It is no secret the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) has been ramping up its regulation of cryptocurrencies in the past several years. (Packin, Forbes). However, in the absence of well-fitting regulations, the crypto community has been struggling to understand how securities laws may or may not apply to specific digital assets. Id. According to recent reports, the SEC is looking to expand its regulation even further by targeting certain non-fungible tokens…
Read MoreAs 2022 began, many startup companies held their breath, awaiting the verdict of the Elizabeth Holmes trial and what the verdict meant for the future of venture capital. . .
Read MoreThe name “Special Purpose Acquisition Company” or “SPAC” has been around since the 1990s but only recently have these blank-check companies become popular enough to draw significant attention from investors and the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”). (Holmes, Forbes). According to the SEC, a SPAC is a company with no operations that goes public for the sole purpose of acquiring a private company—effectively bringing the private company public. (Division of Corporate Finance Staff, SEC). SPACs offer an alternative to the traditional Initial Public Offering (“IPO”) route for taking a company public. (Frank Holmes, Forbes). While this alternative has its advantages, the SEC has begun taking action as it relates to SPACs and applicable disclosures. . .
Read MorePandora’s box is a fictional artifact of Greek mythology. (Merriam-Webster). Pandora, the owner of the box, was told never to open the box. Id. However, she did anyway. Id. When she took the lid off the box, out swarmed all the troubles of the world, never to be recaptured. Id.
The recently revealed and appropriately named Pandora Papers have brought this Greek myth into a modern context, except evidence of global inequity swarmed out of the “box” in 2021. The Pandora Papers shocked many by describing how the ultra-rich hide money overseas to evade taxes. (Kelly Phillips Erb, Bloomberg Law). More surprising is the scale of the operation and how many well-known global figures participated in such dealings. . .
Read MoreStefan Qin could face more than seven years in prison for fraudulently operating his hedge fund which allegedly derived profits from price gaps between cryptocurrencies on global exchanges. (Chris Dolmetsch, Bloomberg Law, Southern District of NY). In 2016, Qin dropped out of college to form the Virgil Sigma Fund. (Alexander Osipovich and Jeong Eun-Young, Wall Street Journal). Expectations were high for Qin, previously a high school math whiz, to dominate the cryptocurrency world with his price-monitoring algorithm called Tenjin. Id. . .
Read MoreThe ongoing federal prosecution of fallen biotech wunderkind Elizabeth Holmes showcases the dangers investors—along with patients and doctors—face as companies make encouraging promises in a climate of rapidly emerging technology. Elizabeth Holmes dropped out of Stanford University and founded Theranos, Inc. (“Theranos”) in 2003 seeking to “revolutionize the blood-testing industry.” (Sara Randazzo, The Wall Street Journal; Eric Mack, CNET; Daniel Thomas, BBC News). The Silicon Valley firm claimed to be developing technology that required a smaller draw of blood than traditional lab tests and touted the convenience of using its test kits compared to sending samples into lab centers. (Eric Mack, CNET). After crafting partnerships with healthcare and consumer giants Walgreens Boots Alliance and Safeway, Inc., Theranos’ valuation skyrocketed to a peak of approximately $10 billion. (Sara Randazzo, The Wall Street Journal; Zaw Thiha Tun, Investopedia). Then, in 2015, a whistleblower alerted the Wall Street Journal to Theranos’ allegedly deceptive practices. (Sara Randazzo, The Wall Street Journal). . .
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