In a recent decision in Securities and Exchange Commission v. Telegram Group Inc. and TON Issuer Inc., the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York granted a motion for a preliminary injunction by the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”), thereby preventing the distribution to purchasers of…
2019 was a year of significant regulatory and legal developments in digital currency + blockchain. The SEC issued its most comprehensive guidance to date with its Framework for “Investment Contract” Analysis of Digital Assets, followed that up with three “no action” letters for projects that in its view complied with…
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 October 31, 2019, the SEC issued an order instituting cease-and-desist proceedings pursuant to Section 8A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21C of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, making findings, and imposing a cease-and-desist order with respect to XBT Corp. SARL (“XBT”) in connection with its…
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 October 11, 2019, the SEC filed an emergency action in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York against Telegram Group Inc. and a wholly-owned subsidiary for violation of Sections 5(a) and 5(c) of the Securities Act for the sale of unregistered securities. The SEC sought…
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…
On September 18, 2019, the SEC filed an enforcement action in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California against ICOBox and its co-founder and CEO (Nikolay Evdokimov) for violation of Sections 5(a) and 5(c) of the Securities Act for the sale of unregistered securities and for violation…
On August 29, 2019, the SEC issued a final judgment as to Bitqyck Inc. (“Bitqyck”) and its founders (Bruce Bise and Sam Mendez) concerning the defendants’ conduct with respect to the sale of digital tokens and the failure to register as a national securities exchange. The order was part of…