Blockchain and Digital Assets News and Trends - September 2023

This is our ninth monthly bulletin for 2023, aiming to help companies identify important and significant legal developments governing the use and acceptance of blockchain technology, smart contracts and digital assets.

While the use cases for blockchain technology are vast, this bulletin will be primarily on the use of blockchain and or smart contracts in the financial services sector. With respect to digital assets, we have organized our approach to this topic by discussing it in terms of traditional asset type or function (although the types and functions may overlap), that is, digital assets as:

• Securities
• Virtual currencies
• Commodities
• Deposits, accounts, intangibles
• Negotiable instruments
• Electronic chattel paper
• Digitized assets

In addition to reporting on the law and regulation governing blockchain, smart contracts and digital assets, this bulletin will discuss the legal developments supporting the infrastructure and ecosystems that enable the use and acceptance of these new technologies.

INSIGHTS

SEC settlement with Stoner Cats may signal agency’s intent to assert its authority over unregistered securities in the NFT space

By: Eric Hall

The SEC has announced it has brought and settled charges against Stoner Cats 2 LLC (SC2), the company behind Ethereum-based NFT project Stoner Cats - a generative collection of 10,420 illustrated cat themed NFTs that SC2 minted in July 2021 to fund its production of the eponymous animated web series. The project raised roughly $8 million and produced six episodes, featuring A-list celebrity talent, that can only be viewed by owning a Stoner Cats NFT. Read more.

IRS and Treasury issue proposed regulations outlining new digital asset reporting regime

By Tom Geraghty and Kali McGuire

Enacted in November 2021, the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act expanded Section 6045 of the Internal Revenue Code to require tax reporting by brokers of transactions involving the sale or exchange of digital assets. Nearly two years later, on August 25, 2023, the IRS and Treasury Department promulgated proposed regulations that clarify and adjust the rules regarding the tax reporting of information by brokers, so that brokers for digital assets are subject to the same information reporting rules as brokers for securities and other financial instruments. While DLA Piper is preparing a thorough client alert on the proposed regulations, below are some of the highlights. Read more.

Federal court dismisses putative class action against DEX developer Uniswap Labs: key takeaways

By Eric Hall

On August 30, the US District Court for the Southern District of New York dismissed a putative class action against Uniswap Labs, Inc., the developer behind one of the most popular decentralized exchanges (DEX) on the Ethereum blockchain, as well as the company’s CEO and founder, the Uniswap Foundation, and several high-profile VCs and shareholders of Uniswap. The lawsuit also targeted some large “liquidity providers,” ie, entities that had deposited substantial quantities of virtual currencies into the DEX so that traders could buy and sell into their liquidity pools. Read more. 

STATUTORY AND AGENCY DEVELOPMENTS

FEDERAL DEVELOPMENTS

Commodities

Coinbase receives NFA approval as an FCM. On August 16, Coinbase announced that the National Futures Association (NFA) approved Coinbase to operate a Futures Commission Merchant (FCM) and offer eligible US customers access to crypto futures. Eligible US users can now trade futures on the platform. Coinbase asserts that it “will now be the first crypto-native leader to offer access to regulated, leveraged and cash-settled crypto futures.”

CFTC GMAC to hold meeting on digital asset markets. The CFTC announced that on October 5, from 1:00 pm to 5:00 pm Eastern, the Global Markets Advisory Committee (GMAC) will hold an in-person meeting for GMAC members at the CFTC’s Washington, DC headquarters, with options for the public to attend in-person and virtually. At this meeting, the GMAC will hear a presentation from the GMAC’s Digital Asset Markets Subcommittee on the Subcommittee’s workstreams involving industry standards and best practices for tokenized asset markets, the regulation of non-fungible tokens (NFTs) and utility tokens, and identification of other issues to address in digital finance and tokenization of assets, non-financial activities and Web3, and blockchain technology and consider recommendations from the Subcommittee on such workstreams. Written statements from the public will be accepted through the CFTC website on or before October 12, 2023.

