Author

Sam Kramer

Browsing

The CFTC has issued new guidance on “actual delivery” of virtual currencies.  The CFTC has long held that commodities must be physically delivered within 28 days of the contract of sale to fall outside of the regulation of contracts under the Commodities Exchange Act.  In this new guidance, the CFTC concludes that possession and control of the digital asset must transfer to the buyer within 28 days to satisfy the requirements of actual delivery.  In…

A group of investors in Ripple’s cryptocurrency XRP filed an amended complaint exploiting recent guidance published by the Strategic Hub for Innovation and Financial Technology (FinHub) of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).  The SEC’s “Framework for ‘Investment Contract’ Analysis of Digital Assets” provides guidance for evaluating whether a particular cryptocurrency has the characteristics of an “investment contract” and therefore subject to registration under federal securities laws.  The SEC’s “Framework” identifies each of the…

Crypto exchange startup INX Limited filed a preliminary prospectus outlining its plans to raise between $5 million and $129.5 million in an initial public offering (IPO), making it one of few cryptocurrency companies to seek a U.S. listing for its tokens through registration of a public offering.  INX filed a prospectus with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in August in anticipation of an offering of approximately 130 million INX security tokens. Leveraging guidance…

In our article for Bloomberg Law, we discuss the legal questions arising out of the announcement by William Hinman (SEC Director of the Division of Corporate Finance) that ether and bitcoin—the popular cryptocurrencies—would not qualify as securities.  Numerous news organizations, as well as FinTech and cryptocurrency blogs, jumped on the announcement, reporting it as a major clarification regarding the legal status of cryptocurrencies and initial coin offerings.  Unfortunately, there is a real risk that, rather…

What’s changed The U.S. Government is considering adding digital currency addresses affiliated with individuals and entities identified to the List of Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons (“SDN List”).  This would put U.S. persons on notice that doing business with those digital addresses may be prohibited, increasing compliance considerations for businesses delving into the world of virtual currency. What it means for you On March 19, 2018, the U.S. Office of Foreign Assets Control (“OFAC”)…