SEC Chair Speaks About the Treasury Markets and the Debt Ceiling Discussions

By Gary Gensler May 12, 2023 by renholding

Good afternoon. I’m pleased to be back for what I’m told is the fifth time speaking before the International Swaps and Derivatives Association (ISDA). As is customary, I’d like to note that my views are my own as Chair of …

Angels and Devils: The Early Crypto Entrepreneurs

By Darian Ibrahim December 8, 2022 by renholding

After the collapse of FTX and a summer of crypto failures (Terra Luna, Celsius, Three Arrows), the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) will want to act quickly and treat more digital assets as “securities.” But which ones? In a new …

Let’s Stop Treating Crypto Trading as If It Were Finance

By Todd H. Baker November 29, 2022 by renholding

Members of Congress and financial regulators from the Federal Reserve, U.S. Treasury, SEC, CFTC, and CFPB appear set on regulating the crypto trading system (traded coins and associated marketplaces, exchanges, brokerages, lending, staking, derivatives, intermediaries, and enablers) as part of …

Are We Seeing Double? Regulatory Overlap Between the SEC and the PCAOB

By Sarah J. Williams October 31, 2022 by renholding

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) recently announced that it was initiating proceedings against a former audit partner at PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP for violating professional standards in reviewing the financial statements of Mattel, Inc. One might wonder why it is …

Davis Polk Discusses What’s Missing from Bipartisan Bills to Regulate Crypto

By Joseph A. Hall, Dan Gibbons, Gabriel D. Rosenberg and Zachary J. Zweihorn August 15, 2022 by renholding

In the last few weeks, two bills with the potential to bring needed regulatory certainty to the U.S. digital asset industry were introduced in the Senate with solid bipartisan backing.

In June, Senators Cynthia Lummis (R-WY) and Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) …

SEC Chair Gensler on Proposed Joint Amendments to Form PF

By Gary Gensler August 11, 2022 by renholding

Today [August 10], the Commission is considering whether to propose joint amendments with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) to Form PF, an important reporting tool that the Commission and the Financial Stability Oversight Council (FSOC) use, respectively, to protect

…

Skadden Discusses Ramifications of Cryptocurrency Insider Trading Case

By Alexander C. Drylewski, Stuart D. Levi, Daniel Michael, Mana Ghaemmaghami and Anita Oh July 28, 2022 by renholding

On July 21, 2022, the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) each brought insider trading charges against a former Coinbase product manager, his brother and a close friend for using material non-public information (MNPI) to …

What Are NFTs and Why Are They So Controversial?

By Aarthi Anand July 19, 2022 by renholding

Nonfungible token (NFT or Token) was the word of the year in 2021, as NFT sales exceeded $4 billion in monthly trading volume in January 2022 after generating more than $23 billion in sales in 2021. Celebrities including musicians Eminem…

The Lummis-Gillibrand Responsible Financial Innovation Act

By Joel Seligman June 27, 2022 by renholding

On June 10, 2022, U.S. senators Cynthia Lummis (R-WY) and Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) introduced S. 4356, their Responsible Financial Innovation Act, to transfer most regulation of cryptoproducts to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC}, essentially ousting the SEC, presumably perceived …

Skadden Discusses Senate Bill to Create Regulatory Structure for Crypto and Other Digital Assets

By Alexander C. Drylewski, Nathan W. Giesselman, Stuart D. Levi, Daniel Michael, Bao Nguyen and Andrew R. Beatty June 23, 2022 by renholding

In recent years, innovation in the blockchain or “Web3” space has been impacted by uncertainty on the regulatory front. Undoubtedly, the greatest area of uncertainty has involved the Securities Exchange Commission (SEC) and its application of the so-called Howey test …

Congress Should Grant the SEC Oversight of Digital Asset Spot Markets

By Lee Reiners April 21, 2022 by renholding

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) has classified Bitcoin and Ether – and by extension other cryptocurrencies that are similarly structured – as commodities (courts have also upheld this classification). While the CFTC regulates commodity derivatives, they do not regulate …

