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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

Goodwin

Stablecoins Unlikely to Be Subject to the SEC’s Jurisdiction

Goodwin on

The recent decision in Securities and Exchange Commission v. Binance Holdings Limited et al (Binance) has cast further doubt on the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC’s) pursuit of jurisdiction over stablecoins....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

Mintz - Securities Litigation Viewpoints on

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

Barnea Jaffa Lande & Co.

Crypto as a Security – Applying the Howey Test

Barnea Jaffa Lande & Co. on

A US court recently handed down a landmark ruling addressing the question of whether the crypto token XRP falls under the definition of “security”. The US court ruled that the same crypto token may be classified differently...more

Proskauer - The Capital Commitment

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

Proskauer - The Capital Commitment on

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

Sullivan & Worcester

Ether Is…a Commodity

Sullivan & Worcester on

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

McDermott Will & Schulte

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

McDermott Will & Schulte on

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

Perkins Coie

Senior SEC Official Provides Regulatory Clarity for Digital Assets

Perkins Coie on

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”

Proskauer - Blockchain and the Law on

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

Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP

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

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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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