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ARTICLE · 28 JULY 2023

Will Landmark Ruling Disrupt SEC's Crypto Enforcement Strategy?

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Securities Enforcement & Litigation partner Christian Schultz was recently featured in numerous publications — including Fortune, Barron's, CoinDesk, and Blockworks...

United StatesTechnology
Christian D. H. Schultz
Christian D. H. Schultz
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Securities Enforcement & Litigation partner Christian Schultz was recently featured in numerous publications — including Fortune, Barron's, CoinDesk, and Blockworks — about a case between crypto firm Ripple and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in which a judge made a pivotal ruling that, while cryptocurrency sales to institutional investors constituted an unregistered security offering, open market sales did not.

Schultz, former Assistant Chief Litigation Counsel in the SEC's Division of Enforcement, noted that the ruling is a decisive win for the crypto industry and could potentially disrupt the SEC's strategy in ongoing litigations — particularly those focused on secondary market activity. Additionally, he anticipates that crypto firms will innovate their approach to initial token distributions within the given regulatory context, despite the judge's decision aligning with the SEC's stance on institutional sales.

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