Insights & Regulatory Updates
Exploring FINRA's New Report on Metaverse Opportunities and Challenges for the Securities Industry
On October 24, 2024, FINRA released an eye-opening report, The Metaverse and the Implications for the Securities Industry, addressing the securities industry’s potential engagement with the metaverse—a rapidly evolving virtual landscape. The report underscores emerging use cases, industry challenges, and regulatory considerations for broker-dealers and other FINRA member firms looking to leverage immersive virtual technology to innovate in customer engagement, data visualization, trading, and investor education.
FINRA Strengthens Borrowing and Lending Rules: Key Amendments to Rule 3240 Effective April 2025
The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) has adopted significant amendments to Rule 3240, which governs borrowing and lending arrangements between registered persons and their customers. These updates, effective April 28, 2025, are designed to reinforce the general prohibition against such arrangements and introduce several key modifications, including stricter notice and approval requirements, a modernized definition of “immediate family,” and narrower exceptions for personal and business relationships.
Gensler Reaffirms SEC's Regulation-By-Enforcement Approach to Crypto Amidst Industry Debate
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chair Gary Gensler has once again reiterated his commitment to the agency's ongoing regulation-by-enforcement strategy concerning cryptocurrency. Despite criticism from various sectors of the digital asset industry, Gensler maintains that the SEC’s efforts are firmly grounded in decades of legal precedent, and he intends to continue this approach to provide clarity and protection in the rapidly evolving world of digital assets.
Unpacking the SEC’s 2025 Examination Priorities: What’s on the Horizon for Investment Advisers, Broker-Dealers, and the Financial Sector
With the dawn of a new fiscal year, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) Division of Examinations has unveiled its 2025 examination priorities. This annual roadmap serves as both a warning and a guide for firms navigating the ever-evolving regulatory landscape. The 2025 priorities not only highlight long-standing risk areas like fiduciary duty and cybersecurity, but also shine a spotlight on cutting-edge issues such as artificial intelligence and the growing complexities surrounding crypto assets.
Kamala Harris’s Team Is Considering Candidates to Replace SEC Chair Gary Gensler
With the 2024 election heating up and polls showing a tight race between Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump, both camps are laying out vastly different strategies, including their approaches to regulatory enforcement. As part of Harris’s transition planning, her team is already vetting candidates to replace Gary Gensler as Chair of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), signaling potential shifts in the Commission's direction—particularly in its treatment of cryptocurrency and emerging financial technologies.
SEC Charges WisdomTree Asset Management with ESG Misstatements and Compliance Failures
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has charged WisdomTree Asset Management, Inc., a New York-based investment adviser, with failing to adhere to its own investment criteria for funds marketed as incorporating environmental, social, and governance (ESG) factors. The charges stem from the firm’s misstatements and compliance lapses related to the execution of its ESG investment strategies.
Regulatory Compliance in a Whistleblower-Focused Era: How Companies Can Stay Ahead
With regulators intensifying scrutiny, companies today face growing pressure to strengthen their compliance programs, especially in an environment where whistleblower activity is on the rise. Both the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) have sharpened their focus on what they expect from businesses when it comes to managing risk, ensuring ethical behavior, and maintaining transparent operations.
Musk and Dogecoin Investors Go Another Round: Post-Dismissal Sanctions Motions in Dogecoin Class Action
The legal drama between Elon Musk, Tesla, and Dogecoin investors continues to unfold in a battle that refuses to end, even after the dismissal of a securities class action by a Manhattan federal judge in late August 2023. Initially, the Dogecoin investors accused Musk and Tesla of manipulating the price of the cryptocurrency for personal and corporate gain. However, after four rounds of amendments to the complaint, the judge dismissed the case, seemingly putting an end to the litigation.
SEC Charges North Carolina Resident with Insider Trading in Biopharmaceutical Company
In a recent enforcement action, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) charged Matthew Groom, a North Carolina resident, with insider trading involving the Massachusetts-based biopharmaceutical company, Spero Therapeutics, Inc. According to the SEC’s complaint, Groom used confidential information obtained during his role as an IT consultant for Spero to avoid substantial financial losses ahead of a significant corporate announcement.
SEC Alleges Cumberland DRW Sold $2 Billion in Unregistered Securities
In a new enforcement action that adds fuel to the ongoing regulatory battle over digital assets, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has sued Chicago-based crypto trading firm Cumberland DRW. The lawsuit, filed on October 10, 2024, accuses Cumberland of operating as an unregistered broker and handling over $2 billion worth of crypto assets—specifically, tokens like Solana and Polygon—that the SEC claims are unregistered securities.
