Earlier this week, in Liu v. SEC, the Supreme Court held that the SEC may seek "disgorgement" from a wrongdoer in a civil action, but only to the extent of the net profits from a violation and the award must benefit the victims. Unlike several other recent…
The SEC's "accredited investor" definition bars investors who earn less than $200,000 a year or have a net worth less than $1 million from taking part in private securities offerings. It's a definition even its mother no longer loves: SEC Commissioner Elad Roisman says it "stands between…
Uncertainty about the application of the securities laws has been an important concern, and a barrier to growth, for many crypto projects. Commissioner Peirce's safe harbor would go a long way toward addressing that uncertainty.
The Wall Street Journal recently reported that Kik, a messaging app that raised close to $100 million dollars in a 2017 initial coin offering (ICO) of its "Kin" token, is challenging a proposed Securities and Exchange Commission enforcement action against the company. As has been discussed by…
Should cryptocurrencies be regulated like securities? Financial regulators have been pondering this question for some time. In a Briefing Paper published today by the Cato Institute's Center for Monetary and Financial Alternatives, I suggest that securities regulation would only seem warranted in certain clearly circumscribed cases. For…