Category: Blockchain & Cryptocurrency Law
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
If ICOs are Securities: What Cryptocurrency Issuers, Exchanges and Gatekeepers Need to Know.
As predicted, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has taken additional steps to clamp down on the exploding ICO market: yesterday the Wall Street Journal reported the agency had issued “dozens of subpoenas and information requests to technology companies and advisors.” After repeated warnings from regulators like SEC Chairman Jay Clayton, the SEC is now sending… Read More
Full Metal Cryptojacket
In retrospect, it all seems so predictable. International capitalism creates virtual currencies. Banks are avoided. Millennials hail a new world order of anonymous or nearly untraceable market transactions. Numerous parties and exchanges hold on to large quantities of virtual currencies. But then the bad guys show up. And I’m not talking about the regulators. Last month, in what looks like the… Read More
Coming Soon: Digital Asset Regulation
In January, Bitcoin dropped to approximately 50% of its 2017 peak price. Other digital currencies saw similar declines. Most market observers blamed these massive price fluctuations on related events: (i) widespread reports of fraud and price manipulation, and (ii) increasing prospects for the regulation of digital assets and currencies. Indeed, 2018 has brought us federal… Read More
Social Media’s Hesitation to Promote Cryptocurrencies Explained
In a paradox of sorts, cryptocurrency’s continued survival may hinge on its submission to greater regulatory oversight. Such a notion is paradoxical in the sense that cryptocurrency’s origins can be traced to a “stick it to the man” mentality in which currency is decentralized and not tied to any one governmental body. Thus, submitting to… Read More
2018: The End of Cryptocurrencies?
Cryptocurrencies (e.g. Bitcoin) took the broader public by storm in 2017 and had a breakout year. There were outsized and even unprecedented returns, along with extreme volatility and even more extreme volatility. The question for 2018 is whether cryptocurrencies had their “fifteen minutes of fame” or they are here to stay? Blockchain technology (which is… Read More
The Risks of Cryptocurrency and How the Government Will Protect Consumers
Bitcoin and a host of cryptocurrencies have taken both Wall Street and Main Street by storm in 2017. The nearly continuous gains in the price of Bitcoin have spawned numerous imitators and led a number of companies to raise critical start-up funds by selling their own token/cryptocurrency in a process similar to an initial public… Read More
CFTC Regulated Markets May Give Bitcoin the Stability It Needs
The unregulated nature of virtual currencies like Bitcoin plays a big role in their appeal. However, wild swings in prices in addition to the perception that these markets are subject to manipulation, make it difficult—if not impossible—for the average person to rely heavily on Bitcoin and other virtual currencies as a currency, much less as… Read More
SEC and FTC Warn Celebrities Must Disclose Financial Connection For ICO Endorsements
Cryptocurrency is the latest trend to be embraced by celebrities, so much so that the federal government this month issued a warning about the possible risks involved. Both the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) have made clear that if a celebrity is being paid to promote a product… Read More
SEC Continues to Focus on ICOs
A new enforcement initiative by the Securities and Exchange Commission, part of its proclaimed efforts to address cyber-based threats and protect retail investors, indicates that the agency is including Initial Coin Offerings (ICOs) under its broad blanket of protection. Recent actions by the agency in the case of REcoin give more clues to its position… Read More
