Latham & Watkins Discusses SEC’s Strategic Plan

By Marlon Q. Paz, Stephen P. Wink, Donald Thompson and Deric Behar September 26, 2022 by renholding

On August 25, 2022, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) published a draft Strategic Plan (the Plan) for fiscal years 2022–2026. The Plan focuses on three goals that, according to SEC Chairman Gary Gensler, advance the SEC’s mission to protect …

SEC Enforcement Chief Speaks on the Need to Police Crypto

By Gurbir Grewal September 12, 2022 by renholding

This morning,[1] I’d like to return to a theme I’ve touched on repeatedly in speeches throughout my first year on the job, and that is the urgent need to restore trust in our institutions, government, and the legal and …

Insider Traders Have Found Their Way to Cryptocurrency Markets

By Ester Félez-Viñas, Luke Johnson, and Tālis J. Putniņš August 26, 2022 by renholding

On July 21, 2022, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) commenced the first ever lawsuit charging insider trading in cryptocurrency markets. A former employee of Coinbase – a major cryptocurrency exchange – together with his brother and a friend, …

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) …

How to Move from Local to Global Regulation of Crypto-Assets

By Roee Sarel, Hadar Y. Jabotinsky and Israel Klein August 5, 2022 by renholding

On July 7, 2022, the U.S. Department of Treasury (USDT) published a fact-sheet on the regulation of digital assets(a.k.a. crypto-assets) in which it emphasized the need for global cooperation. However, this fact-sheet is only a drop in an ocean …

Cleary Gottlieb Discusses Digital Asset Amendments to the UCC

By Sandra M. Rocks, Penelope L. Christophorou, Brandon Hammer, Kathryn Witchger and Alec Mitchell July 25, 2022 by renholding

This month, the sponsors of the Uniform Commercial Code (“UCC”) approved wide-ranging amendments to the UCC (the “2022 UCC Amendments”)[1] to provide workable rules for emerging technologies, such as distributed ledger technology and virtual currency. If adopted by individual …

Debevoise Discusses Key Questions Recent Crypto Bankruptcy Filings May Answer

By Sidney Levinson, Elie Worenklein, Lily D. Vo, Ezra Newman and Justice H. Walters July 20, 2022 by renholding

One of the key unresolved questions surrounding crypto-custodian bankruptcy proceedings under the U.S. Bankruptcy Code is whether or not digital assets that are held by a crypto exchange on behalf of platform users could be viewed as the exchange’s corporate …

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 …

Sullivan & Cromwell Discusses California Governor’s Executive Order on Blockchain

By Aaron Levine, Michelle Thiry, Rebecca Simmons and Sarah Payne May 11, 2022 by renholding

On May 4, California Governor Gavin Newson signed an executive order that is intended “to foster responsible innovation, bolster California’s innovation economy, and protect consumers” and “create a transparent regulatory and business environment for web3 companies which harmonizes federal and …

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 …

Debevoise Discusses Russia, Sanctions, and Digital Assets

By Satish M. Kini, Aseel M. Rabie, Robert T. Dura, Jonathan Steinberg and Amy Aixi Zhang March 9, 2022 by renholding

In response to ongoing Russian military action in Ukraine, U.S. authorities have imposed several tranches of new sanctions against Russia, particularly against Russia’s financial industry, including its major banks and the Central Bank of Russia. On February 26, President …

Sullivan & Cromwell Discusses Stablecoins Report of President’s Working Group on Financial Markets

By Sullivan & Cromwell November 11, 2021 by renholding

The President’s Working Group on Financial Markets (the “PWG”),[1] the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (“FDIC”) and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (the “OCC”) published the Report on Stablecoins on November 1, 2021.^[2] The Report (1) …

The Economics of Crypto Funds

By Paul P. Momtaz September 15, 2021 by renholding

Crypto funds are a new financial intermediary that trade in cryptographically protected digital assets, known as coins or tokens. Both the number of crypto funds and investments in crypto funds are soaring. As of the second quarter of 2021, more …

Paul Weiss Discusses SEC Focus on Crypto Enforcement

By Jessica S. Carey, Roberto J. Gonzalez, David S. Huntington and Carly Lagrotteria August 18, 2021 by renholding

At the Aspen Security Forum on August 2, 2021, SEC Chair Gary Gensler reaffirmed the SEC’s heightened focus on cryptocurrency. Following these comments, the SEC announced two enforcement resolutions that provide further guidance on the SEC’s approach to crypto enforcement. …

Latham & Watkins Looks Back at Digital Asset Regulation in 2020

By Stephen P. Wink, Todd Beauchamp, Yvette D. Valdez, Eric S. Volkman, Adam Bruce Fovent and Deric Behar February 5, 2021 by renholding

Last year, Latham & Watkins sounded a hopeful note that 2020 would provide a clearer vision than 2019 for the regulation of digital assets in the US. In the wake of the emergence of COVID-19, priorities changed, along with forecasts …

SEC’s Director of Investment Management Division Talks Securities Law Developments

By Dalia Blass December 4, 2019 by renholding

Good Morning. Thank you Susan [Olson], and thank you all for the opportunity to come back and update you on the Division’s work.[1]

I recently came across a September Compliance Minute Podcast, titled: Where Have you Gone, Dalia Blass?

…

SEC, CFTC, and FinCEN Leaders Issue Statement on Digital Asset Activities

By Heath Tarbert, Kenneth A. Blanco and Jay Clayton October 14, 2019 by renholding

The leaders of the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission, the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the “Agencies”) today issued the following joint statement to remind persons engaged in activities involving digital assets of their

…

Gibson Dunn Offers 2019 Mid-Year Securities Enforcement Update

By Mark K. Schonfeld and Amy Mayer July 24, 2019 by renholding

The first half of 2019 has seen a continuation of the Securities and Exchange Commission’s emphasis on protecting the interests of Main Street investors. Chairman Clayton reiterated these themes in his testimony in May before the Financial Services and General …

SEC Commissioner Peirce Talks Digital Assets: How We “Howey”

By Hester M. Peirce May 17, 2019 by renholding

One year ago, I gave a speech—appropriately in Southern California—called “Beaches and Bitcoin.”[1] At that time—not so long ago in analog time but eons ago in digital time—the burning question was how to decide when issuing tokens constituted an

…

Davis Polk Discusses France’s New Legal Framework for Digital Assets

By Christophe Perchet, Juliette Loget, Jean-Christophe Devouge, Stéphane Daniel and Daniel Arroche April 25, 2019 by renholding

After becoming one of the first countries to authorize the registration and transfer of unlisted securities using blockchain technology, France has adopted an innovative legal framework governing initial coin offerings (“ICOs”) and digital assets services providers (“DASPs”) with the aim …

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