Law Firm Fenwick & West Hits it Big with 900,000 Shares in Figma IPO

Risky Bet on Figma Paid Off Huge for Silicon Valley Law Firm

Fenwick & West’s decision to seek equity in one of its tech startup clients is now, with the benefit of hindsight, looking like a stroke of genius.

Figma Inc. last week had a blockbuster IPO and Fenwick made money not only advising its client on going public, but also through the firm’s ownership of almost 900,000 shares in the design and collaboration software company, according to Bloomberg Law reporter Brian Baxter. The value of those shares more than tripled on July 31, Figma’s first day of public trading.

Bernstein says SEC’s Project Crypto could rewrite the rules of Wall Street

Contrary to the SEC’s position under prior Chair Gary Gensler, Atkins said most crypto assets aren’t securities, and confusion over the Howey Test has hindered U.S. capital formation, the analysts noted. The SEC now plans to offer clearer rules to classify crypto assets into categories such as digital commodities, stablecoins, and digital collectibles. The initiative would also support the creation of tokenized securities under U.S. jurisdiction, with strong interest already emerging from major Wall Street and tech firms, the analysts said, removing the need for offshore workarounds. […]

Perhaps most radically, the SEC will begin rewriting outdated rules to embrace onchain financial infrastructure, the analysts noted. That includes enabling decentralized finance platforms like automated market makers and tokenized lending protocols to operate within the regulated financial system. Bernstein sees this as the gateway to 24/7 markets, instant settlement, and cross-asset collateralization — developments that could redraw the capital markets landscape and inject new competition into legacy structures.

Tokenization: Figma’s Blockchain Common Stock

Figma’s prospectus for last week’s blockbuster IPO had a lot of features in common with other recent IPOs, including a founder’s letter, lots of graphics, and multiple classes of stock. However, one of those classes of stock was not like the others. Here’s an excerpt from the prospectus’s description of Figma’s “blockchain common stock”:

“Following this offering, our Board of Directors will be authorized, subject to limitations prescribed by Delaware law, to issue blockchain common stock in one or more series, to establish from time to time the number of shares to be included in each series and to fix the form, designation, powers, preferences, and rights of the shares of each series and any of its qualifications, limitations, or restrictions, in each case without further vote or action by our stockholders….” […]

Liz noted in Friday’s blog that SEC Chairman Paul Atkins said that the agency was open to working with companies that wanted to “tokenize” securities or engage in other types of innovation. But what’s in it for the companies themselves – why would a hot commodity like Figma want to authorize a class of blockchain common stock?

CFTC to allow listed spot crypto trading on registered exchanges

The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) said on Monday it would allow trading of spot crypto asset contracts that are listed on a futures exchange registered under the regulator. The CFTC, which regulates U.S. derivatives markets, will enable immediate trading of digital assets at the Federal level in coordination with the Securities and Exchange Commission’s “Project Crypto”, CFTC acting chairman Caroline Pham said.

The CFTC invited stakeholders to comment on how to list the spot crypto asset contracts in a designated market.

“This is a significant development, not just for the U.S. but for global markets,” said Saad Ahmed, head of Asia Pacific at Gemini.

“It brings crypto one step closer to the structure and standards of traditional markets – an important shift that could drive broader participation from institutions and more sophisticated market participants globally.”

Coinbase CEO pushes back against UK advertising regime after exchange’s TV commercial gets pulled

Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong scrutinized the U.K.’s advertising regime on Monday after broadcasters apparently banned the exchange’s new television commercial.

The one-minute Oliver!-style musical satire, titled “Everything Is Fine,” depicts leaky ceilings, empty supermarkets, and sky-high prices before cutting to a tagline urging viewers to update the system.

“The traditional financial system is not working for many people and crypto represents a way to improve that,” Armstrong wrote on X, adding that any attempt to “censor” the spot would only amplify its reach.