Podcast: Is Cryptocurrency a Security (like an orange grove)?
On March 21, 2025, the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) held the inaugural roundtable of its Crypto Task Force to explore the legal issues involved in classifying crypto assets under the federal securities laws. ...more
The Division’s statement specifically addresses the mining of crypto assets that are intrinsically linked to the programmatic functioning of a public, permissionless network. These assets, referred to by the Division as...more
The SEC looked favorably on designated crypto mining activities by stating that such activities are not securities. Specifically, the SEC addressed “proof-of-work” activities. According to the SEC, Proof-of-work (“PoW”) is a...more
In welcome news, the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Division of Corporation Finance (Division) recently announced “[a]s part of an effort to provide greater clarity” that meme coins do not involve the offer and...more
Last week, Corp Fin issued a new statement providing its views on whether “meme coins” were securities or, if offered and sold, involved securities transactions. Meme coins are more like collectibles, the staff explained,...more
When meme coins—crypto tokens that usually do not purport to have any utility but are often just a single digital image of a dog, frog, or celebrity—began to be popularized, many skeptics thought that they were a joke,...more
On February 27, 2025, the Securities and Exchange Commission’s Division of Corporation Finance (“CorpFin”) issued a Staff Statement announcing its view that meme coin transactions do not involve the offer and sale of...more
On February 27, 2025, the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) Division of Corporation Finance (Corp Fin) published a new staff statement intended to clarify the application of federal securities laws to meme coins....more
On February 27, 2025, the Securities and Exchange Commission formally abandoned its enforcement action against Coinbase. ...more
On Friday, January 17, 2024, President Donald J. Trump announced the launch of the $TRUMP memecoin, which was organized and sold by CIC Digital, an affiliate of the Trump Organization. Within 60 hours, $TRUMP reportedly...more
The Digital Chamber ("TDC"), an organization dedicated to championing Bitcoin, digital assets, and blockchain innovation, recently released a proposed agenda for the SEC's new chair and commission titled TDC's "2025 SEC...more
In a recent decision in SEC v. Payward, Inc. (d/b/a “Kraken”), Judge Orrick of the Northern District of California denied Kraken's motion to dismiss the SEC's suit against it. In its complaint, the SEC alleges that Kraken...more
The beginning of this year brought several legal milestones in the world of crypto litigation and enforcement. In the first live installment of our quarterly update webinar, we discussed how...more
On March 27, 2024, the SEC received a favorable—if at least somewhat split—decision when Judge Failla of the SDNY denied a motion by Defendants Coinbase, Inc. and Coinbase Global, Inc. (collectively, “Coinbase”) for judgment...more
The Second Circuit recently revived a securities class action against the crypto exchange Binance Holdings Ltd., holding that plaintiffs plausibly alleged their transactions on the exchange were "domestic," as required by the...more
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
Summary - The SEC’s pursuit of the crypto industry continues with its second-ever settlement of a non-fungible token (NFT) enforcement action. The SEC settled with Stoner Cats 2 LLC (SC2), which sought to finance an...more
Two SEC commissioners dissented and urged the Commission to provide further guidance on non-fungible tokens ("NFTs")....more
On August 28, 2023, the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced an enforcement action against Impact Theory, LLC, alleging that Impact Theory’s public sale of approximately $30 million in crypto assets violated...more
In a published settlement of the charges on August 28, 2023, the US Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) stated that non-fungible tokens (“NFTs”) issued by Impact Theory, LLC (“Impact”) were “securities” under US...more
Summary - The SEC’s focus on the crypto industry expanded this week to include non-fungible tokens (NFTs). In its first NFT-enforcement action, the SEC settled with Impact Theory, a media and entertainment company, over...more
In Short - The Situation: Recently, two judges in Southern District of New York were required to apply the Howey test in separate cases to decide whether sales of certain crypto assets were investment contracts, and thus...more
In the August edition of our Public Company Watch, we cover key issues impacting public companies, including the SEC’s enhanced disclosure requirements regarding cybersecurity risk management, strategy, governance and...more
Just barely two weeks ago, we wrote about the half-victory for Ripple Labs in its ongoing litigation with the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”), in which Judge Analisa Torres granted partial summary judgment in favor...more
Government scrutiny of the crypto market has been sharply increasing in recent months on the criminal and civil enforcement fronts. In parallel proceedings that will be seen in other digital asset contexts — as in the...more