Non-fungible token (“NFT”) issuers and the NFT market will want to take note of the US Securities and Exchange Commission’s (“SEC”) statement this week that NFTs issued by Impact Theory, LLC were “securities” under US federal securities law and the sale of those NFTs without registration or reliance on an exemption from the registration requirements
Brandon Birdsall
Ripple is Not a Tidal Wave – the SEC’s Case Against Terraform Labs Provides a Quick Counterpoint to the Recent Ripple Ruling
Just weeks after the novel securities analysis in SEC v. Ripple Labs was handed down, a different court in the Southern District of New York has distinguished the approach taken in Ripple and argued against its policy outcomes in another, high-profile enforcement action by the SEC involving digital assets. In this Legal Update, we examine…
Defining Digital Asset Securities: US District Court Issues Summary Judgment Rulings in SEC v. Ripple Labs
In a closely-watched ruling, on July 13, 2023, a US federal court granted summary judgment and made several key determinations on the question of whether digital tokens are “securities” for US securities law purposes. While the Court’s decision provides a number of meaningful rulings, it leaves many questions unanswered and will not be the final…
U.S. Treasury Issues Three Reports on the Future of Digital Assets and Central Bank Digital Currency
Posted in Fintech, Public Policy
On September 16, 2022, the Treasury Department issued three reports pursuant to President Joseph Biden’s March 9 Executive Order 14067 on “Ensuring Responsible Development of Digital Assets.” The issuance of the reports was followed by Treasury Under Secretary for Domestic Finance Nellie Liang giving remarks at the Brookings Institution on September 22 explaining the reports…