As we have discussed often in this space, Chairman Gary Gensler of the United States Securities and Exchange Commission has repeatedly expressed his view that most cryptocurrency tokens are unregistered securities and that, in his view, existing securities laws are clear enough for cryptocurrency firms to comply with them. The crypto industry has a different
Blockchain
UK HMRC Takes Positive Steps on DeFi by Opening Consultation on the Taxation of Decentralised Finance
By Phugger
On 27 April 2023, HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) released a second consultation regarding the taxation of transactions in the Decentralised Finance (DeFi) market. In short, HMRC proposes to legislate to ensure that the use of cryptoassets in certain DeFi transactions would no longer give rise to a taxable disposal, but instead would trigger taxation…
Court Authorizes Service of Process by Twitter on Crypto-Influencer
By Phugger
There has been much publicity over the lawsuit brought against celebrities such as Tom Brady and Larry David for their endorsement of FTX. In that case, the judge refused a request to serve Shaquille O’Neal through social media platforms, including Twitter, based on O’Neal’s allegedly taking steps to avoid service.
But there is a similar…
SEC Settles Charges With Coinme Over Improper ICO
By Phugger
Coinme is a company that started by making cryptocurrency transactions available through ATM machines. It originally used its own ATMs but, in January 2019, abandoned that business model and used, instead, the kiosks of the coin counting company, Coinstar. On April 28, 2023, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission announced settled charges with Coinme, its…
SEC Proposal Targets Crypto Exchanges, Trading Platforms and Brokers
By Phugger
On April 14, 2023, the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) reopened the comment period and provided supplemental information on proposed amendments to Rule 3b-16 under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (“Exchange Act”) which defines certain terms used in the definition of “exchange” in Section 3(a)(1) of the Exchange Act.. The reopening is…
Judge Hands Victory to Yuga Labs in Its Battle Over Trademark for Bored Ape Yacht Club NFTs
By Phugger
In the NFT (Non-Fungible Token) frenzy that swept the country a couple of years back, one of the collections that became among the most popular, and very valuable, is known as the Bored Ape Yacht Club (“BAYC”). Its creator, Yuga Labs, sued Ryder Ripps and Jeremy Cahen for trademark infringement.
Ripps maintained that Yuga embedded…
SEC Charges Bittrex With Operating an Unregistered Exchange, Broker, and Clearing Agency
By Phugger
On April 17, 2023, the U.S Securities and Exchange Commission charged crypto asset trading platform Bittrex, Inc. and its co-founder and former CEO William Shihara. with operating an unregistered national securities exchange, broker, and clearing agency. It also charged Bittrex, Inc.’s foreign affiliate, Bittrex Global GmbH, with failing to register as a national securities exchange in…
The SEC Keeps its Sights Set on Crypto “Finfluencers”
By Phugger
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has brought another string of cases against well-known celebrities for touting crypto assets on social media without disclosing the payments they received for these endorsements.
Back in December 2022, the SEC made headlines for fining Kim Kardashian $1.26 million based on her Instagram posts that proclaimed the supposed…
SEC’s Latest Spot Bitcoin ETF Denial Elicits Sharp Dissent from Republican Commissioners
By Phugger
It was no surprise when the SEC recently denied the most recent request for a spot Bitcoin ETF. That has been the SEC’s response to every such application ever made to it. This particular request was by VanEck, which had already had an earlier request denied as well. According to the SEC, generally speaking, the…
NFTs of NBA Highlights Lead to A First-Of-Its-Kind Decision in the US Courts, Holding That an NFT Can Be a Security Under U.S. Securities Law
By Phugger
The recent decision rendered by Judge Victor Marrero of the Southern District of New York is of critical importance to the NFT industry. For the first time, a court held that the issuer of an NFT offered an “investment contract” and, therefore, can potentially be held liable for selling unregistered securities. The decision was made…