Judge Analisa Torres’ greatly anticipated Order in the SEC’s lawsuit against Ripple is a split decision. The Order basically finds that Ripple’s digital token XRP is a security when sold privately to individuals and...more
7/17/2023
/ Cryptocurrency ,
Digital Assets ,
Institutional Investors ,
Investment ,
Investors ,
Popular ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Regulation ,
Smart Contracts ,
Token Sales ,
Unregistered Securities
“Never in my career have I seen such a complete failure of corporate controls and such a complete absence of trustworthy financial information as occurred here”. Such was the lament of John Ray, the legendary restructuring...more
12/20/2022
/ Commercial Bankruptcy ,
Corporate Governance ,
Crypto Exchanges ,
Cryptoassets ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Directors ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Investment ,
Popular ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Venture Capital
Elon Musk has lobbed in two additional termination letters since his original July 8 letter seeking to terminate his agreement to acquire Twitter for $44 billion. Each termination letter cites alleged false representations...more
9/19/2022
/ Bots ,
Breach of Contract ,
Cybersecurity ,
Discovery Disputes ,
Elon Musk ,
Material Adverse Effects ,
Material Misrepresentation ,
Merger Agreements ,
Popular ,
Regulatory Violations ,
Social Media ,
Termination Rights ,
Twitter ,
Whistleblowers
Background: Crypto Catch 22 -
Followers of the SEC’s efforts to regulate digital tokens will recall former SEC Corp Fin Director William Hinman’s speech at the June 14, 2018 Yahoo Finance Conference in which he introduced...more
10/18/2021
/ Blockchain ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Decentralized Finance (DeFi) ,
Digital Assets ,
Howey ,
Investment ,
Popular ,
Safe Harbors ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Token Sales ,
Virtual Currency
On May 3, 2021, blockchain-based trading platform operator INX Ltd. announced it had completed its initial public offering of digital tokens, raising approximately $85 million in the IPO from over 7,200 institutional and...more
6/14/2021
/ Blockchain ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Digital Currency ,
Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) ,
Form F-1 ,
Initial Public Offering (IPO) ,
Popular ,
Regulation A ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Token Sales ,
Venture Capital
A new reality streaming television series called Unicorn Hunters debuted last week in which startups will pitch to a panel that includes Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak, and the panelists after some grilling of the...more
5/10/2021
/ Capital Formation ,
Crowdfunding ,
Early Stage Companies ,
Emerging Growth Companies ,
Offerings ,
Popular ,
Regulation CF ,
Rule 506 Offerings ,
Securities Regulation ,
Startups ,
Unicorns ,
Venture Capital
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
3/8/2021
/ Bitcoin ,
Blockchain ,
Critical Infrastructure Sectors ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Digital Currency ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Popular ,
Ripple ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Violations ,
Unregistered Securities ,
Virtual Currency
On October 11, 2019, the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “Commission”) announced it filed a complaint and obtained a temporary restraining order against Telegram Group Inc. and its wholly-owned subsidiary TON Issuer...more
10/28/2019
/ Blockchain ,
Contract Terms ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Corporate Issuers ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Digital Assets ,
Digital Currency ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Financial Transactions ,
Initial Coin Offering (ICOs) ,
Investment Opportunities ,
Offerings ,
Popular ,
Purchase Agreement ,
Regulation D ,
Restraining Orders ,
Rule 506(c) ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Regulation ,
Securities Violations ,
Simple Agreement for Future Tokens (SAFT) ,
Token Sales ,
TRO ,
Unregistered Securities
2018 was a historically good year for venture capital in the United States in terms of dollars invested by VC funds in U.S. companies, dollars raised by VC funds and dollar value of exits by VC-backed companies, according to...more
Real estate developers should seriously consider equity crowdfunding to fund development projects for two major reasons, one of which has little or nothing to do with money. ...more
1/28/2019
/ Accredited Investors ,
Capital Formation ,
Crowdfunding ,
JOBS Act ,
Non-Accredited Investors ,
Offerings ,
Popular ,
Real Estate Development ,
Regulation A ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Venture Capital
If you were looking for a safe blockchain investment and had the chance to invest in the “first licensed and regulated tokenized cryptocurrency exchange and index fund based in the U.S.” and audited by a Big 4 accounting...more
A recent report on the state of Regulation Crowdfunding published by a major crowdfunding advisory firm is cause for both celebration and renewed reform efforts. The $100 million aggregate funding milestone and the prorated...more
Last month, Secretary of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Galvin made good on his promise to conduct an exam sweep of ICOs in Massachusetts. On January 17, the Enforcement Section of the Massachusetts Securities...more
2/5/2018
/ Cryptocurrency ,
Digital Currency ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Financial Crimes ,
Initial Coin Offering (ICOs) ,
Investment ,
Popular ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
Securities Violations ,
Unregistered Securities ,
Virtual Currency
December 11, 2017 was a day of reckoning for entrepreneurs conducting or contemplating initial coin offerings, and for securities professionals who advise them. ...more
12/18/2017
/ Blockchain ,
Capital Raising ,
Cease and Desist Orders ,
Digital Currency ,
Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Financial Markets ,
Initial Coin Offering (ICOs) ,
Popular ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Violations ,
Token Sales ,
Unregistered Securities ,
Virtual Currency
On August 1, 2017, Delaware became the first state to allow corporations to record issuances, transfers and ownership of stock using blockchain technology. The amendments were passed by the Delaware State Senate and House of...more
On March 22, the Subcommittee on Capital Markets, Securities, and Investment of the Financial Services Committee conducted a hearing entitled “The JOBS Act at Five: Examining Its Impact and Ensuring the Competitiveness of the...more