# Best of sec.gov on Kiwi News

Page: https://news.kiwistand.com/source/sec.gov

24 stories from sec.gov have been shared on Kiwi News since 6 June 2023, with 52 upvotes and 7 comments in total. The latest was shared on 10 July 2025. They are listed below, most upvoted first.

Summaries are AI summaries of the linked article.

## 1. Hester Peirce: Statement of Dissent on LBRY

- Kiwi News: https://news.kiwistand.com/stories/Hester-Peirce-Statement-of-Dissent-on-LBRY?index=0x653c12b735161dd0ea2531f0bf485ddeaec98ecf6a5b20678359b80a8c4eb90f7812cf39
- Source: https://www.sec.gov/news/statement/peirce-statement-lbry-102723
- Shared 27 October 2023, 5 upvotes, 0 comments

Hester Peirce, a Securities and Exchange Commission commissioner, argues in a dissent that the Commission's enforcement case against LBRY, Inc. was misguided and disproportionate. She notes that LBRY lost in federal district court on whether its token sales were an unregistered securities offering, and that the company will now shut down rather than appeal. Peirce states that the court found no fraud allegations, that the Commission first sought $44 million before pairing its penalty request back to $111,614, and that the outcome forced entrepreneurs to abandon a functioning blockchain.

## 2. SEC Charges Creator of Stoner Cats Web Series for Unregistered Offering of NFTs

- Kiwi News: https://news.kiwistand.com/stories/SEC-Charges-Creator-of-Stoner-Cats-Web-Series-for-Unregistered-Offering-of-NFTs?index=0x6501d5b1970ff47b8cd900ec700a29db8ed10cb268126e16b93ab8db2517377fee33a39a
- Source: https://www.sec.gov/news/press-release/2023-178
- Shared 13 September 2023, 5 upvotes, 0 comments

The SEC charged Stoner Cats 2 LLC (SC2) with conducting an unregistered offering of crypto asset securities in the form of NFTs that raised about $8 million to finance the animated web series Stoner Cats. According to the SEC order, SC2 sold more than 10,000 NFTs for about $800 each on July 27, 2021, selling out in 35 minutes, and it configured them to pay SC2 a 2.5 percent royalty on secondary market transactions. SC2 agreed to a cease-and-desist order and a $1 million civil penalty, without admitting or denying the findings. The order also establishes a Fair Fund to return money to injured investors.

## 3. Statement on the Approval of Spot Bitcoin Exchange-Traded Products

- Kiwi News: https://news.kiwistand.com/stories/Statement-on-the-Approval-of-Spot-Bitcoin-Exchange-Traded-Products?index=0x659f0faa23144f7a1f8034c4286ee492bb440500d423c2cfc4ec50e97434847d2b1a7072
- Source: https://www.sec.gov/news/statement/gensler-statement-spot-bitcoin-011023
- Shared 10 January 2024, 4 upvotes, 0 comments

The SEC approved the listing and trading of several spot bitcoin exchange-traded product shares, reversing its earlier string of disapprovals. Chair Gary Gensler said the decision followed a D.C. Circuit ruling that the Commission had failed to adequately explain its 2023 disapproval of Grayscale's proposed ETP, so the agency now views approval as the most sustainable path. He stated that the approval covers only bitcoin, not other crypto assets, and that the Commission staff is separately reviewing registration statements for 10 spot bitcoin ETPs. He also said investors should remain cautious about bitcoin's risks.

## 4. SEC commissioners Pierce and Uyeda dissent after NFT enforcement action 

- Kiwi News: https://news.kiwistand.com/stories/SEC-commissioners-Pierce-and-Uyeda-dissent-after-NFT-enforcement-action?index=0x64edea4d3753d0f10dd49ef9a6673c72d0ac60df34c71e68cd2f26bfa125101894fe148a
- Source: https://www.sec.gov/news/statement/peirce-uyeda-statement-nft-082823
- Shared 29 August 2023, 4 upvotes, 0 comments

Commissioners Hester Peirce and Mark Uyeda dissented in part from the SEC's first NFT enforcement action, against Impact Theory, arguing that the case should not have been brought as a securities matter. They said the company's statements did not amount to the promises that form an investment contract under Howey, though they shared concern about hype driving buyers to spend almost $30 million on NFTs. The settlement charges unregistered securities offering without fraud, and the company had already repurchased NFTs for a total of $7.7 million in Ether. The commissioners also raised a list of open questions about how the SEC should guide NFT issuers.

