News & Analysis as of

Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Cryptocurrency Registration Requirement

Falcon Rappaport & Berkman LLP

SEC’s New Staff Statement on Crypto Offerings and Registrations: What It Means for the Digital Asset Industry

On April 10, 2025, the SEC’s Division of Corporation Finance issued a staff statement (the “Statement”) titled “Offerings and Registrations of Securities in the Crypto Asset Markets.” This development underscores the...more

Carlton Fields

SEC Deep-Sixes Its Expanded “Dealer” Definition

Carlton Fields on

Last year, the Securities and Exchange Commission amended its definition of “dealer” to require broker-dealer registration by some persons or entities previously considered securities “traders” not subject to such...more

Fenwick & West LLP

SEC v. Binance: Court Decides Majority of Claims Can Proceed but Expresses Skepticism of SEC’s Application of Law to the...

Fenwick & West LLP on

Of particular importance for the crypto industry, the opinion analyzes the SEC’s allegations that Binance and BAM offered and sold various tokens and programs to investors as investment contracts without registering them with...more

Cozen O'Connor

A Helpful Reminder for Broker-Dealers Subject to Examination by the SEC

Cozen O'Connor on

On June 5, 2024, the SEC's Division of Examinations (the Division) released a risk alert regarding the examination of broker-dealers. The alert acknowledges the diversity of the broker-dealer population in the marketplace...more

Sheppard Mullin Richter & Hampton LLP

The SEC’s Sudden Impact on NFTs!

On August 28, 2023, the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) instituted cease-and-desist proceedings under Section 8A of the Securities Act against Impact Theory, a Los Angeles media and entertainment company, alleging...more

Latham & Watkins LLP

Digital Asset Market Structure Bill Seeks to Fill US Regulatory Gaps

Latham & Watkins LLP on

The proposed bill sets forth a comprehensive framework for the digital asset ecosystem by bridging regulatory gaps, promoting innovation, and protecting consumers. On June 2, 2023, Patrick McHenry, Chairman of the House...more

Vinson & Elkins LLP

Failure to Register: SEC Shows No Signs of Letting Up on Crypto

Vinson & Elkins LLP on

Cryptocurrency had a rocky 2022. Bitcoin, often touted as a hedge against inflation, lost nearly 65 percent of its value. FTX, one of the most popular and well-known platforms for trading crypto, declared bankruptcy. Its...more

Cozen O'Connor

Maryland, Securities Regulators Settle With BlockFi Over Alleged Failure to Register When Selling Crypto Securities

Cozen O'Connor on

Maryland AG Brian Frosh and the Securities Commissioner of Maryland joined other state securities regulators and the US Securities and Exchange Commission in reaching a settlement with digital-asset financial services company...more

Oberheiden P.C.

Tokenization Lawyer – 5 Reasons Why You Might Need One

Oberheiden P.C. on

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

Goodwin

District Court Denies Payday Lender's Bid To Dismiss SEC Enforcement Action

Goodwin on

District Court Denies Payday Lender's Bid To Dismiss SEC Enforcement Action; Delaware Chancery Court Dismisses Camping World Insider Trading Derivative Suit; California Federal Judge Certifies Class Of Apple Common-Stock...more

Polsinelli

DAOsing Rods and the Power of Enforcement Prediction

Polsinelli on

Thoughts on Recent SEC statements and Action on Enforcement Related to Decentralized Autonomous Organizations (DAO) - On November 10, 2021  the US Securities and Exchange Commission (the SEC) announced that it had halted...more

Perkins Coie

Blockchain Week in Review - March 2021

Perkins Coie on

The nominee for chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission, Gary Gensler, testifies before the Senate Banking Committee. The Senate Banking Committee held a hearing on the nomination of Gary Gensler to serve as...more

