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Fintech
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April 26, 2024
CFTC Receives Competing Visions For AI's Regulatory Future
Business lobbyists have urged the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission to lean on existing regulations to address the financial industry's use of artificial intelligence, while skeptics say those regulations don't go far enough to guard against the technology's potential to spur market crashes and data breaches.
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April 26, 2024
Crypto Mining Co. Execs Face Suit Over Merger Shortcomings
Executives and directors of crypto mining company Hut 8 have been hit with a shareholder derivative suit claiming they failed to disclose the severe financial and operational issues of a company Hut 8 merged with last year, later revealed in a short-seller's report.
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April 26, 2024
Crypto Atty's Senate Bid Takes Detour For SEC-Coinbase Suit
The pro-cryptocurrency attorney vying to unseat Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts added to his pro bono work in the digital asset space on Friday by taking up the mantle for Coinbase users in the crypto exchange's ongoing battle with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
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April 26, 2024
Custodia Balks At KC Fed's $25K Legal Bill After Account Suit
Custodia Bank on Friday urged a Wyoming federal judge not to award the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City's request for roughly $25,000 in attorney fees and litigation costs in a suit that the cryptocurrency-focused bank recently lost, saying the payout could deter others from pursuing "David and Goliath" lawsuits against the government.
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April 26, 2024
Soccer Star Says Binance Is Target Of $1B Fla. Suit, Not Him
Portuguese soccer star Cristiano Ronaldo has urged a Florida federal judge to dismiss a $1 billion proposed class action lawsuit against him over promoting Binance.US, saying the embattled cryptocurrency exchange is listed as the target of the suit — in an "apparent Freudian slip" — instead of him.
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April 26, 2024
Republic First Bank Fails In Biggest Bust Since 2023 Turmoil
Republic First Bank, a roughly $6 billion bank based in Philadelphia, was shuttered Friday by Pennsylvania state banking regulators and sold to Fulton Bank NA, capping off a prolonged decline that only worsened in the wake of last spring's regional bank failures.
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April 25, 2024
Crypto Co. DCG Hires 1st Legal Chief Amid New York AG Fight
The head of cryptocurrency conglomerate Digital Currency Group on Thursday said the firm has appointed its first chief legal officer, hiring the former top lawyer of payment management firm Billtrust as DCG fights a lawsuit by New York's attorney general and other disputes.
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April 25, 2024
FDIC Tables Plans To Scrutinize Big 'Passive' Bank Investors
Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. leaders on Thursday debated two competing proposals intended to address concerns about asset managers and other investors amassing outsized influence over banks whose shares they own, ultimately taking the rare step of tabling the measures as neither garnered majority support.
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April 25, 2024
FTC Sues Bill-Payment Co. Over Misleading Ads, Junk Fees
The Federal Trade Commission on Thursday filed suit against a Seattle-based, third-party bill-paying company for allegedly tricking online consumers into using the company's service by disguising itself as consumers' billers' official payment channel and tacking on junk fees.
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April 25, 2024
Crypto Co. Sues 'Crusading' Gensler Over SEC's Ether Stance
Cryptocurrency software company Consensys Software Inc. sued the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on Thursday in Texas federal court over the agency's treatment of the Ethereum network's ether token as a security after the company received a so-called Wells notice that agency staff intends to recommend an enforcement action over its products.
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April 25, 2024
SEC Says Texas Crypto Mining Co. Execs Ran $5.6M Fraud
A crypto asset mining and hosting company and two of its principals face U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission claims they defrauded about 64 investors with an unregistered securities offering that raised $5.6 million, spending investor funds lavishly on themselves while neglecting to set up, or in some cases even buy, the mining equipment they had said they would get.
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April 24, 2024
FDIC Pushes Back On Lender Groups Suing Over Colo. Law
The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. has weighed in on a legal challenge to a Colorado law aimed at curbing higher-cost online lending in the state, arguing that the lender trade groups behind the challenge are misconstruing the agency's past words to support their case.
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April 24, 2024
Kwok Jurors To Be Anonymous Amid Harassment Concerns
Jurors who will decide the criminal fraud and racketeering case against exiled Chinese billionaire Ho Wan Kwok will be anonymous and partially sequestered, a New York federal judge said on Wednesday, ruing that if their identities are revealed they could face the same harassment that befell Kwok's bankruptcy trustee.
