‘Enforcement 40’ for 2020
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Join the Securities Litigation and Enforcement Group on LinkedInWhere Did Kik Go Wrong? Former SEC Attorney Discusses Kik Settlement with SEC
John Berry, a partner at Munger, Tolles & Olson LLP, a former SEC attorney that served on the enforcement staff from its Los Angeles office, has provided some perspective on Kik’s settlement with the SEC. While at the Commission, Berry supervised over 100 investigations that led to more than 40 litigated or settled cases so […]
Fighting SEC Over Cryptocurrency, Kik Shuts Chat App – WSJ
Canadian social-media company Kik Interactive Inc., which is fighting U.S. claims that it illegally raised capital, said it would shut its messaging app and lay off most of its staff. In June, the Securities and Exchange Commission sued Kik, saying its $100 million fundraising in 2017 evaded U.S. investor-protection laws. Kik had sold its cryptocurrency, […]
Kik Lawyers Say SEC Has No Strong Evidence, Twisted Facts in Complaint
In a court filing dated Aug. 6, Kik’s lawyers state that the SEC relied on taking quotes out of context and twisting facts in order to support their allegations. Kik further wrote that the SEC resorted to misrepresenting the facts because they have no strong evidence to support their claims: “If the Commission had strong […]
The SEC Can’t Keep Kik-ing the Crypto Can – On the Chain
SEC Chairman Jay Clayton stated last year that all ICOs he has seen are securities. And yet the SEC has pursued enforcement actions against only a small portion of ICOs – less than ten percent – most of which involved fraud or other intentional misconduct. It’s too soon to tell for sure, but this action […]
A Swift Kik Or A Slow Roll? Crypto Lawyers Address Tough Questions About SEC V. Kik Interactive Inc.
After reading the Kik Complaint, I reached out to a few of my friends in the U.S. crypto space, including two experienced litigators (Kayvan Sadeghi, a securities litigation partner at Schiff Hardin LLP, and Jake Chervinsky, general counsel of Compound Finance) and three seasoned transactional lawyers (Jay Baris, a partner at Shearman & Sterling LLP, […]
SEC Charges Issuer With Conducting $100 Million Unregistered ICO
The Securities and Exchange Commission today sued Kik Interactive Inc. for conducting an illegal $100 million securities offering of digital tokens. The SEC charges that Kik sold the tokens to U.S. investors without registering their offer and sale as required by the U.S. securities laws. via SEC.gov | SEC Charges Issuer With Conducting $100 Million […]
Kik has had enough, but can it kick back at SEC? – CoinGeek
Now the company has run into potentially more severe trouble, this time with the U.S. SEC, which has deemed ICOs as securities. In an interview with the Wall Street Journal, Kik CEO Ted Livingston said the U.S. regulator isn’t accusing the company of fraud, but because Kik failed to register the ICO with the SEC, […]