Encouraging retail investors to spend time educating themselves to vote in proxy contests is not a productive exercise for regulators. It would make more sense for the SEC to focus on the voting patterns and incentives of institutions, such as registered investment companies and pension plans, that hold stocks for the benefit of retail investors. Retail investors who are studying up on how to vote in a proxy contest may want to consider spending more time playing video games, watching…

This is the first significant no-action letter that the SEC staff has issued providing that a blockchain-based token is not a security. A previous no-action letter, , also determined that a blockchain-based token was not a security, but that case concerned a simple payment system for transferring tokens (Stablecoins) representing dollars, i.e., the payment system just replaced payments by wire transfer or credit card.

Unlike , this letter permits the distribution of a blockchain token…

The reality is that there are going to be a diminishing number of banks. Many factors are at play. Competition with the technology industry moving into finance (see ) and heavy regulatory costs that hurt small firms (made heavier by Dodd-Frank) result in the acceleration of the dimunition.

Speechifying that prevents or delays the merger of banking organizations might make for the appearance of "action" but is both futile and damaging. It will simply leave the banks in a weaker…

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