Posted by F. Dario de Martino, Susan I. Gault-Brown, and Daniel R. Kahan, Morrison & Foerster LLP, on Saturday, December 1, 2018
Editor's Note: Susan I. Gault-Brown is a partner and F. Dario de Martino and Daniel R. Kahan are associates at Morrison & Foerster LLP. This post is based on a Morrison & Foerster memorandum by Ms. Gault-Brown, Mr. de Martino, Mr. Kahan, and Alfredo B. D. Silva.
Until November 8, 2018, the enforcement actions of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in the digital token (aka cryptocurrency) space have primarily focused on the primary issuances of tokens. However, on November 8, 2018, the SEC announced in an order (the “Order”) [1] that it had settled charges against Zachary Coburn, the founder of the digital token exchange EtherDelta, marking the first time that the SEC has brought an enforcement action against an online digital token platform for operating as an unregistered national securities exchange.