Tagged: jay clayton

SEC Alters Definition of Smaller Reporting Company

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has voted to adopt amendments to the “smaller reporting company” (SRC) definition. This change is designed to expand the number of companies that qualify for certain scaled disclosure accommodations thus making it easier (and perhaps less expensive) to comply… Read More

Testimony Provided by SEC Chair Jay Clayton Appears to Indicate Ethereum Not Being a Security is Commission Policy, Not Opinion

Earlier this month, the crypto markets quivered with repressed joy and moved higher when Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Director of Corporate Finance, William Hinman, declared that Ethereum is not a security. ETH advocates breathed a sigh of relief. Hinman stated; “And putting aside the… Read More

SEC Trading and Markets Director: Self-Reporting by ICOs “Underwhelming”-Decision Coming

Brett Redfearn, the Director of the Division of Trading and Markets at the SEC has criticized crypto producers and exchanges for failing to voluntarily register and report their activities to the SEC. “We’re underwhelmed by the enthusiasm for coming within the regulatory structure right now,”… Read More

SEC Boss Jay Clayton Says Crypto Tokens Traded and Used to Fundraise are ALWAYS Securities and Thus Regulated

Cryptocurrency used to fundraise for business ventures are regulated securities, cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin are not, and relevant laws will reman, the same, Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chairperson, Jay Clayton, said yesterday on CNBC. The point made by Clayton draws a hard line for any… Read More

The SEC Appoints Valerie A. Szczepanik as Senior Advisor for Digital Assets in Newly Created Position

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has appointed Valerie A. Szczepanik as the Associate Director of the Division of Corporation Finance and Senior Advisor for Digital Assets and Innovation. This is a newly created position and highlights the growing recognition by the Commission that digital… Read More

SEC Chair Jay Clayton & CFTC Chair J. Christopher Giancarlo to Testify Before Senate Committee On Appropriations Subcommittee on Budget Requests

CFTC Chair J. Christopher Giancarlo and SEC Chair Jay Clayton will be visiting Capitol Hill together once again to testify before a Senate Subcommittee. This time, Clayton and Giancarlo will be testifying before the Senate Committee On Appropriations Subcommittee on Budget Requests, tomorrow (June 5, 2018)… Read More

SEC Regulation A+, ICOs and Small Business Capital Formation: For Whom the Bells Toll?

  If the Wall Street Journal is any indicator, so called Regulation A+ offerings, which sprung to life in June 2015, courtesy of Title IV of the Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act of 2012 (the JOBS Act) and SEC rulemaking,  are (or should be) all… Read More

SEC Again Urges ICO Issuers to Make Contact About Compliance

U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission Chairperson Jay Clayton told an audience in Washington Tuesday that companies seeking to raise funds via digital tokens in an Initial Coin Offering should be proactive in contacting the agency regarding compliance, Law360 reports. “We’re open for business,” said Clayton…. Read More

SEC Chair Jay Clayton Applauds State’s Operation CryptoSweep Action Against Bogus ICOs

Securities and Exchange Commission (SECO Chairman Jay Clayton has issued a comment on Operation Cryptosweep – a coordinated enforcement action launched by state and provincial regulators attacking fraudulent initial coin offerings. Clayton said the North American Securities Administrators Association members (NASAA) play an important role… Read More

Hester Peirce Advocates for Thoughtful Regulation in Powerful LA Speech

Earlier this month Hester Peirce, a commissioner of the SEC, delivered a powerful speech in LA that bodes well for the future of cryptocurrency regulation. She addressed the challenges she faces as a regulator of the financial sector, and shared her own philosophy regarding initial… Read More

What Lessons Can Token Issuers Learn from Recent Federal / State Securities Enforcement Activity?

In this article we discuss a number of lessons that we believe issuers of digital tokens can draw from recent enforcement actions brought by federal and state securities regulators. But we first need to define the perimeter we will be covering. There has been a… Read More

Jay Clayton: The Issue of Facilitating Capital Formation and Increasing the Attractiveness of the Public Markets for Smaller Companies is One of My Highest Priorities

Securities and Exchange Commission Chair Jay Clayton re-affirmed his commitment to bolster the environment for smaller companies to more easily raise the growth capital they need and to help foster a more conducive IPO market for SMEs. Speaking at an Equity Market Structure Symposium in… Read More

Initial Coin Offering Attorneys Beware, You Could Be Next!

Following the SEC’s recent initial subpoena offerings (pun intended) targeting initial coin offering (ICO) issuers, many believe the SEC might now turn its sights toward some of the gatekeepers involved in the subject ICOs, including the attorneys. Some attorneys practicing in the ICO space have… Read More

Moving Forward with Cryptocurrency Regulation in 2018

Two months into 2018, it feels a little like the calm before a regulatory storm in terms of cryptocurrency regulation.  A series of pronouncements and announcements from the SEC toward the end of 2017 and beginning of 2018 gave industry insiders more clarity on what… Read More

A Tale of Two Cities: SEC & CFTC Heads Testify Before the Senate Banking Committee

Truly, it was a tale of two cities. On February 6, 2018, the U.S. Senate Banking Committee held a hearing on the oversight role of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) in respect of virtual currencies like Bitcoin… Read More

Prepared Testimony by SEC Chair Jay Clayton & CFTC Chair J. Christopher Giancarlo is Published in Advance of Senate Banking Committee Hearing on Virtual Currencies

As we reported this past weekend, the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs, is queued up to hold a hearing on virtual currencies or cryptocurrencies. What makes this hearing interesting is the fact the two witnesses are the leading regulators in the cryptocurrency… Read More

ICO Industry Adjusts as SEC & CFTC Warn Both Issuers & Advisors Including Attorneys Engaged Token Offerings

  This past week both the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission came out with strong statements warning the exuberant initial coin offering industry (ICO) that regulators will no longer tolerate the flouting of existing securities law. ICOs have increased rapidly… Read More

CFTC Chairman J. Christopher Giancarlo & SEC Chairman Jay Clayton Join in OpEd on Cryptocurrency & Regulatory Enforcement

In another obvious sign that the federal government is ramping up enforcement actions against initial coin offerings that do not file for an appropriate securities exemption or commit other illegal acts such as fraud, CFTC Chairman J. Christopher Giancarlo and SEC Chairman Jay Clayton jointly published… Read More

SEC Chair Jay Clayton Addresses ICOs in Speech Including Rebuke to ICO Advisors

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chairman Jay Clayton delivered a speech today to the Securities Regulation Institute. While covering several topics, Chair Clayton hit upon the hot subject of initial coin offerings (ICO) and the swirling regulatory environment delivering a stern rebuke to market… Read More

Recent Cease & Desist by Texas Regulators Targeting BitconnectX ICO May Foreshadow More Enforcement Actions

The regulatory drums are getting louder when it comes to initial coin offerings (ICOs). The first shot across the virtual bow was the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Report addressing the DAO and the fact it was an unregistered security. Since last July, there have been… Read More

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