Globalization and the expansion of international trade have created an economy unlike any before. The United States (“U.S.”) has particularly benefitted from foreign trade, with many businesses dependent on it for their success. However, recent events and growing concerns surrounding the sustainability of the global business model have led to executive actions and legislative movements which may foreclose significant portions of the world for U.S. businesses and may have dramatic implications…
Read MoreAs the world's news cycle grows shorter by the day, events with wide-ranging consequences scarcely have a twenty-four-hour lifespan in the headlines. Few issues aside from COVID-19 and the Russian incursion into Ukraine exhibit staying power. Count the increasingly convoluted legal battle between the world's richest man, Elon Musk and Twitter, Inc. (“Twitter”) as one of these issues. (Forbes). Musk has been attempting for months to void his attempted Twitter takeover. (Giles Turner, Bloomberg). With new developments in the case making headlines every week, it is difficult to keep track of how the case began, where it stands, and the consequences of a ruling in what has turned into a high stakes tug of war…
Read MoreThe digital assets industry has grown exponentially since Bitcoin was first introduced in 2009. (Wulf Kaal, Digital Asset Market Evolution). Though the digital assets market value is infamous for its volatility, the worldwide market capitalization of digital assets reached over $3 trillion at its height in November 2021. (Joanna Ossinger, TIME). As investors and the public more frequently use cryptocurrencies, non-fungible tokens (“NFTs”), and decentralized finance, the risks associated with digital assets increase…
Read MoreA novel type of entity has emerged in the world of global finance. It is called a Decentralized Autonomous Organization (“DAO”) and it was created to offer several benefits over traditional corporate structures. DAO’s are digital organizations built on blockchain technology and managed by their members in a democratic voting environment, DAO’s reduce transactional costs by removing the need for third parties, and DAO’s spur innovation in small business by making access to banking and capital more equitable…
Read MoreSenators Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) and Cynthia Lummis (R-WY) introduced legislation on June 7, 2022 that would implement and divide oversight of the cryptocurrency market between the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (“CFTC”). (David A. Lopez-Kurtz, National Law Review; Soyoung Ho, Thomson Reuters). Proposed legislation of this kind may feel anathema to the underlying premise of blockchain technology and its freewheeling pioneers…
Read MoreIs there any clear sight for the future of special purpose acquisition companies (“SPACs”), which proliferated in the bull market of the pandemic? Amidst a bear market and increasing scrutiny from the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”), SPACs have crashed as fast as they rose. (Lipschultz, Bloomberg Law). The features, such as their speed and lack of disclosures, that made SPACs so popular, are now causing their failure…
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