Cryptocurrencies

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It was no secret that the crypto enforcement approach was going to change under the Trump administration. Indeed, one of Trump’s first acts upon returning to the White House in January was to sign an executive order calculated to try to make the U.S. the “crypto capital of the world.” The SEC has likewise made it clear that under the new administration the agency will also be taking a new approach to crypto. The acting SEC leadership has already made a number of crypto-friendly moves – among other things,  the new leadership disbanded the agency’s Crypto Enforcement Task Force. The SEC has also dismissed pending cases against Binance (here) and Coinbase (here). As discussed below, the agency recently has taken even further crypto friendly actions – all of which has at least one observer to ask whether the SEC crypto pull back has gone too far?

Continue Reading Sounding the Alarm on the SEC’s New Crypto Approach

It was already understood that the SEC under the new Trump administration would be taking a different approach to cryptocurrency enforcement, but the announcement on January 21, 2025 that the agency under Acting Chair Mark Uyeda was forming a cryptocurrency task force “dedicated to developing a comprehensive and clear regulatory framework for crypto assets” certainly underscores the fact that the SEC will treating crypto differently than was the case during the Biden administration. But while we look ahead to what may be in store for crypto under the new administration, it is also worth looking back at what the agency’s approach to crypto enforcement has been up to this point. A new Cornerstone Research report entitled “SEC Cryptocurrency Enforcement: 2024 Update” (here) provides a comprehensive overview of the agency’s crypto enforcement so far.

Continue Reading Cornerstone Research: Crypto Enforcement at the SEC
Burkhard Fassbach

Among important recent developments in digital currency is the increasing governmental move toward Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) and other forms of digital currency. In the following guest post, Burkhard Fassbach takes a detailed look at the rapidly evolving world of CBDCs and what their advent may mean for the D&O insurance industry. Burkhard is a D&O lawyer in private practice in Germany I would like to thank Burkhard for allowing me to publish his article as a guest post on this site. I welcome guest post submissions from responsible authors on topics of interest to this blog’s readers. Please contact me directly if you would like to submit a guest post. Here is Burkhard’s article.

Continue Reading Guest Post: What D&O Professionals Need to Know About CBDCs and Stablecoins

As the authors put it in the title of their recent guest post on this site, crypto is the new frontier of securities litigation. The title is reference to a statement by Stanford Law Professor Joseph Grundfest, made in conjunction with Cornerstone Research’s release of its annual survey of securities class action lawsuit filings. The Cornerstone Research report showed that crypto-related securities lawsuit filings surged in 2022. In a March 27, 2023, memo from the Dechert law firm, entitled “Cryptocurrency Securities Class Action Litigation 2022 Year Review,” (here), the law firm memo’s authors take a detailed look at the 2022 crypto-related securities suit filings, including a review of the defendants and the allegations involved.

Continue Reading A Detailed Look at the 2022 Crypto-Related Securities Suit Filings
Jonathan Meer

In the following guest post, Jonathan Meer answers the question of how the crypto asset meltdown has translated in to D&O claims. Jonathan is a Partner in the Wilson Elser law firm’s New York office. I would like to thank Jonathan for allowing me to publish his article as a guest post on this site. I welcome guest post submissions from responsible authors on topics of interest to the blog’s readers. Please contact me directly if you would like to submit a guest post. Here is Jonathan’s article.

Continue Reading Guest Post: The Midas Curse? How Cryptocurrency Has Impacted Directors and Officers

In recent years, the SEC has established itself as an active cryptocurrency enforcement agency, according to a new report from Cornerstone Research. The report, entitled “SEC Cryptocurrency Enforcement: Q3 2013 – Q4 2020,” details that between July 2013 and year end 2020, the agency initiated a total of 75 enforcement actions and 19 trading suspension orders against respondents involved with digital assets. The report also shows that the agency’s cryptocurrency activity has steadily increased throughout the 2013-2020 period. A copy of the report can be found here. Cornerstone Research’s May 11, 2021 press release about the report can be found here.
Continue Reading SEC Establishes its Cryptocurrency Enforcement Credentials

Suresh Ellawala

As many readers may have noted at the time, in December the SEC filed an enforcement action against Ripple Labs and two of its executives in connection with what the SEC described as the company’s unregistered offering of securities, relating to the company’s sale of digital asset units between 2013 and the time of the filing of the enforcement complaint. In the following guest post, Suresh Ellawala takes a closer look at the issues that the SEC’s enforcement action presents. Suresh is Head of Commercial Financial Lines at Price Forbes & Partners. I would like to thank Suresh for allowing me to publish his article as a guest post on this site. I welcome guest post submissions from responsible authors on topics of interest to this blog’s readers. Please contact me directly if you would like to submit a guest post. Here is Suresh’s article.
Continue Reading Guest Post: The Ripple Effect – Are Cryptocurrency Tokens Securities, and Why Does it Matter?

Neil J. Cohen

One of the hot topics in securities regulation and enforcement has been the question of what position the SEC will take with respect to cryptocurrencies. In the following guest post written in the form of a one-scene play, Neil J. Cohen, a lawyer and publisher of the Securities Reform Act Litigation Reporter, imagines a fictional conversation involving an SEC official discussing cryptocurrencies. I would like to thank Neil for submitting his play to be a guest post on this site – this is the first play that has appeared on this site! I welcome guest post submissions from responsible authors on topics of interest to this blog’s readers. Please contact me directly if you would like to submit a guest post. Here is Neil’s play.
Continue Reading Guest Post: Fictional SEC Official Discusses Crypto Off-the-Record  

Karen Boto

In the following guest post, Karen Boto, Legal Director at Clyde & Co, takes a look at the Legal Statement recently published by the UK Jurisdictions Taskforce addressing a number of legal issues cryptocurrencies and smart contracts. A version of this article previously was published as a Clyde & Co client alert. I would like to thank Karen for allowing me to publish her article as a guest post on this site. I welcome guest post submissions from responsible authors on topics of interest to this blog’s readers. Please contact me directly if you would like to submit a guest post. Here is Karen’s article.
Continue Reading Guest Post: Landmark UK Legal Statement Provides Clarity for Smart Contracts and Cryptoassets

John Reed Stark

In a series of recent actions, the SEC has demonstrated its aggressive approach toward cryptocurrency regulation and enforcement. In the following guest post, John Reed Stark, President of John Reed Stark Consulting and former Chief of the SEC’s Office of Internet Enforcement, takes a detailed look at the SEC’s recent actions and considers the actions’ implications. A version of this article originally appeared on Securities Docket. I would like to thank John for his willingness to allow me to publish his article on this site. I welcome guest post submissions from responsible authors on topics of interest to this blog’s readers. Please contact me directly if you would like to submit a guest post. Here is John’s article.
Continue Reading Guest Post: The SEC Triples Down on its Cryptocurrency Crackdown