During a speech on November 8th at the 49th Annual Institute on Securities Regulation, Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Jay Clayton discussed initial coin offerings, stating that he had “yet to see an ICO that doesn’t have a sufficient number of hallmarks of a security,” seeming to indicate increased SEC…
Kelsey Lemaster, Partner in Goodwin’s Tax and Digital Currency + Blockchain Technology groups, will be a featured speaker at Consensus: Invest 2017, taking place on Tuesday, November 28th at the New York Marriott Marquis. CoinDesk is hosting what it’s billed as the “World’s first digital asset investor outlook event.” At the…
Pursuant to its LabCFTC initiative, the regulator issued a FinTech Primer on virtual currencies, including addressing the jurisdictional reach of the CFTC and the SEC (and potential overlap). Several questions remain regarding the already uncertain status of ICOs under the federal securities and commodities laws and regulations. WHAT HAPPENED? On…
On September 25, 2017, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced the launch of its new Cyber Unit. Drawing on the existing cyber experience of the SEC’s Enforcement Division, and including personnel from around the country, the Cyber Unit will target cyber-related misconduct in the following areas identified by the…
Digital Currency + Blockchain Perspectives has been selected to compete in The Expert Institute’s Best Legal Blog Competition. From a field of hundreds of potential nominees, Digital Currency + Blockchain Perspectives has received enough nominations to join the one of the largest competitions for legal blog writing online today. Now…
Goodwin is a proud sponsor of BlockCon 2017, taking place October 10-11, 2017 in Santa Monica, CA. Grant Fondo, Chair of Goodwin’s Digital Currency + Blockchain Technology practice, will moderate a panel on Wednesday, October 11th that includes 2 of the firm’s ICO clients, Scott Morgan of Nanome/Matryx and George…
Recently, the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (“CFTC”) granted LedgerX, LLC, registration as a derivatives clearing organization (“DCO”) under the Commodity Exchange Act, and with it, the right to clear fully collateralized digital currency swaps, subject to applicable law. It became the “first federally regulated Bitcoin options exchange and clearinghouse to list…
Protostarr, a block-chain based startup, has shut down its decentralized application and refunded its initial coin offering (ICO) participants following a request for information from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). According to the company, on August 24, the SEC contacted Protostarr and asked the company to “volunteer a…
Various news sources, including Reuters, are reporting that the People’s Bank of China has issued a joint statement with other Chinese regulators proclaiming that ICOs in China are illegal. See the Reuters article here: China hits booming cryptocurrency market with coin fundraising ban. The statement further directs Individuals and organizations…
Today the SEC issued an Investor Alert warning investors about companies asserting they are engaging in an ICO, when in fact it is a scam. Specifically, “The SEC’s Office of Investor Education and Advocacy is warning investors about potential scams involving stock of companies claiming to be related to, or…