Congress may be in its August recess, but the crypto legal developments have not slowed. The SEC’s Division of Corporation Finance released long-awaited guidance on Proof-of-Stake liquid staking tokens, clarifying when such...more
The last two weeks have seen federal agencies continue refining their approach to the digital asset industry, while state regulators are beginning to play a more prominent role—even as the overall pace of development appears...more
4/25/2025
/ Capital Markets ,
Coinbase ,
Crypto Exchanges ,
Cryptoassets ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Digital Assets ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Regulation ,
Securities Violations
The SEC has been busy, both in bringing actions against digital industry participants and in defending against affirmative lawsuits brought against the agency regarding the lack of notice and rulemaking for digital assets...more
10/17/2024
/ Administrative Procedure Act ,
Bitcoin ,
Coinbase ,
Cryptoassets ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Digital Assets ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Financial Markets ,
Investment Opportunities ,
Regulatory Violations ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Regulation ,
Stablecoins
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
In July of 2022, the United States Department of Justice (“DOJ”) and the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) each alleged insider trading violations against a former Coinbase employee Ishan Wahi (“Ishan”), his brother...more
2/14/2023
/ Coinbase ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Crypto Exchanges ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Digital Assets ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Insider Trading ,
Investment Contract ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Violations
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
A former employee of OpenSea, the largest marketplace for the purchase and sale of non-fungible tokens (NFTs), has been indicted and charged with wire fraud and money laundering allegedly in connection with actions he took...more
6/10/2022
/ Art ,
Breach of Duty ,
Confidential Information ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Digital Assets ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Indictments ,
Insider Trading ,
Money Laundering ,
Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs) ,
Trading Platforms ,
White Collar Crimes ,
Wire Fraud
The U.S. Department of Justice (“DOJ”) filed a civil forfeiture complaint detailing two hacks of virtual currency exchanges by North Korean actors. These actors stole millions of dollars’ worth of cryptocurrency or other...more
9/16/2020
/ Blockchain ,
Civil Forfeiture ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Data Breach ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Financial Crimes ,
Financial Services Industry ,
FinTech ,
Foreign Exchanges ,
Hackers ,
Money Laundering ,
North Korea ,
Virtual Currency
Strikeout for Bitcoin ETF -
Another ETF bites the dust. On February 26th the SEC rejected the application of NYSE Acre for the approval of an exchange traded fund sponsored by the New York firm of Wilshire Phoenix to...more
3/4/2020
/ Bitcoin ,
Bitcoin Mining ,
Celebrity Endorsements ,
CFTC ,
Chapter 11 ,
Commercial Bankruptcy ,
Commodities ,
Criminal Conspiracy ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Digital Assets ,
Digital Currency ,
Enforcement Actions ,
ETFs ,
Exchange-Traded Products ,
Financial Crimes ,
Financial Instruments ,
Financial Markets ,
Financial Transactions ,
GAO ,
Influencers ,
Initial Coin Offering (ICOs) ,
Money Laundering ,
Money Transfer ,
Popular ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Regulation ,
Token Sales ,
Virtual Currency
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
10/2/2019
/ Bitcoin ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Digital Assets ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Ether ,
Extortion ,
FBI ,
Financial Transactions ,
Initial Coin Offering (ICOs) ,
Innovative Technology ,
Investment Adviser ,
Legal Opinion ,
Offerings ,
Popular ,
Putative Class Actions ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
Rewards Programs ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Violations ,
Startups ,
Token Sales ,
Unregistered Brokers ,
Unregistered Securities ,
Virtual Currency