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
When it comes to estate planning, addressing all your assets should be a priority. However, certain assets require greater attention than others. For example, if your assets include unregistered securities, such as restricted...more
More than 50% increase in SEC cryptocurrency-related enforcement actions in 2023 over 2022. The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) continues to view cryptocurrency-related enforcement as a top priority, bringing 46...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
Specifically, the SEC wants a change to persuade the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit – now, not later – of its view that Torres got it wrong when she determined that the company's offer and sale of its XRP token...more
In a monumental decision that will likely have substantial ramifications for crypto industry developers, securities practitioners, and millions of investors and token purchasers alike, on July 13, 2023, the U.S. District...more
On July 13, 2023, Judge Torres of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York issued a much-awaited summary judgment decision in SEC v. Ripple Labs, Inc., No. 1:20-cv-10832-AT-SN (S.D.N.Y. July 13, 2023),...more
On June 6, Alabama, California, Illinois, Kentucky, Maryland, New Jersey, South Carolina, Vermont, Washington, and Wisconsin each filed enforcement actions against leading cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase and its parent,...more
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission sued Coinbase, Inc., alleging the crypto assets Coinbase made available for trading on its exchange met the definition of “securities.” Because Coinbase did not register the assets...more
In the span of two days, June 5 and June 6, 2023, the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) commenced proceedings against the largest crypto asset exchange in the world, Binance.com; its affiliated US exchange,...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
New York’s chief law enforcement agency recently squandered an opportunity to bring much needed guidance to the digital assets space. On October 18, 2021, the Office of New York Attorney General, Letitia James (“NYAG”),...more
With new types of digital assets and related business on the rise, federal authorities have been busy investigating. Recently, the SEC, FinCEN and the CFTC have imposed some notable settlements involving cryptocurrency...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
The Office of New York State Attorney General Letitia James (“NYAG”) has filed a lawsuit to shut down technology company Coinseed. The state has accused the firm of selling unregistered securities in the form of digital...more
On September 30, 2019, the Securities and Exchange Commission announced that blockchain developer Block.one had agreed to pay a $24 million fine to settle charges that it had engaged in an unregistered offering of securities...more
In an enforcement action filed on November 8, 2018, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ordered that 31-year-old Zachary Coburn, founder of the EtherDelta cryptocurrency exchange, cease and desist from operating the...more
On November 27, 2018, the United States District Court for the Southern District of California denied the Securities and Exchange Commission’s motion for a preliminary injunction to block an initial coin offering, finding the...more
In a sign of continued enforcement activity involving cryptocurrency products and services, the SEC fined Zachary Coburn, the founder of EtherDelta, for operating an unregistered national securities exchange....more
The Securities and Exchange Commission has accused the founder of a digital asset trading platform of failing to register as a national securities exchange. Without admitting or denying the charges, the founder agreed to pay...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 November 8, the SEC announced that it settled charges against Zachary Coburn, founder of EtherDelta, a type of non-custodial digital asset trading platform commonly referred to as a “decentralized exchange” or “DEX.”...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
• The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) staff made official statements regarding when a token may or may no longer be a security • The SEC continued to bring actions related to cryptocurrency offerings against...more