Digital Assets

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As we previously reported in our summary of the Ripple case, a federal district court judged determined that under certain circumstances the offering of a digital asset does not create a security. The reasoning in the Ripple case has been criticized by leading to an outcome that places institutional investors ahead of retail investors and employees.
Continue Reading Federal Court Declines to Follow Ripple Holding

On July 13, 2023, the Federal District Court for the Southern District of New York issued the hotly anticipated ruling in the SEC’s case against Ripple Labs, Inc. On cross-motions for summary judgment, the court found that only Ripple’s sale of its XRP tokens to institutional buyers pursuant to sales contracts constituted unregistered sales of securities in violation of Section 5 of the Securities Act of 1933.
Continue Reading Court’s Ruling Splits Partly in Favor of SEC and Partly for Ripple

On May 5, 2023, New York Attorney General Letitia James released proposed legislation that seeks to regulate all facets of the cryptocurrency industry. Entitled the “Crypto Regulation, Protection, Transparency, and Oversight (CRPTO) Act,” if enacted the draft bill would substantially expand New York’s oversight of crypto enterprises conducting business in the Empire State.
Continue Reading New York Attorney General Proposes Sweeping Crypto Legislation

As reported on the Hunton Insurance Recovery Blog, blockchain technology has been touted as inherently reliable for years. More recently, collectors of NFTs have explored expanded uses for that novel technology. Some courts have bought in and, in doing so, recently authorized a use that perhaps no one had imagined when NFTs first entered the mainstream: service of process.
Continue Reading NFT Service Brings Litigation Into the Metaverse!

On January 20, 2023, The Centre for Information Policy Leadership at Hunton Andrews Kurth published “Digital Assets and Privacy,” a discussion paper compiling insights from workshops with CIPL member companies that explored the intersection of privacy and digital assets, with a particular focus on blockchain technology.
Continue Reading CIPL Publishes Discussion Paper on Digital Assets and Privacy

When investors are considering investments in cryptocurrency, it is critical to understand the terms of asset ownership and transfer. Current and potential cryptocurrency investors should be aware that the Southern District of New York (SDNY) recently ruled that holders of cryptocurrency investments with the now-bankrupt cryptocurrency lending company Celsius Network LLC are not the true owners of these assets.
Continue Reading Terms of Use, A Deciding Factor In Asset Ownership: Why Some Cryptocurrency Holders Don’t Own Their Assets

On December 16, 2022, the Financial Stability Oversight Council (Council) published its 2022 annual report. The report highlights a number of key policy recommendations for federal financial regulators, including four recommendations for further legislation or regulation in the digital asset space.
Continue Reading FSOC Annual Report Discusses Digital Assets