picaz.eth

🚨 The SEC and CFTC have issued joint digital asset guidance - introducing, for the first time, a formal token taxonomy. Key takeaways: • Clear classification framework – Digital Commodities → not securities – Digital Collectibles (NFTs) → not securities – Digital Tools (utility tokens) → not securities – Payment Stablecoins → not securities – Digital Securities → remain under SEC • Lifecycle recognition “Investment contracts can come to an end.” → Tokens may transition out of securities status as networks decentralize. • Core network activities clarified Staking, mining, airdrops, wrapping → not securities transactions • Startup relief incoming A proposed safe harbor (up to $5M over 4 years) signals a shift toward capital formation, not enforcement. Source: sec.gov/files/33-11412…

Tokenized stocks, bonds, etc. = still securities (Jan 2026 SEC statement) Tokenization doesn’t change the legal nature of the underlying asset. Similar to UAE See TLP’s piece: mondaq.com/fin-tech/16727…

There’s a lot of noise around “the US just declared most crypto NOT securities.” That’s… not quite right. What is happening: a gradual shift toward clearer crypto market structure 👇

Important clarification from the Central Bank of the United Arab Emirates on the scope of Federal Decree-Law No. 6 of 2025. The distinction between regulating financial activity vs. regulating technology is now much clearer. #UAE #Fintech #Crypto #DeFi.

To be very clear - until they add fraud proofs - all the ~$3b that are in the Optimism and Base bridges can be taken out any time, and users can do nothing about it. Not sure under what definition this is called non-custodial.

🚨 Needless to say, regulating digital assets through enforcement only had a dreadful day in court last week. In the wake of the resounding decision out of the SDNY Ripple case, @SECGov must reassess its continued assault on the crypto industry. My letter to Chair Gensler:

Agree that our amicus does not line up perfectly w/ Torres' opinion, but its not fair to say the opinion came out the way it did "despite" our amicus The core point we made is that Howey focuses on contracts, transactions or schemes, not assets, and that there is no precedent for holding that an asset sold in an IC is itself a security. The opinion clearly adopts this. Yes, we focus on implications to "common enterprise" prong, while Torres focused on "expectation of profits" prong, but she bases her analysis on the fact that buyers in programatic sales were not purchasing directly from Ripple, which is very close to saying they dont have any privity with Ripple Also the language from our brief (left) that was largely mirrored the opinion (right) shows a clear impact policy.paradigm.xyz/writing/paradi…

Ripple won *despite* every legal theory asserted by Ripple and its amicii... The amicii, especially with @NYcryptolawyer 's help, deserve tons of credit for getting the judge to think deeply and side with Ripple, but the judge did not agree with their legal theories... she ended up in the same place ("tokens are not intrinsically securities") for different reasons.. Instead of the 'predicate contract' theory advocated by Ripple and others, the judge leaned on a relationship b/w "investment of money" and "efforts" within Howey that none of the parties pleaded.

PSA for other crypto defendants-- check out footnote 20 where the Court makes it clear that the SEC’s theories (other than to Institutional Sales) are potentially very much subject to a Fair Notice defense. 👀

Don’t be misled that Judge Torres ruled that sometimes XRP is a security and sometimes it isn’t. That’s exactly the opposite of what she ruled:  XRP itself is NEVER a security. “ Page 15:  "XRP, as a digital token, is not in and of itself a ‘contract, transaction[,] or scheme’ that embodies the Howey requirements of an investment contract."

future of work - AI future of money - crypto future of finance - defi future of education - AI & VR future of Hollywood - web3 future of music - web3 future of ownership - NFTs future of real estate - tokenization future of nations - network states future of corps - DAOs

40-something wall street corporate lawyer who spent years confidently assuring their tradfi hedge fund client not to buy tokens because they're all illegal securities

Every time I travel abroad for work, I am reminded of the danger in believing that any one country or market has a monopoly on top talent. This is an especially dangerous mistake for lawyers to make. There are great advocates nearly everywhere.

Utilizing Safety Tools 101 📚 Don't trade memecoins without utilizing this safety feature. 1. Go to @dexscreener 2. Select the token you want to trade. 3. Scroll to the right and select Security. This allows you to see potential red flags on a token contract. 🚩

Had the pleasure of having Marc as my reporting manager and mentor during my time at @0xPolygonLabs! It’s super exciting and inspiring to see him lead from the front 💜💯

1/ Remember: @Coinbase sued the SEC first. Because of that suit, the 3d Circuit handed the SEC an order TODAY with 7 days to respond. This means the SEC may have to issue crypto rules, and this could happen faster than legislation. Let’s dig in to what happened

SHAPELLA 🤝 US TAXES A lot of ETH stakers haven't paid taxes on staking rewards on the theory that ownership requires transferability. After today's Shapella upgrade enables withdrawals, the calculus changes. A brief 🧵

@BarkusMaximus Justice Brian Henry Moses @BrianHenryMoses

This is an excellent article about how not to regulate. While I am (very) sympathetic for the need for fair dealing, disclosures, and appropriate rules, when you make it impossible for the good guys to operate, everyone looks like a bad guy: policy.paradigm.xyz/writing/secs-p…

What are the legal risks of participating in a DAO? This podcast aims to provide a high-level overview to help DAO builders and operators understand the grey-area that is member liability. open.spotify.com/episode/7fZNPg…