Foley & Lardner LLP

SEC Examination Risk Alert Signals Focus on Digital Asset Securities

Foley & Lardner LLP on

On February 26, 2021, the SEC’s Division of Examinations issued a Risk Alert signaling an exam focus this year on activities of investment advisers, broker-dealers, exchanges, and transfer agents related to Digital Asset...more

Goodwin

SEC Wins Injunctive Relief to Prevent Telegram's Distribution of $1.7 Billion Worth of Cryptocurrency

Goodwin on

In a recent decision in Securities and Exchange Commission v. Telegram Group Inc. and TON Issuer Inc., the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York granted a motion for a preliminary injunction by...more

Katten Muchin Rosenman LLP

Bridging The Week - February 2020

Last week, a commissioner at the Securities and Exchange Commission proposed a rule that would provide a bright line when a digital asset initially issued to raise funds to help develop a new network might later be regarded...more

Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati

A Question To The SEC After The Block.One Settlement: Has The Sec Decided To Be Less Aggressive In Sanctioning Violations By...

Until September 30, 2019, Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) enforcement actions in the crypto industry conveyed a consistent message: most crypto is a security, and if a token issuer does not follow the registration...more

Katten Muchin Rosenman LLP

Bridging The Week - August 2019 #3

Two food giants agreed to resolve charges brought by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission that they manipulated or attempted to manipulate prices of the Chicago Board of Trade’s December 2011 wheat futures contract and...more

King & Spalding

Why It’s Taking So Long: the SEC and FINRA Issue Guidance on Crypto Broker-Dealer Complexities

King & Spalding on

The SEC signaled last week that it appears to be growing more comfortable approving certain digital asset activities, qualifying the first two initial coin offerings ever to proceed as registered securities....more

A&O Shearman

SEC Files Contested Complaint Over Unregistered $100 Million Initial Coin Offering, In Case That Could Clarify Application Of...

A&O Shearman on

On June 4, 2019, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) sued Kik Interactive Inc. (“Kik”) for conducting an unregistered offering of $100 million of digital tokens. See U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission v....more

Perkins Coie

Blockchain Week in Review - May 2019 #4

Perkins Coie on

U.S. Developments - U.S. Federal Regulatory Developments - SEC Staff Holds FinTech Forum to Discuss Blockchain Technology and Digital Assets - On May 31, 2019, the staff of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission...more

Sheppard Mullin Richter & Hampton LLP

With the SEC, Cooperation is Key

As an expensive “slap on the wrist,” the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC” or the “Commission”) recently concluded that approximately $12.7 million worth of funds raised in a 2017 Initial Coin Offering (“ICO”) by...more

Allen Matkins

Rescinding Initial Coin Offerings Under California Law

Allen Matkins on

John Jenkins at the The Mentor Blog wrote this morning about the Securities and Exchange Commission's relaxed approach to remedying unregistered initial coin offerings (aka ICOs). According to John, the SEC is allowing an...more

Katten Muchin Rosenman LLP

Bridging the Week - February 2019 #3

The US Department of Justice vehemently opposed the request for a new trial by the first person charged, convicted and sentenced under the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act’s prohibition against...more

Bradley Arant Boult Cummings LLP

Cryptocurrencies: Currency, Commodity, Security or Something Else?

Courts and regulators continue to struggle with how to define cryptocurrencies. The latest installment of this ongoing debate came from an unlikely source: a state appellate court’s opinion on a criminal matter. Specifically,...more

Perkins Coie

The SEC and Digital Assets—A Busy Year End

Perkins Coie on

The end of the year has been a very busy time for the SEC in the digital asset space. From speeches to the issuance of joint statements to enforcement actions, there are many things to highlight, discuss and consider. This...more

40 Results
 / 
View per page
Page: of 2

"My best business intelligence, in one easy email…"

Your first step to building a free, personalized, morning email brief covering pertinent authors and topics on JD Supra:
*By using the service, you signify your acceptance of JD Supra's Privacy Policy.
- hide
- hide