Podcast: Is Cryptocurrency a Security (like an orange grove)?
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
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
Earlier this month, a federal trial court judge issued an opinion ruling on whether sales of a digital token, XRP, constituted a “security” for purposes of federal securities laws. Some headlines reporting the ruling have...more
In a monumental decision that will likely have substantial ramifications for crypto industry developers, securities practitioners, and millions of investors and token purchasers alike, on July 13, 2023, the U.S. District...more
One of the key complaints about the SEC by crypto enthusiasts is that the line between which crypto coins are securities and which are not is unclear. Many, for example, look at a coin and are puzzled – when is it a...more
Late last year, the SEC filed a litigated action in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York against Ripple Labs Inc. and two of its executive officers (collectively, “Ripple”), alleging that Ripple...more
Federal court grants summary judgment to the SEC on its claim that sales of digital tokens constitute investment contracts under the Securities Act. On September 30, 2020, U.S. District Judge Alvin Hellerstein granted...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
Developing a framework for consumer tokens - With the rapid growth in the development of blockchain technology, virtual currencies and token sales (sometimes referred to as initial coin offerings, or ICOs), token...more
This white paper discusses considerations related to conducting a token offering under Regulation A under the Securities Act of 1933 (the “Securities Act”). The benefit of this strategy is that it can allow broad...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
On June 4, 2019, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) filed a complaint in the Southern District of New York against Kik Interactive Inc. (“Kik”) alleging violations of Section 5 of the Securities Act of...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
When assessing whether a digital asset is a security, the key question to ask is whether a third party is driving the expectation of a return, says a senior Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) official....more
The Situation: The Director of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's Division of Corporate Finance, William Hinman, has weighed in on when digital assets will be characterized as securities. The Result: In...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
Commission’s action shows the limited utility of the utility token-security token distinction. Regulator finds that sellers of blockchain-based digital coins cannot dodge securities law by calling the coins “utility...more
The ICO boom in 2017 brings with it questions of jurisdiction and compliance, and a need for further guidance - The benefits of ICOs in raising capital, as well as in providing a marketing push for a new business model,...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