CFTC issues new proposed rules. On September 6, the CFTC issued a notice of proposed rulemaking to amend regulations under the Commodity Exchange Act (CEA), in part, to allow self-certification of entities, and to allow registered entities to submit new products for trading and clearing, which may include cryptocurrency and other digital asset derivatives, and virtual currency futures. Comments to the proposed rules must be received on or before November 6.

OFAC

Federal court upholds OFAC designation of Tornado Cash. On August 17, 2023, the US District Court for the Western District of Texas granted summary judgment for the US Treasury Department in a case brought by users of Tornado Cash, a so-called cryptocurrency mixing service that allowed users to obscure the movements of cryptocurrency on the blockchain. The order affirms a decision by the Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) to add Tornado Cash to its Specially Designated Nationals list. Being added to the Specially Designated Nationals list means that Tornado Cash would be effectively inaccessible in the US. According to OFAC, Tornado Cash had been used to launder money cybercriminals had stolen in high-profile hacks, including $455 million stolen by the Lazarus Group, a DPRK-affiliated hacker ring. Read more.

Federal Reserve

FRB seeks authority over stablecoins. In a speech at the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia Annual Fintech Conference on September 8, Federal Reserve Board (FRB) Vice Chair for Supervision Michael S. Barr discussed FRB prior guidance for banks to obtain a supervisory non-objection before issuing, holding, or transacting in "dollar tokens," but noted that this guidance only covers activities of banks over which the FRB has supervisory authority. Barr asserted that "big risks" exist when the FRB "does not have direct supervisory and regulatory authority. … [S]tablecoins are a form of money, and the ultimate source of credibility in money is the central bank. If non-federally regulated stablecoins were to become a widespread means of payment and store of value, they could pose significant risks to financial stability, monetary policy, and the US payments system." Barr added that the FRB looks forward to further engaging with Congress to ensure a "robust federal framework."

Securities

SEC Chair Gensler testifies that crypto industry is "rife with misconduct." On September 12, SEC Chair Gary Gensler testified before the US Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs on a variety of topics, including the virtual currency and digital asset industry. Noting that the cryptocurrency industry is becoming increasingly interconnected with the traditional financial system, he stated that he had “never seen an industry so rife with misconduct.” Warning that the lack of regulation is a source of risk for investors and the financial system as a whole, Gensler said the SEC is working to bring more clarity and transparency to the cryptocurrency industry through enforcement actions, rulemaking, and education. Specifically, he pointed to enforcement actions against a number of cryptocurrency companies for fraud and other violations and previewed rules that would require cryptocurrency exchanges to register with the agency and to comply with certain requirements, such as know your customer (KYC) and anti-money laundering (AML) procedures. Gensler also testified that the SEC is considering whether to regulate certain cryptocurrency products, such as stablecoins. Notably, Senator Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Chair of the committee, agreed with Gensler’s characterization of the industry. “The problems we saw at FTX are everywhere in crypto,” Senator Brown commented. The Senator’s remarks suggest meaningful consensus on pending crypto legislation is unlikely in this Congress.

FBI

FBI warns of scams regarding NFT developers and crypto recovery companies. The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) published the following two public service announcements warning of scams involving non-fungible tokens (NFTs) and cryptocurrencies:

• Criminals pose as NFT developers to target internet users with an interest in NFT acquisition. The FBI warned of criminals that “either gain direct access to NFT developer social media accounts or create almost identical accounts to promote new NFT releases” through phishing.
• Increase in companies falsely claiming and ability to recover funds lost in cryptocurrency investment scams. The FBI warned of "cryptocurrency recovery schemes” in which "fraudulent businesses claiming to provide cryptocurrency tracing and promising an ability to recover lost funds may contact victims directly on social media or messaging platforms." Recovery scheme fraudsters “charge an up-front fee and either cease communication with the victim after receiving an initial deposit or produce an incomplete or inaccurate tracing report and request additional fees to recover funds.”

