Congress continues to plug along on crypto policy. The Senate’s attention – on a bipartisan basis – has been focused on extending Anti-Money Laundering (AML) regulatory authority to the digital assets space. This continues to...more
2/21/2024
/ AML/CFT ,
Bitcoin ,
CFTC ,
Chapter 11 ,
Coinbase ,
Cryptoassets ,
Cryptocurrency ,
European Banking Authority (EBA) ,
Exchange-Traded Products ,
Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs) ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Fraud
Key Points - On February 13, 2024, FinCEN issued an NPRM that seeks to include certain investment advisers in the definition of “financial institution” under the BSA. As described in the NPRM as well as in FinCEN’s fact...more
2/16/2024
/ AML/CFT ,
Anti-Money Laundering ,
Bank Secrecy Act ,
Chief Compliance Officers ,
Due Diligence ,
Exempt Reporting Advisers (ERAs) ,
Financial Institutions ,
FinCEN ,
Investment Adviser ,
Investors ,
Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NOPR) ,
Policies and Procedures ,
Proposed Rules ,
Recordkeeping Requirements ,
Risk Assessment ,
Suspicious Activity Reports (SARs)
Key Points - Last week, the SEC announced settlements with 16 broker-dealers, dually registered broker-dealers and investment advisers, and affiliated investment advisers in connection with their failures to maintain and...more
On the one hand, the year ended where it began. The legislation on stabelecoins and market structure that would provide a regulatory framework for digital assets has still not been enacted into law. And Securities and...more
1/19/2024
/ Anti-Money Laundering ,
Bitcoin ,
CFTC ,
Class Action ,
Coinbase ,
Cryptoassets ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Enforcement Actions ,
ETFs ,
Fraud ,
Money Transmitter ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Ponzi Scheme ,
Rulemaking Process ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Tokens ,
Summary Judgment ,
Terrorism Funding ,
U.S. Treasury ,
Virtual Currency
Key Points - In SEC v. Terraform, the court has granted summary judgment for the SEC on its claim that the defendants offered and sold unregistered securities in the form of “crypto assets.” This comes amidst the SEC...more
1/15/2024
/ Bitcoin ,
Cryptoassets ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Howey ,
Ripple ,
Securities Act of 1933 ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Tokens ,
Security-Based Swaps ,
Stablecoins ,
Summary Judgment
While it took a few decades to surface, the fact pattern set forth in the movie “Trading Places” has finally come to pass. However, instead of the alleged wrongdoers bribing a U.S. government official for a sneak peek at...more
Key Takeaways -
With the SolarWinds enforcement action, the SEC continues to ratchet up its enforcement against companies that fail to properly disclose their cybersecurity incidents and risks. By naming the SolarWinds CISO...more
11/22/2023
/ Chief Information Security Officer (CISO) ,
Cyber Attacks ,
Cyber Incident Reporting ,
Cybersecurity ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Fraud ,
Incident Response Plans ,
Popular ,
Risk Assessment ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
SolarWinds
CryptoLink is a compilation of news stories published by outside organizations. Akin aggregates these stories, but the information contained in them does not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of the firm. Akin's...more
11/20/2023
/ CFTC ,
Coinbase ,
Cryptoassets ,
Digital Assets ,
Enforcement ,
FDIC ,
Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) ,
FinCEN ,
Fraud ,
Jury Selection ,
Licensing Rules ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
United Arab Emirates (UAE)
On October 24, 2023, the Director of the Securities and Exchange Commission’s Enforcement Division, Gurbir S. Grewal, gave a keynote address to the New York City Bar Association’s 2023 Compliance Institute.
