Cryptocurrency Firms and Legacy Financial Institutions Worldwide Make Crypto Moves - Two cryptocurrency firms filed applications this week with the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency to become federally regulated banks...more
12/14/2020
/ Bitcoin ,
Blockchain ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Digital Currency ,
Financial Institutions ,
Popular ,
Securities Fraud ,
Tax Evasion ,
Token Sales ,
Virtual Currency ,
White Collar Crimes
U.S. Crypto Exchange Approved as Wyoming Bank, MSB Regulations to be Simplified - This week Kraken, a major U.S. cryptocurrency exchange, announced that it has received approval from the State of Wyoming to form a Special...more
On April 3, 2020, exactly one year after the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) issued its “Framework for ‘Investment Contracts’ Analysis of Digital Assets” (Framework), 11 class action lawsuits were filed in the...more
Crypto-Focused Bank Approved in Wyoming, Initiatives Advance in Foreign Markets - Former Wyoming regulator Caitlin Long, now the CEO of a payments processing company, recently announced that her company has received approval...more
Blockchain Solutions Launch in Pharma, Energy and Food Industries - According to reports, the Chinese branch of one of the largest pharmaceutical companies in the world recently announced that it will work with VeChain to...more
On April 30, 2020, a federal court in San Francisco preliminarily approved a $25 million class action settlement against the Swiss-based Tezos Foundation, its Californian founders, and other domestic and foreign firms...more
FDA DSCSA Blockchain Pilot Report Released, Consortium Formed for Energy Grids - A final report provided in February 2020 to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has been released with details on the FDA’s Drug Supply...more
Digital Asset Marketplaces Evolve in US, Japan and Switzerland - The Public Private Execution Network (PPEX), an alternative trading system (ATS) that supports transactions in exempt digital asset securities, recently...more
Blockchain Developments in Food Supply Chain, Shipping Data and Project Best Practices - According to a recent report, GrainChain, a Texas-based startup that uses blockchain to track grain shipments, has used its blockchain...more
Blockchain GS1 Standards Published, Supply Chain Pilots Announced Across Industries -
Earlier this week, one of the world’s largest automobile manufacturers announced it will begin using blockchain to promote supply chain...more
Ethereum Fork Implemented, Exchanges Expand Services, New Bitcoin Network Data -
The Ethereum network’s Istanbul hard fork went forward late last week with the support of node operators, miners and cryptocurrency exchanges. ...more
12/16/2019
/ Anti-Money Laundering ,
Bitcoin ,
Blockchain ,
Cryptoassets ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Digital Currency ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Fraud ,
Initial Coin Offering (ICOs) ,
NYDFS ,
Ponzi Scheme ,
Popular ,
Virtual Currency
Blockchain Developments in Interbank Settlement, Capital Markets, Cryptocurrency Payments -
According to reports this week, a major German bank has joined the emerging payments initiative, built on the Quorum blockchain, of...more
Established Firms Implement Cryptocurrency Payments, Blockchain Tracking and Data Management Systems - Late last week, a major multinational telecommunications conglomerate announced it is the first major mobile carrier to...more
Academics Detect Manipulation on ‘DEXes’ as Cryptocurrency Trading Expands - A recent academic paper by researchers at Cornell Tech and other academic institutions describes rampant trading manipulation on decentralized...more
4/19/2019
/ Bank Secrecy Act ,
Blockchain ,
Criminal Convictions ,
Cryptocurrency ,
FinCEN ,
Food Supply ,
Malware ,
Money Laundering ,
Popular ,
Supply Chain ,
Virtual Currency
New Cryptocurrencies Announced, Difficulties Integrating Crypto With Banks Persist -
According to recent reports, a leading social media network and a global messaging firm will each launch their own cryptocurrency over the...more
Blockchain Transport Applications, Public Sector Initiatives, Protocol and Market Developments - Transportation, oil and gas industry players have put the pedal to the metal to push blockchain pilots....more
New BitLicense Approval, Stablecoin Developments and BAT on Coinbase - The New York Department of Financial Services (DFS) has granted New York Digital Investment Group (NYDIG) Execution LLC the 14th BitLicense in the state. ...more
U.S. and International Governments Address Smart Ports, Smart Cities, and Cryptocurrencies - According to reports, in an Oct. 3 meeting, representatives of U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) claimed that the agency is...more
In this issue: -
- New Solutions Seek to Bring Cryptocurrencies Closer to Mainstream
- Blockchain Developments for Shipping, Food, Pharmaceuticals and Diamonds
- Cryprocurrency Scams and Enforcement Actions...more
8/13/2018
/ Bitcoin ,
Blockchain ,
Class Action ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Digital Currency ,
Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) ,
Initial Coin Offering (ICOs) ,
Motion to Dismiss ,
Popular ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Token Sales ,
Unregistered Securities ,
Virtual Currency
On June 25, 2018, a divided panel of the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit reaffirmed the insider trading conviction of a hedge fund portfolio manager in United States v. Martoma on different grounds from...more
These days it seems that everybody is considering getting into the distributed ledger technology business causing the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) and the securities plaintiffs’ bar to take notice....more
On October 25, 2017, the Hedge Fund Industry Practice Team hosted an event at the New York Yacht Club titled "Chair Clayton's Impact at the SEC." Hedge fund professionals, including general counsels, hedge fund principals and...more
On Aug. 23, 2017, the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit issued a split decision in United States v. Martoma, upholding a portfolio manager’s insider trading conviction and finding that a tippee need not...more
9/13/2017
/ Criminal Prosecution ,
Dirks v SEC ,
Illegal Tipping ,
Insider Trading ,
Personal Benefit ,
SCOTUS ,
Securities Violations ,
Tippees ,
Tippers ,
US v Newman ,
US v Salman
Welcome to the 2017 Mid-Year Report from the BakerHostetler Securities Litigation and Regulatory Enforcement Practice Team.
The purpose of this report is to provide a periodic survey – in addition to our Practice Team...more
7/31/2017
/ Broker-Dealer ,
CFTC ,
Commodities ,
Dodd-Frank ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) ,
Hedge Funds ,
Insider Trading ,
Internal Reporting ,
Investment Adviser ,
Kokesh v SEC ,
SCOTUS ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Litigation ,
SLUSA ,
Whistleblower Protection Policies ,
Whistleblowers
On June 5, the United States Supreme Court unanimously decided in Kokesh v. SEC[1] that when the Securities and Exchange Commission (the SEC or the Commission) seeks the disgorgement of ill-gotten gains that a defendant...more