The Polsinelli Blockchain+ team attended Consensus last week in Toronto, where a key takeaway was the increasing engagement by major traditional financial players with the blockchain industry, both through integrating the...more
5/22/2025
/ Blockchain ,
Capital Markets ,
CFTC ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Digital Assets ,
Financial Regulatory Reform ,
Financial Services Industry ,
New Legislation ,
OCC ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Regulation ,
Stablecoins
With Bitcoin hitting record highs and breaking a barrier long seen as aspirational, and with a new administration making key appointments, the year is ending with much excitement and momentum for the digital assets industry....more
12/20/2024
/ Bitcoin ,
Blockchain ,
Crypto Exchanges ,
Cryptoassets ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Digital Assets ,
ETFs ,
Financial Services Industry ,
FinTech ,
Investment ,
Securities ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Regulation
After a relatively quiet October for Web3 legal developments, November has kicked off with significant activity, primarily centered around ongoing lawsuits and regulatory enforcement actions. In addition to these legal...more
The last week of June saw a flurry of legal developments in quick succession. The SEC sued Consensys, the developers of the largest self-custodial digital wallet (MetaMask). The IRS released its digital asset tax rules. The...more
7/12/2024
/ Blockchain ,
Broker-Dealer ,
Cryptoassets ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Digital Assets ,
Digital Wallets ,
FDIC ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Services Industry ,
FOIA ,
IRS ,
Securities ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
On June 15, 2023, the Polsinelli Blockchain+ team put out our first Bi-Weekly rundown of some of the key stories in the Web3, blockchain, and crypto ecosystems curated by Polsinelli attorneys navigating the intersections of...more
6/27/2024
/ Bitcoin ,
Blockchain ,
Class Action ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Digital Currency ,
Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Ethereum ,
Financial Services Industry ,
FinTech ,
Martin Shkreli ,
Ripple ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Fraud ,
Securities Litigation ,
Securities Violations
The Blockchain Bi-Weekly presented by the Polsinelli Blockchain+ team is a rundown of some of the key stories in the Web3, blockchain and crypto ecosystems curated by our attorneys navigating the intersections of code, smart...more
12/14/2023
/ Bitcoin ,
Blockchain ,
BSA/AML ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Crypto Exchanges ,
Cryptoassets ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Digital Assets ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Extradition ,
Financial Regulatory Reform ,
Financial Services Industry ,
FinTech ,
Gaming ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Smart Contracts
The Blockchain Bi-Weekly presented by the Polsinelli Blockchain+ team is a rundown of some of the key stories in the Web3, blockchain and crypto ecosystems curated by our attorneys navigating the intersections of code, smart...more
11/30/2023
/ Blockchain ,
Crypto Exchanges ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Digital Assets ,
Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Financial Services Committee ,
Financial Services Industry ,
FinTech ,
Popular ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Smart Contracts
The Blockchain Bi-Weekly presented by the Polsinelli Blockchain+ team is a rundown of some of the key stories in the Web3, blockchain and crypto ecosystems curated by our attorneys navigating the intersections of code, smart...more
11/17/2023
/ Blockchain ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Crypto Exchanges ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Digital Currency ,
Digital Wallets ,
Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) ,
EFTs ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Financial Markets ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Investment Opportunities ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Fraud
The Blockchain Bi-Weekly presented by the Polsinelli Blockchain+ team is a rundown of some of the key stories in the Web3, blockchain and crypto ecosystems curated by our attorneys navigating the intersections of code, smart...more
10/5/2023
/ Bitcoin ,
Blockchain ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Decentralized Autonomous Organization (DAO) ,
Digital Assets ,
ETFs ,
Financial Regulatory Reform ,
Financial Services Industry ,
FinTech ,
Investment Contract ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Securities Regulation ,
Smart Contracts ,
Token Sales
The Blockchain Bi-Weekly presented by the Polsinelli Blockchain+ team is a rundown of some of the key stories in the Web3, blockchain and crypto ecosystems curated by our attorneys navigating the intersections of code, smart...more
9/8/2023
/ Bitcoin ,
Blockchain ,
Coinbase ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Digital Assets ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Exchange-Traded Products ,
Financial Services Industry ,
First Amendment ,
Fourth Amendment ,
IRS ,
Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs) ,
Pump and Dump ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Regulation ,
Securities Violations ,
Smart Contracts ,
Tax Liability ,
Unregistered Securities
The Blockchain Bi-Weekly presented by the Polsinelli Blockchain+ team is a rundown of some of the key stories in the Web3, blockchain and crypto ecosystems curated by our attorneys navigating the intersections of code, smart...more
8/10/2023
/ Blockchain ,
Coinbase ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Digital Assets ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Regulation ,
Securities Violations ,
Smart Contracts ,
Stablecoins
The long battle between the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) and Ripple reached a partial resolution with the Court ruling the digital asset at issue (“XRP”) is not itself a security and certain sales of the...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
2/16/2023
/ Blockchain ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Digital Assets ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Investment Opportunities ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Violations ,
Token Sales ,
Trading Platforms ,
Unregistered Securities
On July 21, 2022, the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) each alleged insider trading violations against a former Coinbase employee, his brother, and another alleged acquaintance...more
8/5/2022
/ Coinbase ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Criminal Investigations ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Crypto Exchanges ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Digital Assets ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Insider Trading ,
Investment ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Fraud ,
Securities Violations ,
Wire Fraud
On November 9, 2021, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) Division of Examinations (the “Division”) released a Risk Alert regarding various compliance issues for investment advisory firms offering robo-advisory...more