STATE DEVELOPMENTS

Virtual currency

NYDFS updates virtual currency guidance. On September 18, the New York Department of Financial Services (DFS) announced, effective immediately, a new General Framework for Greenlisted Coins, and also issued for public comment updates to DFS guidance regarding listing of virtual currencies. This updated guidance sets forth the following expectations for which DFS is seeking public comment:

• Heightened risk assessment standards for coin-listing policies and tailored, enhanced requirements for retail consumer-facing products or service offerings and
• New requirements associated with coin-delisting policies.

Public comments must be submitted to innovation@dfs.ny.gov and will be accepted until October 20.

INDUSTRY DEVELOPMENTS

NFTS

OpenSea disables NFT royalty enforcement tool. On August 17, OpenSea announced that, starting August 31, it has moved to optional creator fees by sunsetting its royalty enforcement tool, OpenSea Operator Filter and, for those that used the filter through that date, it will enforce royalties on all secondary sales through February 29, 2024, after which fees will become optional. According to the announcement, "creator fees aren't going away – simply the ineffective, unilateral enforcement of them." In response to this announcement, Yuga Labs stated, "Yuga Labs will begin the process of sunsetting support for OpenSea’s SeaPort for all upgradable contracts and any new collections, with the aim of this being complete in February 2024 in tandem with OpenSea’s approach. For as much as NFTs have been about users truly owning their digital assets, they’ve also been about empowering creators. Yuga believes in protecting creator royalties so creators are properly compensated for their work."

Digital assets

FASB updates rules for accounting of cryptocurrencies and digital assets. On September 6, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) tentatively voted to finalize updates to FASB accounting standards requiring companies to account for digital assets at fair market value on the balance sheet, capturing price fluctuations and recording gains and losses on the income statement; and expanding disclosure requirements, including cost basis, restrictions on sale, and reconciliation of cryptoasset activity. The updated standards apply to cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin and ether, and to stablecoins backed by fiat currencies. However, the updated standards will not apply to non-fungible tokens (NFTs) and tokens representing a claim on other digital assets. The updated standards will take effect for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2024.

Swift reports successful blockchain experiments. On August 31, the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication (Swift) announced the release of results from a series of experiments "that show its infrastructure can seamlessly facilitate the transfer of tokenised value across multiple public and private blockchains." Swift worked with several major financial institutions and a leading Web3 services platform to conduct the experiments which "successfully demonstrated that [Swift] can provide a single point of access to multiple networks using existing, secure infrastructure" and "that existing Swift infrastructure can provide a secure, scalable way for financial institutions to connect to multiple types of blockchain."

ENFORCEMENT ACTIONS AND LITIGATION

FEDERAL

Securities

SEC brings a first enforcement action against an NFT project. On August 28, the SEC announced it had brought and settled an enforcement action against Los Angeles-based entertainment company Impact Theory for alleged unregistered offering of crypto asset securities in the form of NFTs marketed by the company as” Founders Keys.” The SEC enforcement action is the first of its kind against an NFT project. In its order, SEC alleged that Impact Theory raised approximately $30 million through sales of its NFT, and that the company encouraged buyers to view their purchase as an investment in “the next Disney.” The company promised its holders “tremendous value, telling them, “If you’re paying 1.5 [ETH], you’re going to get some massive amount more than that.” They further told buyers that, "as Impact Theory is enriched, as [its founders] are enriched, as our team here at Impact Theory is enriched, that you guys also are enriched.” The order alleges violations of Section 5 of the Securities Act and requires Impact Theory to pay more than $6.1 million in disgorgement and civil penalties. Impact Theory also must destroy all NFTs in its possession, publish notices of the order on its social media, and forgo royalties from any secondary trading.

