On July 13, 2023, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) charged Celsius Network Limited (Celsius) and its founder and former CEO, Alex Mashinsky, with violating registration and anti-fraud provisions of the federal securities laws. The SEC alleged that Celsius failed to register the offers and sales of its crypto lending […]
Cryptocurrency
Cryptocurrency – An Introduction
Cryptocurrency is a digital or virtual currency that is secured by cryptography, making it difficult to counterfeit or double-spend. Cryptocurrencies use decentralized technology for secure peer-to-peer transactions that are recorded on a public ledger known as a blockchain. There are currently over 8,000 cryptocurrencies in circulation, with new ones being […]
State AGs Oppose SEC Rule Regulating Cryptocurrency
On May 8, 12 states led by Arkansas Attorney General Tim Griffin sent a letter to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), opposing its recently proposed rule to give the commission the authority to regulate non-securities, including cryptocurrencies. While the current rules give the SEC the authority to regulate investment […]
SEC Wrong on Crypto
Crypto lawyer and XRP supporter John Deaton says that the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is moving in the wrong regulatory direction at the expense of retail investors. Crypto lawyer and XRP supporter John Deaton says that the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is moving in the wrong regulatory direction […]
Former Co-Lead Engineer of FTX Trading Charged by SEC for Role in Multiyear Scheme to Defraud Equity Investors
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has charged Nishad Singh, the former Co-Lead Engineer of FTX Trading Ltd. (FTX), for his involvement in a multiyear scheme to defraud equity investors in FTX, a crypto trading platform that Singh co-founded with Samuel Bankman-Fried and Gary Wang. The scheme allegedly involved diverting […]
SEC Charges Terraform and CEO Do Kwon in Crypto Schemes
We discussed this case previously in connection with the firm’s CEO,s attempts to avoid service of a subpoena and his refusal to comply. The company not only refused to comply, but it sued the SEC for violation of various statutes. See, What Happens if I Ignore an SEC Subpoena. Now […]
Getting Paid to Promote Securities? You Need to Disclose That Fact!
Former NBA player Paul Pierce was paid more than $244,000 worth of EMAX tokens in order to promote them on Twitter. He failed to disclose the payment and ultimately agreed to settle an SEC case by disgorging the $244,000 payment, plus interest and $1,115,000 million in penalties. That is a […]
Kraken to Discontinue Unregistered Offer and Sale of Crypto Asset Staking-As-A-Service Program and Pay $30 Million to Settle SEC Charges
Feb. 9, 2023, the SEC has taken action against Payward Ventures, Inc. and Payward Trading Ltd., commonly known as Kraken, for violating federal securities laws by failing to register the offer and sale of their crypto-asset staking-as-a-service program. Both Kraken entities have agreed to a settlement, which requires them to […]
SEC Tightens Cryptocurrency Enforcement
The SEC continues to make cryptocurrency-related enforcement a top priority under Chair Gary Gensler, bringing 30 enforcement actions against digital-asset market participants in 2022, up 50% from the 20 actions brought in 2021 and the highest number since 2013, according to a Cornerstone Research report released today. The report, SEC […]
SEC Charges 8 in Connection with $45 Million Crypto Fraud
Jan. 4, 2023 —The Securities and Exchange Commission today charged Neil Chandran, Garry Davidson, Michael Glaspie, Amy Mossel, Linda Knott, AEO Publishing Inc, Banner Co-Op, Inc, and BannersGo, LLC for their involvement in a fraudulent investment scheme named CoinDeal that raised more than $45 million from sales of unregistered securities […]