Legal
Lawsuits
Court Denies SEC’s Request to Seal Hinman Speech Documents in Ripple Lawsuit
  • These documents are seen as central in Ripple’s battle against the SEC, which in 2020 accused the company of selling its XRP token without registering it as a security.
  • The documents in question are internal emails, text messages, and expert reports that followed Hinman’s 2018 speech, in which he said ETH and BTC were not securities.
May 17, 2023, 1:24 PM
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SEC Responds to Coinbase, Says No New Regulations Will be Issued Soon
  • The U.S. SEC claimed in its response that it was under no obligation to issue new regulations for crypto, and that rules for crypto were already published and were sufficient.
  • The agency also tried to distance itself from any public comments made by its chair Gary Gensler, particularly regarding his statement that most cryptocurrencies are securities.
May 16, 2023, 7:28 AM
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U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission building in Washington DC, October 12, 2018. Andriy Blokhin/Shutterstock

IRS Files $44B Worth of Tax Claims Against FTX Bankruptcy
  • The IRS filed its claims against FTX under the “Admin Priority” classification, which could allow it to supersede the claims of other creditors in the bankruptcy case.
  • The largest of the claims is against Alameda Research LLC, with the IRS claiming around $20 billion in partnership taxes and close to $400 million in payroll taxes.
May 11, 2023, 9:16 AM
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Former CEO of FTX Sam Bankman-Fried leaves the Federal Court in New York after pleading not guilty, 3 January, 2022.
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Former Coinbase Product Manager Given 2 Years in Prison for Insider Trading
  • Ishan Wahi was sentenced to 24 months in prison for his illegal use of confidential information he obtained during his time at Coinbase.
  • Wahi, his brother, and a friend, had allegedly made around $1.5 million between June 2021 and April 2022 by purchasing digital assets before their Coinbase listing was announced.
May 10, 2023, 8:48 AM
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May 4, 2023
Court Gives SEC 10 Days to Respond to Coinbase’s Complaint
  • The U.S. Third Circuit Court of Appeals has filed a text-only order against the securities regulator, giving it 10 days to respond to Coinbase’s complaint.
  • The crypto exchange filed a lawsuit against the SEC last week, requesting a response to a rulemaking petition it had filed back in July 2022.

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May 1, 2023
Coinme, Up Global, and CEO Pay $4M to Settle SEC Charges Over UP ICO
  • The U.S. SEC had alleged that the two companies and their CEO had conducted an “unregistered offers and sales of securities” during their 2017 UPToken ICO.
  • The three entities did not confirm or deny the allegations, but agreed to pay close to $4 million to settle the charges, and the CEO is barred from an executive position for three years.
Apr 25, 2023
Apr 24, 2023
Korean District Court Says LUNA Not a Security
  • A district court in South Korea ruled that the token was not a security, noting that it was “difficult to see LUNA as financial investment product regulated by the Capital Markets Act”.
  • Using this decision, the court dismissed the prosecution’s request to confiscate properties owned by Terraform Labs’ co-founder Hyun-seung Shin.
Mar 27, 2023
CFTC Sues Binance and CZ Over Alleged Regulatory Violations
  • The CFTC is suing crypto exchange Binance and CEO Changpeng “CZ” Zhao for allegedly violating trading and derivatives laws in the U.S..
  • The regulator claimed that the platform had instructed its U.S.-based customers on how to evade its compliance controls through the use of VPNs.
Mar 24, 2023
U.S. Prosecutors File Fraud Charges Against Do Kwon
  • Do Kwon was charged with conspiracy to defraud, commodities fraud, securities fraud, wire fraud, and conspiracy to engage in market manipulation.
  • A spokesperson for the Manhattan U.S. attorney’s office, which brought the charges against Do Kwon, said the Department of Justice (DoJ) will seek his extradition.
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