Commissioners Hester Pierce and Mark Uyeda dissented from the settlement, disagreeing with the SEC’s application of Howey, the Supreme Court’s oft-cited test for an “investment contract.” Though the dissenting commissioners shared the agency’s concern about this NFT project and the bold promises Impact Theory made buyers, Commissioners Pierce and Uyeda rejected the notion that these promises rendered the NFTs “investment contracts” requiring registration under the Securities Act. They further questioned whether enforcement was appropriate given that Impact Theory had already offered its holders refunds of their purchase prices.

DC Circuit reverses SEC's rejection of Grayscale Bitcoin ETF. In Grayscale Investments, LLC. v. Securities and Exchange Commission, 2023 WL 5536704 (Ct. App. DC, August 29, 2023) the US Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit issued a unanimous decision on August 29 reversing the SEC's rejection of Grayscale's application to list its spot bitcoin exchange traded product (ETP) and finding that Grayscale had presented substantial evidence that it was similar to other SEC-approved bitcoin futures ETPs. Specifically, the court held that the SEC's denial of registration was "arbitrary and capricious" as the SEC "failed to explain its different treatment of similar products." The SEC is now required to again review Grayscale's application taking into consideration the court's opinion.

SEC settles charges against Linus Financial without civil penalties. On September 7, the SEC announced that it had settled charges against Linus Financial, Inc. for its failure to register offers and sales of its virtual currency lending product. Notably, SEC declined to impose civil penalties because of the “company’s cooperation and prompt remedial actions.” According to the SEC’s order, Linus Financial started offering “Linus Interest Accounts” in the US promising investors interest on their cash deposits. To generate that interest, Linus converted the deposited cash into virtual currencies, then used it to provide liquidity on decentralized exchange platform which generated protocol fees and yield. In March 2022, Linus became aware of an SEC enforcement action against a similar product and voluntarily ceased offering Linus Interest Accounts and instructed customers to withdraw funds. The SEC’s order does not impose civil penalties but enjoins Linus Financial from further violation of the Securities Act.

NFTs

Former OpenSea employee sentenced for NFT insider trading. On August 22, DOJ announced that Nathaniel Chastain, a former product manager at NFT marketplace OpenSea, was sentenced to three months in prison for insider trading. Chastain used his knowledge of which NFTs would be featured on OpenSea’s homepage to buy them before they were listed, and then sell them at a profit after they were featured. This is the first time that anyone has been sentenced to prison for insider trading in digital assets. The US Attorney for the Southern District of New York, said that Chastain’s crime "shows that even in the world of cryptocurrency, fraudsters will be held accountable." He added that the sentence should "send a strong signal to all participants in the digital asset markets that the laws decidedly do apply to them." For more information on the case, see our July 2023 issue.

Commodities

CFTC settles charges against three DeFi protocols. On September 7, the CFTC announced it had brought and settled charges against three DeFi protocols, Opyn, Inc., ZeroEx, Inc., and Deridex, Inc. Each were charged with violating the Commodities Exchange Act and CFTC regulations. Deridex and Opyn allegedly failed to register as swap execution facilities, designated contract markets, or futures commission merchants, even though none of them were alleged to have accepted funds or otherwise benefited from the protocols. They further allegedly failed to adopt customer identification programs in compliance with the Bank Secrecy Act. While Opyn attempted to block US IP addresses, CFTC found those steps insufficient. And Deridex allegedly took no such steps to block US users. All three protocols, including ZeroEx, were charged with offering illegal leveraged and margined retail commodity transactions in digital assets. Commenting on the orders, Director of Enforcement Ian McGinely stated, “Somewhere along the way, DeFi operators got the idea that unlawful transactions become lawful when facilitated by smart contracts. They do not.” Opyn, ZeroEx, and Deridex have been ordered to pay $250,000, $200,000, and $100,000 respectively. The CFTC claimed that its civil penalties were reduced in recognition of each protocol’s cooperation with the Division of Enforcement.

