On August 23, 2023, the Securities and Exchange Commission adopted highly controversial new rules and rule amendments to the Investment Advisers Act of 1940 in an effort to further regulate the private funds industry. These new rules attempt to “increase transparency, competition and efficiency in the private funds market.” Our client update can be found
US Federal Court issues mixed ruling in watershed SEC action on Ripple’s XRP
On July 13, 2023, the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York issued a mixed decision as to whether various sales and issuances of the XRP token (XRP) by Ripple Labs, Inc. (Ripple) and two of its executives (collectively the defendants) constituted the sale of an unregistered security in violation of
New briefing note: SEC adopts heightened reporting requirements for private funds
In our latest briefing note we look at the SEC’s adoption of new amendments enhancing disclosure requirements for private funds.
The amendments are designed to ‘enhance the ability of the Financial Stability Oversight Council (FSOC) to assess systemic risk and to bolster the Commission’s oversight of private fund advisers and its investor protection
DAO token holder personal liability continues to take center stage for the CFTC
A seemingly straightforward enforcement action by the Commodities Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) has attracted the attention of US regulators, large digital asset industry players and the crypto industry in general for its potential wide-reaching implications for DAO governance.
The CFTC pushed back on various amicus briefs filed by top industry participants in the digital asset
Wyoming to Recognize DAOs as LLCs
On April 21, 2021, Wyoming Governor Mark Gordon signed Bill 38 into law allowing Wyoming to recognize decentralized autonomous organizations (DAOs) as limited liability companies. The bill was sponsored by Wyoming’s Select Committee on Blockchain, Financial Technology and Digital Innovation Technology and takes effect July 1, 2021.
Generally, a DAO is an organization controlled by
Commissioner Peirce Highlights Need for Regulators to Embrace Technology
In recent weeks, Commissioner Hester Peirce of the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) gave two speeches highlighting the need for legal clarity in the FinTech space and for legacy financial firms to embrace innovation.
Speaking at a George Washington University Law School event – Regulating the Digital Economy Conference – Commissioner Peirce discussed the recent
SEC’s Division of Examinations Releases Risk Alert for Digital Asset Securities
On February 26, 2021, the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (“SEC”) Division of Examinations (the “Division” and formerly known as “OCIE”) released a Risk Alert (the “Risk Alert”) reminding market participants – investment advisers, broker-dealers, exchanges, and transfer agents – of the framework surrounding digital assets that are securities (“Digital Asset Securities”). The Division also set
SEC Settles with BlueCrest: Algorithmic Trading and AI-Based Strategies Must be Disclosed to Investors
On December 8, 2020, BlueCrest Capital Management Limited (“BlueCrest”), a UK-based investment adviser, agreed to a $170 million settlement with the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) to settle charges involving insufficient and misleading disclosures to investors that BlueCrest was also operating a proprietary, internal fund, moving its best traders to such fund and replacing the
OCC Conditionally Approves Bank Charter for Second Crypto Firm
The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) granted crypto-focused Protego Trust Company, a Washington state trust company, conditional approval to convert to a national trust bank earlier this month, marking only the second time that a federal bank charter has been approved for a crypto firm – and the first since the January
US SEC amends rules to simplify and expand the exempt offering framework
On November 2, 2020, in an effort to harmonize and modernize the exempt offering framework under the Securities Act of 1933 (the Securities Act), the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) adopted a final rule entitled “Facilitating Capital Formation and Expanding Investment Opportunities by Improving Access to Capital in Private Markets.”
In a