Two initial coin offering ("ICO") issuers each agreed to pay $250,000 to settle SEC charges of offering and selling ICO tokens without (i) registering them pursuant to securities laws or (ii) qualifying for an exemption to registration requirements under the Securities and Exchange Act of 1934. The two settlement agreements ( see here and here) are the SEC Cyber Unit's first cryptocurrency-related cases imposing civil money penalties exclusively for selling ICO securities in violation of offering registration requirements and without allegations involving fraud. In addition to paying the civil

The CFTC Division of Market Oversight ("DMO") granted time-limited relief to a master fund investment manager, a related holding company, and the four shareholders of the company from compliance with certain position aggregation requirements under CFTC Rule 150.4. The Division granted the relief even though transaction information firewalls were not maintained (as normally required for such an exemption), because the transaction information is being used only for currency hedging performance evaluation and risk management monitoring. DMO also cited the fact that the relief is limited to

European Commission and UK negotiators set out a draft of the terms of the UK's exit from the European Union.

At a roundtable event, SEC Commissioners set the stage for market participants to discuss (i) proxy voting mechanics and technology, (ii) the shareholder proposal process and (iii) the role and regulation of proxy advisory firms.

FDIC Chair Jelena McWilliams outlined the risks and benefits associated with the migration of financial products and services from banks to nonbanks.