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April 24, 2024
Crypto Mixer Execs Arrested Over $2B In Illicit Transactions
New York federal prosecutors announced Wednesday that they have arrested the co-founders of crypto mixing service Samourai Wallet over their operation of a crypto service that authorities say executed over $2 billion in unlawful transactions.
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April 24, 2024
Instagram Star Gets 7 Years For Multiple Fraud Schemes
A Brooklyn federal judge on Wednesday imposed a seven-year prison term on a former Instagram influencer who admitted to defrauding members of his Muslim community and others out of over $8 million via a bogus investment fund and Bitcoin theft, saying the crime probably should be featured on the television show "American Greed."
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April 24, 2024
Binance Founder Should Get 3 Years, Not Probation, Feds Say
Federal prosecutors asked a Washington federal judge to sentence Binance founder Changpeng Zhao to three years over his failure to implement an effective anti-money laundering program at his crypto exchange, but the founder said jail time isn't necessary since he's already paid "massive" fines and comparable cases haven't resulted in prison sentences.
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April 24, 2024
Pegasystems Cuts $35M Deal To End Investor Suit
Pegasystems Inc. has agreed to pay $35 million to settle a shareholder suit in Massachusetts federal court alleging the software company failed to properly disclose a rival's trade secret litigation that led to a $2 billion verdict.
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April 24, 2024
Feds Nab Latest OneCoin Plea On $35M Laundering Charge
An eighth defendant has been charged by federal prosecutors over the global OneCoin cryptocurrency scam and has pled guilty to laundering about $35 million in illicit proceeds through bank accounts he controlled in China and Hong Kong.
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April 24, 2024
King & Spalding Adds Ex-SEC, FINRA Securities Expert In DC
The former deputy chief counsel of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's enforcement division, who has over 25 years of experience working with securities laws and regulations, has left McGuireWoods LLP to join King & Spalding LLP as a partner in its Washington, D.C., office.
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April 23, 2024
SEC Critics Preview Future Challenges To Agency Action
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission may face new challenges to its enforcement authority from the way it imposes industry bars to the burden of proof needed to bring its civil cases, two frequent legal opponents of the agency said Tuesday.
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April 23, 2024
Ripple Labs Says Its SEC Fine Should Be No More Than $10M
Blockchain firm Ripple Labs told a Manhattan federal judge that the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's $2 billion remedies request over the firm's registration violation is proof of its "administrative overreach," and says it shouldn't be forced to pay more than $10 million over a finding related to its sales of cryptocurrency XRP.
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April 23, 2024
Texas Orders Digital Gold Vault Scheme To Shut Down
Texas financial regulators have ordered the operators of a digital gold vault scheme to stop operating in the state, alleging individuals and companies were running a fraudulent multilevel marketing scheme to lure investors in unregistered securities.
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April 23, 2024
Levi & Korsinsky To Head Combined Paycom Investor Actions
An Oklahoma federal judge selected Levi & Korsinsky LLP to lead a consolidated proposed investor class action against human resources technology company Paycom Software Inc. over the company's alleged failure to disclose that the success of its self-service payroll software was hindering the growth of the company's other services and revenue.
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April 23, 2024
Crypto Industry Groups Sue SEC Over Dealer Definition
Two crypto industry groups on Tuesday jointly sued the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission to overturn the regulator's expanded dealer definition, claiming the regulator sidestepped a fair rulemaking process when it declined to address the myriad issues industry participants pointed out during the shortened comment process.
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April 23, 2024
JAMS Implements Rules For AI-Related Disputes
JAMS announced Tuesday that it has implemented new rules governing disputes involving artificial intelligence, making it the first organization in the alternative dispute resolution industry to establish an AI-tailored legal framework.
Expert Analysis
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6 Pointers For Attys To Build Trust, Credibility On Social Media
In an era of information overload, attorneys can use social media strategically — from making infographics to leveraging targeted advertising — to cut through the noise and establish a reputation among current and potential clients, says Marly Broudie at SocialEyes Communications.
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Del. Ruling Stands Out In Thorny Noncompete Landscape
In Cantor Fitzgerald v. Ainslie, the Delaware Supreme Court last month upheld the enforceability of forfeiture-for-competition provisions in limited partnership agreements, providing a noteworthy opinion amid a time of increasing disfavor toward noncompetes and following a string of Chancery Court rulings deeming them unreasonable, say Margaret Butler and Steven Goldberg at BakerHostetler.
