Michael Selig

Firm/Organization: Reed Smith LLP

Blogs: FinTech Update, Global Regulatory Enforcement Law Blog, Technology Law Dispatch

Latest Articles

Senior SEC Officials Provide Regulatory Clarity for Digital Assets

By Michael S. Didiuk, J. Dax Hansen, Jesse P. Kanach, Keith Miller, Lowell D. Ness, Thomas Ahmadifar, Conor O'Hanlon & Michael Selig

June 21, 2018

From Uncertainty toward Regulatory Clarity: Senior SEC Officials Provide Regulatory Clarity for Digital Assets Summary is below, please click here for the full alert narrative. On June 14, 2018, the Director of the Division of Corporation Finance of the Securities and Exchange Commission delivered a speech outlining the framework used by the SEC Staff in evaluating whether a given token sale qualifies as a securities offering. The Director clarified that a token sale may qualify…

Virtual Currency Report

Senior SEC Officials Provide Regulatory Clarity for Digital Assets

By Michael S. Didiuk, J. Dax Hansen, Jesse P. Kanach, Keith Miller, Lowell D. Ness, Thomas Ahmadifar, Conor O'Hanlon & Michael Selig

June 21, 2018

Virtual Currency Report

Blockchain in Review – Weeks of May 7th through May 25th, 2018

By Perkins Coie, Taylor Lindman & Michael Selig

May 28, 2018

U.S. Developments Regulatory Updates CFTC Staff Issues Advisory to Exchanges and Clearinghouses on Virtual Currency Derivatives On May 21, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission’s (CFTC) Division of Market Oversight and Division of Clearing and Risk released an advisory that provides guidance to designated contract markets (DCM), swap execution facilities (SEF), and derivatives clearing organizations (DCO) that offer derivatives with virtual currency underliers (the Advisory). The key take-aways are summarized below: The Advisory notes that virtual…

FinTech Update

Berkeley to Use Blockchain for Tokenized Bonds

By Herbert F. Kozlov, Kari Larsen, Michael Selig & Kelley Chittenden

March 14, 2018

The City of Berkeley, California will be the first U.S. city to explore blockchain-based financing to tackle social issues such as affordable housing. Mayor Jesse Arreguin and Councilmember Ben Bartlett are collaborating with the UC Berkeley Blockchain Lab and San Francisco-based financial startup Neighborly for the Berkeley Blockchain Initiative (“BBI”) to develop a tokenized municipal bond. According to Forbes, Berkeley had a similar idea twenty years ago with a local currency called “Berkeley Bucks.” This…

FinTech Update

Hong Kong Securities Commission Launches Inquiry Into Seven Crypto Exchanges

By Herbert F. Kozlov, Kari Larsen, Michael Selig & Kelley Chittenden

February 13, 2018

On February 9, 2018, the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission (“SFC”) released a statement which, among other things, informs the marketplace that the SFC sent letters to seven Hong Kong cryptocurrency exchanges warning against listing instruments that qualify as “securities” under the Securities and Futures Ordinance (“SFO”) without a required license.[1] Additionally, the SFC sent letters to seven crypto token issuers inquiring about compliance with the securities laws. In response to the…

FinTech Update

Securities Class Action Lawsuits Continue to Test the “Utility” Token Sale Model

By Herbert F. Kozlov, Kari Larsen & Michael Selig

February 1, 2018

On January 30, 2018, dissatisfied crypto token purchasers filed a class action lawsuit against Paragon Coin, Inc. (“Paragon”) and founders Jessica VerSteeg and Egor Lavrov, alleging that the Paragon initial coin offering (“ICO”) violated the federal securities laws.[1] This lawsuit follows those filed by plaintiffs against Centra, Tezos, ATBCoin, BitConnect, and Xunlei in connection with their ICOs in recent months. One of the more high profile class action defendants is BitConnect, which is…

FinTech Update

SEC Scrutinizes Pumping of Blockchain-Related Securities

By Herbert F. Kozlov, Kari Larsen & Michael Selig

January 9, 2018

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) is continuing to increase its scrutiny of companies that might be taking advantage of investor excitement for blockchain and cryptocurrency (ICO) deals to inflate their share prices and raise funds. On January 8, 2018, the SEC suspended trading in the securities of Hong Kong-based UBI Blockchain Internet, Ltd. (“UBI Blockchain”) through at least January 22, 2018.[1] This action follows the SEC’s suspension of trading in the…

FinTech Update

CFTC Issues Proposed Interpretation on Retail Virtual Currency Transactions

By Kari Larsen & Michael Selig

December 29, 2017

“Virtual currencies,” such as bitcoin and ether, qualify as “commodities” under the Commodity Exchange Act (“CEA”).[1] The extent that such products are subject to regulation by the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (“CFTC”) depends upon whether the products are traded in the spot (or cash) market, on a forward basis, or as the underlying of a futures or swap contract. A spot transaction is an exchange of a commodity for payment where immediate…

FinTech Update

ICOs Must Remain Aware of Regulatory Enforcers

By Herbert F. Kozlov, Kari Larsen, Michael Selig & Matthew H. Kita

December 12, 2017

Digital assets, popularly referred to as “cryptocurrencies”, “coins”, and “tokens”, continue to provoke regulatory attention and create discord amongst regulators. Recent actions by the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (“CFTC”) and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) demonstrate that activities by the issuers of tokens may draw scrutiny from either or both agencies. As new token issuance schemes hit the market every day, cryptocurrency market participants must be cautious because multiple regulatory enforcement arms…

FinTech Update

Security Implications for Blockchain Technology Reviewed by SEC

By Kari Larsen & Michael Selig

December 12, 2017

On October 12, 2017, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Committee (“SEC”) held an Investor Advisory Committee (“IAC”) meeting to consider, among other things, blockchain technology and the implications for securities markets.1 The meeting covered a broad range of topics relating to blockchain and distributed ledger technology (“DLT”), including initial coin offerings (“ICO”), post-trade processing, and decentralized applications. In the wake of the SEC’s recent enforcement action alleging that two recent ICOs were fraudulent,2 the SEC is…

Michael Selig

Senior SEC Officials Provide Regulatory Clarity for Digital Assets

Senior SEC Officials Provide Regulatory Clarity for Digital Assets

Blockchain in Review – Weeks of May 7th through May 25th, 2018

Berkeley to Use Blockchain for Tokenized Bonds

Hong Kong Securities Commission Launches Inquiry Into Seven Crypto Exchanges

Securities Class Action Lawsuits Continue to Test the “Utility” Token Sale Model

SEC Scrutinizes Pumping of Blockchain-Related Securities

CFTC Issues Proposed Interpretation on Retail Virtual Currency Transactions

ICOs Must Remain Aware of Regulatory Enforcers

Security Implications for Blockchain Technology Reviewed by SEC

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