Tagged: sec

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 12, 2020 @ 3:54 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Ethereum (ETH), the world’s largest smart contract platform, and major decentralized finance (DeFi) assets have dropped during the past week. However, DeFi-related infrastructure is getting a boost from Bitcoin (BTC), according to a report from OKCoin. During the last week, top DeFi platforms such as… Read More

December 11, 2020 @ 9:36 am By JD Alois  |  

The United States District Court, Southern District of California, has filed a final judgment against Blockvest LLC and founder Reginald Buddy Ringgold. The order requires the defendants to pay a civil penalty of $332,370.99 along with a disgorgement of ill-gotten gains of $363,726.91 – including… 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

December 3, 2020 @ 5:23 pm By JD Alois  |  

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced a bit of end of the year housekeeping today by taking FinHub and morphing it into a standalone office now called the Strategic Hub for Innovation and Financial Technology. Valerie A. Szczepanik, who led FinHub will remain at… Read More

November 27, 2020 @ 11:43 am By Gautam Gujral  |  

On November 2, 2020, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC” or “Commission”) voted to amend its rules to harmonize, simplify, and improve the exempt offering framework. These amendments will, in general, be effective 60 days after publication in the Federal Register. Bigger is Better An… Read More

November 24, 2020 @ 12:37 pm By JD Alois  |  

Somewhat unexpectedly, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has announced a proposed framework for gig economy workers to receive compensation by the issuance of securities. According to the SEC, the framework provides an exemption from registration for the issuance of compensatory securities by non-reporting issuers,… Read More

November 19, 2020 @ 2:51 pm By JD Alois  |  

As was previously reported, the Securities and Exchange Commission, Small Business Capital Formation Advisory Committee met earlier this month to discuss the topic of Finders. Finders are individuals who match investors with firms in need of capital, perhaps for a fee. As there is a… Read More

November 19, 2020 @ 12:54 pm By JD Alois  |  

IMVU, an avatar-based social network, has received a No-Action Letter (NOL) from the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) pertaining to a blockchain-based digital asset – VCOIN. The NOL states that the SEC will not take action on the digital asset because of the following: IMVU… Read More

November 16, 2020 @ 8:43 am By JD Alois  |  

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has announced that Chairman Jay Clayton will depart the agency at the end of the year. The exit by Clayton has long been expected regardless of the outcome of the Presidential election. Clayton joined the SEC on May 4,… Read More

November 13, 2020 @ 6:26 pm By JD Alois  |  

The North American Securities Administrators Association (NASAA) distributed a comment letter today outlining its opposition to the proposal by the Securities and Exchange Commission’s move to clarify the role of Finders. A Finder is an individual that finds investors for smaller firms. A lack of… Read More

November 11, 2020 @ 3:28 pm By JD Alois  |  

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Small Business Capital Formation Advisory Committee met this week to discuss the topic of “Finders.” A Finder is an individual who helps a small business find investors and may be paid a fee for this service. Under existing rules,… Read More

November 9, 2020 @ 7:43 pm By JD Alois  |  

The Securities and Exchange Commission, Staff of the Division of Investment Management has issued a public statement pertaining to a recent No-Action Letter (NAL) published by the Wyoming Division of Banking that included the Wyoming Division of Banking’s views relating to the definition of “bank”… Read More

November 9, 2020 @ 9:39 am By Dror Futter  |  

TL;DR – The SEC announced a series of amendments (likely to be effective early next year) to the rules governing private offering exemptions – by far the most frequent path for venture fundraising.  The amendments retain the same “menu” of exemptions but make incremental improvements…. Read More

November 8, 2020 @ 6:49 pm By JD Alois  |  

StartEngine, one of the most active investment platforms offering securities under Reg CF, has posted that Q3 2020 was the biggest quarter ever for Reg CF (Regulation Crowdfunding). During the quarter, issuers raised around $72.9 million – over a 50% increase versus Q2 and more… Read More

November 4, 2020 @ 11:18 am By JD Alois  |  

As previously reported, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has updated the exempt offering ecosystem – changes that impact online capital formation including Reg CF and Reg A+. The amendments published the SEC include funding cap increases to both the aforementioned exemptions while additional updates,… Read More

November 3, 2020 @ 3:26 pm By JD Alois  |  

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Small Business Capital Formation Advisory Committee has scheduled a meeting for next week that will include the important topic of “Finders.” Finders are individuals or firms that help to match investors to smaller businesses. On October 7, the SEC… Read More

November 2, 2020 @ 10:00 pm By Ryan Feit  |  

Today marked a major turning point for the private capital markets in America.  While most of the country is squarely focused on the election, the SEC quietly passed dramatic improvements to securities laws for startups, small businesses and investors everywhere.  The SEC’s actions today signified,… Read More

November 2, 2020 @ 7:07 pm By JD Alois  |  

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Small Business Capital Formation Advisory Committee will hold a public meeting by videoconference on Monday, November 9, 2020, from 10:00 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. (ET). The meeting will be open to the public via a live-stream on the SEC website…. 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