Many in the crypto industry have been calling for clear guidance from government regulators, especially as new sectors like DeFi evolve and high-profile companies collapse. Jonathan Shapiro, Complex Litigation & Dispute Resolution partner, said that SEC registration creates new challenges for companies and investors, especially because they haven’t been issued explicit guidance. “There’s…
The White House recently published a “Framework for Responsible Development of Digital Assets,” following up on President Joe Biden’s executive order on digital assets earlier this year, which set forth six principal policy objectives in furtherance of U.S. initiatives in the crypto and digital asset space. The framework directs financial…
The advance of the regulation of crypto-assets and crypto-related service providers has been piecemeal in the U.K. The latest round of changes took place in the Money Laundering Regulations 2017 (MLR) on 1 September 2022 with some provisions, including the “change in control” provisions, coming into force on 11 August 2022….
Goodwin recently appointed Andrew Henderson as regulatory partner to its Private Investment Funds’ practice in London. Dr. Henderson has over 20 years’ experience advising financial institutions, including asset and investment managers, as well as family offices and technology providers on financial services regulation and risk management. He also works closely…
On August 15, 2022, the United States District Court for the Central District of California authorized the IRS to serve a “John Doe” summons on Ox Labs Inc., a cryptocurrency prime dealer doing business as SFOX. The John Doe summons calls for Ox Labs to divulge information about U.S. taxpayers who engaged in…
Goodwin partner Grant Fondo was recently interviewed on CoinDesk TV in regards to the Digital Commodities Consumer Protection Act that was introduced on Wednesday, August 3, 2022. The proposed legislation suggests that the CFTC should control crypto spot markets, specifically bitcoin and ether, which the bill classifies as commodities. To…
Hong Kong has traditionally been a hub for digital asset businesses in the region. As regulators in Hong Kong are working to tighten the regulatory regime on virtual asset exchanges, market players and investors seeking to take advantage of the burgeoning digital asset industry should keep up-to-date with the changing…
The crypto industry is still reeling from last week’s insider trading charges, filed by federal prosecutors in New York and the Securities and Exchange Commission against a former Coinbase employee and his associates. The obvious point first: these charges have got people talking about how prosecutors and regulators alike are…
On July 21, 2022, the SEC charged three individuals with insider trading of digital assets via a scheme to trade ahead of multiple announcements regarding crypto assets being made available on a United States-based digital asset exchange at which one individual was a former product manager. In the complaint, the SEC identifies…
In March 2022, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission proposed rules that would greatly expand the Exchange Act definition of “dealer” and essentially kill the distinction between dealers and traders long-recognized by the SEC. The likely outcome is that most proprietary trading firms will need to register with the SEC as…