This address,...more
CryptoLink is a compilation of news stories published by outside organizations. Akin aggregates these stories, but the information contained in them does not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of the firm. Akin's...more
10/10/2023
/ Bitcoin ,
Blockchain ,
CFTC ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Decentralized Finance (DeFi) ,
Digital Assets ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
FinTech ,
Investment ,
IOSCO ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
Key Points -
Last week, the SEC announced settlements with 10 broker-dealers and affiliated investment advisers in connection with their failures to maintain and preserve electronic “off-channel” communications....more
On September 27, 2023, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) issued a press release announcing charges against officers, directors and large investors in public companies for failure to timely make Section 16, Schedule...more
In a move with significant implications for the crypto sector, the UK has enacted legislation to bring cryptoassets within the scope of the existing financial services regulatory regime. The relevant provisions of the...more
9/21/2023
/ Banking Acts ,
Cryptoassets ,
Digital Assets ,
EU ,
Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) ,
Financial Promotions ,
Financial Services Industry ,
FSMA ,
Investment ,
New Legislation ,
Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs) ,
Regulatory Agencies ,
Stablecoins ,
UK
Key Point -
Just over two weeks after the SEC announced the settlement of its first NFT enforcement action against Impact Theory, on September 13, 2023, the SEC announced its second NFT enforcement action against SC2, the...more
CryptoLink is a compilation of news stories published by outside organizations. Akin aggregates these stories, but the information contained in them does not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of the firm. Akin's...more
9/13/2023
/ Anti-Money Laundering ,
CFTC ,
Coinbase ,
Cryptoassets ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Deposit Insurance ,
Digital Assets ,
Enforcement Actions ,
FDIC ,
Federal Reserve ,
Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) ,
Fraud ,
IRS ,
Misleading Statements ,
Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs) ,
North Korea ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Tax Evasion ,
U.S. Treasury
Investment Advisers: Assessing Risks, Scoping Examinations, and Requesting Documents*
I. Introduction -
The SEC-registered investment adviser (“adviser”) population is large and diverse, ranging from global asset managers...more
9/12/2023
/ Audits ,
Brokerage Accounts ,
Business Operations ,
Compliance ,
Cybersecurity ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Ethics ,
Financial Records ,
Insider Trading ,
Internal Controls ,
Investment Adviser ,
Marketing ,
Policies and Procedures ,
Risk Alert ,
Risk Management ,
Securities ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Trading Platforms ,
Valuation
Key Points -
On August 24, 2023, a three-judge panel of the 2nd Circuit unanimously held that the syndicated term loans at issue were not “securities” under the test articulated by the Supreme Court in Reves v. Ernst &...more
Key Points -
On August 28, 2023, the SEC charged Impact Theory, LLC, a media company with an unregistered securities offering through its sale of NFTs. This marks the first time that the SEC has brought an enforcement action...more
8/30/2023
/ Corporate Counsel ,
Enforcement ,
Ethereum ,
Investment Contract ,
Investors ,
Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs) ,
Nonprofits ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Litigation ,
Settlement ,
Unregistered Securities
No financial services firm or professional welcomes an investigation by a regulator, let alone enforcement action. Each investigation proceeds differently depending on the target of the investigation, the subject matter and...more
CryptoLink is a compilation of news stories published by outside organizations. Akin aggregates these stories, but the information contained in them does not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of the firm. Akin's...more
Key Point -
Just shy of three weeks after Judge Torres held that the digital asset XRP is not itself a security,1 Judge Rakoff held that the SEC had adequately pled that certain digital assets, such as the UST and LUNA...more
Key Points -
A judge in the Southern District of New York recently held that (i) the crypto asset XRP is not, on its own, a security and, (ii) as a result, the determination of whether an offer or sale of XRP required SEC...more
CryptoLink is a compilation of news stories published by outside organizations. Akin aggregates these stories, but the information contained in them does not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of the firm. Akin's...more
On June 8, 2023, the SEC Division of Examinations staff (EXAMS) published a risk alert focused on the new Marketing Rule (Rule 206(4)-1 under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940). While this new risk alert largely mirrors...more
Key Points -
SEC Enforcement and PCAOB Enforcement both are pursuing more significant sanctions against auditors, particularly with respect to civil money penalties.
Expect 2023 enforcement against auditors to focus...more