Money transmission

Regulation by indictment: DOJ charges Tornado Cash founders – key takeaways. On Wednesday, August 23, 2023, in a joint press release, the Department of Justice, FBI, and US Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York announced they had indicted Roman Storm and Roman Semenov, two of the three founders of Tornado Cash, the once popular cryptocurrency mixing service. On the same day, the OFAC also sanctioned Semenov and eight cryptocurrency wallet addresses belonging to him. The third founder already faces trial in the Netherlands following his arrest a year ago. The indictment charges conspiracy to commit money laundering, conspiracy to violate sanctions, and conspiracy to operate an unlicensed money transmitting business in connection with the founders’ creation, operation, and promotion of Tornado Cash. Read more.

Virtual currency

OneCoin co-founder sentenced to 20 years. On September 12, the US Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York announced Karl Sebastian Greenwood was sentenced to 20 years in prison and ordered to pay $300 million in forfeiture. Greenwood was the co-founder of OneCoin, a fake cryptocurrency that claimed to have a $4 billion market capitalization. OneCoin was marketed as a “new bitcoin” but had no real value. The scheme collapsed in 2017 after investors began to realize that OneCoin was not a real cryptocurrency. Greenwood and his co-founder, Ruja Ignatova, aka the Cryptoqueen, conned investors in 175 countries out of billions of dollars through a multi-level marketing scheme. Greenwood was arrested in Thailand in 2018 and extradited to the United States in 2020. He pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering. In sentencing Greenwood, the court said he had “orchestrated one of the largest fraud schemes ever perpetrated,” adding that Greenwood’s crimes had “devastated countless victims around the world.” Cryptoqueen Ruja Ignatova, who is wanted by the FBI and Interpol, is still at large. For more information on OneCoin, see our April 2023 issue.

Bitcoin-for-cash exchange founder pleads guilty to AML failures. The US Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California announced on September 5 that Charles James Randol, owner of California-based Digital Coin Strategies LLC, a cryptocurrency-to-cash exchange company, agreed to plead guilty for failing to maintain an effective AML program. Randol is accused of allowing his company to be used by scammers and drug traffickers to launder millions of dollars in criminal proceeds through in-person transactions and a network of automated kiosks throughout Southern California that converted cash to bitcoin and vice versa. Though he advertised compliance with the Bank Secrecy Act and registration with the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, he repeatedly violated the requirements of both. Randol faces up to five years in federal prison.

Former New Jersey corrections officer charged with cryptocurrency fraud scheme that targeted law enforcement. On August 23, the USAO for the District of New Jersey announced that a former New Jersey corrections officer was arrested and charged with orchestrating two different fraud schemes, including a cryptocurrency scheme that resulted in losses of more than $600,000 from more than 200 investors. The criminal complaint charges John DeSalvo with two counts of wire fraud, two counts of securities fraud, and two counts of money laundering related to the two fraud schemes. In one scheme, DeSalvo allegedly targeted law enforcement and first responders to invest in a so-called “crypto pension” called Blazar Token that he falsely claimed was SEC-approved and listed on cryptocurrency exchanges. DeSalvo used the proceeds to pay off earlier investors and fund personal expenses. He is also alleged to have used false testimonials from purported law enforcement officials to promote the investment. In the other scheme, DeSalvo allegedly solicited $100,000 from 20 individuals for a fake investment group on the Brokerage-1 platform. After converting the funds to his own private accounts, he generated fake trading records to convince investors that their money had been lost due to market conditions. DeSalvo faces up to 20 years in prison for each of the wire fraud, securities fraud, and money laundering counts plus fines up to $5 million. The SEC has brought civil charges against DeSalvo on the same conduct.

