The SEC is scaling back its special unit of more than 50 lawyers and staff members that were responsible for bringing crypto enforcement actions, according to a Feb. 4 New York Times report citing people with knowledge of the matter. Some of the lawyers in the crypto enforcement unit are being assigned to other departments...Read More
The Thailand Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is preparing to implement a DLT-based debt instrument trading system. The main objective is to encourage securities firms to engage in digital token trading. According to Jomkwan Kongsakul, who happens to be the deputy secretary-general of the SEC, the regulator has already approved four digital token projects and...Read More
Former Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chair Gary Gensler’s return to his old MIT haunt has ignited backlash from a section of the crypto industry. Gensler previously taught at the university before leading the SEC, where he became deeply unpopular for his strict regulatory approach. MIT Welcomes Back Gensler, But Crypto Leaders Push Back On...Read More
After four years of steering crypto regulations and financial market oversight, former U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chair Gary Gensler is returning to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). According to a January 27 statement from the research university, his focus will now shift to artificial intelligence (AI), fintech, finance, and public policy. Gensler’s...Read More
Better Markets, a non-profit advocating for financial reform, has filed an Amicus brief supporting the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in its ongoing legal battle with Ripple Labs. The organization argues that a prior decision by the District Court for the Southern District of New York undermines investor protections. Ripple’s Victory Under Scrutiny In...Read More
In a leadership shakeup at the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), Acting Chair Caroline Pham appointed Harry Jung as Acting Chief of Staff on Wednesday. Jung, who previously served as Pham’s Counselor and Senior Policy Advisor, will lead the agency’s crypto and digital assets engagement and will build on his experience at Citigroup and prior...Read More
Dubai-based crypto market maker CLS Global will plead guilty to charges related to wash trading on the decentralized exchange Uniswap. Federal prosecutors in Boston announced Wednesday that the company will face market manipulation and wire fraud charges after falling victim to an FBI sting operation. $428K Fine and U.S. Market Ban As part of the...Read More
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has formally appealed against a 2023 ruling that found sales of Ripple’s XRP token on crypto exchanges did not break securities laws. According to the regulator, District Court Judge Analisa Torres was “factually and legally” wrong when she concluded that offers and sales of XRP to the public...Read More
Outgoing U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chair Gary Gensler has insisted that the regulatory body never classified Bitcoin and Ethereum as securities. Additionally, he separated the world’s largest cryptocurrency by market cap from other tokens, saying they still have to prove their actual value. A Clear Distinction for Bitcoin, Ethereum Gensler made the statements...Read More
The United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has filed a lawsuit against Elon Musk, the world’s richest man, for failing to disclose his acquisition of Twitter (renamed X) stock on time. According to the complaint, Musk started accumulating shares of Twitter common stock in early 2022 and, by March 14, had crossed the 5%...Read More
Digital asset investment products saw modest inflows of $48 million last week. While nearly $1 billion flowed in during the early part of the week, outflows of $940 million in the latter half reversed much of the gains. This shift followed the release of new macroeconomic data and the Federal Reserve’s minutes, which signaled a...Read More
Gary Gensler has described the cryptocurrency market as “rife with bad actors.” The top financial cop made the remarks in a January 8 interview with Bloomberg TV, in which he discussed the enforcement actions under his leadership and addressed persistent compliance issues in the crypto space. A Tenure Marked by Crypto Scrutiny In the sit-down...Read More
Coinbase is facing increased scrutiny from the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) in connection with its involvement with Polymarket, a crypto-based prediction market platform. On January 8, 2025, the exchange informed its customers that it had received a subpoena from the CFTC, which is examining the platform’s operations. CFTC Issues Final Crypto Blow According to...Read More
A federal judge has allowed Coinbase to pursue an interlocutory challenge in the Second Circuit Court of Appeals in its ongoing case with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), citing conflicting rulings on crypto’s legal status. Judge Katherine Failla granted the exchange’s appeal of her March 2024 order, which had denied the company’s motion...Read More
As Donald Trump prepares to take office, many expect his presidency to drive growth in the crypto market. His commitments are already creating momentum for US-based crypto businesses. Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse, for one, announced that the company achieved significant progress in late 2024. In fact, the entity has signed more US deals in the...Read More
