Gary Gensler’s SEC has conducted one of the most aggressive regulatory crackdowns on the crypto industry in US history, viewing most digital assets as unregistered securities under decades-old finance laws. However, the recent Republican landslide at the polls could result in a rollback of enforcement action from the securities regulator, according to Bloomberg. Additionally, President...Read More
The votes are in, and it’s now official that the 47th US President will be the 45th one – Donald J. Trump. Now, the crypto industry will wait to see if he will follow through on his multiple promises to let it thrive and support it in various ways. One of those promises made during...Read More
Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong has called for the next US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) chair to address the agency’s perceived inconsistencies in its approach to digital assets. Armstrong’s criticism stems from the securities regulator’s shifting stance throughout the years which has caused frustration within the community. SEC’s Contradictions on Crypto His tweet, which accompanied...Read More
The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has issued a “Wells Notice” to Immutable, a blockchain gaming platform. It joins a list of prominent Web3 companies targeted by the agency’s regulation-by-enforcement approach. Following the news, the price of IMX token declined by more than 14% in the last 24 hours, falling below $1.40. Abrupt Wells...Read More
The United States Court of Appeal for the Second Circuit has ordered the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to file its principal appeal brief against Ripple Labs before January 15, 2025. This comes after the agency requested a deadline extension until the said date. No More Delays Initially, the SEC missed its submission deadline...Read More
Consensys, the blockchain development firm behind the popular MetaMask crypto wallet, has decided to lay off over 160 employees. The move impacts 20% of its total workforce. According to founder and CEO Joe Lubin, this decision was driven by macroeconomic challenges and substantial legal costs incurred during the company’s extended regulatory battles. Job Cuts at Consensys...Read More
Ripple Labs has stepped up its legal battle with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) after filing its Civil Appeal Pre-Argument Statement, also known as Form C. The filing comes only days after the SEC entered a last-minute appeal against several parts of a 2023 judgment which found that Ripple’s programmatic sales of its...Read More
U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chair Gary Gensler has appeared to double down on the agency’s hardline stance on cryptocurrency regulation. In a recent Bloomberg interview, he reaffirmed that the SEC will continue its much-maligned enforcement-led approach rooted in existing securities laws despite mounting backlash from the crypto industry and lawmakers. Commission Holds Firm...Read More
The United States Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has arrested an individual responsible for posting a fake tweet announcing the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) approval of spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) earlier this year. According to a press release by the United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia, authorities have charged the...Read More
After much confusion and speculation, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has filed an appeal in its ongoing legal spat with Ripple Labs. The appeal is challenging parts of Judge Analisa Torres’ 2023 summary judgment, which found that Ripple’s sales of its XRP token to retail investors on crypto exchanges did not break U.S. securities...Read More
FTX and its sister firm Alameda faced the largest crypto-related enforcement by US regulators, with a staggering $12.7 billion in combined settlement charges. According to CoinGecko’s findings, this amount tops the list of penalties imposed on cryptocurrency companies, highlighting the regulatory focus on the now-bankrupt exchange. Meanwhile, Binance’s $4 billion settlement is notable as the...Read More
Three crypto companies and 15 individuals have been charged with extensive fraud and market manipulation. This follows an unprecedented investigation by the US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), which involved creating a new digital token to help expose criminal activity in the sector. Federal prosecutors in Boston announced charges against Gotbit, ZM Quant, and CLS...Read More
Bitnomial has filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and its five commissioners, accusing the agency of overextending its jurisdiction. The company’s case disputes the SEC’s classification of XRP as a security, which the agency claims qualifies as an investment contract under the Securities Exchange Act. The Case Details The Chicago-based...Read More
The Bitcoin (BTC) rewards app Fold has submitted its S-4 filing to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), initiating the process for an initial public offering (IPO). The filing follows an announcement in July that it plans to go public through a merger with FTAC Emerald Acquisition Corp. Details of the Merger The filing...Read More
Robinhood’s Chief Legal Officer, Dan Gallagher, is emerging as a leading contender to head the SEC if Donald Trump wins the presidency. “He’d be a natural choice,” one former senior SEC official told Politico, which cited a dozen former top regulators, lobbyists, and securities lawyers. Talkshow host Steven Steele commented that this would be huge...Read More