## 5. A Creative and Cooperative Balancing Act | Commissioner Peirce

- Kiwi News: https://news.kiwistand.com/stories/A-Creative-and-Cooperative-Balancing-Act-or-Commissioner-Peirce?index=0x681cdfaa77e9379584be1ca8e49f7a77467f82f31ecac26bfcc54ebe4323f9e97080e021
- Source: https://www.sec.gov/newsroom/speeches-statements/peirce-iismgd-050825
- Shared 8 May 2025, 3 upvotes, 1 comment

Commissioner Peirce argues that well-balanced capital market regulation, rather than heavy-handed rules, gives investors the confidence to participate and lets new competitors and technologies enter the market. She cites the fall in U.S. public company listings from 5,243 in 2004 to 4,862 in 2024 and suggests some public company disclosure requirements may be extraneous or harmful. She describes a potential SEC conditional exemption for firms using distributed ledger technology to issue, trade and settle tokenized securities, and says she has advocated bilateral cooperation that would let foreign sandbox participants run experiments in the United States.

## 6. Wells Fargo purchased small amounts of BTC ETFs to gain crypto exposure

- Kiwi News: https://news.kiwistand.com/stories/Wells-Fargo-purchased-small-amounts-of-BTC-ETFs-to-gain-crypto-exposure?index=0x66422485c31cdb2d19b068ef1cd08de7f62318fab0681108f0ba460133b3e3bde57c10a9
- Source: https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/72971/000007297124000139/xslForm13F_X02/13F_3_2024.xml
- Shared 13 May 2024, 3 upvotes, 1 comment

## 7. S-1 filing of Reddit Inc.

- Kiwi News: https://news.kiwistand.com/stories/S-1-filing-of-Reddit-Inc?index=0x65e4dcdbfb9fc04f985c9bc123d6b13542c2f1cfe9868b7278f8a5e27dca3767f56afa14
- Source: https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1713445/000162828024006294/reddits-1q423.htm
- Shared 3 March 2024, 3 upvotes, 1 comment

Reddit, Inc. filed a Form S-1 registration statement with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on February 22, 2024, to offer Class A common stock in its initial public offering. The company has applied to list the shares on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol "RDDT," and it says it will receive proceeds from the offering while the selling stockholders will receive the rest. The filing states that Class B shares carry 10 votes each, that Advance Magazine Publishers Inc. is the principal stockholder, and that Steven Huffman is Chief Executive Officer and President. The company is named an emerging growth company, and the offering price range was left blank in this preliminary version.

## 8. Circle S-1 filing

- Kiwi News: https://news.kiwistand.com/stories/Circle-S-1-filing?index=0x67ecc934289a952ef33274ba0fce065be8421c2a35fdb0e3542f5e933e67e723cb77eba9
- Source: https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1876042/000119312525070481/d737521ds1.htm
- Shared 2 April 2025, 2 upvotes, 3 comments

Circle Internet Group, Inc. filed a Form S-1 registration statement with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on April 1, 2025, for an initial public offering of Class A common stock, which it has applied to list on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol "CRCL." The filing says Circle is the issuer of USDC, a dollar-backed digital currency that it describes as redeemable 1:1 for U.S. dollars, with $59.4 billion in circulation as of March 28, 2025. Jeremy Allaire, co-founder, chairman and chief executive, and Patrick Sean Neville, a co-founder, are named as founders whose Class B shares will hold a significant share of voting power after the offering.

## 9. Pugdy Penguins filled an ETF, the first NFT ETF?

- Kiwi News: https://news.kiwistand.com/stories/Pugdy-Penguins-filled-an-ETF-the-first-NFT-ETF?index=0x686f6fd26b71c1103446db95deab0bed9a28857bcd0dd4efd9db268abe8369d6d40c82d3
- Source: https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/2059693/000199937125002883/canarypengu-s1_032025.htm
- Shared 10 July 2025, 2 upvotes, 0 comments

Canary Capital Group LLC filed a registration statement with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on March 20, 2025, for a proposed Canary PENGU ETF. The trust would invest primarily in PENGU, the official token of the Pudgy Penguins project, and Pudgy Penguins non-fungible tokens, and it would also hold SOL and ETH needed to handle those assets. The filing names CSC Delaware Trust Company as trustee and states that the trust is not registered under the Investment Company Act of 1940 and that its shares are speculative. The document is a preliminary prospectus, and the exchange, ticker and seed capital details are still blank.

## 10. The Journey Begins

- Kiwi News: https://news.kiwistand.com/stories/The-Journey-Begins?index=0x67a282cde7a9f1971bcc445e8901ff94e11ab88a49856b644317df227214e02708a75f6f
- Source: https://www.sec.gov/newsroom/speeches-statements/peirce-journey-begins-020425
- Shared 4 February 2025, 2 upvotes, 0 comments

The newly announced SEC Crypto Task Force should lead to a more enjoyable and less risky path to regulatory clarity than the Commission's approach over the past decade, though dangers remain. The Commissioner says that earlier handling was marked by legal imprecision, leaving many cases in litigation and many rules at the proposal stage. Planned work includes considering temporary relief for token offerings deemed non-securities if issuers keep specified information updated, and revising the special-purpose broker dealer no-action statement, which the text says has not been a success.

