Sky Blog
Last week’s election results signal a definitive end to the enforcement-only philosophy that for the last four years has characterized the SEC’s posture towards the crypto industry. It’s not realistic to think Congress and regulators will now simply adopt a …
Nearly four years ago, Jen Psaki was freshly in her White House press secretary job when she had to answer questions about the GameStop fallout from the podium.[1] A few months later, my first testimony as SEC Chair was …
In its approach to digital assets, the Securities and Exchange Commission has been criticized for regulating by enforcement. In reality, the SEC has taken a twofold approach. In addition to bringing lawsuits against crypto exchanges, the commission has proposed amending …
Money is a complex construct consisting of public and private elements. It is not all coined or printed by a government; a significant portion originates with private-sector entities like banks, against which other private parties have contractual claims. In a …
On May 23, 2024, the United States Supreme Court unanimously held in Coinbase, Inc. v. Suski that where there are two competing contracts – one requiring the arbitration of disputes (including the arbitrator deciding whether a dispute is arbitrable), and …
In an important step forward, the House voted to pass a bill to establish a comprehensive regulatory framework for digital assets and offering important protections for customers. It could be improved by expressly discarding Howey, Reves or similar inherently …
On February 6, 2024, the SEC adopted by a 3-2 vote a set of final rules that “further define” terms used in the statutory definition of “dealer,” adjusting the “dealer-trader” distinction in a way that could significantly expand the scope …
Today [December 15], the Commission denied a Petition for Rulemaking[1] filed on behalf of Coinbase Global, Inc. I was pleased to support the Commission’s decision for three reasons. First, existing laws and regulations apply to the crypto securities markets. …
The Commission has denied the Petition for Rulemaking filed on behalf of Coinbase Global, Inc. (“Petitioner”) on July 21, 2022.[1] We disagree with the Commission’s decision.
We acknowledge that the Commission has broad discretion to set the timing and
On November 14, 2023, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s (“SEC” or “Commission”) Division of Enforcement (“Division”) announced its enforcement results for fiscal year (“FY”) 2023.[1] Disgorgement and penalties were the second highest in the SEC’s history at just …
Digital assets and blockchains can lead to financial innovations with a range of applications across countries, markets, and industries. Yet they also require comprehensive regulation, which is especially difficult within the fragmented financial-regulation framework of the United States. In a …
In their practices, corporate finance lawyers typically focus on private investments in public and private for-profit businesses. With the introduction of more blockchain applications, however, the structure and implementation of coin and token offerings have also become logical areas for …
On September 7, 2023, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) issued three enforcement settlement orders against developers of decentralized finance (DeFi) protocols.1 The orders charge Opyn, Inc., Deridex, Inc., and ZeroEx, Inc. (0x) with illegally offering leveraged and margined …
Two recent indictments highlight the Department of Justice’s (DOJ’s) continuing use of the traditional wire fraud, money laundering and identity theft statutes to pursue fraud involving digital assets, indicating that law enforcement will look to prevent theft and scamming regardless …
The Securities and Exchange Commission’s recent actions against Binance and Coinbase show that the commission is worried about the business model of crypto-trading platforms. In its complaint against Binance, for example, the SEC expressed concerns about the offering of “three …
Crypto is at a crossroads. After a cascade of bankruptcies – including FTX’s implosion – millions of defrauded customers, and trillions of dollars in value destruction, many are wondering whether the sector has a future. Amidst the wreckage, after years …
On February 15, 2023, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) proposed new rules and amendments (Proposal) to Rule 206(4)-2 (Custody Rule) under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940 (Advisers Act). The Proposal would, if adopted as written:
In just three years, crypto conglomerate FTX Group went from start-up to a $40 billion global phenomenon to a company in “free-fall” Chapter 11. The debacle has been most brutal for millions of FTX customers, who are living through the …
On February 7, 2023, Ishan Wahi (Ishan), a former Coinbase product manager, pled guilty to wire fraud charges in an indictment in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York (SDNY).
Ishan admitted that he had used …
The report recently issued by the Financial Stability Oversight Council (FSOC) is quite different from the other reports published so far by the U.S. financial regulators in response to Executive Order 14067 on digital assets (FSOC Report).1 Helpfully, this …