Crypto in the Crosshairs: What Regulatory Themes Characterized 2020?
Cryptocurrency, Legitimate Uses, and Legal Issues
Episode 3 - The Freeman Law Project - Cryptocurrency Regulation and Taxation: A Brief Primer
Summer Enforcement Action Review; Raising Money in a Pandemic - Investment Management Roundtable Discussion
Investment Management and Private Funds Roundtable: TALF 2020 and PPP Update
Videocast: Asset management regulation in 2020 videocast series – FinTech initiatives
Theoretical No More: Blockchain Technology, Cryptocurrencies and the Tax, Legal and Business Implications
Cryptocurrency enforcement continues to be a high priority for the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). In 2023, the SEC administration under Chair Gary Gensler brought a total of 46 cryptocurrency-related...more
More than 50% increase in SEC cryptocurrency-related enforcement actions in 2023 over 2022. The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) continues to view cryptocurrency-related enforcement as a top priority, bringing 46...more
On July 13, 2022, Judge Analisa Torres issued her long awaited ruling on the summary judgment motions in the SEC’s case against Ripple Labs, Inc. (“Ripple”). The 34-page order provided a win for both the SEC and for Ripple...more
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
A recent decision out of the District of New Hampshire underscores the risks proprietary cryptocurrency issuers face and provides ammunition to the SEC in its continued quest to classify cryptocurrencies as securities subject...more
On November 7, 2022, Judge Paul J. Barbadoro in the United States District Court for the District of New Hampshire granted summary judgment in favor of the Securities and Exchange Commission against the content sharing...more
On August 9, 2022, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) issued a Cease and Desist Order against Bloom Protocol, LLC (“Bloom”) and agreed to a related Offer of Settlement in respect of Bloom’s unregistered...more
While the crypto community is rightfully focused on the Ripple case to see how the SEC will fare in court on enforcements alleging cryptocurrency offerings are a security, a lesser-known case may provide clarity first. The...more
The SEC’s push to regulate the next generation of blockchain-based applications will likely give rise to disputes and enforcement actions, particularly in the developing decentralized finance (DeFi) space....more
In its first enforcement action of the year involving ICOs, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) charged two companies and their founder for violations of antifraud and registration provisions of the federal...more
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) investigates companies, brokerage firms, and individuals for a broad range of statutory and regulatory violations. These investigations can lead to civil or administrative...more
As part of our Spotlight series, we connect with Jeff Boujoukos, the leader of Morgan Lewis’s securities enforcement practice, to discuss the current and future state of affairs of the regulation and enforcement activities of...more
The Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) brought three enforcement actions concerning digital assets in rapid succession in a week, underlining that the Division of Enforcement is as committed to crypto enforcement...more
SEC Chairman Gary Gensler suggests SEC will aggressively police crypto assets and decentralized finance ("DeFi") platforms while seeking expanded authority to regulate these fast-growing industries....more
THE CHALLENGE: When INX Limited formed in 2017, its founders recognized that market enthusiasm around bitcoin and other blockchain assets would lead to a new standard in the finance industry. Looking beyond the...more
On February 1, 2021, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced that it had brought charges against several individuals involved in an alleged scheme to induce investors to transfer more than $11 million to...more
On January 8, 2021, Judge Richard Seeborg of the United States District Court for the Northern District of California issued an Order denying a motion to dismiss in S.E.C. v. NAC Foundation, LLC, et al. The U.S. Securities &...more
Following the SEC’s December filing, Ripple Labs, Inc. has now responded and taken its first steps to defend itself against the allegations. Ripple’s first move was to file FOIA request with the SEC to obtain the information...more
The SEC, in one of the Commission’s final acts under the leadership of Chair Jay Clayton, approved enforcement action aimed at Ripple Labs, Inc. (“Ripple”) and two of its executives, Brad Garlinghouse and Chris Larsen. The...more
Late last month, federal prosecutors in the Southern District of New York pushed for a heavy prison sentence against one of the founders of Centra Tech, Inc. (“Centra Tech”). As discussed earlier this year on the BitBlog,...more
On October 21, 2020, the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York entered a final judgment on consent against Kik Interactive Inc. to resolve the Securities and Exchange Commission’s charges that...more
The Google antitrust waiting game wrapped on Tuesday with the DOJ filing a federal D.C.-based lawsuit against the Alphabet unit, accusing the company “of using several exclusive business contacts and agreements to lock out...more
Late last month, SoluTech, Inc. and Nathan Pitruzello consented to a cease-and-desist order with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”). From April 2018 through March 2019, SoluTech, a technology start-up...more
On September 30, 2020, Judge Alvin Hellerstein, of the Southern District of New York (“SDNY”) granted summary judgment to the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) in its enforcement action against Kik Interactive Inc....more
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced on September 15, 2020, that it charged online esports gaming and gambling platform Unikrn with violations of Section 5 of the Securities Act of 1933 (Securities Act) for...more