Search Results: Blockchain

SEC Commissioner Peirce Not Skating Around Her Views on Telegram Settlement

Never one to hold back, especially when it comes to crypto and blockchain matters, SEC Commissioner Peirce recently explained her views on the SEC’s settlement with Telegram and the agency’s approach to regulating the crypto and blockchain ecosphere generally. Simply put, Peirce disagreed with the Telegram settlement.  In her words:…

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FINRA (Again) Encourages Members to Report Digital Asset Activities

U.S. broker-dealer activity involving digital assets could implicate various FINRA rules in addition to federal and state securities laws and SEC rules.  As most readers likely know by now, whether this activity is of interest to or subject to the jurisdiction of U.S. securities regulators (both federal and state) largely…

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Goodwin Releases Publication Covering Recent U.S. Regulatory and Legal Developments in Digital Currency + Blockchain

2019 was a year of significant regulatory and legal developments in digital currency + blockchain. The SEC issued its most comprehensive guidance to date with its Framework for “Investment Contract” Analysis of Digital Assets, followed that up with three “no action” letters for projects that in its view complied with…

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SEC Commissioner Peirce Proposes Safe Harbor for Blockchain Developers

Speaking at the International Blockchain Congress in Chicago on February 6, 2020, SEC Commissioner Hester Peirce proposed a safe harbor from U.S. securities laws so that developers of blockchain protocols could offer and sell tokens for the purpose of developing functioning token networks and creating liquidity for users. Commissioner Peirce’s…

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Replacing Traditional Capitalization Tables with Blockchain-Based Ledgers

Delaware amended the Delaware General Corporation Law (DGCL) and the Delaware Limited Liability Company Act (DLLCA) in 2017 and 2018, respectively, to permit corporations and limited liability companies to represent capital stock, record equity transactions, and communicate with equity holders via blockchain-based distributed ledgers. (S. 69, 149th Gen. Assembly, Del….

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Node Agreements for Blockchain-Based Tokens

The method by which cryptocurrency and digital asset companies issue their blockchain-based tokens into the market has evolved, pushed along by regulatory developments and technological advancements.  We have observed the popularity ebb-and-flow of direct token sales, Simple Agreements for Tokens (‘SAFTs’), genesis tokens convertible into principal tokens, and gifted distributions. …

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Paxos Trust Company, LLC, SEC No-Action Letter

On October 28, 2019, the SEC issued a no-action letter to Paxos Trust Company in connection with its proposal to settle equity securities trades on a blockchain platform for broker-dealers. The proposed “Paxos Settlement Service” is a private and permissioned distributed ledger system that records changes in the ownership of…

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