Category: Blockchain & Cryptocurrency Law

July 28, 2022

European Union Agrees On Cryptocurrency Regulation, Excludes NFTs (For Now)

European Union policymakers have taken the next step toward enacting a scheme for regulating cryptocurrency and other blockchain-based assets, as the Council of the European Union and the European Parliament provisionally agreed to approve new rules governing Markets in Crypto-Assets (“MiCA”).  The new rules would address a range of risks related to cryptocurrencies and related… Read More

July 14, 2022

Is My Crypto Safe if My Exchange Declares Bankruptcy?

Celsius Network LLC, one of the largest cryptocurrency lenders in the industry, filed for bankruptcy protection on Wednesday, July 13th. The filing comes just a month after the company halted customer withdrawals, swaps, and transfers “to stabilize liquidity” on account of extreme market conditions caused by a dive in cryptocurrency prices. As such, many crypto-investors… Read More

July 8, 2022

Responsible Financial Innovation Act Proposal To Bolster CFTC Authority Over Crypto-Industry

Bipartisan legislation introduced in the Senate last month would mark the federal government’s first foray into cryptocurrency regulation, and it could be a welcome development as the industry navigates a period of regulatory and commercial uncertainty. On June 7, 2022, Senators Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) and Cynthia Lummis (R-WY) introduced the Responsible Financial Innovation Act (“RFIA”)… Read More

June 13, 2022

Deposit Method Standards and Cryptocurrency in Regulated iGaming and Sports Betting Industries

Despite being the most widespread form of non-fiat money, cryptocurrency has struggled to gain traction as a broader means of exchange and payment, including in the internet gaming (“iGaming”) and sports betting industries. While there are no industry-wide standards for acceptable deposit methods, gaming regulators have tended toward two approaches, neither of which explicitly permits… Read More

February 7, 2022

Ifrah Law on NFTs: What is an NFT?

It would be hard to over-exaggerate the hype that has grown around non-fungible tokens (“NFTs”) over the past year as a result of the meteoric rise of Bitcoin, cryptocurrencies, and other blockchain-based technologies. NFT sales skyrocketed in 2021 to $25 billion, a colossal increase from $94.9 million in 2020. [1] And the number of unique… Read More

March 18, 2019

INITIAL EXCHANGE OFFERING: THE NEW PARADIGM FOR CRYTPO CAPITAL?

Crypto exchange Bittrex made news this week when it announced its first initial exchange offering (IEO), which it was to host through its Malta-based affiliate Bittrex International.  Bittrex planned to offer its registered members the opportunity to buy RAID’s XRD token.  RAID is an international gaming data blockchain project, with the goal to create a… Read More

February 15, 2019

UPDATE – NOT SO FAST INDEED: DISTRICT COURT BALKS AT SEC’S BLANKET CHARACTERIZATION OF TOKENS AS SECURITIES BUT THEN RECONSIDERS RULING

An issue of major importance to cryptocurrency and digital token markets has been whether tokens were all to be considered securities under U.S. law.  The SEC’s frequent admonishments that it would consider ICOs to be securities offerings has caused a dramatic slowdown in the US ICO market.  In one of the first cases to test… Read More

December 28, 2018

New York AG Puts Crypto Exchanges in the Crosshairs

Following on the heels of the SEC’s announcement of subpoenas to crypto exchanges and token issuers, yesterday New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman announced “the Virtual Markets Integrity Initiative,” which he described as “a fact-finding inquiry into the policies and practices of platforms used by consumers to trade virtual or ‘crypto’ currencies like bitcoin and… Read More