As the end of summer approaches, litigation in the digital asset industry has remained hot. In the SEC’s cases against various exchanges, ongoing discovery fights are starting to play out in court filings, and one can expect...more
8/15/2024
/ Bitcoin ,
Blockchain ,
Coinbase ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Digital Assets ,
Digital Currency ,
Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
FinTech ,
Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs) ,
Ripple ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Violations ,
Token Sales
The SEC’s litigation against the largest digital asset exchanges in America has been unfolding for over a year, beginning with the agency suing various Binance entities in June 2023, followed by actions against Coinbase...more
On June 15, 2023, the Polsinelli Blockchain+ team put out our first Bi-Weekly rundown of some of the key stories in the Web3, blockchain, and crypto ecosystems curated by Polsinelli attorneys navigating the intersections of...more
6/27/2024
/ Bitcoin ,
Blockchain ,
Class Action ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Digital Currency ,
Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Ethereum ,
Financial Services Industry ,
FinTech ,
Martin Shkreli ,
Ripple ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Fraud ,
Securities Litigation ,
Securities Violations
The focus in Web3 law the past few weeks has been on jurisdictional issues when litigating matters involving borderless digital asset transactions. This is expected to be an ongoing issue, as courts work through these...more
4/25/2024
/ Blockchain ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Decentralized Finance (DeFi) ,
Digital Assets ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Financial Transactions ,
Investment Opportunities ,
IRS ,
Securities Regulation ,
Securities Violations ,
Stablecoins ,
Unregistered Securities
The biggest legal news of the past two weeks was the Coinbase loss on two of three categories of claims at the Judgment on the Pleadings stage of litigation against the SEC. While it is rare to win at such an early stage in...more
4/15/2024
/ Bitcoin ,
Blockchain ,
Coinbase ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Crypto Exchanges ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Decentralized Finance (DeFi) ,
Digital Assets ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Investment ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Fraud
It was a busy week for digital assets with the Securities and Exchange Commission, as the agency was sued by a digital asset exchange hopeful and faces responses in its pending litigation against existing digital asset...more
3/14/2024
/ Blockchain ,
Crypto Exchanges ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Decentralized Autonomous Organization (DAO) ,
Digital Assets ,
Digital Currency ,
Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
FinTech ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Regulation ,
Securities Violations ,
Smart Contracts
The Blockchain Bi-Weekly presented by the Polsinelli Blockchain+ team is a rundown of some of the key stories in the Web3, blockchain and crypto ecosystems curated by our attorneys navigating the intersections of code, smart...more
12/14/2023
/ Bitcoin ,
Blockchain ,
BSA/AML ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Crypto Exchanges ,
Cryptoassets ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Digital Assets ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Extradition ,
Financial Regulatory Reform ,
Financial Services Industry ,
FinTech ,
Gaming ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Smart Contracts
The Blockchain Bi-Weekly presented by the Polsinelli Blockchain+ team is a rundown of some of the key stories in the Web3, blockchain and crypto ecosystems curated by our attorneys navigating the intersections of code, smart...more
11/30/2023
/ Blockchain ,
Crypto Exchanges ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Digital Assets ,
Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Financial Services Committee ,
Financial Services Industry ,
FinTech ,
Popular ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Smart Contracts
The Blockchain Bi-Weekly presented by the Polsinelli Blockchain+ team is a rundown of some of the key stories in the Web3, blockchain and crypto ecosystems curated by our attorneys navigating the intersections of code, smart...more
11/17/2023
/ Blockchain ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Crypto Exchanges ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Digital Currency ,
Digital Wallets ,
Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) ,
EFTs ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Financial Markets ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Investment Opportunities ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Fraud
The Blockchain Bi-Weekly presented by the Polsinelli Blockchain+ team is a rundown of some of the key stories in the Web3, blockchain and crypto ecosystems curated by our attorneys navigating the intersections of code, smart...more
11/2/2023
/ Blockchain ,
Coinbase ,
Crypto Exchanges ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Digital Assets ,
Digital Currency ,
Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
FinTech ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Ripple ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Violations ,
Smart Contracts
The Blockchain Bi-Weekly presented by the Polsinelli Blockchain+ team is a rundown of some of the key stories in the Web3, blockchain and crypto ecosystems curated by our attorneys navigating the intersections of code, smart...more
10/19/2023
/ Blockchain ,
Coinbase ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Digital Assets ,
Digital Currency ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Financial Fraud ,
Financial Markets ,
Financial Transactions ,
Ripple ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
The Blockchain Bi-Weekly presented by the Polsinelli Blockchain+ team is a rundown of some of the key stories in the Web3, blockchain and crypto ecosystems curated by our attorneys navigating the intersections of code, smart...more
9/8/2023
/ Bitcoin ,
Blockchain ,
Coinbase ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Digital Assets ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Exchange-Traded Products ,
Financial Services Industry ,
First Amendment ,
Fourth Amendment ,
IRS ,
Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs) ,
Pump and Dump ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Regulation ,
Securities Violations ,
Smart Contracts ,
Tax Liability ,
Unregistered Securities
The Blockchain Bi-Weekly presented by the Polsinelli Blockchain+ team is a rundown of some of the key stories in the Web3, blockchain and crypto ecosystems curated by our attorneys navigating the intersections of code, smart...more
8/24/2023
/ Bitcoin ,
Blockchain ,
Coinbase ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Digital Assets ,
Enforcement Actions ,
FinTech ,
Investment ,
PayPal ,
Ripple ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Stablecoins ,
Token Sales ,
Virtual Currency
The Blockchain Bi-Weekly presented by the Polsinelli Blockchain+ team is a rundown of some of the key stories in the Web3, blockchain and crypto ecosystems curated by our attorneys navigating the intersections of code, smart...more
8/10/2023
/ Blockchain ,
Coinbase ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Digital Assets ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Regulation ,
Securities Violations ,
Smart Contracts ,
Stablecoins
On February 9, 2023, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) charged Kraken with offering and selling Kraken’s Staking Program – its staking-as-a-service product – as an unregistered security. Kraken, more...more
2/16/2023
/ Blockchain ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Digital Assets ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Investment Opportunities ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Violations ,
Token Sales ,
Trading Platforms ,
Unregistered Securities
In July of 2022, the United States Department of Justice (“DOJ”) and the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) each alleged insider trading violations against a former Coinbase employee Ishan Wahi (“Ishan”), his brother...more
2/14/2023
/ Coinbase ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Crypto Exchanges ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Digital Assets ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Insider Trading ,
Investment Contract ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Violations
While the blockchain crypto community is processing the latest round of “crypto contagion,” potentially lost in the busy news week was a significant legal development regarding what digital assets qualify as securities under...more
11/17/2022
/ Blockchain ,
Digital Assets ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Financial Instruments ,
Howey ,
Investment Contract ,
Payment Tokens ,
Securities Act ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Regulation ,
Securities Violations ,
Summary Judgment ,
Token Sales ,
User-Generated Content
On July 21, 2022, the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) each alleged insider trading violations against a former Coinbase employee, his brother, and another alleged acquaintance...more
8/5/2022
/ Coinbase ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Criminal Investigations ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Crypto Exchanges ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Digital Assets ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Insider Trading ,
Investment ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Fraud ,
Securities Violations ,
Wire Fraud
A former employee of OpenSea, the largest marketplace for the purchase and sale of non-fungible tokens (NFTs), has been indicted and charged with wire fraud and money laundering allegedly in connection with actions he took...more
6/10/2022
/ Art ,
Breach of Duty ,
Confidential Information ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Digital Assets ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Indictments ,
Insider Trading ,
Money Laundering ,
Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs) ,
Trading Platforms ,
White Collar Crimes ,
Wire Fraud
On January 3, 2022, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) announced an order against and settlement with Polymarket, a blockchain-enabled prediction market that allows users to “bet” on the occurrence of certain...more
Late last month, SoluTech, Inc. and Nathan Pitruzello consented to a cease-and-desist order with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”). From April 2018 through March 2019, SoluTech, a technology start-up...more
10/9/2020
/ Cryptocurrency ,
Digital Assets ,
Digital Currency ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Financial Transactions ,
Initial Coin Offering (ICOs) ,
Investment Opportunities ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Violations ,
Token Sales ,
Unregistered Securities
The U.S. Department of Justice (“DOJ”) filed a civil forfeiture complaint detailing two hacks of virtual currency exchanges by North Korean actors. These actors stole millions of dollars’ worth of cryptocurrency or other...more
9/16/2020
/ Blockchain ,
Civil Forfeiture ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Data Breach ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Financial Crimes ,
Financial Services Industry ,
FinTech ,
Foreign Exchanges ,
Hackers ,
Money Laundering ,
North Korea ,
Virtual Currency
John Louis Anthony Bigatton will not be providing financial services in Australia and likely not anywhere else, anytime soon. On Thursday, September 3, 2020, the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (“ASIC”)...more
9/11/2020
/ ASIC ,
Australia ,
Bitcoin ,
Cease and Desist Orders ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Financial Crimes ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Interest Payments ,
Investment Fraud ,
Investment Schemes ,
Money Laundering ,
Ponzi Scheme ,
Startups ,
Trading Platforms ,
White Collar Crimes
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) recently charged two Maryland companies and their executives in a scheme that allegedly defrauded approximately 1,200 investors of more than $27 million. ...more
9/1/2020
/ Blockchain ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Financial Transactions ,
Investment ,
Investment Fraud ,
Misappropriation ,
Ponzi Scheme ,
Rule 10(b) ,
Rule 10b-5 ,
Section 17(a) ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Fraud
The SEC recently required BitClave to return over $25 million to investors which the company raised by selling its Consumer Activity Tokens (CAT) to over 9,000 investors in an initial coin offering (ICO). BitClave was also...more