ICOs Involving Non-Issued Cryptocurrency May Be Prosecuted Under Federal Securities Laws
This week, a federal district court in New York was the first to decide that federal securities laws may be used to prosecute fraud involving cryptocurrencies. In United States v. Zaslavskiy, Eastern District Judge Raymond Dearie held that the Securities Exchange Act of 1933 (“Exchange Act”) and Securities Act of 1933 (“Securities Act”) are broad…
Read MoreHow to Raise Capital Through Registration Exempt ICOs
The SEC has strongly indicated that initial coin offerings (ICOs) will be treated as securities, and thus must comply with various registration and disclosure requirements before being used to raise capital. Companies do have, however, several options for possible exemptions from the regulatory requirements that apply to registered public offerings. This chart outlines potential exemptions…
Read MoreDeputy AG Rod Rosenstein to Make First Supreme Court Appearance in Sentencing Case, Even as Rumors Continue to Swirl of Potential Firing
Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein will be arguing before the Supreme Court today for the first time in his nearly thirty-year government career even as rumors abound that Donald Trump is talking about firing him to cut off investigations into his administration’s Russia ties. Although the United States is usually represented before the Supreme…
Read MoreCongress Passes the Allow States and Victims to Fight Online Sex Trafficking Act of 2017
As of March 21, 2018, both chambers of Congress have approved H.R. 1865—the Allow States and Victims to Fight Online Sex Trafficking Act of 2017 (FOSTA). In a rare show of bipartisanship, both Houses approved the bill with veto-proof majorities—the House by a vote of 388 to 25 and the Senate by a vote of…
Read MoreSEC’s Updated Cybersecurity Disclosure Guidelines Leave Questions Unanswered
As previewed in our previous post, the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) unanimously approved new cybersecurity interpretive guidance—a format used to clarify the SEC’s views on security laws and regulations—on Wednesday of last week. The guidelines make no mention of how they affect and interplay with other regulators’ data privacy requirements, so whether…
Read MoreIf 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 MoreEmployer Liability for Data Breaches: Avoid Getting Eaten By Your Own
When a company suffers a data breach, it is hit with a barrage of issues. For instance, How can it safeguard against another breach? Who should it notify of the breach and when (Authorities? The people whose data was compromised?)? What type of measures should it undertake to minimize possible damage to those whose data…
Read MoreSpeed Bump or Dead End? The 2018 Retrial Prospects for Sen. Menendez
This holiday season was undoubtedly festive for Senator Bob Menendez, whose corruption trial ended with a deadlocked jury in mid-November. The Department of Justice (DOJ) has yet to announce whether it will elect to re-try the New Jersey senator, but here are some of the factors they will, and will not, consider in making that…
Read MoreThe Territorial Tax System Under the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act
Last year, the Senate and House approved the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act along partisan lines; on December 21st, President Trump signed the bill into law. Nearly 1100 pages long, the Act makes a number of sweeping changes to the U.S. tax code. Among other things, the bill reduces individual income tax rates, nearly doubles…
Read MoreMarijuana May Be Headed for a Showdown Out West
Today, Attorney General Jeff Sessions issued a one-page memo to all U.S. Attorneys that announced a sharp reversal on the DOJ’s approach to marijuana prosecutions. Under the Obama administration, the DOJ issued a memorandum in 2013 (the “Cole memo”) that basically provided a safe harbor to the marijuana industry in states that legalized recreational marijuana.…
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