On April 10, 2025, the SEC’s newly formed Crypto Task Force held the second of its promised series of roundtables in the SEC’s “Spring Sprint Toward Crypto Clarity” initiative. Titled “Between a Block and a Hard Place:...more
The VASP Act defines “Virtual Assets” as digital representations of value that can be digitally traded or transferred and can be used for payment or investment purposes. Digital representations of fiat currencies (which is...more
Japanese Crypto Exchange Goes Public in U.S., Stablecoin Initiatives Announced - According to recent reports, the parent company of Coincheck, one of Japan’s largest cryptocurrency exchanges, has gone public on a major...more
Crypto Integration Initiatives Continue, Crypto Exchange Data Published - According to a recent report, a major U.S. fintech company intends to purchase a stablecoin infrastructure provider. While the fintech company itself...more
According to a recent press release by the banking cooperative that operates the world’s foremost global payment messaging network, central and commercial banks will soon be able to use the network “to carry out trial...more
In recent years, the virtual asset industry has experienced exponential growth, bringing about innovations in digital payments, tokenisation and decentralised finance (Defi). While highly innovative, the volatile nature of...more
This monthly bulletin is designed to help companies identify important legal developments governing the use and acceptance of blockchain technology, smart contracts, and digital assets....more
Crypto and Web3 Firms Announce Fintech Integrations - A major U.S. fintech firm recently announced a product integration with MoonPay, a Web3 infrastructure company, “that allows MoonPay users in the U.S. to seamlessly buy...more
Big news dropped in the past few weeks, which sent shockwaves across the industry: according to a recently filed lawsuit, the SEC has classified the second largest cryptocurrency, Ether, as a security in certain ongoing...more
The March decision in Williams v. Binance from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit marks the latest chapter in the judiciary's struggle to apply the U.S. Supreme Court's 2010 decision in Morrison v. National...more
On March 9, 2023, the New York State Attorney General’s Office (NYAG) filed a lawsuit charging crypto trading platform KuCoin for “failing to register as a securities and commodities broker-dealer and falsely representing...more
On February 9, 2023, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) charged Kraken with offering and selling Kraken’s Staking Program – its staking-as-a-service product – as an unregistered security. Kraken, more...more
Payments Firms Launch Crypto Products, New DeFi Price Indices Announced - A U.S. fintech company recently announced the launch of a fiat-to-crypto on-ramp, which facilitates fiat-to-crypto payments using “a customizable...more
In last week's Cabinet News and Views, we examined the U.S. regulators' approach to the digital asset space, with a focus on the assertion of jurisdiction by the CFTC, the SEC, prudential regulators, state executive and...more
In April, we continued to see a steady pace in the seriousness and frequency of crypto enforcement actions by state and federal law enforcement. (See our March 2022 Crypto Enforcement Actions Roundup blog here where we...more
On January 10, 2022, the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC” or the “Commission”) announced it settled charges in In re tZERO ATS, LLC, No. 93938 (SEC Order Jan. 10, 2022) (“Order”)....more
On January 26, 2022, the SEC released a rulemaking proposal intended to enhance investor protections and cybersecurity for alternative trading systems that trade treasuries and other government securities. The 650 page...more
On January 3, 2022, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (the “CFTC”) entered an order charging Blockratize, Inc. (d/b/a Polymarket.com) (“Polymarket”) with offering off-exchange binary options contracts and failing to...more
On August 6, 2021, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced that it had charged two men, Gregory Keough and Derek Acree, and their company, Blockchain Credit Partners, doing business as DeFi Money Market...more
It is called the Cowboy state for a reason. With varied terrain and a hearty population Wyoming has long been a haven for independent thinkers and doers – pioneers. The Wyoming legislature recently underscored that truth with...more
Crypto-asset trading is a fast-growing part of the financial sector. Some countries have wholeheartedly embraced crypto-assets; others have been reticent to permit widespread adoption. Generally, countries have interpreted...more
With bitcoin prices rocketing nearly 300% from trough to peak when COVID-19 lockdowns were announced in March 2020 and then relaxed in July 2020, I thought I would revisit a blockchain company we discussed earlier last year...more
On March 24, 2020, the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (the Commission or the CFTC) finalized long-awaited interpretive guidance regarding what constitutes the “actual delivery” of a digital asset in the context of...more
Blockchain Developments in Food Supply Chain, Shipping Data and Project Best Practices - According to a recent report, GrainChain, a Texas-based startup that uses blockchain to track grain shipments, has used its blockchain...more
Once purely theoretical, “majority” or “51%” attacks on public blockchains have dealt participants a reality check: The fundamental assumption of Satoshi Nakamoto’s 2008 Bitcoin whitepaper (that computing power will remain...more