SEC Chair Gensler Says Crypto Is Rife With ‘Hucksters, Fraudsters, Scam Artists’

Gary Gensler is stepping up his language amid a wider crackdown on the crypto industry which intensified last week with a pair of fresh lawsuits.

• 2023-06-09
• Gary Gensler SEC Galaxy Digital federal securities laws

Crypto Tokens' Status as Securities or Commodities Is Key to SEC's Binance, Coinbase Suits: Bernstein

Crypto regulation has become a political debate and a turf battle between the SEC and the CFTC, the report said.

• 2023-06-07
• Bernstein U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission Coinbase federal securities laws Crypto regulation SEC commodities

Ex-Coinbase Manager Settles SEC’s Crypto Insider-Trading Claims

WASHINGTON—A former manager at Coinbase Global has reached a settlement with regulators over a novel cryptocurrency enforcement action without resolving a key question for the Securities and Exchange Commission and the crypto industry: which of the exchange’s digital assets are securities. Ishan Wahi’s deal with the SEC ends insider-trading claims over the agency’s claims that his trading tips involved crypto assets that are actually securities. While Wahi won’t pay any financial penalties

• 2023-05-31
• Ishan Wahi the SEC digital assets Nikhil Wahi insider trading SEC crypto assets criminal case federal securities laws Coinbase

SEC Seeks to Slash $22M Fine on Crypto Firm LBRY to $111K

A U.S. judge ruled in November that the crypto startup had violated securities laws by selling its native LBC token without registering with the SEC.

• 2023-05-15
• LBRY the SEC SEC federal securities laws

SEC charges Lindsay Lohan and other celebrities for illegally touting crypto

They didn't disclose that they were being paid to promote Justin Sun's Tronix and BitTorrent crypto assets.

• 2023-03-23
• Lindsay Lohan Justin Sun social media crypto enthusiasts SEC federal securities laws Austin Mahone celebrities

SEC Accuses Utah-Based Green United of Running $18M Crypto Mining Scam

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has filed suit against Green United, alleging that the Utah-based company violated federal securities laws by selling $18 million worth of phony crypto mining equipment.

• 2023-03-07
• Green United Wright Thurston federal securities laws Kristoffer Krohn SEC United

Dapper Labs Ruling Could Spell Trouble for Other Centralized NFT Projects, Experts Say

If Dapper Labs’ NBA Top Shots Moments are found to be securities, the company and its CEO could potentially face civil and criminal penalties for selling unregistered securities.

• 2023-02-24
• Dapper Labs Victor Marrero NFT Dapper Labs federal securities laws CoinDesk Southern District of New York NFT

Chinchillas, Crypto and Crackdowns

The SEC’s actions on stablecoins would be the latest in a series of questions about what qualifies as a security.

• 2023-02-20
• Gary Gensler selling unregistered securities SEC poker chips federal securities laws cryptocurrencies