Search Results: State Laws, Regulatory + Enforcement Actions

Goodwin Shares 2022 Year in Review: Digital Currency and Blockchain Litigation and Enforcement Developments

Throughout a tumultuous 2022, the digital currency and blockchain space saw a number of significant investigation, litigation, and enforcement matters as regulators continue their laser focus on the industry. Our 2022 Year in Review, authored by members of Goodwin’s leading Digital Currency and Blockchain team, recaps the most significant litigation…

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DOJ Introduces National Crypto Enforcement Team

Federal Bureau of Investigation Seal

Please note, this is a summary to the article previously published on PYMNTS.com. Cryptocurrency crimes are under the microscope as the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) steps up enforcement efforts with the formation of the National Cryptocurrency Enforcement Team (NCET), according to a press release on Thursday (Oct. 7). The…

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SEC Sues Ripple and Executives in Connection With Ongoing Sales of XRP

The SEC, in one of the Commission’s final acts under the leadership of Chair Jay Clayton, approved enforcement action aimed at Ripple Labs, Inc. (“Ripple”) and two of its executives, Brad Garlinghouse and Chris Larsen. The SEC filed its complaint on December 22, 2020 in the Southern District of New…

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SEC to Wyoming (Division of Banking): Interpreting Federal Securities Laws and Rules is our Domain

In early November 2020, the staff of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) Division of Investment Management (“IM Division”), in consultation with the SEC’s “FinHub” staff, issued a statement in response to a No-Action Letter from the Wyoming Division of Banking purporting to provide interpretive guidance on both Wyoming…

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BitMEX Founder’s Charges Highlight Risks for DeFi

***This article was originally published in CoinDesk and can be found here – https://www.coindesk.com/markets/2020/11/24/bitmex-founders-charges-highlight-risks-for-defi  In October, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) and the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) filed enforcement actions against the entities and individuals that own and operate the Bitcoin Mercantile Exchange (BitMEX), a trading platform for cryptocurrency…

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New York Department of Financial Services Announces New Virtual Currency Initiatives

On June 24, 2020, New York’s Department of Financial Services (“DFS”) announced a series of steps it is taking to promote development and opportunities in the virtual currency space.  These actions would build upon New York’s “BitLicense,” a virtual currency licensing regime implemented in 2015 that establishes minimum standards for…

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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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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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In the Matter of the Inquiry by Letitia James, Attorney General of the State of New York v. iFinex Inc., Case No. 450545/2019 (N.Y. Sup. Ct. filed Apr. 24, 2019)

On April 24, 2019, the New York Attorney General filed a petition in New York state court, alleging that Bitfinex (i.e., iFinex, Inc., BFXNA Inc., and BFXWW Inc.) and Tether (i.e., Tether Holdings Limited, Tether Operations Limited, Tether Limited, and Tether International Limited) hid a loss of more than US…

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Bittrex, Inc. License to Engage in Virtual Currency Business Activity

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…

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