Podcast: Is Cryptocurrency a Security (like an orange grove)?
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
The decision, which addresses a broad range of market activity by Coinbase relating to 13 third-party tokens, could have significant implications for market participants. On March 27, 2024, Judge Katherine Failla of the US...more
A US court recently handed down a landmark ruling addressing the question of whether the crypto token XRP falls under the definition of “security”. The US court ruled that the same crypto token may be classified differently...more
Ripple Labs (“Ripple”) was one of the first companies to emerge in the crypto space and is now among the first to secure a win against the SEC. In 2020—nearly a decade after Ripple created its digital token, XRP—the SEC sued...more
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC or Commission) has been accused of “regulation by enforcement” when it comes to the standard for determining whether a crypto token is a security. Part of this stems from the fact...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
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
Earlier this month, the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) provided additional guidance on digital assets, which include “tokens” and “coins.” The SEC’s Strategic Hub for Innovation and Financial Technology (“FinHub”)...more