- What is new: The U.S. Congress has passed the GENIUS Act, establishing the first federal regulatory framework for payment stablecoins, addressing consumer protection, financial stability and AML compliance.
- Why it...more
7/18/2025
/ AML/CFT ,
Anti-Money Laundering ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Digital Assets ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Services Industry ,
New Legislation ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Stablecoins ,
Trump Administration ,
U.S. Treasury
Key Points -
- On June 17, 2025, the U.S. Senate passed, with a 68-30 vote, legislation that would authorize and regulate the issuance of stablecoins. Referred to as the GENIUS Act, the bipartisan bill must be passed by...more
7/7/2025
/ Banking Sector ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Digital Assets ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Regulatory Reform ,
Legislative Agendas ,
New Legislation ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Stablecoins
On May 29, 2025, the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC’s) Division of Corporation Finance issued a statement providing that certain cryptoasset staking activities in connection with proof-of-stake (PoS) networks do...more
On May 5, 2025, several House committees jointly released a discussion draft of a bill to establish a regulatory framework for digital assets. Notably, this proposed Act would clarify the jurisdictional boundaries between the...more
5/29/2025
/ Blockchain ,
Broker-Dealer ,
CFTC ,
Commodity Broker ,
Commodity Exchange Act (CEA) ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Decentralized Finance (DeFi) ,
Digital Assets ,
Digital Securities ,
FinTech ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Regulation ,
Stablecoins ,
Technology
Key Points -
- The SEC’s Crypto Task Force acknowledges past hostility toward digital assets and aims to create more sensible regulations.
- Tokenized securities face complex regulatory challenges, including compliance...more
5/28/2025
/ Acquisitions ,
Blockchain ,
Broker-Dealer ,
Corporate Governance ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Digital Assets ,
Energy Sector ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Healthcare ,
Investment Company Act of 1940 ,
Life Sciences ,
Mergers ,
Private Equity ,
Retail Market ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Exchange Act of 1934 ,
Securities Fraud ,
Securities Litigation ,
Securities Regulation ,
Securities Tokens ,
Technology
After years of regulatory uncertainty, the Trump administration has signaled a new approach to digital assets, including by establishing a working group focused on digital assets and nominating crypto-friendly chairs to the...more
5/6/2025
/ Artificial Intelligence ,
Blockchain ,
CFTC ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Cybersecurity ,
Data Privacy ,
Digital Assets ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Enforcement Priorities ,
FinTech ,
NYDFS ,
Popular ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Risk Management ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
State Attorneys General ,
Technology
Alex Drylewski, co-head of Skadden’s Web3 and Digital Assets Group, discusses the significant shift in U.S. crypto policy under the Trump administration with host Joseph Kamyar. Alex highlights recent regulatory developments,...more
For years, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) have actively policed digital asset markets, bringing enforcement actions based on alleged failure to register products...more
President Trump has taken the first steps toward fulfilling his promise to reverse the Biden administration’s approach to digital assets by issuing an executive order that establishes a framework for fostering the growth of...more
2/10/2025
/ Biden Administration ,
Blockchain ,
CFTC ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Digital Assets ,
Digital Currency ,
Executive Orders ,
Financial Services Industry ,
FinTech ,
Popular ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Revocation ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Stablecoins ,
Technology Sector ,
Trump Administration
Key Points -
- A Republican president and Congress are expected to be more supportive of digital assets than the current administration.
- There is a reasonable chance that legislation creating a regulatory framework...more
1/15/2025
/ Banking Sector ,
Capital Markets ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Digital Assets ,
Digital Currency ,
Federal Bank Regulatory Agencies ,
Financial Regulatory Reform ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Regulation ,
Technology Sector ,
Trump Administration
On September 9, 2024, the Chief Accountant of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Paul Munter, delivered remarks describing circumstances in which, in the SEC staff’s view, entities may engage in cryptoasset...more
Securities litigation arising from the purchase or sale of digital products such as cryptocurrencies, nonfungible tokens (NFTs) and security tokens has proliferated in recent years. A gating question in these cases is whether...more
Spotlight -
Macquarie Ruling Raises the Bar for Securities Fraud Claims -
Key Points -
- On April 12, 2024, the U.S. Supreme Court unanimously reversed and vacated the Second Circuit’s decision in Macquarie...more
5/23/2024
/ Acquisitions ,
Commercial Litigation ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Entertainment Industry ,
Financial Institutions ,
Healthcare ,
Life Sciences ,
Macquarie Infrastructure Corp v Moab Partners LP ,
Media ,
Mergers ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
Real Estate Market ,
Retail Market ,
SCOTUS ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Litigation ,
Securities Regulation
The U.S. Supreme Court will likely decide before the end of its current term whether the failure to make a disclosure pursuant to Item 303 of Regulation S-K can serve as the basis for a securities fraud claim under Section...more
12/5/2023
/ Acquisitions ,
