News & Analysis as of September 19, 2024

Securities Violations

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Virtual Currency (aka Digital Currency or Digital Money) is a type of currency or medium of exchange that is not issued by any government nor guaranteed by a government currency. Despite lacking legal tender status, Virtual Currency is still traded and exchanged in some environments, typically online environments or communities. Bitcoin is the most well-known form of Virtual Currency. less -

Ripple and the SEC Both Claim Wins in Split Court Decision

The Volkov Law Group on 7/27/2023

On July 13, 2022, Judge Analisa Torres issued her long awaited ruling on the summary judgment motions in the SEC’s case against Ripple Labs, Inc. (“Ripple”). The 34-page order provided a win for both the SEC and for Ripple...more

SEC Cryptocurrency Enforcement: June 2023 Update

Cornerstone Research on 7/26/2023

As of June 6, the SEC has brought 24 cryptocurrency enforcement actions between litigations and administrative proceedings. The number of cryptocurrency enforcement actions brought by the SEC in 2023 is advancing at a record...more

Crypto Enforcement Is Here, and Always Has Been

Kilpatrick on 5/10/2022

There are those in the crypto sphere who, despite the strong warnings of several federal agencies, believe there can be no enforcement without crypto specific regulation. This is not the case. There are also those who believe...more

A Brief Overview of the SEC’s Guidance on Cryptocurrencies in the Context of the Commission’s Enforcement Action Against Ripple...

Patterson Belknap Webb & Tyler LLP on 2/4/2022

A key question for any company considering the issuance of cryptocurrency is whether that digital asset will be treated by regulators as a security, like BP stock, or a commodity, like Bitcoin. In 2019, the Securities and...more

NYAG’s Warning to Crypto Businesses Muddies Regulatory Waters; Compliance Requirements Remain Elusive

Sheppard Mullin Richter & Hampton LLP on 11/30/2021

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

U.S. Federal Regulators Turn Up the Heat on Cryptocurrency Trading Platforms

Proskauer - The Capital Commitment on 8/27/2021

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

Ripple Effect: SEC Lawsuit against Cryptocurrency Company May Provide Guidance For Crypto Industry

Amundsen Davis LLC on 3/12/2021

On December 21, 2020, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filed a high-profile enforcement action against a major cryptocurrency company. The SEC complaint alleges violations of federal securities laws by defendant...more

SEC vs. Ripple Could Make Waves in Cryptocurrency Market

Farrell Fritz, P.C. on 3/8/2021

On December 2, the Securities and Exchange Commission filed a lawsuit against Ripple Labs, Inc. and two of its executives alleging they offered and sold over $1.38 billion of digital asset XRP without registration or...more

Biden Administration Issues Regulatory Freeze On New Agency Rules

Goodwin on 1/29/2021

In this Issue. In one of its first acts after being installed on January 20, the Biden Administration issued a regulatory freeze on new agency rules that have been adopted but are not yet effective; in one of its final acts...more

“Kik” in the Butt: Court Decision Against Initial Coin Offering Could be Opportunity for Others

Farrell Fritz, P.C. on 11/2/2020

On October 21, 2020, the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York entered a final judgment on consent against Kik Interactive Inc. to resolve the Securities and Exchange Commission’s charges that...more

Defending Against Securities Fraud Litigation Triggered by an SEC Investigation

Oberheiden P.C. on 10/24/2020

For public and private companies in all industries, the risk of being targeted in a U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) investigation is a very real concern. As new and innovative securities offerings continue to be...more

SEC Mike Drop on Rapper and Film Producer Charged With Illegal ICOs

Polsinelli on 10/2/2020

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) recently announced charges against rapper and actor Clifford Harris, Jr., known as T.I. or Tip, film producer Ryan Felton, and three others who promoted Felton’s unregistered...more

Ring of Fire - SEC Hangs Up on Telegram

Polsinelli on 7/1/2020

After an extended fight with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC"), Telegram has agreed to resolve charges the company's unregistered offering of digital tokens called "Grams" violated the United States federal...more

Show Me the Money … all the Money - ICO Issuer Required to Return $25 Million to Investors

Polsinelli on 6/8/2020

The SEC recently required BitClave to return over $25 million to investors which the company raised by selling its Consumer Activity Tokens (CAT) to over 9,000 investors in an initial coin offering (ICO). BitClave was also...more

Under Siege - Zen Master Steven Seagal Loses to the SEC

Polsinelli on 2/28/2020

The SEC has settled charges against action star Steven Seagal for failing to disclose payments he received for promoting an investment in an initial coin offering (ICO) conducted by Bitcoiin2Gen (B2G)....more

Blockchain Trends and Enforcement Surrounding the New Technology

Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP on 1/21/2020

In 2019, regulators continued to consider whether and how to regulate blockchain technology. After the two previous years that included a high number of initial coin offerings (ICOs), many of which involved allegedly...more

What to Make of SEC Leniency in Block.one ICO Settlement?

Farrell Fritz, P.C. on 12/2/2019

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

BitBlog Weekly Update

Polsinelli on 10/29/2019

This BitBlog summary focuses on the continuing actions by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) against the issuers of noncompliant initial coin offerings (“ICOs”) and other crypto related transactions including...more

BitBlog Weekly Summary

Polsinelli on 10/2/2019

This summary covers the last two weeks which includes news about continued enforcement actions by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) involving fraudulent digital asset transactions, dismissal of a securities...more

The SEC Takes Aim at Another Initial Coin Offering

McDermott Will & Emery on 6/13/2019

A recent complaint concerning KIK Interactive Inc. filed in the US District Court of the Southern District of New York reveals some SEC priorities for cryptocurrency enforcement actions. The complaint indicates that the SEC...more

Bridging the Weeks - June 2019

Katten Muchin Rosenman LLP on 6/11/2019

Last week, a Canada-based social media company was sued by the Securities and Exchange Commission for purportedly conducting an unregistered securities offering to United States persons in connection with an initial coin...more

Kik ICO Litigation: Is the SEC Playing Hard Ball or Soft Ball?

Stinson - Corporate & Securities Law Blog on 6/10/2019

It has been widely reported that the SEC sued Kik Interactive Inc. for conducting an illegal $100 million securities offering of digital tokens. The SEC charges that Kik sold the tokens to U.S. investors without registering...more

Blockchain Week in Review - May 2019

Perkins Coie on 5/16/2019

U.S. Developments - Regulatory Updates - CFTC Publishes Enforcement Manual - On May 8, 2019, the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission’s (“CFTC”) Division of Enforcement (“DOE”) published its first public...more

The Distributed Ledger: Blockchain, Digital Assets and Smart Contracts - April 2019

Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP on 4/16/2019

In this issue, we examine the release of the much-anticipated Strategic Hub for Innovation and Financial Technology (FinHub) guidance for analyzing how U.S. federal securities laws apply to initial coin offerings, the...more

Celebrities Beware: Your Newest #1 Fan May Be the SEC

Bass, Berry & Sims PLC on 12/28/2018

The personal problems of celebrities are often widely publicized. An overlooked beneficiary of such publicity can be the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). News of an SEC enforcement action involving a celebrity...more

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