On December 13, 2019, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida granted the plaintiffs’ motion for default judgment in a putative securities class action against Centra Tech, Inc. (“Centra Tech”). The putative class action complaint alleged that the defendants violated Sections 12(a) and 15 of the Securities…
On November 1, 2019, the SEC issued a final judgment as to Veritaseum, Inc., Veritaseum, LLC, and their founder (Reginald Middleton) concerning the defendants’ conduct with respect to an ICO and the manipulation of cryptocurrency. The order was part of a settlement between the defendants and the SEC. Reginald Middleton…
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. …
On Apr. 11, 2019, the plan d’action pour la croissance et la transformation des entreprises (Action Plan for Business Growth and Transformation act), also known as Loi PACTE, has introduced in French law the possibility for issuers of initial coin offering (ICOs) to apply for an optional visa from the…
On May 9, 2019, Commissioner Hester Peirce of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) expressed concern that the SEC is moving too slowly in providing meaningful guidance for the digital token industry. Commissioner Peirce acknowledged that the SEC has provided some direction to date by: (1) issuing the DAO…
Goodwin will be out in full force at Consensus 2019 taking place next week in New York. We are sponsoring an informative all-female panel featuring Goodwin Partner Meghan Spillane and Counsel Tami Goldberg, as well as guest speakers from Coinbase and the SEC’s Division of Corporation Finance, discussing engaging with the…
Bittrex, Inc. (“Bittrex”) is a US-based company that owns and operates one of the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchanges. Bittrex’s digital asset exchange platform allows approximately 1.67 million global users to trade over 200 cryptocurrencies. Bittrex offers two separate platforms, Bittrex and Bittrex International. The former is designed for use by…
On Apr. 3, 2019, the SEC Division of Corporation Finance (“Division”) issued a no-action letter to TurnKey Jet, Inc. (“TKJ”) in response to TKJ’s incoming letter dated Apr. 2, 2019. At the same time, the Division released a paper entitled “Framework for ‘Investment Contract’ Analysis of Digital Assets” (see accompanying…
On April 3, 2019, the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) released the “Framework for ‘Investment Contract’ Analysis of Digital Assets” (the “Framework”). The Framework—published by the SEC’s Strategic Hub for Innovation and Financial Technology (“FinHub”) —is the most comprehensive guidance the SEC has provided to date with respect to a…