For years, blockchain developers have urged U.S. courts to provide clearer ex ante guidance on when writing or deploying decentralized software crosses the line into regulated financial activity. A March 26, 2026 decision by Chief Judge Reed O’Connor of the Northern District of Texas underscores just how difficult that path remains. Case Background The plaintiff, blockchain developer Michael Lewellen, sued the Department of Justice (DOJ) seeking declaratory relief that his Ethereum‑based crowdfunding tool, “Pharos,” did…
In a recent Law360 article, Baker McKenzie partners David Zaslowsky and Peter Chan explore how the US Digital Asset Market Clarity Act, though still pending in Congress, can be used to influence litigation strategy in crypto‑related matters in terms of shaping how courts, regulators and litigants view questions of jurisdiction, classification and regulatory uncertainty.David and Peter explain that even before enactment, the Clarity Act can be used to strengthen fair‑notice and due‑process arguments, support stays…
In a decision on December 30, 2025, Judge Roy Altman of the of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida dismissed a putative class action lawsuit against Mark Cuban and the Dallas Mavericks basketball team. Karnas v. Cuban, No. 22-cv-22538- Altman (S.D. Fla. Dec. 30, 2025). The suit alleged wrongdoing related to their marketing of a cryptocurrency platform. Background (from the Complaint) Voyager Digital, LLC (“Voyager”) launched the “Voyager Platform” in October…
FTX’s spectacular collapse in November 2022 resulted in billions of dollars in losses for investors worldwide and triggered criminal charges against its founder, Sam Bankman-Fried, who is currently serving a lengthy prison sentence for fraud. In the wake of this collapse, a group of investors filed suit, alleging that celebrity endorsers and influencers materially contributed to the fraud by promoting FTX without disclosing their financial relationships or the risks involved. The plaintiffs contended that these…
Social media – with Tik Tok being the primary medium these days – illustrates the continued power of the internet to lift people from obscurity to international stardom. Haliey Welch is a perfect example. The 22-year-old went viral in the summer of 2024 after a street interview where she used the term “hawk tuah” to describe a sex act, which led to her being known as Hawk Tuah Girl. She used her fame to sell…
Those familiar with the career of Elon Musk and his use of tongue-in-cheek conventions (such as tweeting about taking Tesla private at $420 a share), were probably not surprised, based on the many reports of actions he took relating to Dogecoin, that the new government commission he has been tasked with co-leading has the acronym DOGE (Department of Government Efficiency). And, within days of the report of the creation of DOGE, the plaintiffs who brought…
In re Celsius Network LLC, Case No. 22-10964 (MG) (Bankr. S.D.N.Y. Oct. 24, 2024), was a case in bankruptcy court in New York in which the litigation administrator for the post-effective date debtors in the well-publicized bankruptcy of the Celsius cryptocurrency platform brought suit attempting to avoid allegedly fraudulent transfers and recover property of the bankruptcy estate. These particular transfers were made to digital wallets and cryptocurrency exchange accounts of defendants who were anonymous. Neither…
In 2021, we reported that the United States District Court for the District of New Hampshire dismissed a lawsuit that sought to block the United States Internal Revenue Service’s effort to obtain records from cryptocurrency exchanges that included account information about individual accounts. In a decision on September 24, 2024, the First Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed that dismissal. The case concerned a 2019 episode in which the IRS sent about 10,000 letters to taxpayers…
BitMEX is a cryptocurrency exchange and derivative trading platform. It is owned and operated by HDR Global Trading Limited, which is registered in the Seychelles. HDR is an acronym of the last names of its founders, Arthur Hayes, Ben Delo, and Sam Reed. In 2020, Plaintiffs brought a putative class action against the founders and HDR alleging multiple violations of the Commodity Exchange Act (“CEA”), including price manipulation. The Defendants moved to dismiss the case…
There has been much publicity over the lawsuit brought against celebrities such as Tom Brady and Larry David for their endorsement of FTX. In that case, the judge refused a request to serve Shaquille O’Neal through social media platforms, including Twitter, based on O’Neal’s allegedly taking steps to avoid service. But there is a similar case in Miami, assigned to district judge Cecilia M. Altonaga, brought against Tom Nash and other social media influencers in…