News
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SEC Crypto Litigation Releases: November 2024
Read More: SEC Crypto Litigation Releases: November 2024In November, the SEC charged Eng Taing and Touzi Capital with a $115 million securities fraud, misleading investors about crypto mining and debt rehabilitation investments. Funds were misused for personal gains while false profitability claims were made. The SEC seeks penalties and a ban on Taing, reinforcing the need for compliance in crypto markets.
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Will a New Chair Listen?: Peirce Urges SEC to Embrace Crypto
Read More: Will a New Chair Listen?: Peirce Urges SEC to Embrace CryptoIn early November, SEC Commissioner Hester Pierce delivered a fierce speech emblematic of her pro-crypto stance, offering a critique of her agency’s hostile treatment of digital assets and other innovative financial technologies in the United States. In an homage to Hobbes, Commissioner Peirce warned how a “regulatory environment that is characterized by instability, uncertainty, and…
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Can DAOs Be Sued? Insights from Lido’s Recent Case
Read More: Can DAOs Be Sued? Insights from Lido’s Recent CaseAccording to a recent decision from the US District Court for the Northern District of California, decentralized autonomous organizations, or DAOs, may not provide the liability protection the industry once thought. In a seminal case, a Federal Court in California ruled that, despite the governing body being a DAO, several prominent investment firms may in…
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What’s Next for Crypto: SEC Examination Priorities in 2025
Read More: What’s Next for Crypto: SEC Examination Priorities in 2025In the SEC’s latest report detailing the Examination Priorities for 2025, the Commission has reinforced its gameplan to keep a close eye on the crypto industry. As the market for digital assets continues to grow in both size and complexity—particularly with the introduction of Bitcoin ETFs and similar ETH products—the SEC’s Division of Examinations is…
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A New Frontier for Crypto: Court Authorizes Service of Process Through NFT Airdrop
Read More: A New Frontier for Crypto: Court Authorizes Service of Process Through NFT AirdropIn a landmark decision highlighting the unique aspects of blockchain technology and crypto, an S.D.N.Y. Bankruptcy Judge ruled in favor of Celsius’s motion for alternative service, whereby Celsius sought to provide legal service by airdopping non-fungible tokens (NFTs) to anonymous defendants’ digital asset wallets. In the wake of the cryptocurrency exchange’s insolvency, its bankruptcy estate…
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FTX Targets Binance and CZ with $1.8 Billion Clawback
Read More: FTX Targets Binance and CZ with $1.8 Billion ClawbackCrypto mogul Changpeng Zhao—notoriously known as “CZ”—may be out of prison, but he’s not out of hot water yet. The bankruptcy estate of former-leviathan FTX has filed suit against Binance and its ex-CEO, CZ, seeking to recoup nearly $1.8 billion in allegedly fraudulent transfers. In a court filing out of Delaware, FTX called attention to…
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SEC Crypto Litigation Releases – October 2024
Read More: SEC Crypto Litigation Releases – October 2024SEC Charges So-Called Market Maker and Two Employees in Crackdown on Manipulation of Crypto Assets Offered and Sold as Securities https://www.sec.gov/enforcement-litigation/litigation-releases/lr-26158 In a sting operation emblematic of a John Grisham novel, the SEC charged ZM Quant Investment Ltd.—a British Virgin Islands entity—with manipulating markets and offering unregistered securities. Acting as a self-proclaimed market maker, ZM…
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Transparent Illusion: The Discrepancy in Polymarket’s Volume
Read More: Transparent Illusion: The Discrepancy in Polymarket’s VolumeThe recent surge in prediction markets has coincided with the upcoming presidential election, as those seeking a supplement to traditional polling look to new methodologies. As election day draws closer, established prediction markets have seen their volumes skyrocket, while fresh players are jumping in to launch their own platforms. This sudden influx of companies offering…
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SEC Issues Wells Notice to Uniswap
Read More: SEC Issues Wells Notice to UniswapOn Wednesday, April 10, the Securities Exchange Commission (SEC) issued a Wells Notice to Uniswap Labs (Uniswap), the creator of the world’s largest decentralized cryptocurrency exchange. Before digging into why the SEC issued a Wells Notice to the U.S.-based software company, it’s important to understand what a Wells Notice is. What is a Wells Notice?…
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CFTC Sues KuCoin
Read More: CFTC Sues KuCoinINTRODUCTION On March 26, 2024, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), brought a civil enforcement action in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York against the group of entities it argues collectively operate as the centralized digital asset exchange KuCoin. The CFTC claims that KuCoin violated the Commodity Exchange Act (CEA)…