In a speech before the Aspen Security Forum on August 3, 2021, SEC Chair Gary Gensler followed the lead of his predecessor and repeated the SEC’s view that current securities regulations are clear and almost all tokens are securities. In the same speech however, he cited “facts and circumstances” that…
On September 15, 2020, the SEC announced a settlement with Unikrn, Inc. (“Unikrn”)—an online eSports gaming and gambling platform based in Washington State—in connection with the SEC’s finding that Unikrn had conducted an unregistered offering of securities in violation of Sections 5(a) and 5(c) of the Securities Act. According to…
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:…
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…
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 December 11, 2019, the SEC filed an enforcement action in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York against United Data, Inc. d/b/a Shopin (“Shopin”) and its CEO (Eran Eyal) for violations of Sections 5(a) and 5(c) of the Securities Act for the sale of…
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…
On November 21, 2019, Mark S. Scott, a former partner at law firm Locke Lord LLP, was convicted of one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering and one count of conspiracy to commit bank fraud in connection with his work for OneCoin Ltd. Mr. Scott was found guilty following…
On October 6, 2019, alleged cryptocurrency investors filed a putative class action complaint in the U. S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, alleging that Bitfinex, Tether, and other defendants coordinated to manipulate the price of Bitcoin and disrupted the cryptocurrency market. The complaint brought claims for…
On September 30, 2019, the SEC issued an order instituting cease-and-desist proceedings pursuant to Section 8A of the Securities Act of 1933, making findings, and imposing a cease-and-desist order with respect to Block.one in connection with an ICO allegedly conducted in violation of Sections 5(a) and 5(c) of the Securities…