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Cryptocurrency Investment Contract Securities Regulation

DLA Piper

SEC Staff Concludes Protocol Staking Activities on Proof-of-Stake Networks Are Not Securities

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On May 29, 2025, the Division of Corporation Finance of the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) issued a statement clarifying its views on the application of federal securities laws to certain proof-of-stake (PoS)...more

Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP

SEC: Certain ‘Protocol Staking Activities’ Are Not Securities Transactions

On May 29, 2025, the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC’s) Division of Corporation Finance issued a statement providing that certain cryptoasset staking activities in connection with proof-of-stake (PoS) networks do...more

Morrison & Foerster LLP

SEC Concludes Certain Protocol Staking Activities Are Not Securities Offerings

On May 29, 2025, the Staff of the Division of Corporation Finance (the “Staff”) of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) issued a statement[1] (the “Staking Statement”) concluding that certain protocol staking...more

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

Fenwick & West LLP

SEC Staff Statement Concludes Protocol Staking Is Not a Securities Transaction

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On May 29, 2025, the SEC’s Division of Corporation Finance (Corp Fin) released a Statement on Certain Protocol Staking Activities clarifying that certain crypto asset staking activities on proof-of-stake (PoS) blockchain...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

Lowenstein Sandler LLP

SEC Staff Clarifies That Certain Staking Activities Are Not Securities

Protocol Staking Under the Federal Securities Laws - Historically, the SEC has taken issue with certain staking activities under the federal securities laws. The SEC previously alleged that staking-as-a-service programs...more

Hogan Lovells

The SEC’s Crypto Road Trip Gathers Momentum - Crypto Task Force begins clarifying security status and outlining registered...

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Three months into the life of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s Crypto Task Force, the SEC staff has begun taking tangible steps to define its evolving approach to the regulation of digital assets. In a series of...more

Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati

Corporation Finance Issues Two Unusual Statements Regarding Regulation of Digital Assets

The Division of Corporation Finance (Division) of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) recently issued two statements regarding whether certain tokens, or arrangements involving tokens, constitute “investment...more

Mayer Brown Free Writings + Perspectives

SEC Staff Statement on Meme Coins and Commissioner Crenshaw’s Response

On February 27, in what is likely the first of many statements about crypto assets, the Staff of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s Division of Corporation Finance (the “Division”) posted a statement on Meme Coins...more

Fenwick & West LLP

Looking Under the Hood of $TRUMP’s Legal Strategy

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On Friday, January 17, 2024, President Donald J. Trump announced the launch of the $TRUMP memecoin, which was organized and sold by CIC Digital, an affiliate of the Trump Organization. Within 60 hours, $TRUMP reportedly...more

Vinson & Elkins LLP

Another Notch in the SEC’s Belt: SEC v. Coinbase, Inc.

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Another Southern District of New York (“SDNY”) court has sided with the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) in its enforcement campaign against the unregistered sale of cryptocurrency assets. On March 27, 2024, in SEC...more

The Volkov Law Group

TradeStation Settles Securities Violations Stemming From its Crypto Yield Product

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On February 7, 2024, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) announced charges and a related cease-and-desist order (the “Order”) against TradeStation Crypto, Inc. (“TradeStation”) for failing to register the...more

Polsinelli

Blockchain+ Bi-Weekly - October 2023

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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

Jones Day

SEC Brings Its First Enforcement Action Against Non-Fungible Token Sellers

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Two SEC commissioners dissented and urged the Commission to provide further guidance on non-fungible tokens ("NFTs")....more

Mayer Brown Free Writings + Perspectives

For the First Time, the US SEC Sanctions an NFT Issuer for Selling Unregistered Securities in SEC v. Impact Theory

In a published settlement of the charges on August 28, 2023, the US Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) stated that non-fungible tokens (“NFTs”) issued by Impact Theory, LLC (“Impact”) were “securities” under US...more

Ballard Spahr LLP

SEC Finds NFT to Be a Security in Landmark Action

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Summary - The SEC’s focus on the crypto industry expanded this week to include non-fungible tokens (NFTs). In its first NFT-enforcement action, the SEC settled with Impact Theory, a media and entertainment company, over...more

Jones Day

Ripple and Terraform Labs: Two New York District Courts Address the Status of Certain Crypto Assets as Securities

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In Short - The Situation: Recently, two judges in Southern District of New York were required to apply the Howey test in separate cases to decide whether sales of certain crypto assets were investment contracts, and thus...more

Jenner & Block

Client Alert: Ripple, and Terra, and Coinbase, Oh My!

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Three federal judges in the Southern District of New York sit at the center of the long-running battle between the SEC and the crypto industry, overseeing cases that may eventually bring clarity to the industry. After two...more

Mayer Brown Free Writings + Perspectives

Defining Digital Asset Securities: US District Court Issues Summary Judgment Rulings in SEC v. Ripple Labs

For the past several years, many have viewed “SEC v. Ripple” as one of the defining conflicts in the US crypto regulatory landscape. At the heart of this dispute is the question of whether digital tokens are “securities” for...more

BakerHostetler

Ripple Decision Makes Waves Finding Some XRP Sales Not Securities

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On July 13, 2023, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York issued its highly anticipated summary judgment decision in the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) action against Ripple Labs, Inc....more

Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough LLP

Dead Canary in the LBRY - Federal Judge Grants SEC’s Motion, Rules Digital Asset Is a Security

In a case watched by companies that offered and sold digital assets Federal District Court Judge Paul Barbadoro recently granted summary judgment for the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) against LBRY, Inc. This case...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

Kohrman Jackson & Krantz LLP

The Sec Had No Love For Blockfi This Valentine’s Day

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has not hesitated to conclude that crypto assets are securities subject to the Securities Act of 1933, but with BlockFi, the SEC went a step further and, for the first time with...more

Eversheds Sutherland (US) LLP

SEC’s latest shot at the crypto industry: BlockFi sanctioned for its unregistered crypto-lending product

There is no love lost between the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the crypto industry with tensions escalating over the past year. So it seems fitting that on Valentine’s Day, the SEC brought a...more

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