The SEC’s ambiguous rule could have a chilling effect both on decentralized finance and on the provision of liquidity to centralized crypto exchanges.
By Jenny Cieplak, Marlon Q. Paz, Stephen P. Wink, and Naim Culhaci
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) adopted a new rule on February 6, 2024, further defining the phrase “as part of a regular business” — which is an integral part of what it means to be a “dealer” under securities laws.
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Licensees, exchanges, and other market participants should prepare to comply with the listing, disclosure, capital, and other requirements that the new law imposes.
By Jenny Cieplak, Nima Mohebbi, Parag Patel, Stephen P. Wink, Ian Irlander, Adam Zuckerman, Luca Marquard, and Deric Behar
On October 13, 2023, California Governor Gavin Newsom signed California State Assembly Bill 39, which establishes the Digital Financial Assets Law (DFAL). The new law, which goes into effect on July 1, 2025, makes California only the second state after New York to adopt comprehensive regulation of digital financial assets[1] and associated service providers.
The DFAL authorizes the California Department of Financial Protection and Innovation (DFPI) to administer its provisions and requirements, which apply to the digital asset business activity of a person or entity (Covered Persons) engaging in, or holding itself out as being able to engage in, activities with California residents relating to the exchange, transfer, storage or “administration” of a digital asset,[2] whether indirectly or through a vendor.
A federal court’s dismissal of claims against a decentralized cryptocurrency platform and its investors for the actions of scam token issuers is a case of first impression with wider significance.
By Jenny Cieplak, Benjamin A. Naftalis, Stephen P. Wink, Douglas K. Yatter, Gregory Mortenson, and Deric Behar
On August 29, 2023, the US District Court for the Southern District of New York dismissed a proposed class action lawsuit against Uniswap Labs and its CEO, foundation, and three venture capital backers[1] (the Defendants) brought by plaintiffs who sought damages from alleged exposure to scam tokens that originated with anonymous third-party token issuers on the company’s decentralized cryptocurrency trading protocol.
Whereas the original proposal did not directly discuss digital assets, the reopening release is mainly focused on digital asset platforms.
By Stephen P. Wink, Marlon Q. Paz, Naim Culhaci, and Deric Behar
On April 14, 2023, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) issued a release amending portions of its earlier proposal to reinterpret the definition of an “exchange” and reopening the comment period for the proposed amendments (the Reopening Release.)
The SEC had issued a set of proposed amendments (the Original Proposal) on January 26, 2022, regarding the regulation of alternative trading systems (ATSs). The Original Proposal would amend Rule 3b-16 (Rule 3b-16) under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (the Exchange Act) to more expansively interpret certain terms used in the statutory definition of an “exchange” under Section 3(a)(1) of the Exchange Act. This reinterpretation would, among other things, cause the “exchange” definition to capture “Communication Protocol Systems”, which are not captured under the present version of Rule 3b-16. (See this Latham post for more information.)