A Conversation with SEC Commissioner Hester Peirce
Podcast: Is Cryptocurrency a Security (like an orange grove)?
Episode 286 -- Matt Stankiewicz on the Ripple Decision and Celsius CEO Indictment
From Station Wagon to Lamborghini: One CypherPunk’s Journey from Cryptoanarchy to Solana Cross-Chain NFT Innovations
Wax Studios
Summer Enforcement Action Review; Raising Money in a Pandemic - Investment Management Roundtable Discussion
Theoretical No More: Blockchain Technology, Cryptocurrencies and the Tax, Legal and Business Implications
The Staff stated that most meme coins are not subject to federal securities laws or SEC fraud enforcement; who will oversee meme coins remains an open question. On February 27, 2025, the Securities and Exchange...more
As 2024 concludes, financial markets are witnessing significant shifts, particularly within the world of cryptocurrency. As crypto investors profit, many cash out from more volatile assets, such as Bitcoin, to safer options...more
On March 8, 2024, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit reversed and remanded a District Court decision that dismissed all claims by plaintiff crypto investors against Binance, an international electronic exchange...more
A federal court’s dismissal of claims against a decentralized cryptocurrency platform and its investors for the actions of scam token issuers is a case of first impression with wider significance. On August 29, 2023, the...more
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
In a recent and highly anticipated decision, a court in the Southern District of New York held that Ripple’s cryptocurrency token – XRP – is not inherently a security. In a setback to the SEC, the court also held that...more
Judge Analisa Torres’ greatly anticipated Order in the SEC’s lawsuit against Ripple is a split decision. The Order basically finds that Ripple’s digital token XRP is a security when sold privately to individuals and...more
As of February 9, 2023, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has accused Payward Ventures, Inc. and Payward Trading Ltd, better known as Kraken, of failing to register the sale of their cryptocurrency...more
Financial analyst Howard Marks recently spoke with Professor Patrick Schotanus to discuss current market trends and the psychology behind them. During downturns of the market such as the current one, many often wonder how to...more
While the crypto community is rightfully focused on the Ripple case to see how the SEC will fare in court on enforcements alleging cryptocurrency offerings are a security, a lesser-known case may provide clarity first. The...more
In April, we continued to see a steady pace in the seriousness and frequency of crypto enforcement actions by state and federal law enforcement. (See our March 2022 Crypto Enforcement Actions Roundup blog here where we...more
SEC Settles First-Of-Its-Kind $13m DeFi Tech Action; NASDAQ Board Diversity Rules Challenged in Fifth Circuit; Delaware Court of Chancery Declines to Enforce Contractual Limitations on Liability to Bar Contractual Fraud...more
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
In this podcast, Greg Nowak, a partner in Troutman Pepper’s Investment Management and Compliance and Hedge Funds Practice Groups, is joined by Evan Katz, Managing Director of Crawford Ventures, Inc., for a candid review of...more
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
U.S. Developments - SEC Commissioner Proposes Safe Harbor for Token Offerings - In a speech on February 6th at the International Blockchain Congress in Chicago, Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) Commissioner...more
The battle in federal court between the SEC and Telegram continues to progress at breakneck speed. The SEC commenced its action less than four months ago, on October 11, 2019, by seeking a temporary restraining order against...more
On January 14, 2020, the Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC") issued an investor alert urging investors to use caution before investing in initial exchange offerings ("IEOs"). In contrast with an Initial Coin...more
The SEC’s Office of Investor Education and Advocacy issued an alert on January 14, 2020, warning investors of initial exchange offerings and the potential for fraud. This follows the 2020 examination priorities the SEC...more
Editors’ Note: This is the first in our start-of-year series examining important trends in white collar law and investigations in the coming year. Up next: a look at trends in health care enforcement. Look for additional...more
In a somewhat surprising move, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) entered into a $24 million settlement with Block.one on September 30, 2019, over its unregistered initial coin offering (ICO) that raised upwards of...more
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
U.S. Developments - VanEck and SolidX to Offer Bitcoin ETF to Qualified Institutional Buyers - On September 3, 2019, VanEck Securities Corp. and SolidX Management LLC announced that they are seeking to use Rule 144A of...more
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
In this episode, Jeremy McLaughlin and Dan Cohen discuss blockchain use cases, and the regulatory trends and associated frameworks for ICOs, and cryptocurrencies. In particular, they provide an overview of the application of...more