In his famous 2018 speech, William Hinman, Digital Asset Transactions: When Howey Met Gary (Plastic), the Director of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”), asked...more
This article is the fifth in a multi-part series in which we explain how the SEC has structured its anti-cryptocurrency campaign, why the SEC has over-reached its regulatory authority in attacking the creators of digital...more
Tokenization - Tokenization limits the exposure of sensitive information and makes digital transactions more secure. Whether people realize it or not, millions of Americans already use tokenization technology on a daily...more
The People’s Bank of China (“PBOC”) announced this morning that it is banning crypto currencies and related services, including “trading, order matching, token issuance and derivatives for virtual currencies are strictly...more
On Sept. 14, Gary Gensler, chair of the Securities and Exchange Commission, testified before the Senate Banking Committee that the agency has authority using the existing, “broad” definition of a “security” to regulate the...more
While the world at large shelters in place due to COVID-19 legal and regulatory activity of digital asset and the blockchain world is hopping. ...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
SEC Commissioner Hester Peirce continues to be one of the most vocal persons in leadership positions at federal regulators who are promoting innovation in digital currency and the blockchain....more
Many crypto entrepreneurs are seeking to build decentralized networks in which a token serves as a means of exchange on, or provides access to a function of the network. In the course of building out the network, they need...more
SEC Commissioner Hester M. Peirce was awarded the nick name “Crypto Mom” by digital asset aficionados in a previous speech encouraging forward thinking by the SEC in the regulation of tokens and initial coin offerings....more
Courts and regulators continue to struggle with how to define cryptocurrencies. The latest installment of this ongoing debate came from an unlikely source: a state appellate court’s opinion on a criminal matter. Specifically,...more
There exists no uniformity with respect to how businesses that deal in virtual currencies (also known as "cryptocurrencies") such as Bitcoin are treated among the states....more
In the last month, UK and European politicians have been vocal about the regulation, or lack thereof, in the virtual currency sphere. ...more
Roundup of CFTC Resources - U.S. Developments - Cryptocurrency and the Colorado Money Transmitter License Act - On September 20, 2018, following months of consultation with the Colorado Attorney General’s office,...more
After allowing registration and transfer of unlisted securities through distributed ledgers in 2017 and drafting legislation for initial coin offerings (ICOs) earlier this year, France is contemplating the introduction of a...more
As part of its Virtual Markets Integrity Initiative, on September 18, 2018, the New York Attorney General’s Office issued a report reviewing the platforms of various cryptocurrency exchanges. ...more
In a regulatory first, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has issued a cease and desist order and imposed a $200,000 fine against a hedge fund that invested in digital assets and its founder. ...more
Technology evolves and events unfold at a dizzying pace in the blockchain world, but even by those standards this past week was tough to keep up with. Every day seemed to bring a new first for the industry...more
After Bitfinex, the CFTC issued its Proposed Interpretation on “Retail Commodity Transactions Involving Virtual Currency.” Proposed Interpretation, 82 Fed. Reg. 60335 (CFTC Dec. 20, 2017). Although the comment period closed...more
In a series of 2015 decisions, the CFTC determined that virtual currency is a commodity subject to its jurisdiction. In a 2016 settled enforcement action, the CFTC took the position that an unregistered platform...more
The 2011 Dodd-Frank Act amended the CFTC’s jurisdiction to authorize regulation of “retail commodity transactions offered ‘on a leveraged or margined basis, or financed by the offeror, the counterparty, or a person acting in...more
This is Part 3 of a seven-part series of posts looking at some broad legal issues affecting crypto-currencies. ...more
New Appointments to the SEC and CFTC Have Their Eyes on Virtual Currency - The U.S. Senate voted this week to confirm Dawn Stump (R) and Dan Berkovitz (D) as commissioners of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission...more
This is Part 2 of a seven-part series of posts looking at some broad legal issues affecting crypto-currencies. State and federal regulators, especially the SEC, have moved aggressively to halt unregistered initial coin...more
Despite the recent setback of having their Bitcoin ETF rejected by the SEC for the second time, the Winklevoss brothers remain undeterred in their efforts to bring cryptocurrency into the investment mainstream. Their...more