Pardoned Binance Founder Hobnobs With Trump Sons and Administration Officials at Mar-a-Lago Crypto Fest – WSJ
Changpeng Zhao, the founder of Binance, received a full presidential pardon and made his first U.S. visit since his 2024 release from a California federal prison. He attended a 500‑person crypto conference hosted by Trump‑backed World Liberty Financial at Mar‑a‑Lago, where Secret Service agents were present. Binance remains barred from operating in the United States after a 2023 AML enforcement action. Zhao posted on X that he “learned a lot” after hearing a top federal crypto regulator speak.
Musk’s Twitter Trial Gets Jurors Who Can Set Aside Feelings
Nine jurors were selected from a pool of 93 to hear the securities class action against Elon Musk over his 2022 Twitter acquisition, which investors claim violated securities law by causing the stock price to plunge. The trial, overseen by...
Number Go Down and Other Schadenfreude
In a recent SEC briefing, Commissioners Peirce and Chairman Atkins addressed the sharp decline in cryptocurrency prices, emphasizing that regulators should not panic over market swings. They reiterated that the SEC’s role is to ensure robust disclosures so investors can...
Musk: SEC Disclosure Claim Represents Targeted Application of Unclear Rule | Law.com
Elon Musk responded to the SEC’s disclosure violation claim regarding his Twitter acquisition with a filing that outlines 14 defenses. He argues that Section 13(d) and Rule 13d-1 compel content‑based disclosures that infringe the First Amendment and are vague about...
Former SEC Deputy Director and Top Trial Lawyer Antonia Apps Joins Paul, Weiss’s Litigation Department | Paul, Weiss
Paul, Weiss announced that Antonia M. Apps, former SEC Deputy Director of Enforcement and ex‑federal prosecutor, has joined the firm as a partner in its New York Litigation Department. Apps is renowned for high‑stakes securities and white‑collar litigation. Her arrival...
If US Regulators Won’t Hold Auditors to Account, Will the Courts?
The Trump administration slashed the PCAOB budget and installed a career auditor as its head, prompting concerns that auditors are now policing themselves. The SEC argues the changes refocus the board on substantive wrongdoing rather than paperwork errors. Critics fear...
Remarks at the Texas A&M School of Law Corporate Law Symposium
In a recent Texas A&M Law symposium, the SEC suggested a rule granting a safe harbor for companies that omit generic risk factors from their filings. The proposal would treat failure to disclose widely publicized events, likely to affect most...
Wall Street Wants to Bring Election Bets Into Brokerage Accounts – Bloomberg
Roundhill Investments has filed a request with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission to launch six exchange‑traded funds that let investors wager on U.S. election outcomes. Each ETF would hold binary event contracts that settle at either $1 or $0,...
A Year of Change, A Year in Review: A Q&A on SEC Whistleblower Program Results for FY2025 – Outten &...
On February 12, 2026 the SEC released its FY2025 Dodd‑Frank Whistleblower Program report, showing more than $60 million awarded to 48 whistleblowers—a sharp drop from the $255 million paid in FY2024. The agency’s 2025 financial report indicates total whistleblower payouts of $171 million,...
States Encroach on Prediction Markets – WSJ
The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) has long regulated prediction markets, but a wave of state lawsuits is challenging its authority. Nearly 50 cases across the U.S. allege that event contracts offered by platforms like Kalshi, Polymarket, Coinbase and Crypto.com...
US Lawmaker Blasts SEC Crypto Overhaul—Bulls See Regulatory Reset Powering the Next Rally – Regulation Bitcoin News
Congresswoman Maxine Waters, top Democrat on the House Financial Services Committee, publicly challenged SEC Chair Paul Atkins during a Feb. 11 hearing, accusing the agency of prioritizing Wall Street and billionaires over ordinary investors. She highlighted that the SEC currently has...
SEC Polices Affinity Fraudsters Despite Enforcement Sea Change
The SEC has filed at least ten complaints in the past year accusing defendants of running Ponzi‑style affinity fraud schemes that target religious, cultural or ethnic groups. This volume mirrors the enforcement activity seen during the final year of Chairman...
Israeli Reservist Indicted for Polymarket Gambling on IDF | The Jerusalem Post
An Israeli civilian and an IDF reservist were indicted for allegedly exploiting classified military intelligence to place bets on the prediction‑market platform Polymarket. Authorities say the suspects used insider knowledge of operation timing to profit, prompting a joint Shin Bet, Defense...
Cleary Gottlieb Discusses the Shifting SEC Enforcement Landscape | CLS Blue Sky Blog
The SEC is sharpening its enforcement focus on core misconduct such as insider trading, accounting and disclosure fraud, market manipulation, and adviser fiduciary breaches. Chairman Gary Gensler, echoing Acting Director Sam Waldon, has directed staff away from low‑harm record‑keeping investigations....
AI, the SEC, and the 2026 Reporting Season | The D&O Diary
The SEC announced an AI Task Force led by a newly appointed Chief AI Officer to centralize responsible AI integration across the agency, backed by a 2025 AI Compliance Plan aligned with OMB guidance. This internal effort signals a durable,...
