On Dec. 22, 2020, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC or the Commission) filed an action against Ripple Labs Inc. (Ripple or the Company) and two of its executives, alleging that they violated Section 5 of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (Securities Act) by raising over $1.3 billion through an unregistered, ongoing securities offering of the digital asset XRP, beginning in at least 2013. The SEC seeks to permanently enjoin the defendants from…
The Telegram case is arguably the most important case of 2020 involving the legal classification of blockchain-based digital assets. Because it is often cost-prohibitive for companies to challenge the government in court, the Telegram litigation offered a unique opportunity for the parties to present arguments on several complex legal issues. Given the lack of judicial precedent in this area, as well as the size and profile of the Telegram project, the Telegram case was closely…