Washington Nationals Fail Crypto 101

Author

Bruce Carton
May 20, 2022

I want to share some of the great videos of the panels from last week's Securities Enforcement Forum West 2022. Let's start with the Keynote Remarks by SEC Enforcement Director Gurbir Grewal (including an amusing introduction by Professor Joe Grundfest).

Mr. Grewal laid out in detail "how the conduct of defense counsel in some cases frustrates and delays our truth-seeking mission" and erodes the SEC's trust:

People

Krishna Juvvadi has joined Binance.US as Vice President, Head of Legal. Previously, Juvvadi was Global Head of Operations Compliance at Uber Technologies Inc.

Clips ✂️

US Pries Into Over 100 Trader and Banker Phones in Texting Probe

The US is forcing Wall Street banks to embark on a systematic search through more than 100 personal mobile phones carried by top traders and dealmakers in the largest-ever probe into clandestine messaging on platforms such as WhatsApp.

The Securities and Exchange Commission has been sending firms lists of key positions — in some cases pointing to around 30 people including heads of certain investment banking teams or trading desks — that are subject to the review, according to people with direct knowledge of the requests. Personnel in those roles are being ordered to hand over phones so devices can be examined by lawyers.

by Bloomberg

Crypto exchange FTX U.S. moves into stock trading

The U.S. affiliate of crypto exchange FTX is rolling out zero-commission stock trading as part of a bigger bet that retail investors will want to see their crypto and stock investments in a single place.

FTX U.S. will offer no-fee brokerage accounts, commission-free trading, and market and company data, the company announced Thursday. For now, the new service is limited to a small number of U.S. users.

by CNBC

Financial Crimes Efforts Get Funding Boost as Part of Ukraine Aid Package

If the bill is signed by President Biden, nearly $30 million of those funds would go to the Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D., R.I.) said in a statement on Thursday.

FinCEN, a bureau of the Treasury, is tasked with collecting financial intelligence and enforcing laws that protect the U.S. financial system from illicit activity. Its budget has grown in recent years, following the passage of legislation that requires the bureau to make extensive changes to U.S. anti-money-laundering laws.

by The Wall Street Journal

Twitter

Oh my, the replies to this May 10 tweet by the Nationals touting its new sponsor, Terra: