FINLAW: What should you do when you receive a Rule 8210 request from FINRA?
It frequently happens as follows: a registered representative or associated person of a broker-dealer (RR) receives a Rule 8210 letter from FINRA requiring that she respond to questions or worse, appear before FINRA to provide testimony under oath (OTR). Any hope that your departure from a broker-dealer that marked up Form U5 with unsavory details…
Read MoreFINLAW: Peirce’s proposed safe harbor for three years of crypto (almost) regulatory immunity unlikely to become reality; Telegram Court proceeding presents opportunity for clarification of law
SEC Commissioner and Crypto Mom Hester Peirce completed her adoption of the crypto industry four days ago. Peirce single handedly proposed a safe harbor for crypto/digital asset offerings excusing all regulatory violations except fraud. The safe harbor proposal provides regulatory immunity except for fraud to crypto offerings for a period of three years to enable…
Read MoreFINLAW: Unregistered persons who raise capital continue to be a top SEC enforcement priority
In what has become a typical announcement, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced yesterday that it has filed three more actions against persons who acted as unregistered broker-dealers in violation of Section 15(a)(1) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. While reviewing these cases, I observed the SEC announced yet another case this morning.…
Read MoreFINLAW: Asking your customer to move their brokerage account MAY violate Regulation Best Interest (“Regulation BI”)
FINRA member Firms are required by June 30, 2020, to comply with Regulation BI. Regulation BI is a rulemaking package that one regulator described as a “once-every-several decades” rule.[1] Regulation BI mandates four essential obligations which will transform the way retail broker-dealers (“BDs”) do business in the United States. These include the Disclosure obligation, Care…
Read MoreSpeaker, Bootstrap Legal interview of Scott Andersen on Real Estate Syndication, October 10, 2019
Read MoreFINLAW: Initial Exchange Offerings, April 26, 2019
I was interviewed by a Chinese newspaper ChainDD concerning Initial Exchange Offerings (IEOs). Just like Initial Coin Offerings, if we are discussing a security, IEO Offerings need to either be registered with the U.S. Securities Exchange Commission or meet an exemption from registration or they are illegal under United States law. See the ChainDD interview…
Read MoreFINLAW: NY Attorney General obtains NY GBL Section 354 order against Bitfinex and Tether, April 25, 2019
See my comments to breaking story and how this action is different from the norm at https://www.crowdfundinsider.com/2019/04/146826-new-york-attorney-general-issues-court-order-alleging-fraud-pertaining-to-bitfinex-and-tether-cover-up-of-850-million-loss-is-claimed/ and https://blockonomi.com/ny-ag-says-bitfinex-engaged-in-fraud-cover-up-but-exchange-denies/ and https://bitcoinmagazine.com/articles/bitfinex-faces-legal-action-from-ny-attorney-general-heres-what-this-means/ and https://www.coindesk.com/bitfinex-nyags-order-is-hurting-our-customers-and-the-crypto-market
Read MoreFINLAW: SEC Issues First No Action Letter Regarding Tokenization of Digital Asset by TurnKey Jet that is NOT a Security, April 3, 2019
See my comments to CROWDFUND INSIDER article relating to the SEC's Turnkey no action letter. https://www.crowdfundinsider.com/2019/04/146005-sec-issues-first-no-action-letter-regarding-tokenization-of-digital-asset-by-turnkey-jet-that-is-not-a-security/ SEC Issues First No Action Letter Regarding Tokenization of Digital Asset by TurnKey Jet that is NOT a Security April 3, 2019 @ 11:05 am By JD Alois The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Division of Corporate Finance, has issued its…
Read MoreFINLAW: No action letter issued by SEC as to when a digital asset is not a security, April 3, 2019
The SEC today issued no action relief to Turnkey Jet, Inc. (Turnkey) providing for the first time an analysis of when a digital asset is not a security. Unsurprising, the SEC relied on the opinion of legal counsel that set forth factual representations alleviating the concern that the digital asset issuance was for the purpose…
Read MoreSpeaker, Oppenheimer Blockchain Institutional Summit, February 20, 2019, Lotte NY Palace Hotel, New York City
Participated on the compliance for digital securities panel at the Oppenheimer Blockchain Summit at the Lotte NY Palace Hotel in NYC. This may very well be the first institutional blockchain conference. Patrick Byrne of tZero gave the keynote. The afternoon panel with Carlos Domingo, Trevor Koverko, Josh Stein, Andrew Keys and Tom Shaughnessy was excellent.…
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