A Conversation with SEC Commissioner Hester Peirce
Podcast: Is Cryptocurrency a Security (like an orange grove)?
Episode 286 -- Matt Stankiewicz on the Ripple Decision and Celsius CEO Indictment
From Station Wagon to Lamborghini: One CypherPunk’s Journey from Cryptoanarchy to Solana Cross-Chain NFT Innovations
Wax Studios
Summer Enforcement Action Review; Raising Money in a Pandemic - Investment Management Roundtable Discussion
Theoretical No More: Blockchain Technology, Cryptocurrencies and the Tax, Legal and Business Implications
In this episode of the CryptoCounsel, hosts Josh and Frank sit down with SEC Commissioner Hester Peirce to unpack the complexities of cryptocurrency regulation. Together they discuss the recent challenges of SEC regulatory...more
This December issue of Crypto Link covers the significant developments surrounding FTX Trading Ltd. (FTX), including its bankruptcy filing and the charges against and arrest of its CEO, Samuel Bankman-Fried. In the midst of...more
While the world at large shelters in place due to COVID-19 legal and regulatory activity of digital asset and the blockchain world is hopping. ...more
It began as an obscure experiment in unregulated virtual currency. Initially undistinguished from Bitcoin, blockchain evolved to become one of the pillars of web 3.0, enabling new means of trust, transparency, security and...more
When is a digital asset a security or a commodity? Are SAFTs safe? Does hyping blockchain create an expectation of profit? Is blockchain a trademark, trade secret or neither? Are free tokens tax-free? Who is Satoshi Nakamoto?...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
It is official. Finally. On October 10, 2019, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (“CFTC”) Chairman Heath Tarbert announced that he believes ether is a commodity and thus falls under the jurisdiction of the CFTC....more
The United Kingdom’s Financial Conduct Authority proposed to ban the marketing and sale in or from the UK to retail persons of derivatives and exchange-traded notes based on cryptocurrencies and utility digital tokens,...more
On May 9, the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network of the US Department of the Treasury (FinCEN) issued guidance relating to how its regulations apply to certain businesses that transact in "convertible virtual currencies"...more
U.S. Developments - Regulatory Updates - SEC Suspends Trading for Crypto Exchange and Mining Company - On April 29, 2019, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) announced that it was suspending trading for...more
U.S. Developments - Blockstack Files With SEC for Regulation A+ Token Sale - Blockstack, the New York-based blockchain software provider, has announced that it intends to make a $50 million token offering that would use...more
In 2018, the number of blockchain-enabled projects increased sharply as established companies sought to apply distributed ledger technology to their existing business models and startups developed new and disruptive models...more
Smart contracts, also referred to as chaincode in the Hyperledger world, are one of the most powerful aspects of blockchain and Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT). This “self-executing” code can receive various inputs and,...more
Upcoming Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (“ETF”) Decisions - On January 4, 2018, NYSE Arca filed a proposed rule change to list 9 Bitcoin ETFs. Subsequently, the time for the Security Exchange Commission (“SEC”) to approve or...more
What are the similarities between a one dollar bill, a share of a company, and a prepaid gift card? The answer is … not so much! The same is true of the similarities between virtual currencies, security tokens, and utility...more
Roundup of CFTC Resources - U.S. Developments - Cryptocurrency and the Colorado Money Transmitter License Act - On September 20, 2018, following months of consultation with the Colorado Attorney General’s office,...more
As the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) stated previously, it is continuing to scrutinize and commence enforcement actions against companies, advisors and investors involved in the offering of cryptocurrencies...more
After Bitfinex, the CFTC issued its Proposed Interpretation on “Retail Commodity Transactions Involving Virtual Currency.” Proposed Interpretation, 82 Fed. Reg. 60335 (CFTC Dec. 20, 2017). Although the comment period closed...more
In a series of 2015 decisions, the CFTC determined that virtual currency is a commodity subject to its jurisdiction. In a 2016 settled enforcement action, the CFTC took the position that an unregistered platform...more
The 2011 Dodd-Frank Act amended the CFTC’s jurisdiction to authorize regulation of “retail commodity transactions offered ‘on a leveraged or margined basis, or financed by the offeror, the counterparty, or a person acting in...more
On April 17, 2018, the New York Attorney General’s Office (“OAG”) launched a Virtual Markets Integrity Initiative and sent letters to thirteen cryptoasset trading platforms requesting, through a questionnaire, disclosures on...more
After months of steadily increasing supervisory activity in regard to the emerging cryptocurrency sector, it now appears that U.S. financial market regulators may have switched gears and entered the enforcement stage....more
When new technologies appear on the scene, Washington regulation is sure to follow. The exact configuration can take years to sort out, especially when it comes to financial products, given the labyrinth of regulatory bodies...more
Below is a summary of some of the significant legal and regulatory actions that occurred over the past week. This alert is not intended to be a comprehensive list of all such developments, but rather a selection of...more
As we previously have blogged, the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (“FinCEN”) became one of the first regulators to wade into the regulation of cryptocurrency when it released interpretive guidance in March 2013 stating...more