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…
On January 21, 2020, Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (the “Trust”) became the first digital currency investment vehicle to attain the status of an SEC reporting company. The Trust’s sponsor, Grayscale Investments, LLC (“Grayscale”), is a digital currency asset manager that offers cryptocurrency investment products that provide exposure to Bitcoin and Ethereum, among…
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…
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…
On September 26, 2018, a federal judge in Massachusetts agreed with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission’s (“CFTC”) view that virtual currencies are commodities under the Commodity Exchange Act (“CEA”) and subject to federal regulation. See CFTC v. My Big Coin Pay, Inc., No. CV 18-10077-RWZ, 2018 WL 4621727 (D. Mass….
The OCC announced on Tuesday, July 31, that it would begin accepting applications for special purpose national bank (SPNB) charters from Fintech companies engaged in the business of banking. The agency released a Policy Statement and a Supplement to its Licensing Manual addressing how it would consider applications from Fintech companies seeking…
Earlier today, Deputy Attorney General Rod J. Rosenstein announced that the President issued an executive order establishing a new Task Force on Market Integrity and Consumer Fraud, comprised of a number of divisions of the Department of Justice (DOJ), including the FBI and various United States Attorney’s Offices as designated…
This past week was a busy one for state securities regulators, the CFTC and the SEC as they continue their focus on rooting out fraud from the digital currency space and crypto- and blockchain-based ventures. Noteworthy developments included (1) the North American Securities Administrators Association (NASAA) announcing a “cryptosweep” –…
On February 7, 2018, the New York State Department of Financial Services (NY DFS) issued guidance to all virtual currency businesses that maintain a “BitLicense” or that are chartered as a limited purpose trust company under New York Banking Law (collectively, VC Entities), including those that maintain a money transmitter…