for institutional investment managers (managers) from...more
On June 23, 2020, the Division of Corporation Finance (the Division) of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) issued CF Disclosure Guidance: Topic No. 9A (Guidance) on disclosures focusing on the impact of...more
On May 28, 2020, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC or Commission) unanimously approved an interim final rule extending the Phase 5 compliance date for the Commission’s initial margin rules (Interim Final Rule)...more
As a reminder, conflict minerals disclosures on Forms SD are required to be filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) no later than June 1, 2020. This remains true despite the impact of COVID-19, given that...more
As public companies approach an unprecedented earnings season due to the COVID-19 outbreak, U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chairman Jay Clayton and Division of Corporation Finance Director William Hinman issued...more
On March 24, 2020, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC or Commission) voted unanimously to adopt an interpretation of the term “actual delivery” with respect to retail virtual currency transactions (2020 Guidance)....more
4/8/2020
/ Actual Delivery ,
Amended Rules ,
CFTC ,
Commodities ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Enforcement ,
Futures ,
Leveraged Lending ,
Margin Requirements ,
Retail Investors ,
Swaps ,
Virtual Currency
On March 25, 2020, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) issued a modified order extending the time period during which public companies impacted by COVID-19 may delay by 45 days SEC filings that otherwise would...more
On January 30, 2020, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC or Commission) voted 3-2 to issue a proposed rulemaking on speculative position limits (the Proposal). The Proposal would apply spot month-only federal...more
2/19/2020
/ Amended Rules ,
CFTC ,
Commodities ,
Commodity Exchange Act (CEA) ,
Commodity Futures Contracts ,
Dodd-Frank ,
Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NOPR) ,
Position Limits ,
Proposed Regulation ,
Public Comment ,
Swaps
On April 25, 2019, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC or Commission) published for public comment proposed amendments to the rules governing swap data repositories (SDRs) and reporting obligations of swap market...more
In 2018, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC or Commission) began operating with a full complement of five commissioners for the first time since 2014. Soon thereafter, it held a rare open meeting to propose major...more
1/22/2019
/ CCPs ,
CFTC ,
Commodity Exchange Act (CEA) ,
Derivatives ,
Dodd-Frank ,
Enforcement Actions ,
EU ,
Extraterritoriality Rules ,
Jurisdiction ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Swap Execution Facilities ,
Swaps
Few price manipulation cases brought by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) ever go to trial. The CFTC case filed against the trading firm DRW Investments LLC (and its CEO) was the exception to that rule and would...more
12/15/2018
/ Bench Trial ,
CFTC ,
Commodities Traders ,
Commodity Exchange Act (CEA) ,
Commodity Futures Contracts ,
Dismissals ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Fraud ,
Intent ,
Interest Rate Swaps ,
Market Manipulation ,
Price Manipulation ,
Standard of Review
On November 5, 2018, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC or Commission) held its first open meeting with five commissioners since May 2013. At that meeting, the Commission approved (by a 4-1 vote) proposed...more
Recent federal court decisions, and a pending appeal in the Ninth Circuit, highlight disagreement among the courts as to the scope of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission’s (CFTC) anti-fraud and anti-manipulation...more
10/2/2018
/ Administrative Authority ,
Anti-Fraud Provisions ,
Anti-Manipulation Rule ,
Appeals ,
CFTC ,
Commodities ,
Dodd-Frank ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Fraud ,
Rare Earth Metals ,
Split of Authority ,
Swaps ,
Unfair or Deceptive Trade Practices ,
Use in Commerce ,
Virtual Currency