News & Analysis as of

Token Sales Securities Exchange Act Enforcement Actions

Fenwick & West LLP

Entertainment or Investment? The SEC’s Stance on Meme Coins as Securities

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On February 27, 2025, the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) Division of Corporation Finance (Corp Fin) published a new staff statement intended to clarify the application of federal securities laws to meme coins....more

Holland & Knight LLP

A Ripple of Doubt

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Specifically, the SEC wants a change to persuade the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit – now, not later – of its view that Torres got it wrong when she determined that the company's offer and sale of its XRP token...more

Holland & Knight LLP

The SEC Lands First Blows Against Crypto Industry Titans

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In a one-two punch earlier this month, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) brought successive actions against two of the world's largest cryptocurrency exchanges – the first blows in what will likely be...more

Holland & Knight LLP

Avoiding Sticky Situations with Web3: DOJ, SEC Scrutiny of NFT and DeFi Projects Expected to Continue

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Web3 is a term with a shifting, amorphous definition. In its current form, Web3 encompasses both decentralized platforms and the metaverse. Decentralized platforms offer services and assets that use distributed ledger...more

Morrison & Foerster LLP

A Busy Week For The SEC’s Enforcement Efforts In Crypto’s “Wild West”

The Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) brought three enforcement actions concerning digital assets in rapid succession in a week, underlining that the Division of Enforcement is as committed to crypto enforcement...more

Amundsen Davis LLC

Ripple Effect: SEC Lawsuit against Cryptocurrency Company May Provide Guidance For Crypto Industry

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On December 21, 2020, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filed a high-profile enforcement action against a major cryptocurrency company. The SEC complaint alleges violations of federal securities laws by defendant...more

Goodwin

Delaware Supreme Court Holds Appraisal Action Is Not “Securities Claim” Covered By D+O Insurance Policy

Goodwin on

Delaware Supreme Court Holds Appraisal Action is Not “Securities Claim” Covered by D&O Insurance Policy; Delaware Supreme Court Affirms Dismissal of Derivative Claims Against Life Sciences Company For Failure to Plead Demand...more

Latham & Watkins LLP

2019 Digital Asset Regulatory Look Back (US Edition)

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It was a year filled with tantalizing tidbits and many loose ends. 2019 marked the 10th year since blockchain technology was released into the wild by its still unknown inventor, Satoshi Nakamoto, who mined the first bitcoin...more

Orrick - On the Chain

SEC Settles with BCOT on Alleged Violations of the Securities Act

Orrick - On the Chain on

On December 18, 2019, the Securities and Exchange Commission announced settled charges against blockchain technology company Blockchain of Things Inc. (BCOT) for conducting an unregistered initial coin offering (ICO) of...more

McDermott Will & Emery

SEC Division of Corporate Finance Issues Second No-Action Letter for a Blockchain Token Issuance

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The SEC Division of Corporate Finance recently issued a no-action letter to Pocketful of Quarters, confirming that the Division will not recommend any enforcement action if the company sells its blockchain-based tokens...more

McDermott Will & Emery

The SEC Takes Aim at Another Initial Coin Offering

McDermott Will & Emery on

A recent complaint concerning KIK Interactive Inc. filed in the US District Court of the Southern District of New York reveals some SEC priorities for cryptocurrency enforcement actions. The complaint indicates that the SEC...more

A&O Shearman

Southern District Of Florida Dismisses Claims Against Individual Defendants Related To Initial Coin Offering For Failure To...

A&O Shearman on

On May 13, 2019, Judge Robert N. Scola, Jr., of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida dismissed all claims asserted against four individual defendants under Sections 12(a)(1) of the Securities...more

Proskauer - Blockchain and the Law

Gladius Escapes Fines for Unregistered ICO after Self-Reporting to the SEC

On February 20, 2019, the SEC announced that it settled charges against Gladius Network LLC (“Gladius”) for failing to register non-exempt offers and sales of securities in violation of Sections 5(a) and 5(c) of the...more

Proskauer - The Capital Commitment

The Top Ten Regulatory and Litigation Risks for Private Funds in 2019

An increasingly sophisticated and active OCIE division, innovative market disruptors, a maturing credit cycle, and a philosophical change in how the private fund industry views and utilizes litigation are likely to lead to...more

Perkins Coie

Takeaways on the Regulation of Crypto Assets from Late 2018 Comments of Several SEC Officials

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On Wednesday, December 12, 2018, the D.C. Bar hosted a panel to discuss current developments in the world of crypto. Among the panelists were two senior SEC officers: Jonathan Ingram, Deputy Chief Counsel, Division of...more

Perkins Coie

The SEC and Digital Assets—A Busy Year End

Perkins Coie on

The end of the year has been a very busy time for the SEC in the digital asset space. From speeches to the issuance of joint statements to enforcement actions, there are many things to highlight, discuss and consider. This...more

A&O Shearman

US Securities and Exchange Commission Charges Digital Asset Trading Platform Founder for Operating Unregistered Exchange

A&O Shearman on

The Securities and Exchange Commission has accused the founder of a digital asset trading platform of failing to register as a national securities exchange. Without admitting or denying the charges, the founder agreed to pay...more

Latham & Watkins LLP

SEC Charges “ICO Superstore” as Unregistered Broker-Dealer

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The settled order is the first SEC action charging a seller of digital tokens as an unregistered broker-dealer. On September 11, 2018, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced a settled order instituting...more

Jones Day

Case Alleging Cryptocurrencies Are Securities Can Proceed to Trial

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The Situation: Federal prosecutors have asserted that two cryptocurrencies sold in initial coin offerings ("ICOs") are "securities" for purposes of federal securities laws in a criminal indictment alleging fraud against the...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

Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck

Three Notable Developments for Cryptocurrency Firms Portend Future Regulatory Enforcement Actions

The price of bitcoin is down nearly 80 percent since January 2018. Many other cryptocurrencies are down with it and investors are bearish about the future of digital assets. Atop such industry concerns, three recent...more

Sheppard Mullin Richter & Hampton LLP

Recent Development in Regulatory Enforcement of Digital Securities

In a flurry of activity and confluence of developments, the SEC, FINRA and a Brooklyn federal judge have commenced actions and made rulings that continue to define the regulatory framework and obligations surrounding the sale...more

Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP

The Ever-Evolving Cryptocurrency Legal Landscape

The market for cryptocurrencies and the current wave of initial coin offerings (ICOs) that seek to raise capital for blockchain-based projects have enjoyed a swell of popularity in recent years. U.S. regulatory agencies and...more

Proskauer - The Capital Commitment

Regulatory Scrutiny of the ICO Market – What Fund Managers Should Know

Last week, former CFTC Chairman Gary Gensler explained in remarks at M.I.T. that he believes the second and third most widely used virtual currencies—Ether and Ripple—may have been issued and traded in violation of securities...more

Latham & Watkins LLP

SEC: Certain Initial Coin Offerings Are Securities Offerings

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SEC’s investigative report sends clear message that virtual transactions using innovative technologies are subject to the application of securities laws. Introduction - On July 25, 2017, the US Securities and Exchange...more

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