The Cayman Islands Government has taken a significant step in the regulation of virtual asset service providers (VASPs) with the commencement of the licensing regime under the Virtual Asset (Service Providers) Act (as...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
Introduction - On 6 February 2024, the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) voted 3-2 to adopt two new rules that significantly expand the definitions of a “dealer” and “government securities dealer” in Sections...more
On August 1, 2022, the New York Department of Financial Services (“DFS” or the “Department”) secured its first enforcement win against a cryptocurrency platform, Robinhood’s crypto trading arm Robinhood Crypto, LLC....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
In July 2017, the SEC issued its landmark DAO Report, which clarified, among other things, its view that digital tokens with characteristics akin to those of an "investment contract" as established in SEC v. W.J. Howey Co....more
Effective July 1, 2020, the KRX300 (a Korean Large-Cap Index) Futures Contract will no longer be considered a broad-based security index futures contract and instead will be subject to joint regulation by the CFTC and SEC as...more
The SEC Division of Enforcement’s 2019 Annual Report, released earlier this month, shows a continuing focus on activities involving blockchain and cryptocurrency, and its website shows an increase in cases since last fiscal...more
The SEC simultaneously announced a pair of settled enforcement actions related to illegally offered ICOs with extensive remedial provisions to fix the faulty offerings....more
On July 18, 2018, the SEC ramped up its oversight of alternative trading systems (“ATSs”) by adopting a series of rule amendments imposing public disclosure requirements on ATSs that trade NMS (“National Market System”)...more
This is Part 3 of a seven-part series of posts looking at some broad legal issues affecting crypto-currencies. ...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
The cryptocurrency market is exciting to watch. Based on the revolutionary blockchain distributed ledger system, cryptocurrencies have exploded on the marketplace. As with any new “gold rush” to hit a market, cryptocurrency...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
Virtual Currency (VC) investors are currently investing without clarity regarding which Government Agency(s) has the final word with respect to the treatment of VC. US Agencies: IRS, FinCEN, SEC and CFTC – have expressed...more
Competition law questions are increasingly raised in the public debate about the blockchain technology. While there is yet to be any investigation in this field, the policy debate about applying competition law instruments to...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
On Feb. 6, Jay Clayton and Christopher Giancarlo, the chairmen of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), respectively, jointly testified before the Senate Banking...more
Based on how 2017 ended, entities and individuals in the crypto-currency markets should expect increased scrutiny from the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) in 2018. The SEC’s Cyber Unit commenced its...more
Could blockchain redefine the structure of the capital markets? The venue for trading and the management of risks of trades have traditionally been the role of exchanges and market infrastructure organizations such as the...more
On November 18, the Securities and Exchange Commission proposed a rule to enhance operational transparency and regulatory oversight of alternative trading systems (ATSs) that trade stocks listed on a national securities...more
On November 17, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission’s Division of Market Oversight (DMO) and Division of Clearing and Risk (DCR) each extended no-action relief for certain affiliated counterparties....more
On October 14, the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission’s (“CFTC”) Division of Market Oversight (the “Division”) announced further extension of the time-limited no action relief for swaps executed as part of a package...more