Start-Up AI and Robotics Company and CEO Face SEC Charges for Investor Fraud
In a recent enforcement action, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) charged Destiny Robotics Corp., a start-up specializing in artificial intelligence (AI) and robotics, along with its founder and CEO, Megi Kavtaradze, for allegedly defrauding investors through false and misleading statements about the company’s operations and products.
Regulatory Update and Recent SEC Actions – October 2024
October 2024 has seen the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) continue its aggressive enforcement actions and regulatory updates, targeting a wide range of issues from improper record-keeping to non-compliance with new marketing rules. This month also saw key personnel changes within the SEC, the disbandment of the Climate and ESG Task Force, and the adoption of rules affecting venture capital funds and registered investment companies. Below are the highlights of recent SEC actions and regulatory developments.
SEC Commissioner Mark Uyeda Criticizes Agency’s Crypto Policy as a “Disaster”
In a striking rebuke of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) approach to cryptoc regulation, SEC Commissioner Mark Uyeda publicly criticized the agency's handling of the industry, calling it a "disaster" during a Fox Business panel on October 10. Uyeda's remarks reflect growing internal dissent over how the SEC, under the leadership of Chair Gary Gensler, has enforced crypto policy without providing the much-needed clarity the sector requires.
Is the SEC Finished with NPAs and DPAs in FCPA Cases?
In 2010, the SEC introduced Deferred Prosecution Agreements (DPAs) and Non-Prosecution Agreements (NPAs) as part of a strategy to strengthen its enforcement efforts by encouraging cooperation from companies and individuals. However, since then, the SEC has rarely used these tools, employing DPAs only twice and NPAs three times, mostly in FCPA enforcement actions. The last use of either agreement was in 2016 in cases involving Nortek and Akamai Technologies. Since then, the SEC has not returned to NPAs or DPAs, raising questions about whether the agency has moved away from these agreements for resolving FCPA cases.
SEC Charges “Magic Mushroom” Company and Two Individuals in $8 Million Pump-and-Dump
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has filed charges against Minerco Inc. (former over-the-counter ticker: MINE) and two individuals—Bobby Shumake Japhia and Julius Makiri Jenge—in connection with an alleged multimillion-dollar pump-and-dump scheme that defrauded investors out of approximately $8 million. The SEC's complaint alleges that the defendants generated millions of dollars in illicit profits by manipulating the market for Minerco’s stock through deceptive tactics and false promotions.
SEC Chair Gary Gensler on Crypto: ‘It’s Unlikely This Stuff Is Gonna Be a Currency’
In a recent speech at New York University School of Law, U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chairman Gary Gensler made headlines with his assertion that cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin (BTC) are unlikely to ever become widely accepted forms of currency. While this statement may have grabbed attention, it largely reiterates what many industry participants already understand: the primary value of crypto assets lies in their utility as a store of value or an investment vehicle, not as a replacement for fiat currencies. Gensler’s comments, while perhaps technically accurate, miss the mark in addressing the real issues facing the crypto industry today.
SEC Charges Three So-Called Market Makers and Nine Individuals in Crypto Crackdown
In a decisive move against market manipulation in the digital asset space, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) recently announced fraud charges against three entities claiming to be market makers, as well as nine individuals. The charges stem from alleged schemes designed to create a false impression of active trading for various crypto assets offered and sold as securities to retail investors.
Pharmaceutical Executive Pleads Guilty to Insider Trading Charges
A former executive of a global pharmaceutical company pleaded guilty today in a Boston federal court to insider trading, admitting to earning more than $250,000 through unlawful trading activities based on confidential information.
New CPA Paths Emerge as States Try to Stem Accountant Shortage
The accounting industry is grappling with a growing workforce shortage, prompting states and professional organizations to rethink traditional pathways to becoming a Certified Public Accountant (CPA). In an effort to attract more candidates to the profession, several states are considering allowing aspiring accountants to bypass a fifth year of education—a long-standing requirement that many see as a significant barrier to entry.
FTX Bankruptcy Judge Approves $14 Billion Payback Plan for Creditors
In a significant development for the crypto industry, a Delaware bankruptcy court has approved a plan for FTX to return more than $14 billion worth of assets to its creditors. The embattled cryptocurrency exchange, which filed for bankruptcy protection in November 2022, previously estimated that it owed creditors around $11.2 billion.