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
On May 5, 2023, New York Attorney General Letitia James released a bill for consideration by the New York State Legislature that would implement comprehensive and far-reaching regulation of digital asset activities in the...more
5/17/2023
/ Brokers ,
Crypto Exchanges ,
Digital Assets ,
Digital Platforms ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Financial Regulatory Agencies ,
Influencers ,
Investment Adviser ,
Listing Standards ,
Market Participants ,
NYDFS ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Proprietary Trading ,
Registration Requirement ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
State Attorneys General
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
In a first of its kind enforcement action, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (“CFTC”) is attempting to hold participating members of a decentralized autonomous organization (“DAO”) liable for alleged violations of the...more
10/5/2022
/ Anti-Money Laundering ,
CFTC ,
Commodity Exchange Act (CEA) ,
Criminal Liability ,
Decentralized Finance (DeFi) ,
Digital Assets ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Futures Commission Merchants (FCMs) ,
Illegal Trading ,
Market Participants ,
Registration Requirement ,
Retail Investors ,
Swap Execution Facilities
On August 15, 2022, the United States District Court for the Central District of California authorized the IRS to serve a “John Doe” summons on Ox Labs Inc., a cryptocurrency prime dealer doing business as SFOX....more
On July 12, 2022, Twitter, Inc. brought a civil action in the Delaware Court of Chancery against Elon Musk, the co-founder and CEO of Tesla Motors, Inc., for breach of contract in an attempt to force Musk to complete his...more
7/28/2022
/ Acquisitions ,
Attorney-Client Privilege ,
Breach of Contract ,
Class Action ,
Criminal Convictions ,
Cryptoassets ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Discovery Disputes ,
Elon Musk ,
Gaming ,
Insider Trading ,
Merger Agreements ,
Securities ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Exchange Act ,
Securities Fraud ,
Specific Performance ,
Spoofing ,
Twitter
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 June 29, 2022, Grayscale Investments, LLC petitioned the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia for review of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s June 29, 2022 final order disapproving of an October...more
7/14/2022
/ Accredited Investors ,
Bitcoin ,
Breach of Duty ,
Caremark claim ,
CFTC ,
Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) ,
Exchange-Traded Products ,
FinCEN ,
Fraud ,
Futures ,
Insider Trading ,
Investors ,
NYSE ,
Proposed Amendments ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Exchange Act ,
Securities Fraud ,
Shareholder Litigation ,
Shareholders ,
Trading Platforms
On June 14, 2022, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit affirmed the dismissal of a securities suit brought by investors in pharmaceutical company, Amarin Corporation, PLC, holding that the investors had failed to...more
7/1/2022
/ Blockchain ,
Board of Directors ,
Class Action ,
Dismissals ,
False Statements ,
Food and Drug Administration (FDA) ,
Government Investigations ,
Misleading Statements ,
Putative Class Actions ,
Rule 10b-5 ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Exchange Act ,
Securities Litigation ,
Securities Violations ,
Shareholder Litigation ,
Subpoenas
On June 3, 2022, the Delaware Court of Chancery dismissed the final two counts in an action against California biotech firm Vaxart, Inc., finding that plaintiffs failed to adequately allege that certain non-public information...more
6/16/2022
/ Amazon ,
Books & Records ,
Class Action ,
Class Certification ,
Dismissals ,
Fraud-on-the-Market ,
Incentive Compensation ,
Leave to Amend ,
Material Nonpublic Information ,
Pharmaceutical Industry ,
Rebuttable Presumptions ,
Securities Fraud ,
Shareholder Rights ,
Shareholders ,
Stock Prices ,
Vaccinations
On April 27, 2022, the Delaware Court of Chancery in In re Tesla Motors Stockholder Litigation rendered a post-trial verdict finding for Elon Musk, co-founder and CEO of Tesla Motors, Inc., on claims that Musk breached his...more
5/18/2022
/ Acquisitions ,
Breach of Contract ,
Broadband ,
Business Judgment Rule ,
Charter Communications ,
Controlling Stockholders ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Delaware General Corporation Law ,
Elon Musk ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Institutional Investors ,
Mergers ,
Popular ,
Putative Class Actions ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Shareholder Litigation ,
Shareholders ,
Tesla ,
Time Warner ,
Twitter
On March 10, 2022, the U.S. Department of Labor (“DOL”) issued a Compliance Assistance Release (the “Release”) addressing its views on the availability of cryptocurrencies on 401(k) investment platforms. This guidance comes...more
5/13/2022
/ 401k ,
Benefit Plan Sponsors ,
Bitcoin ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Digital Assets ,
Fiduciary ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Investment Opportunities ,
Plan Participants ,
Retirement Plan ,
Securities ,
Securities Regulation