## 11. SEC charges BitClout founder with fraud and unregistered offering of crypto

- Kiwi News: https://news.kiwistand.com/stories/SEC-charges-BitClout-founder-with-fraud-and-unregistered-offering-of-crypto?index=0x66a9138b49e6cdf436854badd0d85e8c23ff6ff80b7a0c19b37e34cd9f7343ec93a16cb7
- Source: https://www.sec.gov/newsroom/press-releases/2024-91
- Shared 30 July 2024, 2 upvotes, 0 comments

The SEC has charged Nader Al-Naji, founder of the BitClout blockchain protocol (now called Decentralized Social, or DeSo), with fraud and an unregistered offering of its BTCLT token. According to the SEC's complaint, Al-Naji raised more than $257 million from BTCLT sales starting in November 2020, while falsely telling investors the proceeds would not compensate him or other employees. The complaint alleges he spent more than $7 million of investor funds on personal expenses, including rent for a Beverly Hills mansion and cash gifts to family members. It also alleges he portrayed BitClout as decentralized with "no company behind it" and used the pseudonym "Diamondhands" to evade regulatory scrutiny.

## 12. Morgan Stanley discloses bitcoin ETF holdings worth over $270 million in filing

- Kiwi News: https://news.kiwistand.com/stories/Morgan-Stanley-discloses-bitcoin-ETF-holdings-worth-over-dollar270-million-in-filing?index=0x66460225a4708db0413fbed6b09ea89972e248399c20177b2b29044dd5895e10f06517bc
- Source: https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/895421/000089542124000355/xslForm13F_X02/US_13F-408-20240328-prod.xml
- Shared 16 May 2024, 2 upvotes, 0 comments

## 13. FIDELITY® ETHEREUM FUND S-1

- Kiwi News: https://news.kiwistand.com/stories/FIDELITYr-ETHEREUM-FUND-S-1?index=0x66043945cc62d7006d153710b9660ec4fdc08bfe1abbd8b1ddcfa703ee63a4636965e129
- Source: https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/2000046/000119312524077886/d759655ds1.htm
- Shared 27 March 2024, 2 upvotes, 0 comments

Fidelity has filed a preliminary S-1 registration statement with the SEC for the Fidelity Ethereum Fund, an exchange-traded product that would hold ether and issue shares trading on the Cboe BZX Exchange. The Trust aims to track ether's performance as measured by the Fidelity Ethereum Reference Rate, adjusted for expenses and liabilities, with FDAS as custodian. Shares would be created and redeemed in baskets of 25,000 through Authorized Participants, and the Trust is not registered under the 1940 Act and is not a commodity pool. The filing states that the shares are speculative and that investors could lose their entire investment.

## 14. Bitcoin ETF statement from Hester Peirce

- Kiwi News: https://news.kiwistand.com/stories/Bitcoin-ETF-statement-from-Hester-Peirce?index=0x659f282f5374d321f97f360620186fcf9fab1f69d5c869e2547e25219576a38904243e32
- Source: https://www.sec.gov/news/statement/peirce-statement-spot-bitcoin-011023
- Shared 10 January 2024, 2 upvotes, 0 comments

Commissioner Hester Peirce's statement says the SEC's approval of multiple applications to list and trade spot bitcoin exchange-traded products ends a decade-long saga that she calls unnecessary and consequential. She argues the Commission treated bitcoin ETP applications differently from comparable ETPs, and that the approval came only after a court ruling in Grayscale's case. She notes that bitcoin futures ETFs were allowed to trade in 2021 and 2022, and that the Commission's approval order cites the correlation between CME bitcoin futures and spot prices as the basis for now finding fraud-prevention measures adequate.

## 15. Coinbase charged by the SEC

- Kiwi News: https://news.kiwistand.com/stories/Coinbase-charged-by-the-SEC?index=0x647f2b9f7c0e644fe652d63524d51e2c9e86b477cb3d1ed3820b4b4bd14cc53d067d318e
- Source: https://www.sec.gov/news/press-release/2023-102
- Shared 6 June 2023, 2 upvotes, 0 comments

The SEC has charged Coinbase, Inc. with operating its crypto asset trading platform as an unregistered national securities exchange, broker, and clearing agency, and with failing to register the offer and sale of its staking-as-a-service program. The SEC's complaint, filed in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, alleges that Coinbase has made billions of dollars since at least 2019 by facilitating the buying and selling of crypto asset securities. It also names Coinbase Global Inc. (CGI) as a control person liable for certain violations. SEC Chair Gary Gensler said the alleged failures deprive investors of critical protections.

