Law
Food companies secure trademarks to enter metaverse
A number of food companies have recently begun to position themselves within the Web3 ecosystem by filing trademark applications for the Metaverse and nonfungible tokens (NFTs). Licensed trademark attorney Mike Kondoudis shared in a tweet that Kraft Foods Group had filed a trademark for its iconic hot dog-shaped Weinermobile on Oct. 12. The filing revealed that the brand plans to expand into NFTs, digital tokens, virtual goods, NFT marketplaces, virtual food, drink and restaurants. Kraft has applied to trademark the iconic Weinermobile! The October 12 filing claims plans for:NFTs + Digital TokensNFT MarketplacesVirtual Foods + Drinks + RestaurantsOnline Stores for NFTs + Virtual Goods#NFT #NFTs #Metaverse #Web3 #Oscarmayer #Wienermobile pic.twitter.com/u5At9xxMIw — Mike Kondoudi...
It’s time for the feds to define digital commodities
This month, the European Union (EU) agreed on the text for a unified licensing regime for cryptocurrency exchanges to operate across the EU bloc as part of its Markets in Crypto Assets Regulation (MiCA). The United States — despite being a traditional global leader in legal frameworks for technological innovation — has not provided that same regulatory clarity. National cryptocurrency exchanges in the U.S. are regulated at the state level through a patchwork of money transmission laws that overburden companies while under-protecting consumers. In our view, many digital tokens are properly characterized as digital commodities rather than securities. Yet, a unified federal regime for cryptocurrency exchanges listing digital commodities does not exist. To create one, Congress must pass ...
US lawmaker says crypto regulation from SEC is ‘needed now’
John Hickenlooper, a United States Senator representing Colorado, has penned a letter to Gary Gensler urging the Securities and Exchange Commission chair to establish “clear rules” for the crypto market. In an Oct. 13 letter, Hickenlooper called on the SEC to take action on regulatory issues including identifying the cryptocurrencies that will be considered sasecurities, establishing registration guidelines for trading platforms, and “determining what disclosures are necessary for investors to be properly informed.” According to the senator, the lack of a coordinated regulatory framework from the government has led to uneven enforcement, while the SEC is the agency “well positioned to offer regulatory guidance.” “Given the complexity of these issues, and recognizing that some digital asset...
CFTC can issue summons through Ooki DAO’s help chat box, says judge
The United States Commodities Futures Trading Commission can serve members of the Ooki decentralized autonomous organization, or DAO, with summons through online communications, according to a federal judge. In an Oct. 3 order granting a CFTC motion, U.S. District Judge William Orrick said the commission could provide a copy of its summons and complaint through Ooki DAO’s help chat box as well as a notice on its online forum. The judge said the court’s decision was based on the CFTC effectively serving the Ooki DAO by providing the necessary documents. The CFTC filed a lawsuit against the Ooki DAO on Sept. 22, alleging the organization offered “illegal, off-exchange digital asset trading,” violated registration guidelines and broke provisions of the Bank Secrecy Act. The legal action came ...
US lawmakers propose amending cybersecurity bill to include crypto firms reporting potential threats
United States Senators Marsha Blackburn and Cynthia Lummis have introduced proposed changes to a 2015 bill that would allow “voluntary information sharing of cyber threat indicators among cryptocurrency companies.” According to a draft bill on amending the Cybersecurity Information Sharing Act of 2015, Blackburn and Lummis suggested U.S. lawmakers allow companies involved with distributed ledger technology or digital assets to report network damage, data breaches, ransomware attacks, and related cybersecurity threats to government officials for possible assistance. Should the bill be signed into law, agencies including the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency would issue policies and procedures for crypto firms facing potential cyber...
Biden’s cryptocurrency framework is a step in the right direction
The White House released its first comprehensive framework this month for the Responsible Development of Digital Assets following President Joe Biden’s March 9 executive order. The order called for regulators to assess the industry and develop recommendations to safeguard investors while simultaneously promoting innovation. While more work is needed, the framework is a step in the right direction as it shows the willingness of regulators to provide the industry with the much-needed regulatory clarity it seeks. The framework’s recommendations addressed six key areas to protect market participants, offer access to financial services, and promote innovation. While Biden’s administration has focused more on just the protection of consumers in the industry in the past, it is encouraging t...
