Videocast: Asset management regulation in 2020 videocast series – FinTech initiatives
On April 22, 2025, the Securities and Exchange Commission filed a civil enforcement action in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia against an individual and several related parties, alleging a...more
On February 26, 2025, the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit affirmed the dismissal of federal securities claims against the developers of a decentralized cryptocurrency exchange and the exchange’s venture...more
On January 16 and January 30, two related class actions were filed in the US District Court for the Southern District of New York against Baton Corporation LTD (Pump.Fun) and its founders. The complaints allege that Pump.Fun...more
The inauguration of President Donald J. Trump has been widely celebrated as the dawn of the first pro-crypto presidential administration – a dramatic shift from the Biden administration’s antagonistic stance on crypto. But...more
The landscape of government enforcement, private litigation and federal and state regulation of digital assets, blockchain and related technologies is constantly evolving. Each quarter, Ropes & Gray attorneys analyze...more
Enforcement during Gensler administration was considerably higher than during the previous administration. The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) brought 33 cryptocurrency-related enforcement actions in 2024, the...more
On Friday, January 17, 2024, President Donald J. Trump announced the launch of the $TRUMP memecoin, which was organized and sold by CIC Digital, an affiliate of the Trump Organization. Within 60 hours, $TRUMP reportedly...more
In this issue of our monthly Securities Enforcement Roundup, we highlight top securities enforcement developments and cases from December 2024. In December 2024: President-elect Trump nominated former SEC Commissioner Paul...more
A recent order handed down by U.S. District Judge Vince Chhabria of the Northern District of California could be a new source of concern for digital asset entrepreneurs and the venture capital firms that invest in and support...more
Yet another “celebrity” token memecoin project seeking to leverage a “cultural movement” has become the subject of a lawsuit alleging that the tokens were unregistered securities. A group of plaintiffs recently sued over the...more
Stablecoin Initiatives Announced by Fintech Companies, DeFi Protocols - Major U.S. payments firm recently announced plans to enable “disbursement partners” to use the PYUSD stablecoin to settle cross-border money...more
The recent sentencing of Zixiao "Gary" Wang, a tech expert involved in the $11 billion FTX fraud, underscores the importance of cooperation with authorities in complex and high-stakes crypto cases. Wang, who admitted to...more
On October 10, 2024, the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) filed a complaint in Illinois federal district court, alleging that diversified trading firm (“Company”) has operated as an unregistered...more
Although the excitement for non-fungible tokens (NFTs) may have faded since its peak in 2022, the world’s largest NFT marketplace, OpenSea, has new and unwanted attention from the SEC. In addition to a potential enforcement...more
Each month, we publish a roundup of the most important SEC enforcement developments for busy in-house lawyers and compliance professionals. This month, we examine: •The SEC’s case against crypto firm Kraken is permitted to...more
On August 7, 2024, nearly four years after the SEC filed its complaint alleging Ripple sold XRP in unregistered securities transactions in violation of Section 5 of the Securities Act, the district court issued its final...more
On Aug. 7, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York issued its judgment in U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission v. Ripple Labs, Inc., marking the end of district court- level proceedings in the highly...more
In a significant escalation of its crypto enforcement efforts, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has filed charges against Consensys Software Inc., the developer of the popular MetaMask crypto wallet and suite of...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
The focus in Web3 law the past few weeks has been on jurisdictional issues when litigating matters involving borderless digital asset transactions. This is expected to be an ongoing issue, as courts work through these...more
Another Southern District of New York (“SDNY”) court has sided with the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) in its enforcement campaign against the unregistered sale of cryptocurrency assets. On March 27, 2024, in SEC...more
Cryptocurrency enforcement continues to be a high priority for the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). In 2023, the SEC administration under Chair Gary Gensler brought a total of 46 cryptocurrency-related...more
In addition to tokens and crypto issuers, the SEC enforcement continued its focus on crypto lending and trading platforms. In January 2023, the SEC brought two enforcement actions against three firms for unregistered offer...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