On January 10, the Securities and Exchange Commission gave the green light to 11 issuers that applied for bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs). After a false announcement and a course change due to the ruling in Grayscale Investments, LLC v. SEC, the SEC approved spot Bitcoin ETFs for ARK 21Shares, Invesco Galaxy, VanEck, WisdomTree*, Fidelity, Valkyrie, BlackRock, Grayscale, Bitwise, Hashdex, and Franklin Templeton. In a statement made with the release, SEC Chair Gary Gensler stated “[t]hough we’re merit neutral…bitcoin is primarily a speculative, volatile asset”.Continue Reading SEC Approves 11 Spot Bitcoin Exchange-Traded Products
Industry Developments
BarnBridge, and its Founders Tyler Ward and Troy Murray, Will Pay $1.7 Million for Unregistered SMART Yield Bond Sales
BarnBridge and its founders Tyler Ward and Troy Murray allegedly sold unregistered SMART Yield bonds, which the SEC considers crypto asset securities. Respondents also were charged with violations stemming from operating BarnBridge’s SMART Yield pools as unregistered investment companies. BarnBridge agreed to disgorge $1,457,000 from the sale and Ward and Murray agreed to civil penalties of $125,000 each.Continue Reading BarnBridge, and its Founders Tyler Ward and Troy Murray, Will Pay $1.7 Million for Unregistered SMART Yield Bond Sales
The Federal Reserve’s Novel Activities Supervision Program: What Banks and Nonbanks Need to Know
Financial technology firms and certain banks and bank holding companies can expect to face increased scrutiny as the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System takes another step to stem risks related to crypto-assets, use of blockchain technology, and complex fintech partnerships with nonbanks to deliver financial services to customers. Through its newly announced Novel Activities Supervision Program (“NAS Program”), the Federal Reserve will be taking a harder look at its supervised banking organizations, even those with less than $10 billion in assets, “to ensure that the risks associated with innovation are appropriately addressed” in four key areas:Continue Reading The Federal Reserve’s Novel Activities Supervision Program: What Banks and Nonbanks Need to Know
Updated 04.2023: Digital Asset SEC Timeline
Perkins Coie LLP is pleased to bring you this updated Digital Asset SEC Timeline.
The Digital Asset SEC Timeline serves as an interactive compilation of select SEC guidance, enforcement actions, and speeches relating to the application of the federal securities laws to digital assets. Beginning with the release of the DAO Investigative Report in…
Updated 03.2023: Digital Asset SEC Timeline
Perkins Coie LLP is pleased to bring you this updated Digital Asset SEC Timeline.
The Digital Asset SEC Timeline serves as an interactive compilation of select SEC guidance, enforcement actions, and speeches relating to the application of the federal securities laws to digital assets. Beginning with the release of the DAO Investigative Report in…
FTX Finds Assets and Is Looking for More
FTX filed its presentation to the Official Committee of Unsecured Creditors (UCC), reporting that FTX has located about $5.5 billion of cash and other liquid assets but less than $1.8 billion of digital assets identified with both FTX.com and FTX US, excluding illiquid tokens. FTX reported that it expects to find and liquidate additional assets…
Updated 01.2023: Digital Asset SEC Timeline
Perkins Coie LLP is pleased to bring you this updated Digital Asset SEC Timeline.
The Digital Asset SEC Timeline serves as an interactive compilation of select SEC guidance, enforcement actions, and speeches relating to the application of the federal securities laws to digital assets. Beginning with the release of the DAO Investigative Report in…
Is There an Easter Egg in the Celsius Earn Accounts Opinion?
“Easter eggs are basically messages or particular references deliberately hidden throughout a movie that the usual movie-goer often fails to notice but they are always there.”
Most articles about Chief United States Bankruptcy Judge Michael Glenn’s opinion that “Earn Assets in Earn Accounts constitute property of the Estates” (opinion, p. 45) focus on the…
Updated 10.2022: CFTC Crypto Charges & Settlements Timeline
The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) Settlements Timeline serves as an interactive compilation of select CFTC guidance, enforcement actions, and speeches relating to the application of the federal securities laws to digital assets. Beginning with the Order filed in September, 2015 by the CFTC requiring Coinflip and its chief executive officer Francisco Riordan to cease…
If You Missed It Live, You Can Replay the FTX Trading Ltd. Bankruptcy Hearing
Bankruptcy court hearings are often recorded and can be listened to at your convenience. The “first-day hearing” in the FTX Trading case occurred on November 22, 2022, was saved into two files with the first part available here and the second part available here.
The links will download a PDF file that contains an…