FCA green lights Revolut, making no UK crypto firms operating under temporary status
The United Kingdom’s Financial Conduct Authority, or FCA, has added cryptocurrency-friendly payments app Revolut to its list of companies authorized to offer crypto products and services in the country. In a Monday update to its list of registered crypto asset firms in the U.K., the FCA showed Revolut was in compliance with amended regulations from 2017 on “Money Laundering, Terrorist Financing and Transfer of Funds.” The fintech firm joined 37 other companies with the green light to offer crypto services in the country after being granted an extension to operate as a crypto asset firm with temporary registration in March. Firms offering crypto-related products and services in the U.K. are permitted to operate following registration with the FCA, a rule in force since 2020. How...
Lawyers for Celsius investors file motion to have interests represented in court
An international law firm representing groups of Celsius investors has filed a motion to appoint a committee to represent their interests in the crypto lending firm’s bankruptcy case. In a Thursday filing with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in the Southern District of New York, lawyers with the law firm Milbank requested the appointment of an “Official Preferred Equity Committee” to represent certain Celsius shareholders. According to the filing, the equity holders “urgently require their own fiduciary” for representation in court alongside Celsius debtors and an Unsecured Creditors Committee, or UCC. “The need for a fiduciary to pursue the Equity Holders’ interests is particularly critical when one considers the practical realities of these cases: There are only two groups of real ...
South Korean authorities ask Interpol to issue ‘Red Notice’ for Do Kwon: Report
South Korean prosecutors have reportedly requested Interpol intervene in their case against Terra co-founder Do Kwon by issuing a “Red Notice” — suggesting global law enforcement agencies may attempt to find and detain him. According to a Monday report from the Financial Times, the Seoul Southern District prosecutors’ office said it had “begun the procedure” to place Kwon on Interpol’s Red Notice list following steps to revoke the Terra co-founder’s passport while he was in Singapore. Interpol’s website states that a Red Notice is requested by authorities “locate and provisionally arrest a person pending extradition, surrender, or similar legal action,” but the agency cannot compel local law enforcement to arrest the subject of such notice. “We are doing our best to locate and ...
Brother of former Coinbase employee pleads guilty to charges related to insider trading: Report
Nikhil Wahi, who was arrested for allegedly working with his brother and an associate on a scheme to commit insider trading using crypto, has reportedly entered a guilty plea for wire fraud conspiracy charges. According to a Monday report from Reuters, Wahi admitted to authorities during a virtual hearing that he used confidential information obtained from Coinbase to make profits from trading crypto. Wahi’s brother Ishan worked as a product manager at Coinbase, during which time he allegedly shared information regarding the launch dates of tokens with his brother and an associate, Sameer Ramani. The trio allegedly used the insider information to make roughly $1.5 million in gains from trading 25 different cryptocurrencies between 2021 and 2022. “I knew that it was wrong to receive C...
‘We’re not giving crypto a pass’ on enforcement action, says SEC’s Gurbir Grewal
Gurbir Grewal, the enforcement director for the United States Securities and Exchange Commission, said the financial regulator will continue to investigate and bring enforcement actions against crypto firms, despite the narrative of “picking winners and losers” and “stifling innovation.” In written remarks for a Friday program hosted by the Practising Law Institute, Grewal pushed back against criticism that the SEC “somehow unfairly targeted crypto” in its enforcement actions when compared with those against financial products or traditional markets. He also hinted that the SEC had a responsibility to many “non-White and lower-income investors” drawn to crypto projects, who may feel as though the financial system and its regulators “failed, or simply ignored, them.” “It often seems c...
Quentin Tarantino settles Miramax lawsuit over Pulp Fiction NFTs
Miramax sued the director in November last year after the base-layer blockchain provider Secret Network announced the auction of “uncut screenplay scenes” from the 1994 film as NFTs. The film studio claimed to own all rights to “Pulp Fiction,” except for those reserved for Tarantino, which excluded nonfungible tokens. The company was developing its own NFT strategy at the time. In a statement, the studio’s attorney Bart Williams wrote: “This one-off effort devalues the NFT rights to “Pulp Fiction,” which Miramax intends to maximize through a strategic, comprehensive approach.” On the auction’s original press release, Secret Network claimed that Tarantino owned “exclusive rights to publish his Pulp Fiction screenplay and the original, ha...