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SEC Regs Give Banks Chance To Step Up Cyber Safety Game
Just as the Sarbanes-Oxley Act forced financial institutions to undertake best practices in recordkeeping, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s recently effective cybersecurity regulations stand to similarly drive those same enterprises to seek out and implement best practices in cybersecurity, to everyone's benefit, says James Gerber at SimSpace.
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A Post-Mortem Analysis Of Stroock's Demise
After the dissolution of 147-year-old firm Stroock late last year shook up the legal world, a post-mortem analysis of the data reveals a long list of warning signs preceding the firm’s collapse — and provides some insight into how other firms might avoid the same disastrous fate, says Craig Savitzky at Leopard Solutions.
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Predicting DeFi Regulations At Home And Abroad In 2024
Though decentralized finance has advocates on both sides of the Atlantic in figures like U.S. SEC Commissioner Hester Peirce and U.K. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, DeFi in 2024 seems likely to be folded into existing regulatory frameworks in the U.K. and EU, while anti-crypto scrutiny may discourage DeFi’s growth in the U.S., say Daniel Csefalvay and Eric Martin at BCLP.
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Understanding SEC's Focus Amid Lack Of Final AI Rules
Although the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's proposed rules to govern artificial intelligence are likely far from being finalized, understanding existing regulatory provisions that could address AI risks with respect to development, disclosure, compliance and data protection could help firms anticipate and avoid pitfalls, say attorneys at Skadden.
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How High Court SEC Case Could Affect The ITC
While the U.S. Supreme Court’s upcoming ruling in U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission v. Jarkesy will likely spare the U.S. International Trade Commission from major operative changes, the ITC’s ability to issue penalties for violations of its orders may change, say Gwendolyn Tawresey and Ryan Deck at Troutman Pepper.
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CFPB Overdraft Rule Could Mean Big Shift In Banking Biz
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has proposed "to close a longstanding loophole" in the Truth in Lending Act by changing how it regulates overdraft fees, but underneath the headline-grabbing proposal is a foundational shift in how the bureau views overdraft services, say attorneys at Katten.
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Open Questions After Elastos Crypto Class Action Settlement
The recent settlement in Owen v. Elastos Foundation resolving a class action fight over whether Elastos was required to register an initial coin offering with U.S. regulators has raised several questions that may be of interest to lawyers litigating cryptocurrency-related cases, including whether a crypto token constitutes a security under U.S. law, says Bradley Simon at Schlam Stone.
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Series
Coaching High School Wrestling Makes Me A Better Lawyer
Coaching my son’s high school wrestling team has been great fun, but it’s also demonstrated how a legal career can benefit from certain experiences, such as embracing the unknown, studying the rules and engaging with new people, says Richard Davis at Maynard Nexsen.
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Implications For Digital Assets After SEC Settlement With DAO
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's December settlement with BarnBridge — finding that the decentralized autonomous organization's products were securities under federal law — foreshadows increased enforcement attention on digital assets, and reveals arguments the SEC may use in similar disputes with decentralized finance protocols, say attorneys at K&L Gates.
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SG's Office Is Case Study To Help Close Legal Gender Gap
As women continue to be underrepresented in the upper echelons of the legal profession, law firms could learn from the example set by the Office of the Solicitor General, where culture and workplace policies have helped foster greater gender equality, say attorneys at Ocean Tomo.
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Bitcoin ETF Approval Doesn't Mean SEC Approves Of Crypto
While the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's approval last month of 11 applications for spot exchange-traded funds tracking bitcoin is a landmark moment for the crypto-asset industry, investors who are hopeful that the SEC will approve similar crypto-based ETFs may be disappointed, says attorneys at Mintz.
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How Proposed Bipartisan Bill Would Reform Bank Exams
If the Fair Audits and Inspections for Regulators’ Exams Act, which was recently introduced by a bipartisan group of senators, were to be enacted, it would particularly benefit small lenders and bank-fintech partnerships by promoting transparency, appellate rights and examiner accountability, say attorneys at Latham.
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Crypto Issues To Watch Amid Evolving Legal Landscape
This year will likely be a momentous one for crypto in the U.S., but whether it is successful or disastrous will depend on the outcome of high-profile court decisions and key regulatory actions, say attorneys at Venable.