On June 11, 2021, the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, a division of the Office of Management and Budget, released the Spring 2021 Unified Agenda of Regulatory and Deregulatory Actions,[1] which includes...more
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) is considering greatly limiting the affirmative defense that protects corporate executives against SEC prosecutions for insider trading claims when they buy or sell their...more
Reports Analyze Bitcoin Price Crash and Network Energy Consumption - A well-known blockchain analytics company has issued a report commenting on this week’s crash of the prices of cryptocurrency, including bitcoin. The report...more
Market Actors Continue to Integrate Cryptocurrency into Payment Systems - According to a press release this week, California-based Silvergate Bank announced that it will become the issuer of Diem USD, a new cryptocurrency...more
5/17/2021
/ Bitcoin ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Digital Assets ,
Digital Currency ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Hackers ,
Investment ,
Investors ,
Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs) ,
Payment Systems ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Virtual Currency
Cryptocurrency Exchanges Forge New Paths, Bitcoin ETF Applications Continue - This week one of the largest U.S. cryptocurrency exchanges, Coinbase, completed its initial public offering through a direct listing of its shares...more
4/19/2021
/ Bitcoin ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Digital Assets ,
Digital Currency ,
ETFs ,
European Central Bank ,
Fraud ,
Hackers ,
IRS ,
Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs) ,
Popular ,
Safe Harbors ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
On April 14, 2021, the U.S. Senate confirmed the nomination of Gary Gensler as the 33rd Chair of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC” or “Commission”). This change will bring forth a Democratic majority at the...more
4/16/2021
/ Biden Administration ,
CFTC ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Dodd-Frank ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
Fraud ,
FSOC ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Special Purpose Acquisition Companies (SPACs)
Crypto Firms Expand CBDC and Custody Initiatives, GSA Auctions Bitcoin - Ripple Labs recently released a white paper describing its XRP cryptocurrency as a way to link different central bank digital currencies (CBDCs). The...more
3/29/2021
/ Bitcoin ,
Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDCs) ,
CFTC ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Digital Assets ,
Digital Currency ,
Enforcement Actions ,
ETFs ,
Financial Markets ,
Popular ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Virtual Currency
Crypto Firms Launch New Services, MIT Seeks to Improve Bitcoin Codebase - A San Francisco-based cryptocurrency custody firm successfully completed an $80 million funding round, following its recent procurement of a federal...more
3/8/2021
/ Banking Sector ,
Bitcoin ,
Blockchain ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Cyber Attacks ,
Digital Assets ,
Digital Currency ,
Hackers ,
Investment ,
Popular ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Virtual Currency
Cryptocurrency Exchanges and Financial Firms Announce Market Developments. Last week, Coinbase signified its intent to become a publicly traded company by announcing a proposed direct listing of its Class A common stock under...more
Crypto Trust to Convert to Bank, FinCEN Extends New Rule Comment - The Anchorage Trust Company, a subsidiary of Anchor Labs, an advanced digital asset platform (Anchorage), secured conditional approval this week from the...more
The Telegram case is arguably the most important case of 2020 involving the legal classification of blockchain-based digital assets. Because it is often cost-prohibitive for companies to challenge the government in court, the...more
On December 8, 2020, the U.S. House of Representatives approved final passage of a $740.5 billion annual defense policy bill, the William M. (Mac) Thornberry National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2021 (“National...more
Credit Card Company To Integrate USDC Payments, 401(k) Advisor Integrates Bitcoin - A major U.S. credit card company has announced plans to link its global payments network of over 60 million merchants to a cryptocurrency...more
12/7/2020
/ 401k ,
Bitcoin ,
Blockchain ,
Credit Cards ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Digital Assets ,
Digital Currency ,
FinHub ,
Initial Public Offering (IPO) ,
Popular ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Virtual Currency
On Oct. 8 and 9, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC” or “Commission”) presented its annual program, The SEC Speaks in 2020. The Commission touted its virtual enforcement results, particularly in Chairman...more
On Sept. 30, the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York granted the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) motion for summary judgment against Kik Interactive Inc. (Kik) and denied Kik’s...more
On Sept. 23, 2020, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC or Commission) adopted amendments to the rules that govern its whistleblower program in a 3-2 vote. Since the program’s inception 10 years ago, original...more
On August 26, 2020, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC or Commission) decided in a 3-2 vote to adopt amendments to modernize the disclosure required under Item 101, Description of Business; Item 103, Legal...more
Monetary Authority of Singapore and World Bank Publish Blockchain Payments Reports - The fifth and final phase of Project Ubin, a blockchain project spearheaded by the Monetary Authority of Singapore, concluded this week. ...more
On June 22, 2020, the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) and Antitrust Division of the Department of Justice (“DOJ”) Antitrust Division announced that they have signed an interagency Memorandum of Understanding...more
Blockchain Solutions Announced in Auto, Shipping, Medical and Aid Sectors - A prominent German automotive manufacturer announced this week that it has begun testing the use of blockchain technology for the company to monetize...more
On June 22, 2020, the U.S. Supreme Court issued its highly anticipated decision in Liu v. Securities and Exchange Commission, which found that disgorgement awards that do not exceed a wrongdoer’s net profits (gross profits...more
7/2/2020
/ 15 U.S.C. § 78u(d)(5) ,
Administrative Authority ,
Business Expenses ,
Calculation of Damages ,
Corporate Misconduct ,
Disgorgement ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Equitable Relief ,
Kokesh v SEC ,
Lack of Authority ,
Liu v Securities and Exchange Commission ,
Net Profits ,
Remedies ,
SCOTUS ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
On June 23, 2020, the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) Division of Corporate Finance (CorpFin) issued CF Disclosure Guidance Topic No. 9A, which supplements its earlier COVID-19-related guidance to provide...more
On June 23, 2020, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s Office of the Chief Accountant (OCA) issued a statement on the continued importance of high-quality financial reporting in light of the significant impacts of...more
U.S. and Australia Explore Blockchain Solutions, Global Blockchain Survey Published - This week, Simba Chain announced that it has been awarded “a two-year, $1.5 million contract by the U.S. Air Force to fund a Phase II Small...more
On May 8, 2020, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and Kik Interactive Inc. (Kik) finished briefing their cross motions for summary judgment, which were previously filed on March 20, with opposition briefs...more