Pennsylvania man sentenced to three years in prison for cryptocurrency fraud and extortion scheme. On August 18, the USAO for the Northern District of California announced that Anthony Francis Faulk was sentenced to 36 months in prison for his role in a conspiracy to defraud more than a dozen cryptocurrency owners. The scheme involved “SIM swapping,” in which Faulk and his co-conspirators duped cellphone companies into giving them control of victims’ cellphone numbers, which they then used to hack into email and other victim accounts, and ultimately steal the victims’ cryptocurrency or digital assets. Faulk also admitted to extorting cryptocurrency from victims by threatening to release their private information online. He pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and one count of conspiracy to commit extortion. The court ordered forfeiture of more than $20 million in ill-gotten gains and ordered Faulk to pay $2,816,433 in restitution to 11 victims of the scheme.

Banking

Federal Reserve issues enforcement action with Farmington Bank. On August 17, the Federal Reserve Board announced an enforcement action against Farmington State Bank and its holding company, FBH Corporation. The FRB alleges that Farmington changed its business plan without notifying the bank's supervisors and obtaining prior FRB approval for those changes. Specifically, the Order to Cease and Desist Issued Upon Consent explained that Farmington entered "into a non-binding memorandum of understanding with a third party whereby the Bank committed to 'work with' the third party 'to design the necessary IT infrastructure' to facilitate the third party’s issuance of stablecoins to the public in exchange for receipt of 50 percent of mint and burn fees on certain stablecoins, and took material steps to implement that memorandum of understanding. The FRB asserts that its action "ensures the bank's operations will wind down in a manner that protects the bank's depositors and the Deposit Insurance Fund." Farmington had previously announced the voluntary sale of its loans and deposits to the Bank of Eastern Oregon.

SPOTLIGHT ON INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENTS

Singapore: Monetary Authority finalizes stablecoin regulatory framework. The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) announced on August 15 the features of a new regulatory framework "that seeks to ensure a high degree of value stability for stablecoins regulated in Singapore." The framework will apply to "single-currency stablecoins (SCS) pegged to the Singapore Dollar or any G10 currency, that are issued in Singapore.” Issuers of SCS will be required to fulfill key requirements related to value stability, capital, redemption at par and disclosure.

UK: FCA adopts travel rule. On August 17, the UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) announced that, from September 1, cryptoasset businesses in the UK will be required to collect, verify, and share information about cryptoasset transfers, known as the "Travel Rule." The FCA established its expectations that UK firms "take all reasonable steps and exercise all due diligence to comply with the Travel Rule … even when using third-party suppliers," including when sending and receiving a cryptoasset transfer to/from a jurisdiction without the Travel Rule.

IOSCO report outlines recommendations for regulation of DeFi. The International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO) announced the release of Policy Recommendations for Decentralized Finance (DeFI) Consultation Report. The Report provides recommendations and guidance with a focus on identifying those who should be responsible for investor protection and market integrity, such as founders and developers, those who profit from the protocol, and those who have access to insider information. The Report suggests that regulators carefully examine any “claim” that the protocol is “purportedly” decentralized to the point that no persons/entities are responsible. The recommendations are:

• Analyze the products, services, arrangements, and activities to assess the appropriate regulatory response
• Identify “responsible persons”
• Achieve common standards of regulatory outcomes
• Require identification and addressing of conflicts of interest
• Require identification and addressing of material risks, including operational and technology risks
• Require clear, accurate, and comprehensive disclosures
• Enforce applicable laws
• Promote cross-border cooperation and information sharing
• Understand and assess interconnections among the DeFi market, the broader crypto-asset market, and traditional financial markets.

Alongside the report, IOSCO has opened a “public consultation” period during which the organization is seeking comments until October 19. Comments on the consultation paper should be sent to DeFiconsultation@iosco.org.

FSB and IMF report on approach to risks associated with cryptoassets. On September 7, the Financial Stability Board (FSB) and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) announced the publication of a joint report “outlining a comprehensive policy and regulatory response to crypto-asset activities.” The report illustrates macroeconomic and financial stability implications of cryptoasset activities and encourages implementation of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) AML/CFT standards. The report finds that, to address macroeconomic risks, jurisdictions should safeguard monetary sovereignty and strengthen monetary policy frameworks, guard against excessive capital flow volatility, and adopt unambiguous tax treatment of cryptoassets. The report sets out a roadmap “to ensure the effective implementation of the FSB’s and IMF’s recommendations and standards.”

