Episode 5 speakers Jon Kolodner and Lisa Vicens co-authored a piece with Cleary Gottlieb colleagues in August 2021 entitled “SEC Enforcement Action Against Poloniex Signals Heightened Scrutiny for Crypto Exchanges”.  The piece states, among other things:

“The action highlights the SEC’s heightened focus on and prioritization of regulating digital asset products and emerging industry players that the agency believes may not have abided by certain requirements of the federal securities laws.  In its July 2017 DAO Report, the SEC warned that offers and sales of digital assets are subject to federal securities laws and stated that ‘any entity or person engaging in the activities of an exchange must register as a national securities exchange or operate pursuant to an exemption from such registration’ such as the exemption for alternative trading systems.”

Read the full piece here.