By: Will Schena Savvy law students love taking advantage of benefits from their subscriptions. Students enjoy a variety of discounts, promotional deals, and terrific offers. Notably, law students who have their Lexis Nexis subscriptions paid for via their tuition have access to Lexis Points. Students earn Lexis Points by doing online activities that are meant… Read More Lexis Points: Are they Federally Taxable Income?
By: Catherine Nicholson After the collapse of FTX in November of 2022, a civil complaint was filed by the SEC on December 13, 2022, against Samuel Bankman-Fried, alleging violations of fraud in the offer or sale of securities and fraud in connection with the purchase or sale of securities. In addition to the civil complaint,… Read More FTX: The Collapse Heard Round the World & Where We Go from Here to Increase Confidence in Web3
By: Casey Reilly The market value of digital assets, specifically cryptocurrencies, is valued in the trillions of dollars and steadily continues to grow. In 2021, the market capitalization of digital assets jumped from $1.95 trillion to $2.14 trillion in a one-month span. Digital assets are transforming the roles of financial markets and commerce around the… Read More Coinbase Reaches Settlement with NYDFS Over Inadequate Compliance Program
By: Catherine Nicholson On June 13, 2021, Kim Kardashian touted a cryptocurrency asset security on her Instagram account in exchange for $250,000. The asset promoted in that Instagram post was a token offered by EthereumMax: “EMAX Tokens”. EMAX Tokens are digital currency that purports to give owners of the Token special perks such as “special… Read More Kim Kardashian: Working on Her Fitness, Not So Much Her Character
By: Hayden McGuire A single transaction with bitcoin has a power cost that is equivalent to the average U.S. household’s 50-day consumption. Since the cryptocurrency’s popularization in 2016, the high-electricity-consuming coin has had detrimental effects to the environment. If the power consumption that bitcoin uses was measured as its own country, it would be in… Read More Will Profit Compromise the Ability to Go Green? Proposals for Industry and Government to Create Standards in Crypto-assets
By: Karlie Rubin Non-fungible tokens, otherwise known as NFTs, are quickly sweeping through the cryptocurrency market making a name for themselves valued by the richest of the rich. Although NFTs are seemingly acting like cryptocurrency, every NFT has a unique identification code and metadata that distinguishes them from each other. When NFTs first hit the… Read More Why NFT Marketgoers Should Be Weary of Copyright Laws Before Buying Into the Hype
This blog discusses non-fungible tokens (NFTs) which are a type of digital collectible. Some NFTs are abstract – they are often a purchasable, conceptual representation of something else (such as a Tweet, real estate, etc.); but their value lies in ownership – while circulation of the subject matter is still available to the public, the owner of the NFT is essentially the recipient of a digitally-authenticated note. In addition to presenting the complexities of NFTs in a more digestible manner, this blog explains the legal implications of their flourishing role in the world of crypto-digital assets, specifically in the context of intellectual property and securities law. … Read More Non-Fungible Tokens: Analyzing Digital Collectibles Through the Lens of the Law
This blog describes the potential effect the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) lawsuit against Ripple Labs, Inc. may have on the regulation of cryptocurrency and expanding on the Howey Test’s definition of a security. … Read More SEC v. Ripple – The Ripple Effect on Cryptocurrency Regulation
What do the rapper T.I. and infamous computer innovator John McAfee have in common? They’ve both been indicted in 2020 on tax charges related to cryptocurrency. If you read about John McAfee in a novel, you would think the author got lazy and borrowed the character from a knock-off James Bond story. McAfee made his fortune in the 1970s and 1980s by creating one of the first anti-virus digital security companies. His actual net worth is unknown because of his unusual income, the financial collapse, and his various legal troubles. But over the past few years, McAfee has been advertising his services as a promotional base for smaller, lesser-known cryptocurrencies. … Read More Software Won’t Save You Now: McAfee, Cryptocurrency and the IRS
Brief Description: Bitcoin is a cryptocurrency that allows it’s users to purchase items online ranging from hotels on Expedia to videogames. Instead of having money in a bank, individuals are able to keep their currency in a digital wallet. Bitcoins are pseudonymous. However, there are methods for identifying bitcoin users. Bitcoin mixers were created in an attempt to thwart the identification of bitcoin users and help to ensure that their personal data stays private.… Read More Crypto Crime: The Treasury Department Takes a Stand Against Illicit Activity Involving Digital Currency
As more and more people find themselves falling for the hype of Bitcoin, Internet chatroom users are taking advantage of inexperienced investors by spreading false news in order to make quick money through a pump-and-dump scheme. Scammers are able to engage in conduct that would typically be considered illegal, but can get away with the fraud because there are no active regulations regarding virtual currency. … Read More Inexperienced Investors and Unregulated Markets: The Truth Behind Bitcoin Market Scams