Category:Cryptocurrencies & ICOs

1
United States: The SEC Takes Another Key Step Toward Crypto Clarity
2
Hong Kong SFC’s New Roadmap to Develop Hong Kong as a Global Virtual Asset Hub: ASPIRe
3
SEC Provides Welcome Clarity Regarding Meme Coins
4
Luxembourg Modernises the Custody Chain to Accommodate Blockchain Technology
5
President Trump’s Executive Order Steering Digital Assets Policy
6
Hong Kong’s Security Tokenization Support Initiative – A Subsidy Program
7
First JPEX Judgement by a Hong Kong Court in Favor of Customers
8
Crypto.com’s Mission to Seek Regulatory Clarity for Digital Assets
9
Cryptocurrency Industry Can Shape California’s New Licensing Regime
10
The Long and Winding Road: Navigating Fintech and Crypto App Approvals by the Apple Store

United States: The SEC Takes Another Key Step Toward Crypto Clarity

By: Keri E. RiemerRichard F. Kerr, and Caroline N. Roethlisberger

On the heels of other guidance issued by the US Securities Exchange Commission’s (SEC) Division of Corporation Finance (Division), the Division released a statement (Statement) on 10 April 2025 addressing its views about, among other things, certain disclosure requirements for certain registration forms under the Securities Act of 1933, including Form S-1, and registration forms under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, including Form 10. As Form S-1 is used by commodity based exchange-traded products (ETPs), including spot bitcoin and ether ETPs, the Division’s guidance will impact such ETPs and others that follow a similar registration path.

Read More

Hong Kong SFC’s New Roadmap to Develop Hong Kong as a Global Virtual Asset Hub: ASPIRe

By: Jay Lee, Natalie Chow, and Alvin Lam

The Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) has recently unveiled a growth plan for the virtual asset (VA) industry, outlined in a five-pillar roadmap called “A-S-P-I-Re.” This roadmap consists of 12 initiatives organized into five categories: Access, Safeguards, Products, Infrastructure, and Relationships.

Read More

SEC Provides Welcome Clarity Regarding Meme Coins

By: Cliff C. Histed, and Cheryl L. Isaac

In welcome news, the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Division of Corporation Finance (Division) yesterday announced “[a]s part of an effort to provide greater clarity” that meme coins do not involve the offer and sale of securities under the federal securities laws. This is to say that transactions in meme coins (as defined below) do not need to be registered with the SEC, but also that buyers and sellers are not protected by federal securities laws. Importantly, the Division limited this interpretation to meme coins that match the following descriptions:

Read More

Luxembourg Modernises the Custody Chain to Accommodate Blockchain Technology

By: Dr. Jan Boeing, and Tanner Wonnacott

On 31 December 2024, the Luxembourg law of 20 December 2024 amending the existing legislative framework on dematerialised securities (Blockchain IV Act) entered into force. As background, dematerialization of securities occurs with the move from physical stock certificates to electronic bookkeeping. When this occurs, actual stock certificates are removed and retired from circulation in exchange for the electronic recording. Securities are then transferred between securities accounts by book transfer.

Read More

President Trump’s Executive Order Steering Digital Assets Policy

By: Richard F. Kerr, Sarah V. Riddell, Cheryl Isaac, Jeremy M. McLaughlin, and Joshua L. Durham

As promised during his campaign, President Trump has taken significant steps to support the digital asset industry during his first week in office. On 23 January 2025, he signed an executive order initiating digital asset regulatory rollbacks and a new federal framework governing cryptocurrencies, stablecoins, and other digital assets (the Order).

Read More

Hong Kong’s Security Tokenization Support Initiative – A Subsidy Program

By: Jay Lee, Natalie Chow and Alvin Lam

Recently, Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) initiated accepting applications for Digital Bond Grant Scheme (the Grant Scheme) to financially support digital bond issuers for the duration of three years. The Grant Scheme aims to encourage broader adoption of “tokenization technology” in capital markets and foster the development of digital securities markets in Hong Kong.

Read More

First JPEX Judgement by a Hong Kong Court in Favor of Customers

By: Jay Lee, Natalie Chow, and Alvin Lam

On 29 October 2024, the Hong Kong District Court issued the judgment of the first legal action (Chan Wing Yan and Another v. JP-EX Crypto Asset Platform Ltd and Others [2024] HKDC 1628) against JPEX, which the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission has identified as an unlicensed virtual asset trading platform (VATP).

Read More

Crypto.com’s Mission to Seek Regulatory Clarity for Digital Assets

By: Cheryl L. Isaac, Judith Rinearson, Eden L. Rohrer, and Joshua L. Durham

On 8 October, Crypto.com made two novel, strategic moves to seek regulatory clarity regarding the classification of digital assets. First, the digital asset exchange sued the SEC, claiming that the SEC exceeded its statutory authority with respect to its classification of digital assets as securities without any notice-and-comment rulemaking as required under the Administrative Procedure Act (APA). Second, Crypto.com’s affiliate that is a CFTC-registered derivatives exchange petitioned the SEC and CFTC to provide a joint interpretation on how its swap products should be governed by the agencies.

Read More

Cryptocurrency Industry Can Shape California’s New Licensing Regime

By: Jeremy McLaughlin and Joshua Durham

On 2 October 2024, the California Department of Financial Protection and Innovation (DFPI), issued draft proposed rules to implement the state’s new cryptocurrency licensing regime, the Digital Financial Assets Law (DFAL). DFPI is seeking comments on the proposed rules and set a deadline of 18 November 2024.

Read More

The Long and Winding Road: Navigating Fintech and Crypto App Approvals by the Apple Store

By: Andrew Hinkes and Judie Rinearson

Much has been written about the effort it takes to have a new app approved by the Apple App Store. With good reason, Apple’s strict approval process ensures quality and maintains the standards of its ecosystem. As Apple itself reports, in 2023 it “rejected more than 1.7 million app submissions for failing to meet the App Store’s stringent standards for privacy, security, and content.”1 An article from Decode about the top reasons for an Apple rejection2 included the usual tech-related problems: The app is low quality; there are broken links; lots of bugs and crashes; etc.

Read More

Copyright © 2025, K&L Gates LLP. All Rights Reserved.