Willkie Releases Mid-Year Analysis of SEC Enforcement Actions

Attorneys at Willkie Farr & Gallagher recently released a client alert entitled “SEC Enforcement Mid-Year Review: Vigorous Enforcement, Novel Theories, and Enhanced Remedies.” The paper focuses on SEC Enforcement actions through the first part of the year and notes the Commission’s workload has been particularly focused in “all aspects of crypto,” as the Commission “claimed jurisdiction over crypto exchanges, lending platforms, and other intermediaries by not only charging exchanges for failing to register with the Commission but also by enforcing the more traditional anti-fraud and anti-manipulation provisions of the Exchange Act.” The alert notes the Commission is also relying on more traditional enforcement principles of fraud and manipulation in order to pursue cases against cryptocurrency executives. The SEC also brought several cases against promoters of cryptocurrency tokens under Section 17(b) of the Securities Act which makes it unlawful for an individual to promote a security without disclosing whether they received payment or other benefit from the issuer. The Willkie alert further notes that “[a]cross the entities subject to SEC jurisdiction, many companies and individuals are willing to agree to costly settlements, while the list of litigated actions pending in federal courts across the country continues to increase.”

Click here to read the Willkie client alert on SEC Enforcement actions.