Tag Archives: Deric Behar

OCC Affirms Regulated Entities Can Engage in Crypto and Stablecoin Activities

by Arthur S. Long, Parag Patel, Pia Naib, and Deric Behar

Left to right: Arthur S. Long, Parag Patel, Pia Naib, and Deric Behar (photos courtesy of Latham & Watkins LLP)

In a break from restrictive Biden-era policies, OCC-supervised banks may now engage in crypto activities without supervisory nonobjection, potentially opening new avenues for innovation.

On March 7, 2025, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) reaffirmed that national banks and federal savings associations (collectively, banks) may participate in a range of cryptocurrency activities, including crypto custody, certain stablecoin activities, and participation in independent node verification networks.

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SEC Staff Clarifies That Meme Coins Are Not Securities

by Jenny Cieplak, Zachary Fallon, Ghaith Mahmood, Yvette D. Valdez, Stephen P. Wink, and Deric Behar

Top left to right: Jenny Cieplak, Zachary Fallon, and Ghaith Mahmood. Bottom left to right: Yvette D. Valdez, Stephen P. Wink, and Deric Behar. (Photos courtesy of Latham & Watkins LLP)

The Staff stated that most meme coins are not subject to federal securities laws or SEC fraud enforcement; who will oversee meme coins remains an open question.

On February 27, 2025, the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC’s) Division of Corporation Finance published a Staff Statement on Meme Coins (the Statement). The Statement is the first tangible clarification of how the federal securities laws apply to a specific category of crypto since President Trump issued an executive order on digital assets (for more information, see this Latham blog post) and the SEC established a Crypto Task Force (for more information, see this Latham blog post). The Statement is responsive to the Crypto Task Force’s first priority (as highlighted by SEC Commissioner Hester Peirce, who leads the task force): determining the status of digital assets under the securities laws.

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SEC Targets NFTs as Securities for the First Time

by Ghaith Mahmood, Nima H. Mohebbi, Stephen P. Wink, Douglas K. Yatter, Adam Zuckerman, and Deric Behar

Top left to right: Ghaith Mahmood, Nima H. Mohebbi, and Stephen P. Wink.
Bottom left to right: Douglas K. Yatter, Adam Zuckerman, and Deric Behar.
(Photos courtesy of Latham & Watkins LLP)

In its first enforcement action involving NFTs, the SEC focused on issuer marketing that promises outsized returns on investment and platform building.

On August 28, 2023, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) issued a cease-and-desist order (the Order) against a Los Angeles media and entertainment company (the Company) for an unregistered securities offering relating to its sale of $29.9 million worth of non-fungible tokens (NFTs)[1]. The company agreed to a settlement that includes disgorging $5 million, paying another $1 million in fees and penalties, and ceasing and desisting from violating the Securities Act of 1933. Notably, the settlement does not include fraud charges.

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SEC v. Ripple: A Tale of Two Token Transaction Types

Editor’s Note: The NYU Law Program on Corporate Compliance and Enforcement is following the recent decision in SEC v. Ripple Labs, Inc., in which the district court decided competing summary judgment motions for both the SEC and Ripple by holding that contractual sales of XRP, Ripple’s native token, to institutional investors were securities while the XRP token itself was not. In this post, attorneys at Latham & Watkins LLP take a deep dive into the court’s holdings and their implications for the crypto industry.

by Jack Barber, Jenny Cieplak, Benjamin Naftalis, John Sikora, Stephen P. Wink, Douglas K. Yatter, Luca Marquard, Adam Zuckerman, and Deric Behar

Top left to right: Jack Barber, Jenny Cieplak, Benjamin Naftalis, John Sikora, and Stephen P. Wink.
Bottom left to right: Douglas K. Yatter, Luca Marquard, Adam Zuckerman, and Deric Behar.
(Photos courtesy of Latham & Watkins LLP)

A bifurcated decision in a highly anticipated digital assets enforcement action may not provide the clarity that market participants want or need.

On July 13, 2023, Judge Analisa Torres of the US District Court for the Southern District of New York issued an order on motions for summary judgment in the civil enforcement action brought by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on December 22, 2020, against Ripple Labs Inc. (Ripple), its former CEO (Christian Larsen), and its former COO and current CEO (Brad Garlinghouse). The SEC’s claims include the unlawful offer and sale of securities in violation of Section 5 of the Securities Act of 1933 (the Securities Act), as well as aiding and abetting the allegedly unlawful offer and sale of securities by the individual defendants (see this Latham blog post for more information).

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