A Tokenized Future: Regulatory Lessons from Crowdfunding and Standard Form Contracts

By Darian Ibrahim April 13, 2022 by renholding

Cryptocurrencies and other digital assets (“crypto”) are surging in popularity. If cryptos are securities (“investment contracts” under the Howey test), they must be sold in accordance with the federal securities laws. This likely requires registration with the Securities and Exchange …

SEC Chair Gensler Talks Registration of Security-Based Swap Execution Facilities

By Gary Gensler April 8, 2022 by renholding

Today [April 6], the Commission is considering a proposal to create a framework for the registration of security-based swap execution facilities (security-based SEFs). I am pleased to support this proposal because, if adopted, it would increase the transparency and integrity

…

Wachtell Lipton Discusses the Growing Enforcement Focus on Cryptoassets

By Richard K. Kim, Sarah K. Eddy, Rosemary Spaziani, David M. Adlerstein and Amanda M. Lee February 23, 2022 by renholding

Underscoring that misconduct surrounding cryptoassets has become a top U.S. enforcement priority, the Department of Justice announced on February 17 the appointment of Eun Young Choi as head of a dedicated National Cryptocurrency Enforcement Team. The NCET’s mandate is to …

Wachtell Lipton Discusses What Mattered and What to Expect in White-Collar and Regulatory Enforcement

By John F. Savarese, Ralph M. Levene, Wayne M. Carlin, David B. Anders, Sarah K. Eddy and Carol Miller February 10, 2022 by renholding

The Biden administration has just completed its first full year in office, and the talk has been tough. New leadership at DOJ, the SEC, the FTC, the CFTC, and other regulatory and law enforcement agencies have issued statements and policy …

Skadden Discusses Government Expectations for Companies’ Data-Driven Compliance Programs

By Gary DiBianco, Raquel Fox and Gretchen M. Wolf October 19, 2021 by renholding

As artificial intelligence and other data tools have proliferated, regulators and prosecutors expect companies to utilize sophisticated data analytics as part of their compliance programs. They also expect directors to take an active role, understanding and overseeing these data-driven compliance …

SEC Chair Gensler Speaks on Alternative Reference Rates

By Gary Gensler September 21, 2021 by renholding

It’s good to be with the Alternative Reference Rates Committee to discuss the transition from the London Interbank Offered Rate (LIBOR). I’d like to thank the Committee, the New York Fed, and the Federal Reserve Board for putting this together.

…

Davis Polk Discusses FinCEN, CFTC Penalties on Cryptocurrency Derivatives Exchange

By Robert Cohen, Jai Massari, Daniel Stipano, Zachary Zweihorn and Kendall Howell August 19, 2021 by renholding

The CFTC and FinCEN recently announced a settlement with BitMEX for $100 million to resolve an enforcement action related to the exchange’s failure to register as a futures commission merchant and failure to establish a BSA/AML compliance program.

The Order

…

Latham & Watkins Discusses New CFTC Climate Risk Unit

By Yvette D. Valdez, Douglas K. Yatter, Jean-Philippe Brisson, Paul A. Davies and Nicola Higgs March 31, 2021 by snehapandya

On March 17, 2021, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) announced the establishment of an interdivisional Climate Risk Unit (CRU) to assess the risks to US financial stability posed by climate change. The CRU aims to be a catalyst for …

Clifford Chance Discusses the Cost of Commodities and Derivatives Market Enforcement Cases

By David Yeres and Brian Yin March 30, 2021 by renholding

The trend of escalating penalties for derivatives and commodities market abuse violations continued in 2020. Civil monetary penalties exceeding $100 million have become commonplace for serious corporate violations. Moreover, the DOJ routinely conducts criminal investigations in parallel with the CFTC, …

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