As Bitcoin reaches prices not seen since November 2021, individuals and entities will undoubtedly consider selling – sometimes called “taking profit” on – Bitcoin and other digital assets to capture previously unrealized gains. But crypto market participants should be aware of the U.S. tax implications of realizing gains on the sale of digital assets –
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The Storm Continues: Federal Court Upholds Tornado Cash Sanctions and DOJ Files Criminal Charges Against Two Tornado Cash Cofounders
On August 17, 2023, the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas granted summary judgment to the U.S. Department of the Treasury (Treasury) on all of the plaintiffs’ claims in the lawsuit challenging the Department’s Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control’s (OFAC) designation of Tornado Cash, a purportedly decentralized cryptocurrency mixer that runs…
ISDA publishes whitepaper on digital asset custody
The International Swaps and Derivatives Association, Inc. (“ISDA”) continues to press forward with its digital asset working group, following the publication[1] in January this year of (i) the Digital Asset Derivatives Definitions (the “Definitions”) and (ii) the whitepaper on netting and collateral enforceability.
On May 3, 2023, ISDA published the second[2] of…
Bittrex: Regulatory Enforcement and Macroeconomic Headwinds Lead to Another Crypto Bankruptcy
Bankruptcy filings in the digital asset space continue, as cryptocurrency exchange Bittrex filed for bankruptcy protection in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware on Monday, May 8, 2023. The Bankruptcy Docket can be found here. Desolation Holdings LLC and its affiliated debtors, Bittrex, Inc., Bittrex Malta Holdings Ltd., and Bittrex Mala…
First Insider Trading Conviction Against NFT Insider
On May 3, 2023, Nathaniel Chastain, the former product manager of the NFT marketplace OpenSea, was convicted by a federal jury in the Southern District of New York for what is being called the first insider trading conviction in the digital asset space. …
NFTs as Securities?
Many of those active in the non-fungible token (NFT) market have been nervously anticipating action from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) regarding whether or not they will categorize NFTs as securities and further regulate them. U.S. regulators have not yet definitely opined on whether NFTs in general are securities. However, a recent ruling, Friel…
Cryptocurrency Account Security
Crypto-hacking and theft have been front and center in the news. Separate from the failures and alleged fraud of CeFi crypto-exchanges, estimates suggest that $3.8 billion worth of cryptocurrencies have been stolen in the past year. It’s become vital to understand how to proceed when these situations arise.
Crowell & Moring has been working…
ISDA Digital Asset Definitions
Following many months of discussion and review by a working group of traditional finance institutions and crypto-native exchanges and platforms led by the International Swaps and Derivatives Association, Inc. (“ISDA”), ISDA published the Digital Asset Derivatives Definitions (the “Definitions”) on January 26, 2023 for use with Bitcoin (BTC) and Ether (ETH) non-deliverable forward and options…
Crypto Trader’s “Profitable Trading Strategy” Appears to be Mere Market Manipulation
The fallout continued last week for embattled crypto trader Avraham Eisenberg, as Mango Labs filed litigation in the Southern District of New York to recover $47 million Eisenberg drained from decentralized crypto lending platform Mango Markets by manipulating the value of the Mango Markets native token. The lawsuit from Mango Labs is just the latest…
Genesis’ Race to the Finish Line
Genesis Global’s Chapter 11 filing on January 20th was little surprise to those closely following the cryptocurrency markets and after its decision to “pause” withdrawals in mid-November. Digital Currency Group, Inc. (“DCG”), the parent of Genesis Global Holdco LLC (“Genesis”) and its largest borrower, is not part of the bankruptcy case and instead may find…