Delaware Chancery Court Dismisses Cigna Derivative Suit Over Failed Anthem Merger; The PCAOB Sanctions Former KPMG Vice Chair Of Audit For Failure To Supervise Senior Members Of KPMG's Audit Practice; Ninth Circuit Affirms...more
4/21/2022
/ Anthem Insurance ,
Board of Directors ,
Breach of Contract ,
Breach of Duty ,
CEOs ,
CIGNA ,
Civil Monetary Penalty ,
Class Action ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Derivative Suit ,
Disgorgement ,
Dismissals ,
False Statements ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
KPMG ,
Material Misstatements ,
Mergers ,
Misleading Statements ,
Omissions ,
PCAOB ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
Putative Class Actions ,
Sanctions ,
Sarbanes-Oxley ,
Scienter ,
Securities Exchange Act of 1934 ,
Securities Litigation ,
Securities Transactions ,
Securities Violations ,
Shareholders ,
Short-Swing Trading
SEC Proposes Rule Amendments Requiring Climate-Related Disclosures; Southern District of New York Dismisses Securities Fraud Claims Against U.S. Stock Exchanges for Lack of Standing; Southern District of New York Dismisses...more
4/6/2022
/ Article III ,
Climate Change ,
Comment Period ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Dismissals ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
Investors ,
Proposed Rules ,
Public Comment ,
Putative Class Actions ,
Sarbanes-Oxley ,
Securities Act of 1933 ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Exchange Act of 1934 ,
Securities Fraud ,
Securities Litigation ,
Securities Violations ,
Standing ,
Stock Exchange
Northern District of Illinois Grants Motion for Partial Reconsideration of Summary Judgment Decision Regarding Whether Former Walgreens CFO’s Statements Were Actionable; Securities Fraud Claims Against Chicken Producer for...more
3/23/2022
/ Antitrust Violations ,
Bid Rigging ,
Bristol-Myers Squibb ,
CEOs ,
CFOs ,
Class Action ,
Clinical Trials ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Dismissal With Prejudice ,
Dismissals ,
False Statements ,
Guilty Pleas ,
Investors ,
Misleading Statements ,
Partial Summary Judgments ,
Pharmaceutical Industry ,
Price-Fixing ,
Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 ,
PSLRA ,
Public Statements ,
Safe Harbors ,
Scienter ,
Securities Exchange Act of 1934 ,
Securities Fraud ,
Securities Litigation ,
Securities Violations ,
Share Price ,
Stock Drop Litigation ,
Walgreens
District Court Denies Payday Lender's Bid To Dismiss SEC Enforcement Action; Delaware Chancery Court Dismisses Camping World Insider Trading Derivative Suit; California Federal Judge Certifies Class Of Apple Common-Stock...more
3/14/2022
/ Apple ,
Cease and Desist Orders ,
Class Certification ,
Common Stock ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Derivative Suit ,
Dismissals ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Fines ,
Insider Trading ,
Investment Company Act of 1940 ,
Investors ,
iPhone ,
Lenders ,
Misleading Statements ,
Misrepresentation ,
Payday Loans ,
Penalties ,
Promissory Notes ,
Proposed Amendments ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
Registration Requirement ,
Securities Act of 1933 ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Exchange Act ,
Securities Transactions ,
Securities Violations ,
Stock Options ,
Whistleblower Awards ,
Whistleblowers
IN THIS ISSUE -
Eleventh Circuit Overturns Dismissal of Cryptocurrency Ponzi Scheme Class Action Suit; Federal Court of Appeals Dismisses Leading Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac Shareholder Lawsuits; NY Seeks Blockchain...more
3/9/2022
/ Appeals ,
Attorney's Fees ,
Banking Sector ,
Blockchain ,
Breach of Duty ,
Cannabis-Related Businesses (CRBs) ,
Civil Conspiracy ,
Class Action ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Department of Financial Services ,
Derivative Suit ,
Dismissals ,
Economic Sanctions ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Fannie Mae ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Freddie Mac ,
Investors ,
Mergers ,
Mootness Fee Applications ,
Ponzi Scheme ,
Popular ,
Reversal ,
Russia ,
Securities Act of 1933 ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Exchange Act ,
Securities Fraud ,
Securities Litigation ,
Shareholder Litigation ,
Shareholders ,
Supplemental Disclosures ,
Tortious Interference ,
Virtual Currency
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
On October 8, 2020, the Attorney General’s Cyber Digital Task Force announced the release of a publication entitled Cryptocurrency: An Enforcement Framework (the “Enforcement Framework”). The Enforcement Framework describes...more
10/12/2020
/ Anti-Money Laundering ,
CFTC ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Digital Assets ,
Enforcement Authority ,
Financial Institutions ,
Jurisdiction ,
Money Laundering ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Tax Avoidance
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
Meghan Spillane is a partner in Goodwin’s Securities Litigation and White Collar Defense group, and a member of its Digital Currency + Blockchain Technology practice. She specializes in advising companies on regulations...more
On February 20, 2019, the Enforcement Division of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) issued an Order Instituting Cease-And-Desist Proceedings Pursuant To Section 8a Of The Securities Act Of 1933, Making...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