RECENT EVENTS

Global Digital Forum – Adapting to a digital future for real world assets and content, taking place September 28, 2023, brings together leading representatives from government, regulatory bodies, and international business to discuss the implications from operating in the new digital environment and how this is likely to change the way products and services are structured, traded, held, and delivered in global markets and economies. Margo Tank will speak on the panel, “The regulatory outlook for real world assets,” and James Williams will speak on the panel, “The opportunities and challenges created by a new US framework.”

DLA Piper secures litigation win for Curve DeFi developer Michael Egorov

The Legal 500 ranks DLA Piper Tier 1 in FinTech: Crypto. DLA Piper was also ranked in Tier 2 for FinTech, and Margo Tank was ranked as a "Leading Individual."

DLA Piper’s Commodities, Digital Assets, and Carbon Compliance and Enforcement team draws on decades of collective experience in the commodities and securities industry to help companies navigate new and complex commodities enforcement matters, including those related to agriculture, metals, energy, digital assets, and carbon/sustainable commodities, among others.

DLA Piper attorneys presented at the following events:

• Creating and monetizing carbon assets for financing, trading, and retirement, July 26, 2023, with Drew Young and Deanna Reitman.
• Cryptoassets: Emerging legal trends in common law and civil law jurisdictions. How international courts are dealing with cryptoasset disputes, June 20, 2023, panel chaired by Christina Sharma and Michael Fluhr, with speaker Ewald Netten, Dan Jewell, Andrea Pantaleo, Matthew Miller and Deborah Meshulam. Key takeaways from the webinar may be found here.
• NFT legal overview: Copyright, trademark, and Uniform Commercial Code (Articles 2 & 12) [Part I], available on demand, with Tom K. Ara.
• NFT Legal Deep Dive: Copyright, trademark, and Uniform Commercial Code (Articles 2 & 12) [Part II], available on demand, with Margo Tank and Gina Durham.
• NFT Legal Deep Dive: Securities law, entertainment unions, and licensing [Part III], available on demand, with Martin Bartlam, Katherine Imp and Michael Fluhr.

PUBLICATIONS

Cryptocurrency and Digital Asset Regulation, published by the American Bar Association and co-edited by Deborah Meshulam and Michael Fluhr, includes chapters by Meshulam and Fluhr and by Margo Tank.

Terms of Service Are Instrumental in Determining Rights to Digital Assets – The Holding in Celsius Network LLC, published in The Computer & Internet Lawyer, May 2023, by Margo Tank, David Whitaker, Liz Caires and Emily Honsa Hicks.

Digital Digest, the inaugural edition of our bi-monthly newsletter from Martin Bartlam, Dan Jewell, Sam Gokarn-Millington, and Marina Troullinou of the UK DLA Piper Finance and Litigation teams. Digital Digest provides updates on key issues to be considered when doing business in the digital and crypto space in or from the UK.

Read

Action on 2022 amendments to the Uniform Commercial Code – South Dakota governor vetoes act

Supreme Court opens door to challenging FTC and SEC in district court

SDNY holds NBA Top Shots NFTs might be unregistered securities under Howey

US Supreme Court: Interlocutory appeals of denials of motions to compel arbitration automatically stay district court proceedings

Contacts

Learn more about our Blockchain and Digital Assets practice by contacting any of our editors:

Margo Tank
James Williams
Liz Caires
Eric Hall
Martin Bartlam

Contributors to this issue

Michael Fluhr

Tom Geraghty

Kali McGuire

The editors send their thanks and appreciation to Marc Aronson and Raymond Janicko for their contributions to this and prior issues.