As of January 19, 2022 tokens of the now defunct ConstitutionDAO are worth over $300 million. Last year, the ConstitutionDAO raised over $47 million for the purpose of purchasing an original copy of the U.S. Constitution at a Sotheby’s auction. In return for their contribution, the DAO issued PEOPLE tokens, which were going to represent…
Read MoreA new report analyzing the SEC’s Cryptocurrency enforcement activities illustrates the regulator’s focus on Initial Coin Offerings (ICO). Notably, 70% (14/20) of SEC actions alleging unregistered securities offerings in 2021 stemmed from an ICO with 64% (9/14) alleging securities fraud against the public. “It has become increasingly common to structure an ICO, as well as pre-sale round(s), as…
Read MoreTo Cooperate Or Not To Cooperate – That Is The Question David Rosenfield and Christopher Warren You are under investigation for a white collar crime. Government agents or prosecutors approach you; they want you to cooperate. The agents want to speak with you and ask you to provide information about criminal activities you may have…
Read MoreCanaFarma Hemp Products Corp. (“CanaFarma”) was recently indicted by the DOJ and concurrently, the SEC filed a complaint for securities fraud and misrepresentation in their offering documents. Co-founders of CanaFarma, Vitaly Fargesen, and Igor Palatnik, solicited and raised approximately $15 million from its investors. Fargesen and Palatnik failed to disclose that CanaFarma was not creating…
Read MoreBy Managing Partner Christopher Warren and Partner Todd Kulkin So you’re thinking of adding private equity to your investment portfolio. Rather than investing through a public exchange such as the stock market, private equity funds invest directly into private companies or buy out public companies, delisting them from the public market. Capital raised by private…
Read MoreThe North American Securities Administrators Association (NASAA) released its 2021 Reg BI Phase One report last week. The findings ultimately conclude that Reg BI is not as effective as NASAA had intended, as the percentage of broker-dealers not in compliance with these regulations has increased. For instance, the number of broker-dealers offering more complicated and…
Read MoreThe US Department of Treasury is keeping a suspicious eye on foreign crypto activity after the treasury recently blacklisted Russian-based SUEX for eliciting cyber-criminal activity. The deputy security of the department aims to keep applying pressure to foreign threats by investing in stronger technological resources and cyber-security expertise. The US Treasury has stated that they…
Read MoreIn the very near future, it is projected that Stablecoins will be widely used by everyday consumers, and with this increased popularity and demand come new sets of regulations as well as traps for the unwary. US Congress is facing pressure from the US Treasury to fill these regulatory gaps and to address how these…
Read MoreOn October 29th, 2021 the CFTC submitted its annual report to Congress containing information regarding its Whistleblower awards. Notable takeaways from the report: Whistleblowers who have reported information to the SEC or the NFA can also qualify for awards with the CFTC The total sanctions awarded by the CFTC exceeded over $1 billion dollars, with…
Read More