As they say, everything’s bigger in Texas, including initial coin offerings. A Texas federal court recently unsealed a complaint filed by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) against a Texas-based company (the “Company”) that presents itself as the “world’s first decentralized bank” and claims to have provided “the largest ICO to date.”1 Among other things, the Company is accused of engaging in the offering of securities without properly registering with the SEC and defrauding…

CU Ledger, a consortium of U.S. credit unions, announced on Monday, March 11, that it will work with IBM to develop blockchain solutions to improve services such as identity authentication and know-your-customer (KYC) compliance. CU Ledger also indicated it is looking to blockchain to improve payments and lending. Marie Wieck, General Manager, IBM Blockchain explained that through their collaboration, “credit unions will be able to cooperate and receive shared value from quickly exchanging sensitive data…

On August 30, 2018, Andrew MacArthur and Ralph Dengler published “How to conduct a blockchain IP audit” in World Intellectual Property Review. Here is an excerpt: The rise of blockchain technology and its many applications, including banking and supply chain, continues to disrupt business. Blockchain provides the benefits of being immutable and decentralized, among others. It integrates distributed networks, cryptography, and consensus algorithms in potentially new and complex ways, forcing companies to reconsider how IP—patents,…

While industry watchers in Washington, DC eagerly await the next fintech charter pronouncement from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has quietly established itself as one of the main federal fintech regulators. The FTC was not the first federal agency active in the space—that was the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection (Bureau) with Project Catalyst; and it has not been the splashiest either—the OCC probably has …

Companies involved in global supply chain services are becoming increasingly interested in blockchain technology and how the use of this technology can enhance efficiency and security within the supply chain. Blockchain-based applications have enormous potential to transform transportation and logistics operations in the United States and worldwide. Last month at Transparency 18 in Atlanta, approximately 40 companies performed demonstrations for supply chain stakeholders from around the world exhibiting how software using blockchain and other disruptive…

Blockchain is a transformative technology that already is altering the way business is done across many industries. The name “blockchain” refers to digital, decentralized and distributed ledger technology that provides a means to immutably record information (i.e., a “block”) and share and maintain the records of that information (i.e., a “chain”) within a public or private community. The underlying digital ledger technology relies on cryptographic principles and acts as a secure repository for the information…

The SEC Division of Investment Management recently published a letter to the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association (SIFMA) addressing the interest among sponsors in offering registered funds that would hold cryptocurrencies and cryptocurrency-related products. The Division emphasized that flexibility to innovate is a key feature of the Investment Company Act of 1940 (the “1940 Act”) and reiterated that the Division seeks to “foster innovation that benefits investors and preserves the important protections that Congress…