In a first of its kind enforcement action, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (“CFTC”) is attempting to hold participating members of a decentralized autonomous organization (“DAO”) liable for alleged violations of the Commodity Exchange Act (“CEA”) and CFTC regulations. The CFTC argued (1) that the DAO is an unincorporated association;…
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…
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…
Digital Currency Perspectives authors Alison Douglass, Meghan Spillane, DeMario Carswel, and Frank DelPesce recently posted an alert regarding a Compliance Assistance Release issued by the U.S Department of Labor its views on the availability of cryptocurrencies on 401(k) investment platforms. Read more here.
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…
***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…
On October 8, 2020, the Attorney General’s Cyber Digital Task Force announced the release of a publication entitled Cryptocurrency: An Enforcement Framework (the “Enforcement Framework”). The Enforcement Framework describes the DOJ’s three areas of focus for illicit activity involving cryptocurrency: (1) financial transactions associated with the commission of crimes; (2)…
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…
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…