In the last month alone, the securities watchdog has dismissed or paused at least eight cases against crypto companies, including those that targeted some of the sector’s most prominent faces. The running tally includes high-profile lawsuits against crypto exchanges Coinbase Global Inc and Binance Holdings Ltd. — who were sued within one day of each other in mid-2023 — as…
I have heard many say that the industry craves legal clarity. Today’s action results in less clarity. I have and will continue to work with participants who seek to operate within the securities laws. Or, should the Commission enact new regulations or Congress change the law, we can progress down a different path. But until that time, we have a…
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is dropping yet another case against an American crypto company, as the regulator continues its strategic retreat from the so-called “regulation by enforcement” approach to crypto regulation it took under the leadership of former Chairman Gary Gensler. Joe Lubin, CEO of Brooklyn-based crypto software company ConsenSys, said in a Thursday X post that…
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has “agreed in principle” to drop its enforcement action against Consensys, the Texas-based private blockchain software technology company announced Thursday. Matt Corva, general counsel at Consensys, shared internal correspondence on social media that he sent to employees, in which he announced the end to a “multi-year battle” and said the company’s technology has been…
The SEC’s regional offices examine regulated entities in their region. They often identify and lead investigations and enforcement actions, with guidance from the regional directors. If regional directors are eliminated, it will undoubtedly impact the SEC’s investigation and enforcement efforts. Companies will likely see a reprieve on investigations and enforcement actions, at least in the short term. Cutting the regional…
These priorities reflect a return to a focus on clearly fraudulent conduct and violations that impact retail investors, which typically are SEC enforcement priorities during Republican administrations. These newly announced bullets describing the CETU’s priorities are incredibly consistent with the priorities announced when the Cyber specialized enforcement unit was first created under the most recent previous Republican administration in 2017.…
A rout in Bitcoin deepened on Friday as investors rushed to safe assets in the wake of US President Donald Trump’s latest tariff threats, marking a dramatic reality check for one of the most popular Trump trades. The cryptocurrency tumbled as much as 7.2% on Friday to the lowest since early November and is down some 27% since it hit…
As part of an effort to provide greater clarity on the application of the federal securities laws to crypto assets, the Division of Corporation Finance is providing its views on “meme coins.” A “meme coin” is a type of crypto asset inspired by internet memes, characters, current events, or trends for which the promoter seeks to attract an enthusiastic online…
The Securities and Exchange Commission announced today that an enforcement action filed in June 2022 against six defendants has concluded with a judgment entered on February 6, 2025, in favor of the remaining two defendants, Roger Bendelac and Thomas Capellini of New York, after a four-day bench trial conducted in October 2024 in the U.S. District Court for the District…
Pryor Cashman announced today that Katherine Reilly has joined the firm’s New York office as a partner in the White Collar + Regulatory Enforcement Practice. Kate comes to Pryor Cashman from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York, where she served as a federal prosecutor for more than a decade, most recently as chief of the…