Episode 286 -- Matt Stankiewicz on the Ripple Decision and Celsius CEO Indictment
The past two weeks brought some notable progress for the industry, though it still often feels like “regulation by lack of enforcement” rather than a truly proactive approach. The SEC clarified that most proof-of-work mining...more
On March 25, Stuart Alderoty, Ripple Labs’ chief legal officer, announced that Ripple intends to drop its cross-appeal against the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) that is currently pending before the U.S. Court of...more
On February 21, 2025, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced it was dropping its case against Coinbase. In 2023, the SEC sued Coinbase for operating an unregistered exchange that sold unregistered securities....more
Earlier this month, the Southern District of New York issued its final ruling and remedies order in Securities and Exchange Commission v. Ripple Labs, Inc. Judge Analisa Torres found that the SEC failed to show that any...more
Crypto Firms Announce New Products in Payments, Investments, Custody - A major U.S. digital asset management company recently announced the creation and public launch of its MakerDAO Trust, which “offers investors the...more
As the end of summer approaches, litigation in the digital asset industry has remained hot. In the SEC’s cases against various exchanges, ongoing discovery fights are starting to play out in court filings, and one can expect...more
On August 7, 2024, nearly four years after the SEC filed its complaint alleging Ripple sold XRP in unregistered securities transactions in violation of Section 5 of the Securities Act, the district court issued its final...more
On August 7, 2024, a digital asset infrastructure company (the “Company”) was ordered to pay a $125 million civil penalty for its failure to register institutional sales of its XRP token with the Securities and Exchange...more
Crypto Offerings Launch by Major Investment Bank, Asset Manager and Insurer - According to a recent report, a major multinational investment bank and financial services firm is now allowing its investment advisors to pitch...more
On Aug. 7, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York issued its judgment in U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission v. Ripple Labs, Inc., marking the end of district court- level proceedings in the highly...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
The same day that the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York (SDNY) in SEC v. Ripple Labs, Inc. denied the SEC's request for an interlocutory appeal of the bombshell summary judgment ruling in the case, the...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
On October 19, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) dismissed its claims against Ripple Labs, Inc. (Ripple) executives Bradley Garlinghouse and Christian Larsen for allegedly aiding and abetting Ripple’s violations of...more
On July 13, 2023, the Court ruled in partial favor of Ripple Labs Inc.’s argument that many of its XRP sales did not violate investor-protection laws. The ruling has sent the crypto world ablaze with speculation on the future...more
Financial Services Firms Expand Cryptocurrency Custody Services - According to recent reports, the cryptocurrency custody arm of a major international bank has launched its institutional cryptocurrency custody services in...more
In the latest decision evaluating the application of federal securities laws to the digital asset context, Judge Jed S. Rakoff of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York (“SDNY”) ruled in favor...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
Matt Stankiewicz, Partner at The Volkov Law Group, rejoins the podcast to review the recent Ripple decision by District Judge Torres at the Southern District of New York and the recent indictment of Celsius Networks' CEO. On...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
Just barely two weeks ago, we wrote about the half-victory for Ripple Labs in its ongoing litigation with the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”), in which Judge Analisa Torres granted partial summary judgment in favor...more
On July 31, 2023, Judge Jed Rakoff of the Southern District of New York (“SDNY”) sided with the Securities Exchange Commission in SEC v. Terraform Labs Pte. Ltd. by holding that sales of crypto assets to retail investors on...more
On July 31, 2023, Judge Jed S. Rakoff in the Southern District of New York ruled that the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) may proceed with its case against Terraform Labs (“Terraform”) and its CEO, Do Hyeong...more