On Feb. 20, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission announced the creation of the Cyber and Emerging Technologies Unit, which will replace the Enforcement Division’s previous Crypto Assets and Cyber Unit.
Originally...more
6/23/2025
/ Cryptocurrency ,
Cybersecurity ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Emerging Technologies ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Financial Institutions ,
FinTech ,
Guidance Update ,
Investment ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Regulation
We are pleased to share with you our latest publication, “Navigating Change: First 100 Days under the Trump Administration,” authored by our Digital Assets + Blockchain team. This retrospective examines the pivotal...more
5/29/2025
/ Blockchain ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Digital Assets ,
Executive Orders ,
FDIC ,
Federal Reserve ,
Financial Regulatory Reform ,
FinTech ,
Government Agencies ,
Investment Opportunities ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Securities Regulation ,
Trump Administration
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has reportedly announced internally a major reorganization of its enforcement and exams divisions. This restructuring, effective April 9, 2025, was detailed in a staff memo...more
4/8/2025
/ Cryptocurrency ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Enforcement Guidance ,
Enforcement Priorities ,
Financial Regulatory Reform ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Government Agencies ,
Regulatory Agencies ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
SEC Examination Priorities ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Regulation
In this episode of Crypto Exchange, Ethan Ostroff and Alexandra Barrage are joined by partners Joanna Cline and Jay Dubow to discuss the evolving landscape of the SEC's enforcement actions involving cryptocurrencies.
The...more
In a stated effort to provide greater clarity on the application of federal securities laws to “crypto assets,” the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) Division of Corporation Finance has released its views on “meme...more
On Jan. 21, 2025, Mark T. Uyeda, the acting chairman of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), announced the launch of a cryptocurrency task force. This task force, led by SEC Commissioner Hester Peirce, with...more
On October 21, the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) Division of Examinations announced its 2025 examination priorities (2025 guidance) for registered investment advisers and investment companies, broker-dealers,...more
On June 17, the U.S. Supreme Court granted certiorari in Nvidia Corp. v. E. Ohman J:or Fonder AB, agreeing to hear Nvidia’s appeal of a Ninth Circuit ruling that revived shareholders’ fraud claims regarding Nvidia’s...more
6/19/2024
/ Bitcoin Mining ,
Certiorari ,
Cryptocurrency ,
NVIDIA ,
Nvidia Corp v E Ohman J or Fonder AB ,
Petition for Writ of Certiorari ,
PSLRA ,
SCOTUS ,
Securities Exchange Act of 1934 ,
Securities Fraud ,
Securities Litigation
It was a busy year for enforcement activity in the cyber, crypto, SPAC, and whistleblower spaces, with several pending actions that will likely have wide-ranging implications in 2024. We are also awaiting a ruling from the...more
2/29/2024
/ Artificial Intelligence ,
CFTC ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Cyber Attacks ,
Cybersecurity ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
False Claims Act (FCA) ,
Financial Crimes ,
Financial Services Industry ,
FinCEN ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Special Purpose Acquisition Companies (SPACs) ,
Whistleblowers
As reported in more detail on our Regulatory Oversight blog, the Securities and Exchange Commission’s Division of Examinations recently released its 2024 Examination Priorities report. The report underscores the SEC’s intent...more
10/31/2023
/ Anti-Money Laundering ,
Bank Secrecy Act ,
Broker-Dealer ,
BSA/AML ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Customer Identification Program (CIP) ,
Digital Assets ,
Emerging Technologies ,
Financial Institutions ,
SEC Examination Priorities ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Suspicious Activity Reports (SARs)
On October 16, the Securities and Exchange Commission’s Division of Examinations (the Division) released its 2024 Examination Priorities report. The report highlights that future examinations will focus on “risk areas...more
10/31/2023
/ Anti-Money Laundering ,
Bank Secrecy Act ,
Beneficial Owner ,
Broker-Dealer ,
BSA/AML ,
Cryptoassets ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Emerging Technology Companies ,
Financial Institutions ,
Investment Adviser ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
SEC Examination Priorities ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Technology
On October 19, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) dismissed its claims against Ripple Labs, Inc. (Ripple) executives Bradley Garlinghouse and Christian Larsen for allegedly aiding and abetting Ripple’s violations of...more
10/23/2023
/ Cryptoassets ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Cybersecurity ,
Digital Assets ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Interlocutory Appeals ,
Popular ,
Ripple ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Violations ,
Summary Judgment ,
Trading Platforms
In a long-awaited decision in SEC v. Ripple Labs, Inc., U.S. District Judge Analisa Torres of the Southern District of New York held that Ripple Labs, Inc.’s (Ripple) XRP token is not, in and of itself, a security requiring...more
On April 14, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) reopened the comment period for a January 2022 proposal that would subject cryptocurrency exchanges and decentralized finance (DeFi) platforms to the Securities...more
On December 8, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) issued new guidance for publicly traded companies, advising them to disclose their exposure and risk in the cryptocurrency market to investors....more
A recent decision out of the District of New Hampshire underscores the risks proprietary cryptocurrency issuers face and provides ammunition to the SEC in its continued quest to classify cryptocurrencies as securities subject...more
In what the Manhattan federal prosecutors have touted as the first-ever guilty plea in an insider trading case involving cryptocurrency, the brother of a former Coinbase Global, Inc. (Coinbase) product manager pled guilty to...more
On May 3, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced that it will greatly expand its cryptocurrency and cybersecurity unit by adding 20 positions. The additional positions will bring the unit’s total members to...more
On March 31, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) issued Staff Accounting Bulletin No. 121 (Bulletin), noting that a company safeguarding or exerting custody over cryptocurrency on behalf of its platform users must...more
On March 31, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) issued Staff Accounting Bulletin No. 121 (Bulletin), noting that a company safeguarding or exerting custody over cryptocurrency on behalf of its platform users must...more
On March 31, a New York federal court dismissed a proposed securities class-action lawsuit filed against Binance, the world's largest cryptocurrency exchange. The lawsuit, one of a host of similar actions brought against...more
On March 9, President Biden signed an Executive Order (the Order) to establish the first comprehensive federal digital asset strategy for the U.S., which would promote digital asset innovation while balancing benefits and...more
On October 18, New York Attorney General Letitia James issued cease-and-desist letters directing two virtual currency lending platforms to cease “unregistered and unlawful” lending activities in New York State within 10 days,...more
On August 3, Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chairman Gary Gensler spoke on cryptocurrencies at the Aspen Security Forum — his first significant remarks regarding cryptocurrency since his confirmation in April....more