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
Editor's Note - The following newsletter provides a roundup summarizing enforcement actions, guidance, rulemakings, and other public statements taken by a federal and/or state financial services regulatory agency,...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
In a long-awaited decision involving the cryptocurrency “mixer” Tornado Cash, a U.S. district court on August 17, 2023, upheld the broad authority of the Department of the Treasury’s (Treasury’s) Office of Foreign Assets...more
This week, the Department of Justice (DOJ) agreed to dismiss the last remaining counts of an insider trading case they charged against Robert Olan and others in 2017. After a split verdict at trial, multiple appeals, a...more
Mango Markets is a decentralized cryptocurrency exchange that allows users to purchase and borrow cryptocurrencies and cryptocurrency-related financial products. Mango Markets is run by the Mango Decentralized Autonomous...more
The U.S. government’s criminal and civil actions against Samuel Bankman-Fried (“SBF”) reveal a novel coordination and collaboration among three government agencies and use of various jurisdictional bases and anti-fraud...more
Following FTX’s stunning collapse, federal prosecutors have quickly taken steps to hold FTX’s founder and CEO Sam Bankman-Fried (“SBF”) accountable. On December 13, the Department of Justice (“DOJ”) announced a criminal...more
On December 13, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York (the “U.S. Attorney’s Office”), the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”), and the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (the...more
Things change, at least sometimes. Take Crypto assets. They began as a way to “get off the grid.” Over time some came on to the grid as their popularity increased. Others stayed off....more
In a sudden and stunning collapse, FTX, the world’s second largest cryptocurrency exchange, run by 30-year-old Sam Bankman-Fried along with more than 130 entities affiliated with FTX, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy...more
Foreign Regulators Approve Crypto Platforms; Ethereum Approaching PoS - According to recent reports, several major cryptocurrency platforms have obtained regulatory approval from Italy’s Organismo Agenti e Mediatori (OAM)...more
A former employee of OpenSea, the largest marketplace for the purchase and sale of non-fungible tokens (NFTs), has been indicted and charged with wire fraud and money laundering allegedly in connection with actions he took...more
CROSS-PRACTICE TEAM RECOVERS $6 MILLION FROM BITCOIN THIEF IN SHORT ORDER - The Challenge: In the emerging cryptocurrency space, most investors store their assets in digital wallets, where—unlike traditional bank...more
Incorporating in the Seychelles but Allegedly Operating in the U.S. Spells Trouble for Company and its Founders - The Bitcoin Mercantile Exchange, or BitMEX, is a large and well-known online trading platform dealing in...more
BitMEX, a Seychelles-based centralized exchange for trading derivatives on bitcoin, ether and litecoin, and certain of its executives have been charged with a number of violations under the U.S. Commodity Exchange Act (CEA),...more
The International Organization of Securities Commissions articulated considerations for worldwide regulators evaluating cryptoasset trading platforms within their regulatory perimeter. However, IOSCO noted this assessment...more
As widely expected, the Fed held rates steady when it wrapped its Open Market Committee meeting yesterday afternoon and deemed the economy “in good health,” laying the groundwork for another rate increase next month....more
Blockchain technology, particularly private blockchains, can provide a technological curtain behind which business transactions occur. Still, any anticompetitive practices that stem from private blockchains are subject to...more
Bitcoin futures started trading yesterday for the first time prompting concerns about the volatility of the cryptocurrency that prompted several exchange outages due to 10%+ swings in its price as well as heavy website...more
A federal jury in Brooklyn has found former HSBC Holdings exec Mark Johnson guilty on 9 counts of front-running that grew out of the DOJ’s investigation into forex manipulation at HSBC....more
Part Three of a Three-Part Series - In the third and final part of this series on marijuana-related businesses (“MRBs”), we explore how the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) and the Department of Justice (“DOJ”)...more
The Volcker Rule Under the Trump Administration - The so-called Volcker Rule—named after Paul Volcker, a former chairman of the Federal Reserve Board—was part of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection...more
The government’s pursuit of alleged “spoofing” continues to garner headlines with the criminal authorities recently securing a conviction in the prosecution of Michael Coscia for alleged spoofing on the Chicago Mercantile...more
Oh, Theranos. 2016’s not really your year, is it? Word emerged yesterday that the DOJ and SEC are joining health officials in taking a closer look at the blood-testing company, though details of their investigation are...more