Cannabis-Related Businesses (CRBs) ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Data Security ,
Dismissals ,
Food and Drug Administration (FDA) ,
Healthcare ,
Initial Public Offering (IPO) ,
Intellectual Property Protection ,
Life Sciences ,
Marijuana Related Businesses ,
Mergers ,
Putative Class Actions ,
Regulation S-K ,
Scams ,
Scienter ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Exchange Act ,
Securities Fraud ,
Securities Litigation ,
Shareholders ,
Token Sales
Hong Kong regulators recently brought criminal enforcement actions against virtual asset trading platform JPEX and individuals associated with the platform. This case has become the first opportunity for local authorities to...more
11/16/2023
/ AML/CFT ,
Compensation ,
Corporate Misconduct ,
Criminal Investigations ,
Crypto Exchanges ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Decentralized Finance (DeFi) ,
Derivatives ,
Digital Assets ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Fraud ,
Futures ,
Hong Kong ,
Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission (HKSFC) ,
Insurance Industry ,
Internal Controls ,
Investors ,
Jurisdiction ,
Know Your Customers ,
Licensing Rules ,
Misleading Statements ,
New Regulations ,
Popular ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Retail Investors ,
Securities ,
Stablecoins ,
Stock Trades ,
Trading Platforms
On September 7, 2023, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) issued three enforcement settlement orders against developers of decentralized finance (DeFi) protocols. The orders charge Opyn, Inc., Deridex, Inc., and...more
Two recent indictments highlight the Department of Justice’s (DOJ’s) continuing use of the traditional wire fraud, money laundering and identity theft statutes to pursue fraud involving digital assets, indicating that law...more
8/1/2023
/ Anti-Money Laundering ,
Criminal Conspiracy ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Cryptoassets ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Digital Assets ,
Financial Crimes ,
Fraud ,
Identity Theft ,
Money Laundering ,
Popular ,
White Collar Crimes ,
Wire Fraud
A bipartisan bill introduced in the U.S. Senate last week seeks “to bring crypto assets within the regulatory perimeter” by granting oversight responsibility to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) for most forms...more
7/21/2023
/ Bitcoin ,
Blockchain ,
CFTC ,
Crypto Exchanges ,
Cryptoassets ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Digital Assets ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Jurisdiction ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Regulation ,
Token Sales
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
7/18/2023
/ Cryptocurrency ,
Digital Assets ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Ripple ,
Securities Act of 1933 ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Litigation ,
Securities Violations ,
Token Sales ,
Trading Platforms ,
Unregistered Securities
Supreme Court Hears Argument on Traceability Requirement in Circuit-Split Slack v. Pirani -
Key Points -
- Before the end of June, the U.S. Supreme Court is expected to issue a decision in a high-profile securities case...more
6/1/2023
/ Acquisitions ,
Appeals ,
Biopharmaceutical ,
Class Action ,
Corporate Governance ,
Corporate Misconduct ,
Corporate Officers ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Dismissals ,
Healthcare ,
Initial Public Offering (IPO) ,
Insurance Claims ,
Life Sciences ,
Mergers ,
Misleading Statements ,
Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs) ,
NYSE ,
Oral Argument ,
Pharmaceutical Industry ,
Popular ,
SCOTUS ,
Section 11 ,
Section 12 ,
Securities ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Exchange Act ,
Securities Litigation ,
Securities Violations ,
Slack Technologies Inc v Pirani ,
Special Purpose Acquisition Companies (SPACs) ,
Stock Exchange
A March 27, 2023, decision by a California federal court in a putative class action, Sarcuni v. bZx DAO, has brought into focus how courts might construe the legal existence of decentralized autonomous organizations (DAOs)....more
Circuits Split Over Whether Targeting Is Necessary for Seller Liability -
Key Points -
- While courts have long held that solicitations must be tailored to a particular audience to precipitate statutory seller liability,...more
3/16/2023
/ Acquisitions ,
Bitcoin ,
Business Model ,
Cannabis Products ,
Class Action ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Cybersecurity ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Disclosure ,
Dismissals ,
Entertainment Industry ,
Failure To Disclose ,
FinTech ,
Gambling ,
Healthcare ,
Investigations ,
Investors ,
Life Sciences ,
Media ,
Mergers ,
Online Platforms ,
Popular ,
Section 12 ,
Securities Act of 1933 ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Litigation ,
Sellers ,
Social Media ,
Special Purpose Acquisition Companies (SPACs) ,
Telecommunications ,
Unregistered Securities ,
Whistleblower Protection Policies ,
Whistleblowers
On February 7, 2023, Ishan Wahi (Ishan), a former Coinbase product manager, pled guilty to wire fraud charges in an indictment in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York (SDNY)....more
In the past year, the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (the Board) Biden administration officials, and other U.S. banking regulators have repeatedly voiced growing concerns about certain cryptoasset...more
2/7/2023
/ Banking Regulators ,
Banking Sector ,
Banks ,
Biden Administration ,
Blockchain ,
Cryptoassets ,
Cryptocurrency ,
FDIC ,
Federal Reserve ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Services Industry ,
OCC ,
Risk Assessment
On January 3, 2023, the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (Federal Reserve), the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) issued a Joint Statement on...more
1/6/2023
/ Banks ,
Cryptoassets ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Enforcement ,
Federal Reserve ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Joint Statements ,
Non-Bank Lenders ,
OCC ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Risk Factors