Shelley Rosensweig in Hedge Fund Alert: ‘Regulatory Roundup: Disclosures, SPACs, Swap Transparency and Crypto in SEC Crosshairs’

Haynes and Boone, LLP Partner Shelley Rosensweig was quoted in Hedge Fund Alert’s “Regulatory Roundup.” Below is an excerpt:

The SEC continues to weather criticism over its “regulation by enforcement” approach to digital assets.

The latest critiques stem from the July 21 criminal case against a former Coinbase Global product manager accused by federal prosecutors and the SEC [Securities and Exchange Commission] of insider trading. Authorities allege Ishan Wahi, who was on the crypto exchange’s asset-listing team, used confidential information about which assets would be listed and when to tip off his brother and a friend.

The brother, Nikhil Wahi, and the friend, Sameer Ramani, are accused of trading at least 25 digital assets ahead of Coinbase’s public listing announcements 14 or more times, yielding more than $1.1 million of illegal gains, according to the SEC’s civil complaint. Ishan Wahi and Nikhil Wahi pleaded not guilty on Aug. 3. Ramani remains at large.

The SEC raised eyebrows when it declared in its complaint that nine tokens – POWR, AMP, RLY, DDX, LCX, DFX, KROM, XYO and RGT – were deemed to be securities, planting them in the agency’s jurisdiction.

… That case could have further implications for Coinbase and for the broader cryptocurrency landscape, said Shelley Rosensweig, a partner at Haynes and Boone, LLP.

Excerpted from Hedge Fund Alert - The Weekly Update on Fund Management Intelligence. To read the full article, HFA clients can log in here.