Crypto Practice Blog
Analysis of Legal and Regulatory Developments in Cryptocurrency, Digital Assets, Web3 & More
This blog was created to share timely updates and practical insights on the legal, regulatory, and compliance issues shaping the cryptocurrency, digital assets, and Web3 landscape. Drawing from our experience advising clients on fund formation, venture financings, DAO governance, regulatory strategy, investigations, and compliance matters, we aim to make complex developments more accessible and easier to follow.
Our goal is to provide a useful resource for founders, investors, and others working across the rapidly evolving cryptocurrency, digital assets, and Web3 industry.
The U.S. digital asset landscape is evolving quickly, with regulators revisiting prior policies, introducing new guidance, and emphasizing greater clarity. These developments may reshape compliance, market participation, and the future direction of crypto regulation.
The SEC’s Division of Trading and Markets issued guidance on when crypto asset user interface providers may avoid broker-dealer registration, clarifying compliance expectations and operational limits for DeFi platforms under evolving regulatory scrutiny.
CFTC staff FAQ clarifies how crypto assets like BTC, ETH, and payment stablecoins may be used as margin collateral in derivatives markets, outlining limits for FCMs and DCOs, compliance conditions, and key restrictions across trading.
An overview of the evolving U.S. crypto regulatory landscape, including the SEC, CFTC, Treasury, and key legislation shaping digital asset compliance, enforcement, stablecoins, token classification, and regulatory risks for crypto startups and founders.
As prediction markets continue to grow, the CFTC is signaling that insider trading rules still apply. This alert examines how regulators approach misappropriated information, enforcement risks, and the compliance steps companies should consider when handling sensitive information.
A practical guide to startup capital formation, covering founder equity, employee stock plans, vesting, token compensation, and key U.S. fundraising exemptions, with essential regulatory considerations for crypto companies navigating early-stage growth.
A practical guide to forming a crypto startup, covering entity choice, Delaware incorporation, global structuring, compliance steps, and governance considerations that shape liability, fundraising ability, and long-term regulatory positioning.
SEC and CFTC issue joint crypto classification guidance introducing a five-category token taxonomy and clarifying treatment of securities, staking, and airdrops, while raising disclosure concerns and confirming the interpretation remains non-binding.
SEC leadership signals a shift toward tokenization of equities, introducing an “innovation exemption” framework and outlining how tokenized securities may reshape market structure, intermediaries, and regulatory treatment of on-chain trading.
Federal court dismisses all claims against Uniswap, holding decentralized non-custodial protocol developers not liable for third-party fraud. Applying Taamneh providing neutral infrastructure is not substantial assistance platform ≠ participant lawfully.
The SEC’s latest statement on tokenized securities changes little substantively, but its coordinated clarity signals a more mature regulatory approach and a growing willingness to engage constructively with crypto markets.
A new NYT exposé paints crypto as a haven for illicit finance, but the numbers lack context and overlook blockchain transparency, raising questions about whether sensational coverage obscures more meaningful criticism.
From airdrops to Regulation D, this startup guide breaks down the evolving language of crypto, web3, governance, fundraising, and regulation to help founders, investors, and advisors navigate emerging technology markets.
The SEC approved generic listing standards for certain crypto ETPs, streamlining exchange listings and signaling a major regulatory shift that could accelerate the launch of new digital asset investment products.
Crypto’s biggest obstacle may no longer be regulation, but usability. As the industry chases innovation, many firms still overlook customer experience practices that mainstream users expect from modern technology companies.
The SEC signaled that certain liquid staking arrangements may fall outside federal securities laws, offering long-awaited clarity for crypto projects while leaving important limits, risks, and unanswered regulatory questions intact.
A sweeping White House crypto roadmap proposes clearer regulation, crypto-friendly banking, stablecoin expansion, AML modernization, and tax reform, signaling a major shift toward positioning the U.S. as a global digital asset leader.
The SEC’s latest guidance suggests certain liquid staking arrangements may fall outside federal securities laws, offering the crypto industry a meaningful, though carefully limited, step toward long-sought regulatory clarity.
MiCA’s airdrop framework is narrower than many assume. Whether an airdrop is exempt depends on data collection, trading-related communications, and any non-monetary benefits the issuer receives, each of which can pull the distribution back into full regulatory scope.
Tokenized securities remain fully subject to U.S. securities laws. The SEC reiterates that blockchain does not change legal character, only the format, and that existing disclosure, registration, and trading rules apply to tokenized instruments just as they do to traditional ones.
SEC Chairman Paul Atkins signaled a shift toward rulemaking in crypto regulation, endorsing clearer treatment of staking, exploring innovation exemptions, affirming self-custody rights, and acknowledging that DeFi may require a fundamentally updated regulatory framework rather than forced fit into legacy rules.
Explores decentralization through control-based criteria defining blockchain governance, proposing eight measurable standards to assess networks, reduce regulatory uncertainty, and guide legal treatment of protocols and tokens under evolving frameworks regulation.
DOL guidance removes heightened “extreme care” standard for crypto in 401(k)s, returning fiduciary evaluation to ordinary ERISA prudence, potentially easing inclusion of digital assets in retirement plan investment menus options.
Crypto regulation is shifting from enforcement-first approaches toward clearer frameworks for DeFi, tokenization, stablecoins, decentralization standards, and retirement access, signaling a more structured but still evolving path for digital assets.
AI is reshaping both coding and legal drafting, but “vibe coding” and “vibe drafting” risk replacing rigor with output. Human judgment, review, and baseline expertise remain essential safeguards against fragile results.