News & Analysis as of

Cryptocurrency Investment Contract Investors

A&O Shearman

SEC staff takes a position on the securities status of protocol staking activities

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On May 29, 2025, the staff of the SEC’s Division of Corporation Finance (the “Staff”) issued a statement concluding that certain proof-of-stake blockchain “staking” activities do not involve the offer or sale of “securities”...more

Katten Muchin Rosenman LLP

SEC Staff Green Lights Various Staking Activities

The Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) Division of Corporation Finance released a statement articulating its position that certain cryptocurrency staking activities fall outside the federal securities laws. This...more

Ankura

Understanding the Crypto Ripple Effect

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On July 13, 2023, the Court ruled in partial favor of Ripple Labs Inc.’s argument that many of its XRP sales did not violate investor-protection laws. The ruling has sent the crypto world ablaze with speculation on the future...more

Mintz - Securities Litigation Viewpoints

Judge Rakoff puts the Ripple Party on Ice as the Crypto Community and SEC Ponder their Next Moves

Just barely two weeks ago, we wrote about the half-victory for Ripple Labs in its ongoing litigation with the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”), in which Judge Analisa Torres granted partial summary judgment in favor...more

Sheppard Mullin Richter & Hampton LLP

SEC Showcases Lesser-Known Legal Theory in Crypto Lending Suit

The Securities Exchange Commission (“SEC” or “Commission”) has taken action against Genesis Global Capital, LLC (“Genesis”) and Gemini Trust Company, LLC (“Gemini”) (collectively, “Defendants”) in a recently-filed complaint...more

Oberheiden P.C.

Tokenization Lawyer – 5 Reasons Why You Might Need One

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What is Tokenization? Tokenization is the process of converting an asset into a token on the blockchain. It operates by dividing—or fractionalizing—the ownership of an asset (whether the asset is a piece of real estate or...more

Proskauer - The Capital Commitment

Three Critical Questions That Will (Hopefully) be Answered by the SEC’s Lawsuit against Ripple

Late last year, the SEC filed a litigated action in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York against Ripple Labs Inc. and two of its executive officers (collectively, “Ripple”), alleging that Ripple...more

Winstead PC

Steven Seagal is not “Above the Law” in Crypto Scalping Case

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Hollywood martial arts sensei Steven Seagal was recently karate-chopped by the SEC for his alleged undisclosed payments for Twitter-touting a security that was being offered and sold in an initial coin offering. In a settled...more

Sullivan & Worcester

Ether Is…a Commodity

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It is official. Finally. On October 10, 2019, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (“CFTC”) Chairman Heath Tarbert announced that he believes ether is a commodity and thus falls under the jurisdiction of the CFTC....more

Fenwick & West LLP

New SEC Digital Asset Framework Creates Additional Ambiguity for Cryptocurrency Companies

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The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has released a new framework to help cryptocurrency companies and industry players determine whether a particular digital asset is offered and sold as an investment contract, making...more

McDermott Will & Emery

Blockchain Tokens: The SEC Staff Issues Its Framework for Determining Whether an ICO is an Issuance of Securities

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In its long-awaited guidance, the Staff of the Securities and Exchange Commission recently provided a lengthy list of factors to consider when determining whether an initial coin offering (ICO) is a security. While the...more

Sheppard Mullin Richter & Hampton LLP

New York Federal Court’s View on Cryptocurrency as Securities

On September 11, 2018, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York denied a motion to dismiss an indictment of a Brooklyn real estate entrepreneur in relation to two virtual currency investment schemes and...more

Proskauer - Blockchain and the Law

Crypto Crackdown – SEC Imposes Broker-Dealer and Investment Company Registration Provisions on Token Traders and a Crypto Fund

The SEC announced a pair of settled orders on Tuesday extending additional provisions of the securities laws over ICOs and other digital assets – the agency’s first ever enforcement actions of their kind. As the SEC has been...more

Perkins Coie

Senior SEC Official Provides Regulatory Clarity for Digital Assets

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During a speech in San Francisco last week at the Yahoo Finance All Markets Summit, William Hinman, Director of the Division of Corporation Finance of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), provided some welcome...more

Proskauer - Blockchain and the Law

SEC Director William Hinman: “Current offers and sales of Ether are not securities transactions”

At last week’s Yahoo! All Markets Summit in Palo Alto, SEC Division of Corporation Finance Director William Hinman delivered a speech sure to send shockwaves through the crypto world. Applying the Howey test (which sets forth...more

Perkins Coie

Ether is not a security: Summary of SEC Remarks Today

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In a speech today during a crypto conference in San Francisco, a top Securities and Exchange Commission official expressed his view that, at this point, sales of Ether are not securities transactions. Speaking from prepared...more

Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP

Initial Coin Offerings (ICOs): The Current State of Play

The ICO boom in 2017 brings with it questions of jurisdiction and compliance, and a need for further guidance - The benefits of ICOs in raising capital, as well as in providing a marketing push for a new business model,...more

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