The Regulatory Landscape for Cryptocurrencies and the SEC's Case Against Kik

The complex and evolving regulatory landscape for cryptocurrencies has been a topic for many years. After a long period of waiting, the SEC started pursuing fraud causes in the last 1-2 years. But the recent lawsuit against Kik is the first time that the SEC goes after a large, non-fraud case.

We were joined by lawyer Stephen Palley to discuss the Kik case, the US regulatory landscape and recent announcement of the Libra cryptocurrency promoted by Facebook.

Topics:

• The SEC lawsuit against Kik
• The potential path of the process and how it could resolve in the end
• Why the Kik case is unlikely to provide any regulatory clarity in the next few years
• What a settlement in the Kik case could look like
• Whether the Howey test is still a sensible way to regulate securities
• How US regulators will deal with decentralized exchanges
• Stephen's thoughts on Libra

Links:

• Annotated Guide to the SEC's Complaint against KIK - Katherine Wu
• Kik and the SEC: What’s Going On and What Does It Mean for Crypto? - Katie Haun
• Kin Sets Up $5 Million DefendCrypto.org to Take on the SEC - Unchained Podcast
• SEC vs. Kik: The Lawyers Speak - CoinDesk
• Stephen Palley on Twitter