Another Southern District of New York (“SDNY”) court has sided with the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) in its enforcement campaign against the unregistered sale of cryptocurrency assets. On March 27, 2024, in SEC...more
On February 7, 2024, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) announced charges and a related cease-and-desist order (the “Order”) against TradeStation Crypto, Inc. (“TradeStation”) for failing to register the...more
In April 2023, the SEC re-proposed amendments to Exchange Act Rule 3b-16 to expand the definition of what it means to be an exchange. When the SEC initially proposed these amendments in January 2022, there were zero direct...more
The Blockchain Bi-Weekly presented by the Polsinelli Blockchain+ team is a rundown of some of the key stories in the Web3, blockchain and crypto ecosystems curated by our attorneys navigating the intersections of code, smart...more
The Securities and Exchange Commission recently brought its first two enforcement actions against issuers of non-fungible tokens (NFTs), resulting in cease-and-desist orders, penalties and other remedies, finding that the...more
Two SEC commissioners dissented and urged the Commission to provide further guidance on non-fungible tokens ("NFTs")....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
Three federal judges in the Southern District of New York sit at the center of the long-running battle between the SEC and the crypto industry, overseeing cases that may eventually bring clarity to the industry. After two...more
For the past several years, many have viewed “SEC v. Ripple” as one of the defining conflicts in the US crypto regulatory landscape. At the heart of this dispute is the question of whether digital tokens are “securities” for...more
On July 13, 2023, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York issued its highly anticipated summary judgment decision in the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) action against Ripple Labs, Inc....more
Like Zeus unleashing the Kraken in Clash of the Titans, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has unleashed the Kraken (not the digital asset company) to unleash havoc on Genesis Global Capital LLC (Genesis) and...more
Capital raising involves significant legal risks and complex securities law issues. All sorts of ownership interests sold in exchange for investments and payment rights constitute “securities” and their sale is subject to...more
In a case watched by companies that offered and sold digital assets Federal District Court Judge Paul Barbadoro recently granted summary judgment for the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) against LBRY, Inc. This case...more
While the blockchain crypto community is processing the latest round of “crypto contagion,” potentially lost in the busy news week was a significant legal development regarding what digital assets qualify as securities under...more
What is Tokenization? Tokenization is the process of converting an asset into a token on the blockchain. It operates by dividing—or fractionalizing—the ownership of an asset (whether the asset is a piece of real estate or...more
This article is the fifth in a multi-part series in which we explain how the SEC has structured its anti-cryptocurrency campaign, why the SEC has over-reached its regulatory authority in attacking the creators of digital...more
STOs and NFTs - STOs stands for “security token offerings.” They involve an offering of digitalized securities such as stocks, bonds, or other token and coin projects. The difference between an IPO and an STO is that STOs...more
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has not hesitated to conclude that crypto assets are securities subject to the Securities Act of 1933, but with BlockFi, the SEC went a step further and, for the first time with...more
There is no love lost between the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the crypto industry with tensions escalating over the past year. So it seems fitting that on Valentine’s Day, the SEC brought a...more
Just as there are different types of operas, there are different types of securities subject to Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) regulation. And like opera, securities aren’t always what one might expect. It's not...more
In any classic securities regulation textbook, you’ll be sure to find a chapter called “Definition of a Security.” Besides your typical bonds and stocks, which are easily identifiable as securities, the most infamous (and a...more
In a closely-watched cryptocurrency case, on September 30, the Southern District of New York ruled in favor of the SEC in SEC v. Kik Interactive, Inc., holding that the Kin tokens Kik had offered and sold through a pre-sale...more
On September 30, 2020, SDNY Judge Alvin Hellerstein issued a decision of major significance for the digital token industry in Securities and Exchange Commission v. Kik Interactive, Inc. This is only the second federal court...more