Archives

August 24, 2022 @ 4:15 pm By JD Alois  |  

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has published a draft strategic plan for the 2022 to 2026 fiscal years. The plan targets three goals: Protect working families against fraud, manipulation, and misconduct; Develop and implement a robust regulatory framework that keeps pace with evolving markets,… Read More

August 20, 2022 @ 3:37 pm By JD Alois  |  

This past week, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), staff of the Office of Investor Education and Advocacy, posted a warning about private placements under Reg D, including 506c and 506b, as well as Rule 504. Reg D is an exemption that is widely utilized… Read More

August 16, 2022 @ 5:41 pm By JD Alois  |  

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has charged Dragonchain, Dragonchain Foundation, the Dragon Company and founder John Joseph Roets with raising $16.5 million in an “unregistered crypto asset securities offering.” In the complaint, the SEC alleges that Roets, Dragonchain, and the Foundation conducted an unregistered… Read More

August 5, 2022 @ 12:18 pm By JD Alois  |  

Last week during the meeting of the SEC Small Business Capital Formation Advisory Committee (SBCFAC), members voted to support improvements to secondary trading of crowdfunded securities – more specifically, to exempt state laws when it comes to the trading of securities under Tier 2 of… Read More

August 1, 2022 @ 12:35 pm By JD Alois  |  

Earlier this year, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Small Business Capital Formation Advisory Committee (SBCFAC), held a meeting to discuss proposed rules on climate risk disclosure. The meeting addressed potential rule changes initiated by the SEC and championed by SEC Chairman Gary Gensler. When… Read More

July 31, 2022 @ 4:31 pm By JD Alois  |  

This past week, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) published its 41st annual Small Business Forum report, an effort to help guide the Commission on important issues facing small businesses and access to capital in the USA. While the SEC focuses most of its attention… Read More

July 26, 2022 @ 8:57 am By JD Alois  |  

Coinbase (NASDAQ:COIN) recently worked with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to pursue an insider action investigation that ended up with three individuals, including a former Coinbase manager, being hit with a lawsuit by the SEC as well as parallel criminal charges from the US… Read More

July 15, 2022 @ 4:41 pm By JD Alois  |  

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has obtained final judgment on an initial coin offering (ICO) that involved John McAfee, the peripatetic software entrepreneur and blockchain advocate. McAfee died in a jail cell in Barcelona after being apprehended on tax evasion accusations. The claims against… Read More

June 23, 2022 @ 9:38 pm By JD Alois  |  

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has proposed ESG rules that may compel public firms to disclose climate risks that may impact the environment. The rule proposal was accepting comments from interested parties up until this past week with a deadline of June 17th. While everyone… Read More

June 17, 2022 @ 2:38 pm By JD Alois  |  

House Republicans have sent a letter to the Chairman of the SEC Gary Gensler telling him to halt his pursuit of proposed climate disclosure rules as over-stepping the statutory responsibilities of the Commission. In the letter, signed by 129 Republicans led by the top Republican… Read More

June 17, 2022 @ 10:41 am By JD Alois  |  

The US Senate has confirmed two new SEC Commissioners; Jaime Lizárraga and Mark Uyeda. Lizárraga previously served as Senior Advisor to Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi where he covered issues relating to financial markets, housing, international financial institutions, immigration, and small business policy. He… Read More

June 16, 2022 @ 10:08 am By JD Alois  |  

SEC Commissioner Hester Peirce posted a speech this week that addresses crypto markets and regulation. Commissioner Peirce has long taken a thoughtful approach in regards to digital asset innovation while generally being supportive Fintech. Peirce mentioned the bipartisan legislation published this month that aims to… Read More

June 13, 2022 @ 9:36 am By JD Alois  |  

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) charged three Charles Schwab investment adviser subsidiaries for allocating client funds in a manner that their own internal analyses showed would be less profitable for their clients under most market conditions. Schwab has agreed to pay $187 million to… Read More

June 9, 2022 @ 11:54 am By JD Alois  |  

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has posted a notice that the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit has affirmed a district court order requiring compliance with investigative subpoenas served by the Commission on Terraform Labs Pte Ltd and Do Kwon – based… Read More

May 27, 2022 @ 4:33 pm By JD Alois  |  

SEC Commissioner Hester Peirce and CFTC Commissioner Caroline Pham have partnered on an Op-Ed published this week in the Hill calling for progress on the regulation of decentralization. Alluding to possible friction between the two agencies as regulators jostle as to which sector of crypto… Read More

May 19, 2022 @ 11:00 am By JD Alois  |  

The Securities and Exchange Commission has obtained final judgments on consent against Sohrab “Sam” Sharma, Robert Farkas, and Raymond Trapani in regards to Centra Tech and an initial coin offering (ICO) deemed to be an unregistered security by the SEC. The SEC states that Centra… Read More

May 18, 2022 @ 12:03 pm By JD Alois  |  

SEC Chairman Gary Gensler testified in front of the Subcommittee on Financial Services and General Government, part of the House Appropriations Committee, to justify the agency’s budget request. As part of the questioning from various members, Gensler answered several questions which were crypto-related. Chairman Gensler… Read More

May 17, 2022 @ 5:18 pm By JD Alois  |  

Tomorrow (May 18, 2022), SEC Chairman Gary Gensler will hike up to Capitol Hill to extoll the need for a slight budget increase for the SEC and its ~ 4800 employees. Chair Gensler, along with the Chair of the FTC, will address the Subcommittee on… Read More

May 11, 2022 @ 11:53 am By JD Alois  |  

“Most crypto tokens are investment contracts under the Supreme Court’s Howey Test.” SEC Chairman Gary Gensler is not wavering from his view that most all crypto assets are securities. Gensler has consistently voiced this belief queueing up expectations for a growing number of enforcement actions… Read More

May 9, 2022 @ 11:58 am By JD Alois  |  

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has extended the comment period on proposed ESG rules that may compel public firms to disclose their climate risks and impact on the environment. The SEC has received broad criticism in regards to the rushed nature of the rulemaking… Read More