CyberKongz, a gaming-based NFT project, announced on December 16 that it has received a Wells Notice from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The notice raises concerns about the platform’s integration of its ERC-20 token with blockchain games and questions aspects of its activities, including its 2021 contract migration. The SEC’s Argument In a...Read More
Federally approved digital asset securities platform Prometheum has filed a defamation lawsuit against crypto commentator Matthew Blumberg. The dispute stems from a November 6 post on X, where the critic accused the firm of operating “an illegal unregistered commodities exchange” and engaging in shady dealings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Free Speech...Read More
Hester Peirce, a Commissioner at the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), has outlined a vision for the agency’s crypto regulatory strategy under President-elect Donald Trump. In a recent interview on Fox Business, Peirce identified three priorities to address what she sees as critical obstacles hindering the growth and clarity of the crypto industry. Pierces’s...Read More
Tyler Winklevoss, co-founder of the Gemini crypto exchange, has declared that his company will adopt the same policy as Coinbase, cutting ties with any law firms or entities that hire former U.S. Security and Exchange Commission (SEC) officials associated with alleged overreach against the digital asset industry. His decision comes in the wake of Coinbase...Read More
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has pushed back against efforts to dismiss its lawsuit against cryptocurrency exchange Binance, its U.S. branch Binance.US, and former CEO Changpeng Zhao. The regulator accuses them of running an unregistered securities exchange through the trading of BNB, Binance’s native token, and ten other cryptocurrencies. Details From the Filing...Read More
Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong announced a bold stance against law firms hiring individuals associated with what he views as ethically questionable actions during the SEC’s “soon-to-be prior administration.” Armstrong revealed that the crypto exchange has already informed its legal partners that employing such individuals would result in the termination of their professional relationship with the...Read More
XRP has climbed to the third spot among cryptocurrencies by market cap, overtaking the world’s largest stablecoin Tether (USDT) as well as the “Ethereum Killer” Solana (SOL). Data from CoinMarketCap reveals that XRP’s capitalization has surged past $1350 billion, leaving only Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH) ahead in the rankings. Over the past seven days,...Read More
Bitwise Asset Management has submitted a proposal to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for a new exchange-traded fund (ETF) based on its existing 10 Crypto Index Fund. The ETF would include ten leading cryptocurrencies: Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), Solana (SOL), XRP, Cardano (ADA), Avalanche (AVAX), Chainlink (LINK), Bitcoin Cash (BCH), Polkadot (DOT), and...Read More
After years of positioning itself as the dominant regulatory force in the digital asset space, often at odds with crypto advocates, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) faces a significant shift in jurisdictional control. Amidst mounting frustration with the agency’s combative approach, the incoming Trump administration is pushing to expand the Commodity Futures Trading Commission...Read More
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has announced that it secured $8.2 billion in enforcement actions in 2024. This is the largest amount the commission has ever recovered, with significant contributions coming from the high-profile Terraform Labs case. Terraform Labs Leads SEC Recoveries According to a November 22 report, the SEC’s enforcement actions for...Read More
In a settlement with US authorities, BIT Mining agreed to pay $10 million in penalties related to bribery allegations involving Japanese government officials to secure a resort license. The company, which operates in the Bitcoin mining sector, admitted to violating the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) by conspiring to pay bribes and falsifying records. As...Read More
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has confirmed the distribution of over $4.6 million to investors impacted by the unregistered initial coin offering (ICO) of blockchain startup BitClave. The funds will be paid out from the BitClave Fair Fund following a notice and claims process. BitClave’s $29 Million ICO Settlement “The checks are in...Read More
Gary Gensler, the current chairman of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), confirmed on Thursday that he will be stepping down from his role starting in January. Gensler confirmed the news in an announcement on Twitter and a post to the SEC’s website, saying it had been an “honor of a lifetime” to “ensure...Read More
The Trump transition team is considering pro-crypto lawyer Teresa Goody Guillén as a potential SEC chair candidate, according to reports. Guillén is currently a partner at BakerHostetler and co-lead of its blockchain team. Last week, Gary Gensler released a statement that suggested he was leaving the agency, and the debate over his replacement has heated...Read More
Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse has expressed concerns about the potential appointment of Bob Stebbins as chair of the securities regulator. The industry executive responded to a post on X by crypto researcher ‘Anders’ who described Stebbins as “the old guard candidate for the SEC chair” before adding: “If Trump truly wants to make the US...Read More
