United States-based crypto lending platform Nexo is facing a class-action lawsuit over suspension of XRP services on Dec. 23, 2020. The lead plaintiff, California resident Junhan Jeong, submitted the complaint on Thursday. The complaint accuses Nexo of breaching its user agreement by suspending the use of XRP as loan collateral without notifying its customers beforehand. The suspension followed the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s legal action against Ripple Labs for conducting unregistered securities offerings on Dec. 22. Nexo allows users to borrow fiat currency or stablecoins using over-collateralized loans that are backed by crypto assets. Should price fluctuations in the …

GameStop Corporation, an American gaming and consumer electronics retailer, has announced its plans to sell up to 3.5 million GME shares following the stock’s massive and controversial rally. The firm announced Monday that it has filed a prospectus supplement with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission, under which it may offer and sell up to 3.5 million shares of GME stock via an at-the-market, or ATM, equity offering program. GameStop said that its total global sales increased nearly 11% for the nine-week period ending April 3, 2021. GameStop noted that its common stock will be offered through American multinational …

Former U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission Chair Jay Clayton has stated that Bitcoin has not been classified as a security for a long time. But speaking on CNBC’s Squawk Box on March 31, Clayton warned that its status as a non-security still does not protect it from the imposition of new regulations, which, he warned, could be coming soon. "Where digital assets land at the end of the day--will be driven in part by regulation both domestic and international, and I expect that regulation will come in this area both directly and indirectly," says Former SEC Chairman Jay Clayton on …

United States investment bank Morgan Stanley has updated the prospectus of several institutional funds to reflect potential exposure to Bitcoin (BTC) through Grayscale and cash-settled futures, highlighting once again the rapid uptake of digital assets by major investment firms. In a March 31 filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, or SEC, Morgan Stanley declared it has updated the “Investment Policies and Strategies” section for 12 institutional portfolios. The update enables Morgan Stanley Institutional Fund, Inc. to add Bitcoin to several portfolios via Grayscale Bitcoin Trust and cash-settled futures. The filing explains: “To the extent a Fund invests in …

Thailand’s Securities and Exchange Commission has clarified its guidelines to stipulate that those trading cryptocurrencies in the country should have some foundational knowledge. In a Facebook Live video from the Thai SEC today, secretary-general Ruenvadee Suwanmongkol said the regulatory body’s proposed guidelines now say that people interested in investing in digital assets must have previous experience in crypto trading. She added that those new to the market should attend a cryptocurrency trading training course or pass a test to prove their knowledge. Suwanmongkol said that the commission was organizing a free training course called Crypto 101 for investors who have …

Anchorage Digital Bank, a pioneer of digital asset custody, and cryptocurrency trading platform Prometheum are in the final approval phase for an alternative trading system, or ATS, tailed specifically for crypto investors. Prometheum Ember ATS, also known as PEATS, is vying to bring alternative trading system technology to digital assets. PEATS will open to traders pending final regulatory approval by the United States Securities and Exchange Commission, or SEC. PEATS is currently undergoing the SEC's rigorous "Three-Step Process" for approving a public ATS. Once launched, Anchorage will custody all digital assets transacted through PEATS. Commonly found in traditional financial markets, …

Blockchain company LBRY, Inc. has hit back at the Securities and Exchange Commission, saying a complaint filed against it threatens much of the crypto industry because it would define most tokens as securities. The SEC has been looking into the blockchain-based publishing platform LBRY, Inc. as part of a three-year investigation that started in May 2018. According to the complaint filed by the SEC, the platform is alleged to have sold unregistered securities across multiple avenues including to institutional investors and platform users between 2016 and 2020. The regulator is seeking a permanent injunction to prevent the company from selling …

Powers On... is a new monthly opinion column from Marc Powers, who, after a stint with the SEC, spent much of his 40-year legal career working with complex, securities-related cases in the United States. He is now an adjunct professor at Florida International University School of Law, where he teaches the course “Blockchain, Crypto and Regulatory Considerations.” In 40 years of practicing law — including five years with the Securities and Exchange Commission’s, or SEC’s, Enforcement Division and 35 years in private practice— I came to learn certain truths. My awareness of these truths helped save many clients from untold …

XRP tokenholders who have sought the right to intervene in the ongoing case against Ripple Labs by the United States Securities and Exchange Commission, or SEC, have been given the green light by the district judge of the court of the Southern District of New York. According to a letter filed by District Judge Analisa Torres on Monday, the proposed intervenors have until April 19 to file their motion to intervene, with two deadlines up until mid-May being set to file oppositions and responses for both the SEC and the defendants themselves. Their argument was backed up by a letter …

Three months after resigning from the United States Securities and Exchange Commission, or SEC, Jay Clayton has joined an advisory board of crypto investment manager One River Asset Management, signaling a changing of the guard for the former securities regulator. Clayton, along with Kevin Hassett of The Lindsey Group and Jon Orszag of Compass Lexecon, joins One River Asset Management’s newly formed academic and regulatory advisory council, the company announced Monday. Although Clayton’s exact role within the advisory group wasn’t specified, One RIver CEO Eric Peters said his goal was to bring together distinguished individuals with “varying regulatory and policy …

The founder of a multi-million crypto Ponzi scheme has escaped paying a $4.5 million penalty to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. On March 23, the U.S District Court of Southern Florida initially ordered Jose Angel Aman to pay the SEC more than $4.2 million in disgorgement, and $300,000 in prejudgement interest. However, the court deemed the bill was satisfied that same day due to restitution paid in a parallel case from 2019. According to an emergency order obtained by the SEC in May 2019, Florida-based Aman operated three consecutive Ponzi-schemes which made up a “complicated web of fraudulent companies …

Robinhood Markets Inc., a popular trading app that recently expanded its cryptocurrency business, has filed paperwork with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission, or SEC, to go public. The company confirmed Tuesday that it had confidentially submitted a draft registration statement on Form S-1 with the SEC relating to the proposed public offering of its common stock. Form S-1 requires companies to provide more detailed information on the planned use of capital proceeds., as well as a brief prospectus on the proposed security. While Robinhood didn’t specify when the IPO would take place, it confirmed that a public offering …