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
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
Fabry-Pérot Interferometer, SA is a highly successful non-US company known to the world as FPI. FPI is considering doing a debt or equity offering in the United States. What are the key legal issues it, and its underwriters...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
On July 31, 2013, the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) formally charged the enigmatic crypto-personality Richard Heart (whose real name, as I learned from the complaint, is Richard Schueler) and his three...more
In SEC v. Ripple Labs, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) alleges that Ripple Labs, Inc. and two of its executives raised over $1.3 billion through an unregistered and ongoing digital asset securities...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
While a conclusion to the much-hyped case may be approaching, market participants should be wary of doomsday prognostications. As a new year begins, the digital assets industry is still enduring a deep and widespread crypto...more
On January 12, the SEC filed a complaint in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York against two companies (collectively, defendants), alleging that they were involved in the unregistered offer and sale...more
This Top 10 practice tips provides practical guidance for counsel working on a registered direct offering (RDO). An RDO is a public offering of securities sold on a best efforts basis by a placement agent engaged by an issuer...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
“A rose by any other name would smell as sweet.” Like the Shakespearean rose, Ripple Labs faces another claim that its digital asset XRP is a security in a new federal lawsuit in California. The suit filed by Bitcoin...more
The SEC recently filed suit against Dropil, Inc. (“Dropil”), Jeremy McAlpine, Zachary Matar, and Patrick O’Hara, alleging the defendants had defrauded investors in an unregistered offerings of securities described by the...more
The Southern District of New York granted the SEC’s request for a preliminary injunction halting a coin offering in Securities and Exchange Commission v. Telegram Group Inc. et al....more
It’s not often that an SEC Commissioner quotes Bruce Springsteen – not once, but twice – in a speech on securities regulation. But SEC Commissioner Hester Peirce did just that in a February 6, 2020 speech in which she...more
SEC Commissioner Hester Peirce earlier this month proposed a draft SEC Rule 195 as a safe-harbor for developmental token offerings, providing a registration exemption for three-years to allow the token’s network to achieve...more
The battle in federal court between the SEC and Telegram continues to progress at breakneck speed. The SEC commenced its action less than four months ago, on October 11, 2019, by seeking a temporary restraining order against...more
On January 14, 2020, the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (“SEC”) Office of Investor Education and Advocacy issued an Investor Alert urging investors to use caution before investing in “initial exchange offerings”...more
The SEC has settled its fraud action against Longfin CEO Venkata Meenavalli, who has agreed to pay $400,000 in disgorgement and penalties. The SEC's complaint alleged that Longfin and Meenavalli obtained qualification for...more
On December 18, 2019, the Securities and Exchange Commission announced settled charges against blockchain technology company Blockchain of Things Inc. (BCOT) for conducting an unregistered initial coin offering (ICO) of...more
Digital assets and Blockchain technologies which were once described as the tools of criminals, are now a key part of efforts by traditional financial services firms to transform their businesses and innovative firms looking...more
A Complaint filed by the SEC in the Southern District of New York last week reminds us that in the area of securities law violations there is not much new under the sun. Even though the action against Eran Eyal and...more
Direct listings have been a hot topic in the news lately, particularly in light of the recent submission of proposals to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) by the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) (and indications...more
On September 30, 2019, the Securities and Exchange Commission announced that blockchain developer Block.one had agreed to pay a $24 million fine to settle charges that it had engaged in an unregistered offering of securities...more