Archives

September 16, 2022 @ 6:07 pm By JD Alois  |  

Currently, the Democrats control the legislative and executive branches of government meaning they should be able to run wild with their legislative agenda. The reality is a bit different though, due to close margins in both the House and Senate and the fact that moderates… Read More

September 16, 2022 @ 2:44 pm By JD Alois  |  

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has filed fraud charges against Gabriel Edelman, Creative Advancement LLC, and Edelman Blockchain Advisors LLC, for allegedly defrauding investors out of $4.39 million. According to the SEC, Edelman and his affiliated entities offered and sold securities using false and… Read More

September 15, 2022 @ 5:39 pm By JD Alois  |  

SEC Chairman Gary Gensler testified in front of the Senate Banking Committee today, reiterating his opinion that in regards to digital assets  (or crypto assets) that the vast majority are securities. The exception being Bitcoin, and perhaps Ethereum – which entail much of the crypto… Read More

September 14, 2022 @ 10:48 am By JD Alois  |  

On Monday, the US Department of Justice announced it had received a guilty plea from the “first-ever cryptocurrency insider trading case.” Originally covered this past July, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) simultaneously filed insider trading charges along with the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the… Read More

September 11, 2022 @ 6:35 pm By JD Alois  |  

The JOBS Act of 2012, the legislation that also legalized online capital formation, included multiple regulatory updates. One, Title 1, has been a notable success as it has helped a growing number of smaller firms to go public. Title III created Regulation Crowdfunding or Reg… Read More

September 9, 2022 @ 6:08 pm By JD Alois  |  

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has created two new offices – one focused specifically on the digital asset or crypto-asset sector. According to the SEC, the Office of Crypto Assets has been added to the Division of Corporation Finance’s Disclosure Review Program (DRP). The… Read More

September 8, 2022 @ 2:12 pm By JD Alois  |  

SEC Chairman Gary Gensler continues to assert that pretty much all digital assets are securities and should be regulated as such. As part of the SEC Speaks series, Chair Gensler said that of the approximately 10,000 “tokens” he believes they are securities and the few… Read More

September 6, 2022 @ 11:57 am By JD Alois  |  

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Investor Advisory Committee (IAC) has scheduled a meeting for September 21st. According to the Sunshine Act Notice, the IAC will be discussing Climate Disclosure along with a recommendation made by the Committee. Currently, the SEC is proposing new rules… Read More

September 1, 2022 @ 7:37 pm By JD Alois  |  

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has charged the Archer Capital Management Group, Archer Growth Fund, and two related entities, HDR Management LLC and Silvermoon Group LLC, with an alleged fraudulent scheme that raised $2.6 million from at least 20 unsuspecting investors. According to the… Read More

August 24, 2022 @ 8:35 pm By JD Alois  |  

Several days ago, SEC Chairman Gary Gensler took to the pages of WSJ.com to reflect on crypto markets and regulations. This has been a hot topic for several years now as clear-cut rules by regulators still don’t quite exist. Chair Gensler is of the opinion… Read More

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