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A recent ruling in the Western District Court of Washington has given the biggest indication yet from a federal judge that crypto traded on secondary markets like Coinbase should be classed as securities under the remit of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The case in question saw former Coinbase employee Ishan Wahi, his brother, and their friend Sameer Ramani accused of running a $1.5 million insider trading operation via the platform. Wahi and his brother have previously settled with the SEC , however, Ramani is still on the run. On Friday, Judge Tana Lin officially ruled that, despite the trades made by the trio happening on Coinbase, they should still be classed as securities and therefore fall well within the jurisdiction of the SEC and its famously anti-crypto chair Gary Gensler. Needless to say, such a ruling could have huge repercussions, not just for this case but for the entire crypto industry. “Each issuer continued to make such representation regarding th...

ConsenSys founder Joseph Lubin has been named in a new lawsuit filed in New York by over two dozen former ConsenSys employees. Over two dozen former employees of Ethereum infrastructure firm ConsenSys have filed a fresh lawsuit against the firm’s founder and CEO, Joseph Lubin, over claims he diluted employee equity shares against earlier promises. The former staff allege that Lubin — who is also a co- founder of Ethereum — breached this “no-dilution promise” made in 2015, according to the plaintiff’s Oct. 19 filing in a New York Supreme Court. The plaintiffs allege Lubin lured in “smart and motivated” colleagues to work for ConsenSys in late 2014, claiming the firm would become the “future of cryptocurrency” and the “crypto Google.” Around that time, Lubins allegedly stated in a document that he wouldn’t dilute employee equity shares; the plaintiffs allege he later broke that promise. “It is my intention that the percentage ConsenSys members receive will not be diluted by additio...

The SEC's interlocutory appeal comes nearly a month after Judge Analisa Torres laid out her non-final ruling. The United States Securities and Exchange Commission has filed a letter of intent to request an interlocutory appeal to Judge Analisa Torres’ July 13th summary judgment in its ongoing legal battle against Ripple Labs. In an Aug. 9 letter to Judge Torres, the SEC explained it believed her decision warrants a fresh look by an appellate court. “Interlocutory review is warranted here. These two issues involve controlling questions of law on which there is substantial ground for differences of opinion as reflected by an intra-district split that has already developed," the SEC wrote. The SEC added a "timely appellate review' is warranted given the number of actions currently pending that may be affected by how the Court of Appeals resolves the issues at hand. The filing comes nearly a month after Ripple scored a partial victory over the regulator over the legal ...

In the event of a conviction for wire fraud, Nevin Shetty could face up to 20 years in prison. Nevin Shetty, a former Chief Financial Officer (CFO) at a Seattle start-up company, was indicted on May 17 in the U.S. District Court in Seattle on charges of wire fraud.  The indictment alleges that Shetty, 39, diverted approximately $35 million from the start-up company's coffers to a cryptocurrency platform under his personal control. Shetty reportedly established this platform, known as HighTower Treasury, in February 2022, shortly before being notified of his impending departure as CFO due to concerns regarding his performance.  During the period from April 1 to April 12, 2022, Shetty allegedly transferred a substantial amount of $35,000,100 from his employers to an account linked to HighTower, without the knowledge of any other individuals within the company. The alleged purpose behind this transaction was for HighTower to allocate the funds towards investments within the decentra...

James Zhong pleaded guilty to the wire fraud charges in November 2022 and had been awaiting sentencing for his role in the "unlawfully obtained" Bitcoin scheme. The United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York has announced the sentencing for an individual who pleaded guilty to wire fraud charges connected to “unlawfully obtained” Bitcoin from the Silk Road marketplace in 2012. In an April 14 announcement, the U.S. Justice Department said James Zhong was sentenced to one year and one day in prison for charges related to executing a scheme to steal more than 51,680 Bitcoin (BTC). Zhong pleaded guilty to the charges in November 2022 and had been awaiting sentencing. “Cyber-criminals should heed this message: we will follow the money and hold you accountable, no matter how sophisticated your scheme and no matter how long it takes,” said U.S. Attorney Damian Williams. According to Williams, Zhong stole the BTC in 2012 and managed to conceal his crime f...

The IMF has suggested that El Salvador “reconsider” its plans for Bitcoin, following a recent visit to the country. El Salvador has been advised to exercise caution in expanding government exposure to Bitcoin (BTC) due to the “speculative nature” of crypto markets by the global monetary watchdog. A Feb. 10 statement from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) emphasized that Bitcoin’s risks in El Salvador have “not materialized” yet due to its “limited” use so far, after IMF staff visited the country last week. It was suggested that El Salvador address these risks as Bitcoin’s use “could grow” given it has been recognised as legal tender in the country since Sept. 2021. El Salvador was warned to re-evaluate its plan to increase government exposure to Bitcoin due to both legal and financial dangers. The statemen noted: “Given the legal risks, fiscal fragility and largely speculative nature of crypto markets, the authorities should reconsider their plans to expand government exposures to...