Podcast: Is Cryptocurrency a Security (like an orange grove)?
The Staff noted that a stablecoin generally is not subject to SEC jurisdiction if it is not an investment and used solely for commercial activity....more
The Trump Administration and the new Republican-led Congress are expected to create a friendlier governmental approach to crypto assets. Among other things, key nominees to serve as senior administration officials are known...more
Specifically, the SEC wants a change to persuade the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit – now, not later – of its view that Torres got it wrong when she determined that the company's offer and sale of its XRP token...more
Speaking at the International Blockchain Congress in Chicago on February 6, 2020, SEC Commissioner Hester Peirce proposed a safe harbor from U.S. securities laws so that developers of blockchain protocols could offer and sell...more
The SEC Division of Corporate Finance recently issued a no-action letter to Pocketful of Quarters, confirming that the Division will not recommend any enforcement action if the company sells its blockchain-based tokens...more
The SEC issues second no-action letter for a digital token, but will “utility” token offerings reach the next level? Gamers, rejoice! In only its second no-action letter to date for digital tokens, the SEC cleared the way...more
Crypto currency has been all the fashion. Most proponents that have been confronted by a regulator – the SEC or CFTC generally – have quickly resolved the matter. Few have tried to litigate with the agencies and those who...more
On February 14, 2019, Judge Gonzalo P. Curiel of the United States District Court for the Southern District of California reversed his November 2018 decision and granted a motion for preliminary injunction filed by the...more
The Situation: Federal prosecutors have asserted that two cryptocurrencies sold in initial coin offerings ("ICOs") are "securities" for purposes of federal securities laws in a criminal indictment alleging fraud against the...more
During a speech in San Francisco last week at the Yahoo Finance All Markets Summit, William Hinman, Director of the Division of Corporation Finance of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), provided some welcome...more
On July 25, 2017, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) published an investigative report (the “Report”) cautioning market participants that the offer and sale of digital assets such as “coins” or “tokens,”...more
What Is an ICO? An ICO, or initial coin offering, is the sale of virtual coins or tokens, often as a means of capital raising by startup companies that are involved in blockchain technology. Depending on the terms of the...more