The last two weeks have seen federal agencies continue refining their approach to the digital asset industry, while state regulators are beginning to play a more prominent role—even as the overall pace of development appears...more
4/25/2025
/ Capital Markets ,
Coinbase ,
Crypto Exchanges ,
Cryptoassets ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Digital Assets ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Regulation ,
Securities Violations
The last two weeks have seen a flurry of Congressional hearings addressing key digital asset issues, alongside several noteworthy consent judgments against industry participants from the SEC. These fast-paced developments are...more
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
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
Big news dropped in the past few weeks, which sent shockwaves across the industry: according to a recently filed lawsuit, the SEC has classified the second largest cryptocurrency, Ether, as a security in certain ongoing...more
5/9/2024
/ Blockchain ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Digital Assets ,
Digital Wallets ,
Investment Opportunities ,
Robinhood Financial ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Violations ,
Trading Platforms ,
Unregistered Securities ,
Wells Notice
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
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
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
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
8/10/2023
/ 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
The long battle between the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) and Ripple reached a partial resolution with the Court ruling the digital asset at issue (“XRP”) is not itself a security and certain sales of the...more
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
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 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
The SEC successfully landed another blow in its ongoing battle with Blockvest, LLC for alleged securities fraud and the sale of unregistered securities. ...more
This BitBlog summary focuses on the continuing actions by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) against the issuers of noncompliant initial coin offerings (“ICOs”) and other crypto related transactions including...more
10/29/2019
/ Bitcoin ,
CFTC ,
Commodities ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Default Judgment ,
Digital Currency ,
Enforcement Actions ,
ETFs ,
Ether ,
Exchange-Traded Products ,
Fund Managers ,
Hong Kong ,
Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission (HKSFC) ,
Initial Coin Offering (ICOs) ,
Regulation A ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Regulation ,
Securities Violations ,
Settlement Agreements ,
Token Sales ,
Virtual Currency
This summary covers the last two weeks which includes news about continued enforcement actions by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) involving fraudulent digital asset transactions, dismissal of a securities...more
10/2/2019
/ Bitcoin ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Digital Assets ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Ether ,
Extortion ,
FBI ,
Financial Transactions ,
Initial Coin Offering (ICOs) ,
Innovative Technology ,
Investment Adviser ,
Legal Opinion ,
Offerings ,
Popular ,
Putative Class Actions ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
Rewards Programs ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Violations ,
Startups ,
Token Sales ,
Unregistered Brokers ,
Unregistered Securities ,
Virtual Currency
The Polsinelli BitBlog Weekly Update begins with the U.S. Securities and Exchange (“SEC”) settlement with an issuer of securities, who managed to both illegally offer securities, and create an unlicensed exchange to trade...more
9/11/2019
/ Anti-Money Laundering ,
Bad Faith ,
Bitcoin ,
Blockchain ,
Corporate Issuers ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Digital Currency ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Facebook ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Financial Transactions ,
FINMA ,
Illegal Trading ,
Initial Coin Offering (ICOs) ,
Mobile Apps ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
Pyramid Schemes ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Fraud ,
Securities Violations ,
Settlement Agreements ,
Strict Compliance ,
Token Sales ,
Trading Policies ,
Willful Violations