Tagged: seward and kissel

June 2, 2025 @ 4:36 pm By JD Alois  |  

Last week, the US Department of Labor’s Employee Benefits Security Administration rescinded a 2022 compliance release that discouraged fiduciaries from including cryptocurrency options in 401(k) retirement plans. This was part of a broader attack on the digital asset sector during the Biden Administration. In the… Read More

January 22, 2025 @ 6:10 pm By JD Alois  |  

This past week, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced a new Crypto Task Force established with the mission of creating a regulatory framework for digital assets. After years of regulation by enforcement, the SEC is finally doing its job. The change arrived with the departure of Gary Gensler as… Read More

January 4, 2025 @ 10:06 am By JD Alois  |  

Several days ago, the US Internal Revenue Service (IRS) issued a statement providing temporary relief on crypto cost-basis reporting rules. While a good thing for digital asset investors, the change is only until December 31, 2025. There has been much jostling between policymakers as to… Read More

October 22, 2024 @ 4:07 pm By JD Alois  |  

  The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) released final Open Banking rules today. The new rules impact banks, brokerages and more, and go into effect over the next few years. Open Banking or Open Finance addresses the topic of data generated or provided by consumers… Read More

August 12, 2024 @ 1:56 pm By JD Alois  |  

Last week, it was reported that Ripple had paid a $125 million penalty to settle an enforcement case brought by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Ripple, the issuer of XRP, was found guilty of selling unregistered securities, but the penalty was far smaller than… Read More

November 16, 2023 @ 12:15 pm By JD Alois  |  

Last week, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) proposed rules to regulate Big Tech and their Fintech services. The CFPB is targeting firms like Facebook, Google, Amazon, Apple, and others. According to the statement issued by the CFPB, the agency seeks to regulated digital wallets… Read More

September 19, 2023 @ 4:30 pm By JD Alois  |  

The New York State Department of Financial Services (NYDFS) has published “guidance” for the US digital asset industry building upon its already widely utilized Bit Licence rules. Superintendent Adrienne A. Harris issued a statement explaining her goal of prioritizing regulations for “virtual currency policy” to… Read More

August 10, 2023 @ 6:03 pm By JD Alois  |  

As the crypto-sphere knows, last month Ripple/XRP received a partial victory against the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in a court decision that determined that people who bought XRP could not reasonably expect Ripple to act to increase the price of XRP and the sales… Read More

March 4, 2023 @ 12:11 pm By JD Alois  |  

Silvergate (NYSE:SI) has halted its Silvergate Exchange Network (SEN), an API service for banking customers to allow 24/7/365 real-time transfers for institutional investors active in the digital asset sector. Silvergate said it was making a “risk-based decision to discontinue the SEN,” adding that all other… Read More

January 9, 2023 @ 2:53 pm By JD Alois  |  

Philip Moustakis, has been made a Partner at the global law firm of Seward & Kissel. Moustakis was previously counsel practicing in the firm’s Government Enforcement & Internal Investigations Group and Blockchain & Cryptocurrency Group. He joined the firm in 2019 and is a regular… Read More

December 17, 2022 @ 2:19 pm By JD Alois  |  

  The trifecta of legal action against Sam Bankman-Fried and the failure of FTX blossomed this past week as the US Attorney for the Southern District of New York filed criminal charges against Bankman-Fried. These charges were joined by civil charges filed by both the… Read More

November 14, 2022 @ 4:11 pm By JD Alois  |  

The bankruptcy of FTX and many of its affiliated entities have pummeled all crypto markets. Many observers wonder if there is another shoe to drop. Meanwhile, crypto-associated firms continue to make announcements regarding any impact the collapse of crypto may have on their operations. It… Read More

October 20, 2022 @ 9:02 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Virtual currency trading company CrossTower continues to pursue a potential deal to acquire the assets of the once-leading and now-bankrupt Voyager Digital Ltd. out of bankruptcy, a lawyer for CrossTower noted at a court hearing on Wednesday (October 19, 2022). John Ashmead, CrossTower’s lawyer, a… Read More

October 17, 2022 @ 3:54 pm By JD Alois  |  

Last week, it was reported that Bittrex was the target of an enforcement action emanating from the US Department of Treasury. Two divisions at Treasury, the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) and The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) announced enforcement actions. The crypto trading… Read More

October 4, 2022 @ 12:19 pm By JD Alois  |  

Yesterday, as was widely reported, well-known celebrity and influencer Kim Kardashian settled an enforcement action brought by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The infraction had to do with an Instagram post for EthereumMAX, the issuer of the EMAX token. The post, which was tagged… Read More

September 14, 2022 @ 10:48 am By JD Alois  |  

On Monday, the US Department of Justice announced it had received a guilty plea from the “first-ever cryptocurrency insider trading case.” Originally covered this past July, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) simultaneously filed insider trading charges along with the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the… Read More

April 15, 2021 @ 1:36 pm By JD Alois  |  

Sotheby’s first NFT [non-fungible token] sale completed yesterday.  The digital artist known as Pak sold multiple NFTs for almost $17 million. Hosted on Gemini’s Nifty Gateway, the sale allowed collectors to bid on NFTs for limited-edition artworks in “The Fungible Collection” and open edition artworks… Read More

October 5, 2020 @ 6:00 pm By JD Alois  |  

Last week, BitMEX (Bitcoin Mercantile Exchange), a top crypto/crypto-derivatives exchange that is operated by HDR Global Trading Limited, a Republic of Seychelles incorporated entity, was hit with a civil enforcement action emanating from the Commodity Futures Trading Future Commission (CFTC). Simultaneously, a criminal lawsuit by… Read More

October 3, 2020 @ 8:12 am By JD Alois  |  

This past week, Kik, a company that raised over $100 million in an initial coin offering (ICO), lost a long legal battle with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The courts determined that Kik had raised capital in an unregistered securities offering thus transgressing securities… Read More

September 24, 2020 @ 4:38 pm By JD Alois  |  

Earlier this week, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) – the leading national bank regulator, provided guidance on banks and stablecoins. The guidance was designed to provide “greater regulatory certainty for banks” operating in this sector. Stablecoins are digital assets typically tied… Read More