Archives

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

May 9, 2022 @ 10:22 am By JD Alois  |  

Announced last week, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) revealed its intent to step up its crypto enforcement actions with a newly renamed Crypto Assets and Cyber Unit doubling its headcount. The SEC outlined its reinvigorated mission as targeting digital asset offerings, crypto exchanges, lending… Read More

May 8, 2022 @ 6:38 pm By JD Alois  |  

Last week it was reported that the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) was doubling the size of its crypto enforcement team. The SEC also revealed that it had rebranded its Cyber Unit to the Crypto Assets and Cyber Unit to reflect its additional focus on… Read More

May 6, 2022 @ 2:36 pm By JD Alois  |  

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has once again filed fraud charges against a crypto operation. The SEC alleges that MCC International Corp. (MCC), which does business as Mining Capital Coin Corp., its founders Luiz Carlos Capuci, Jr. (aka Junior Caputti or Capuci) and Emerson… Read More

May 6, 2022 @ 10:31 am By JD Alois  |  

The Securities and Exchange Commission has settled charges against NVIDIA (NASDAQ:NVDA) regarding allegations of inadequate disclosures concerning the impact of cryptomining on the company’s gaming business. Without admitting or denying the SEC’s findings, NVIDIA has agreed to a cease-and-desist order and to pay a $5.5… Read More

May 4, 2022 @ 10:29 pm By JD Alois  |  

This past March, Chairman Gary Gensler announced the Securities and Exchange Commission was aiming to require disclosure on climate impact for registered firms. The Fact Sheet may be viewed here. Climate-related information would be required in firms’ registration statements and annual reports, including information about… Read More

May 3, 2022 @ 11:20 am By JD Alois  |  

Last year was a big one for the SPAC [special purpose acquisition company] market. Reportedly, 613 SPAC offerings were floated on an exchange easily topping 420 traditional initial public offerings. Since the beginning of 2022, SPAC offerings have slowed to around 62 so far. SPACs… Read More

May 3, 2022 @ 10:52 am By JD Alois  |  

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) will double its enforcement team when it comes to the crypto or digital assets sector. According to a statement by the SEC, the renamed Crypto Assets and Cyber Unit (formerly the Cyber Unit) will increase its headcount to 50… Read More

May 1, 2022 @ 4:27 pm By JD Alois  |  

The Securities and Exchange Commission is currently pursuing new rules under the auspices of ESG: Environmental, Social, and Governance. In March of 2022, SEC Chairman Gary Gensler explained they were aiming to require disclosure for firms on issues such as climate impact. He explained: “The… Read More

April 29, 2022 @ 5:33 pm By JD Alois  |  

The Securities and Exchange Commission’s Small Business Capital Formation Advisory Committee (SBCFAC) has scheduled a meeting to discuss two specific topics: SPACs or Special Purpose Acquisition Companies and Climate Disclosure. The meeting will take place on Friday, May 6, 2022. According to a statement by… Read More

April 29, 2022 @ 12:58 pm By JD Alois  |  

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has charged Steven Chiang a/k/a Cyrus Kong, Eric Tippetts, James Hardy, and Maurice “Butch” Chelliah in regards to an alleged digital asset offering that has been deemed an unregistered securities offering. According to the other SEC, the defendants raised… Read More