SEC Chairman Gary Gensler suggests SEC will aggressively police crypto assets and decentralized finance ("DeFi") platforms while seeking expanded authority to regulate these fast-growing industries....more
8/10/2021
/ Cryptoassets ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Decentralized Finance (DeFi) ,
Digital Assets ,
Gary Gensler ,
Initial Coin Offering (ICOs) ,
Policy Statement ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Token Sales ,
Unregistered Securities
Federal court grants summary judgment to the SEC on its claim that sales of digital tokens constitute investment contracts under the Securities Act.
On September 30, 2020, U.S. District Judge Alvin Hellerstein granted...more
The Situation: The requirement for a paper-based note for issuing securities under the German law has been an obstacle for the use of security tokens in Germany. With the release of a draft bill (the "Bill") permitting the...more
The Situation: As the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC") continues to bring enforcement actions to stop unregistered sales of digital tokens, blockchain companies are exploring ways to sell tokens to the public...more
The Situation: For the first time, the New York State Department of Financial Services ("NYDFS") publicly announced that it had denied a cryptocurrency exchange's applications for virtual currency and money transmission...more
4/25/2019
/ Anti-Money Laundering ,
BitLicense ,
Blockchain ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) ,
Financial Institutions ,
Money Transmitter ,
NYDFS ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Token Sales ,
Virtual Currency
The Situation: The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC") issued a framework for market participants in assessing whether their digital assets-related activities involve the offer, sale, or distribution of investment...more
4/8/2019
/ Blockchain ,
Digital Assets ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Howey ,
Investment Contract ,
Investment Funds ,
No-Action Letters ,
No-Action Relief ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Token Sales ,
Tokenization
The Situation: Federal prosecutors have asserted that two cryptocurrencies sold in initial coin offerings ("ICOs") are "securities" for purposes of federal securities laws in a criminal indictment alleging fraud against the...more
9/24/2018
/ Criminal Prosecution ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Howey ,
Indictments ,
Initial Coin Offering (ICOs) ,
Investment Contract ,
Material Misrepresentation ,
Real Estate Investments ,
Securities Act of 1933 ,
Securities Exchange Act ,
Securities Fraud ,
Subject Matter Jurisdiction ,
Token Sales
The Situation: The Director of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's Division of Corporate Finance, William Hinman, has weighed in on when digital assets will be characterized as securities.
The Result: In...more
6/26/2018
/ Bitcoin ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Digital Assets ,
Ether ,
Goods or Services ,
Howey ,
Initial Coin Offering (ICOs) ,
Investment Adviser ,
Securities Act of 1933 ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Token Sales
The surge in cryptocurrency activity has led to an increase in attention from enforcement authorities at both the state and national levels. The Texas State Securities Board launched an investigation into cryptocurrency...more
5/15/2018
/ Bitcoin ,
Broker-Dealer ,
Cease and Desist Orders ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Digital Currency ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Foreign Securities ,
Initial Coin Offering (ICOs) ,
Registration Requirement ,
Securities Violations ,
State Securities Regulators ,
Token Sales ,
Unregistered Securities
The Situation: The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has launched a special unit to bring enforcement actions against several forms of cyber misconduct.
The Result: The Cyber Unit has already brought enforcement...more
12/20/2017
/ Blockchain ,
Digital Currency ,
Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Ethereum ,
Initial Coin Offering (ICOs) ,
Popular ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Violations ,
Token Sales ,
Unregistered Securities ,
Virtual Currency
As interest continues to grow in virtual currencies, blockchain technology and initial coin offerings, governments are evaluating the benefits and potential risks of these innovations, while considering numerous regulatory...more
11/6/2017
/ Bitcoin ,
Crowdfunding ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Digital Currency ,
Ethereum ,
Financial Adviser ,
Financial Markets ,
Initial Coin Offering (ICOs) ,
Investors ,
Monetary Authority of Singapore ,
Popular ,
Profit Sharing ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities and Futures Act (SFA) ,
Singapore ,
Token Sales
The Situation: Promoters of two recent initial coin offerings face charges of investor fraud brought by the SEC, after allegedly misrepresenting the assets purportedly backing the offerings, exaggerating the amount of funds...more
10/11/2017
/ Asset Freeze ,
Digital Currency ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Initial Coin Offering (ICOs) ,
Investment Fraud ,
Investors ,
Misrepresentation ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Fraud ,
Token Sales ,
Unregistered Securities ,
Virtual Currency