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) Director of Enforcement, Gurbir Grewal, has announced his resignation, effective October 11, 2024. His sudden exit comes at a critical moment for the regulator, as it is filing an appeal in its high-profile case against Ripple. Grewal Leaving as SEC Appeals Ripple Decision The departure was announced in...Read More
This week, Bitwise registered a trust entity called “XRP ETF” in Delaware. The following day, the asset manager filed an S-1 form with the US Securities and Exchange Commission, a necessary step for companies aiming to launch a new security and list it on a public stock exchange. As a result, the optimism surrounding a...Read More
The United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) unveiled charges against two crypto companies, TrueCoin and TrustToken, for their fraudulent stablecoin investment program and unregistered offer and sale of securities. According to a press release by the agency, the SEC filed the complaint at the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California and...Read More
Gary Gensler, the chairman of the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), believes there have been significant changes in the financial market requiring upgraded definitions of exchanges and alternative trading platforms. During the 10th Annual U.S. Treasury Market Conference on September 26, Gensler highlighted the shifts in the capital markets since the SEC first...Read More
On Sept. 24, Minnesota Representative Tom Emmer took aim at Gary Gensler over his “disastrous record” as Chairman of the SEC. The grilling came during a House Financial Services Committee congressional hearing. Emmer accused Gensler of expecting political allegiance from SEC staff, including civil servants; however, the SEC chair denied this claim despite email evidence to...Read More
A group of Republican lawmakers, headed by Rep. Patrick McHenry and Sen. Cynthia Lummis, have raised concerns over the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) approach to regulating crypto custody. In a letter addressed to SEC Chair Gary Gensler, the lawmakers demanded the agency “rescind” its Staff Accounting Bulletin No. 121 (SAB 121). Critique of SAB...Read More
A Texas federal judge has dismissed a lawsuit filed by blockchain development company Consensys against the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and its Chair, Gary Gensler, along with other commissioners. The lawsuit revolved around the SEC’s investigations into Ethereum (ETH) and its issuance of a Wells Notice regarding MetaMask, a cryptocurrency wallet developed by...Read More
Terraform Labs, the company behind TerraUSD (UST) and Luna, has secured court approval to wind down operations in bankruptcy after settling with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). According to a Reuters report, the wind-down plan was approved by US Bankruptcy Judge Brendan Shannon, who called it a “welcome alternative” to further litigation...Read More
On Sept. 17, Minnesota Representative Tom Emmer wrote with House Financial Services Committee Chairman Patrick McHenry to SEC Chair Gary Gensler requesting clarity on whether crypto airdrops are securities transactions. “Under Chairman Gensler’s tenure, the SEC has put its thumb on the scale and prevented Americans from shaping the next iteration of the internet,” he...Read More
Massachusetts Republican Senate candidate John Deaton has indicated his intention to hold the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) accountable for its role in wiping out $15 billion from XRP retail investors. In a September 16 interview on the “Good Morning Crypto Show,” the lawyer made it clear that he’s ready to continue his battle...Read More
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has ramped up its enforcement actions against the cryptocurrency sector in 2024, imposing nearly $4.7 billion in fines. This figure represents a 3,018% increase from the $150.3 million in fines issued in 2023. Record Breaking Settlement According to a report from Social Capital Markets, 2024’s figures are largely...Read More
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has seemingly tracked back on previous statements suggesting that crypto assets themselves are securities. This retraction comes amid the agency’s ongoing legal case against Binance, one of the largest cryptocurrency exchanges in the world. SEC “Regrets” Confusion Caused by Wording Attention to the SEC’s shift was drawn by...Read More
Within the next six months, the United States arm of the financial services company, eToro, would cease trading almost all crypto assets on its platform due to a new order from the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). According to a press release from the SEC, eToro has violated federal securities laws since at least 2020....Read More
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has levied another set of charges against Galois Capital – a crypto-focused advisory firm that custodied client assets at FTX. For its actions, Galois agreed to pay a civil penalty of $225,000, which will be distributed to harmed investors of the fund. Charged For Losing Money In FTX Per...Read More
The Chief Legal Officer at Ripple Stuart Alderoty has publicly criticized the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) over its use of the phrase “crypto asset security.” In a post published on his official X account, the lawyer argued that the term is a made-up concept that has no legitimate grounding. Lawyer, Court, Call Out...Read More
