Tagged: enforcement

December 28, 2020 @ 12:44 pm By JD Alois  |  

Virgil Capital LLC, directed by Stefan Qin, and its “flagship” cryptocurrency trading fund, Virgil Sigma Fund LP have been hit by fraud charges leveled by the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Simultaneously, the SEC has obtained an emergency asset freeze related to the charges,… Read More

December 23, 2020 @ 2:20 pm By JD Alois  |  

The Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) lawsuit against Ripple is the largest enforcement action attacking the sale of a cryptocurrency to date. The SEC alleges the sale of an unregistered security in the issuance of XRP, Ripple’s native token. Ripple has been quick to defend… Read More

December 23, 2020 @ 1:28 pm By JD Alois  |  

Bitwise Asset Management, a crypto fund manager since 2017, has announced that the Bitwise 10 Crypto Index Fund (OTCQX: BITW) has liquidated its position in XRP. A Tweet indicated that Bitwise had held an emergency meeting yesterday where the decision was taken to liquidate the… Read More

December 23, 2020 @ 10:40 am By JD Alois  |  

Following the announcement of an enforcement action by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) alleging Ripple engaged in the sale of unregistered securities pertaining to XRP, Ripple has countered and executives have publicly countered the claims. Meanwhile, the lawsuit has caused several digital asset exchanges… Read More

December 22, 2020 @ 3:56 pm By JD Alois  |  

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has publicly posted the complaint charging Ripple with the sale of an unregistered security. Including in the enforcement action are Christian Larsen, the company’s co-founder, executive chairman of its board, and former CEO; and Bradley Garlinghouse, the company’s current… Read More

December 22, 2020 @ 8:38 am By JD Alois  |  

Ripple has posted a response to a Wells Notice received by the blockchain firm. A Wells Notice is a document sent to an entity or individual giving notice of a pending enforcement action following an investigation by the securities regulator. Yesterday, it was reported that… Read More

December 21, 2020 @ 9:12 pm By JD Alois  |  

Ripple, the creator of XRP the third-largest crypto by market cap of over $22 billion, is the target of a Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) enforcement action. Rumors have been circulating for some time now that Ripple had received a Wells Notice – an indication… Read More

December 21, 2020 @ 7:56 pm By JD Alois  |  

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has accepted an offer to settle from ShipChain, a company that apparently raised $27.5 million in an initial coin offering (ICO) for SHIP tokens. The SEC states that ShipChain is a private company that was engaged in developing a… Read More

December 17, 2020 @ 9:12 am By JD Alois  |  

The same week that Robinhood took a broadside hit by the state of Massachusetts securities regulator, the digital investment platform has now been charged by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) with misleading customers on how it generates revenue. Robinhood strategically settled the charges with… Read More

December 16, 2020 @ 8:29 am By JD Alois  |  

Robinhood, a digital investment platform that has encouraged a new generation of investors to enter the markets, is a target of an administrative complaint by the State of Massachusetts, according to the WSJ.com According to the report, Massachusetts Securities Division said that “Robinhood failed to… Read More

December 15, 2020 @ 6:14 pm By JD Alois  |  

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has charged Karina Chairez, said to be a promoter of the AirBit Club investment scheme that targeted Latinx and Spanish-speaking communities, for acting as an unregistered broker. The SEC notes that it previously brought similar charges against two other… Read More

December 9, 2020 @ 8:44 pm By JD Alois  |  

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has charged Amir Bruno Elmaani, aka “Bruno Block,” for conducting an illegal securities offering in an initial coin offering (ICO) and for a plan to profit by issuing millions of unauthorized tokens for himself at no cost and selling… Read More

November 4, 2020 @ 6:40 pm By JD Alois  |  

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) is reporting that the US District Court for the District of Colorado has entered a judgment against defendants Venture Capital Investments LLC (VCI) and its principal and manager Breonna Clark d/b/a Eliot Clark d/b/a Alexander Pak (Clark), of Denver,… Read More

November 2, 2020 @ 3:17 pm By JD Alois  |  

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Division of Enforcement, has published its annual report for the 2020 fiscal year. According to the report, the Commission brought 715 enforcement actions of which 405 were “standalone” actions. The Commission also obtained more than 475 bars or suspensions… Read More

October 27, 2020 @ 12:37 pm By JD Alois  |  

    Recently, Kik settled a long legal battle with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). In the end, Kik must pay a $5 million settlement pertaining to an initial coin offering (ICO) that was deemed to be an unregistered security offering. Additionally, for the… Read More

October 20, 2020 @ 9:16 pm By JD Alois  |  

The long saga of Kik Interactive’s battle with the Securities and Exchange Commission appears to finally be at an end. A document filed in US District Court today indicates that both sides have come to an agreement on a settlement with a $5 million penalty…. Read More

October 20, 2020 @ 8:29 pm By JD Alois  |  

The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) has targeted Larry Dean Harmon, of Akron, Ohio, the founder of Helix and Coin Ninja in a first enforcement action targeting a crypto mixer. In a release, FinCEN said Harmon and his operations were assessed a $60 million civil… Read More

October 19, 2020 @ 6:57 pm By JD Alois  |  

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) issued a litigation release today alleging charges of microcap fraud that involved an attorney prominent in the US crowdfunding sector. According to the SEC complaint, Jillian Sidoti, affiliated with the law firm known as CrowdfundingLawyers.net, facilitated alleged fraudulent dumping… Read More

October 16, 2020 @ 12:33 pm By JD Alois  |  

OKEx, a top 20 crypto exchange, is under investigation by Chinese authorities according to a report. OKEx provides both spot and crypto derivatives trading. It has been widely reported that the price of Bitcoin tanked as word leaked out and OKEx suspended all withdrawals. The… Read More

October 15, 2020 @ 12:00 pm By JD Alois  |  

Last week, the US Department of Justice published a white paper, crafted by the Cyber-Digital Task Force, that outlines its approach to enforcement when it comes to digital assets (or cryptoassets). US Attorney General William Barr issued the following statement on the framework: “Cryptocurrency is… Read More