Powering Sustainable Crypto: A General Counsel’s View
Exploring the AI and Crypto Intersection
The Staff Statement provides clarity that Proof-of-Work crypto mining does not involve securities, reducing regulatory uncertainty and enforcement risks for miners....more
The Division of Corporation Finance (Division) of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) recently issued two statements regarding whether certain tokens, or arrangements involving tokens, constitute “investment...more
Digital Asset Companies Announce Strategic Acquisitions - According to a recent press release, a major U.S. cryptocurrency exchange has entered into an agreement to acquire NinjaTrader, a U.S. retail futures trading...more
On March 20, the SEC released a Statement on Certain Proof-of-Work Mining Activities. In the statement, the Division of Corporation Finance (Corp Fin) provides its view that many proof-of-work mining activities are not...more
The landscape of government enforcement, private litigation and federal and state regulation of digital assets, blockchain and related technologies is constantly evolving. Each quarter, Ropes & Gray attorneys analyze...more
CryptoLink is a compilation of news stories published by outside organizations. Akin aggregates the stories, but the information contained in them does not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of the firm. Akin's...more
Crypto and Web3 Firms Announce Fintech Integrations - A major U.S. fintech firm recently announced a product integration with MoonPay, a Web3 infrastructure company, “that allows MoonPay users in the U.S. to seamlessly buy...more
Fintech and Crypto Firms Announce New Cryptocurrency Products - According to recent reports, a major U.S. fintech firm will begin letting its users accept payments in USDC. ...more
Financial Institutions Add Bitcoin ETFs, Crypto Product Integrations Continue - According to recent reports, two major U.S. financial institutions have begun offering spot bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) to their...more
New Data Published on Cryptocurrency Market Growth - CoinGecko recently released its 2023 Annual Crypto Industry Report. According to the report, “the crypto market experienced a surge in anticipation related to ETFs” and...more
Federal and state regulators have taken an increased interest in regulating cryptocurrencies, digital assets, and the larger blockchain ecosystem. This landscape is opaque and rapidly evolving, and many industry participants...more
The cryptocurrency industry is receiving a significant amount of executive and legislative attention. Biden’s Executive Order on Digital Assets in April 2022, several Congressional inquiries, proposed federal legislation, and...more
New Research and Surveys Address CBDCs, Institutional Crypto Investment - Staff from the board of governors of the U.S. central bank recently published a research paper addressing central bank digital currencies (CBDCs)....more
A well-known digital currency investment services company announced the launch of its first European exchange-traded fund (ETF), according to a press release this week. The ETF, which will be traded on multiple foreign...more
DOJ and SEC Bring Charges Against Executive in Alleged $62 Million Global Crypto Investment Fraud Scheme - On May 6, 2022, the Department of Justice (DOJ) announced that a federal district court in the Southern District of...more
As recently discussed in FinTech Nostradamus, the SEC recently doubled the size of its Crypto Assets and Cyber Unit. Since its inception in 2017, the SEC’s Crypto Assets and Cyber Unit has launched more than 80 investigations...more
According to reports, a major U.S.-based global investment bank has allowed a borrower to use bitcoin as collateral for a cash loan, for the first time in the bank’s history. In other financial news, according to reports, the...more
Crypto Payment Initiatives Announced in Stablecoins, Lightning Network, Mining - Late last week, the issuer of USD Coin (USDC) announced that it had selected a major U.S. bank as a primary custodian for USDC reserves....more
The U.S. Securities Exchange Commission (SEC) is asking a court to freeze the assets of a cryptocurrency mining and multilevel marketing scheme that allegedly defrauded investors of $12 million. The SEC's complaint alleges...more
Strikeout for Bitcoin ETF - Another ETF bites the dust. On February 26th the SEC rejected the application of NYSE Acre for the approval of an exchange traded fund sponsored by the New York firm of Wilshire Phoenix to...more
When is a digital asset a security or a commodity? Are SAFTs safe? Does hyping blockchain create an expectation of profit? Is blockchain a trademark, trade secret or neither? Are free tokens tax-free? Who is Satoshi Nakamoto?...more
A recent federal criminal action shows the depth of the U.S. government’s concern about the use of cryptocurrency (or virtual currency) to violate economic sanctions laws and the lengths to which it will go to charge such...more