## 16. Bank of Montreal discloses BTC ETF Holdings

- Kiwi News: https://news.kiwistand.com/stories/Bank-of-Montreal-discloses-BTC-ETF-Holdings?index=0x664242e6d86ab6319899b8bcffac7d008ea35a605813f94bcfedfbc68c1fbec660c77c26
- Source: https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/927971/000092797124000004/xslForm13F_X02/MajorUS13BMO20240329.xml
- Shared 13 May 2024, 1 upvote, 1 comment

## 17. SEC.gov | Statement on Certain Protocol Staking Activities

- Kiwi News: https://news.kiwistand.com/stories/SECgov-or-Statement-on-Certain-Protocol-Staking-Activities?index=0x683918e4cc27ea74a97ac3f4e3b066a7a98f3a5f9ca9c5815edaca9222a6ccf179a4460c
- Source: https://www.sec.gov/newsroom/speeches-statements/statement-certain-protocol-staking-activities-052925
- Shared 30 May 2025, 1 upvote, 0 comments

The SEC's Division of Corporation Finance states its view that certain "Protocol Staking Activities" on proof-of-stake networks do not involve the offer and sale of securities under the Securities Act of 1933 or the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. The statement covers staking of "Covered Crypto Assets" that are intrinsically linked to a public, permissionless network's consensus mechanism, across self (solo) staking, self-custodial staking with a third party, and custodial arrangements. For self staking, it argues that a Node Operator's activity is administrative or ministerial, so rewards are not derived from the efforts of others under the Howey test.

## 18. SEC.gov | Unicoin, Top Executives Charged in Offering Fraud That Raised More tha

- Kiwi News: https://news.kiwistand.com/stories/SECgov-or-Unicoin-Top-Executives-Charged-in-Offering-Fraud-That-Raised-More-tha?index=0x682e222f92483de0ae8e03e262fe5dc8efc73f7611d2fb9df678dd946fb2c43420e63288
- Source: https://www.sec.gov/newsroom/press-releases/2025-75
- Shared 21 May 2025, 1 upvote, 0 comments

The SEC has charged New York City-based Unicoin, Inc. and three top executives with false and misleading statements in offerings of rights certificates tied to Unicoin tokens and of the company's common stock. The SEC alleges Unicoin marketed the certificates through airport and taxi advertising, television and social media, and convinced more than 5,000 investors to buy them. It alleges the tokens were falsely described as asset-backed by billions of dollars in real estate, that more than $3 billion in certificates were sold when no more than $110 million was raised, and that the certificates were falsely called SEC-registered. The complaint was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, and general counsel Richard Devlin has consented to a judgment with a $37,500 civil penalty without admitting or denying the allegations.

## 19. Statement on Stablecoins

- Kiwi News: https://news.kiwistand.com/stories/Statement-on-Stablecoins?index=0x67f03b57bc3a611954bdf6038e8acee3b06a673eb087b8b79c0ab76f0d8c90fa52dcc2fd
- Source: https://www.sec.gov/newsroom/speeches-statements/statement-stablecoins-040425
- Shared 4 April 2025, 1 upvote, 0 comments

The SEC's Division of Corporation Finance states its view that certain U.S. dollar-pegged stablecoins, called "Covered Stablecoins," do not involve the offer and sale of securities under the Securities Act of 1933 or the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. The statement defines these as coins designed to hold a one-for-one value with USD, redeemable for USD one-for-one, and backed by low-risk, readily liquid reserve assets worth at least the value of coins in circulation. It says Covered Stablecoins are marketed for payments, money transmission and storage of value rather than as investments, and that their reserve assets are segregated and cannot be used for trading or speculation.

## 20. SEC Crypto 2.0: Chairman Uyeda Announces Formation of New Crypto Task Force

- Kiwi News: https://news.kiwistand.com/stories/SEC-Crypto-20-Chairman-Uyeda-Announces-Formation-of-New-Crypto-Task-Force?index=0x678fe1fe714bc57a023fee7f48402ea5daecb1ae727f8e587d782d49fdb8cf9d4db00dc4
- Source: https://www.sec.gov/newsroom/press-releases/2025-30
- Shared 21 January 2025, 1 upvote, 0 comments

The SEC's Acting Chairman Mark T. Uyeda launched a crypto task force, led by Commissioner Hester Peirce, to develop a comprehensive and clear regulatory framework for crypto assets. The announcement, dated January 21, 2025, says the SEC has relied mainly on enforcement actions, often using novel and untested legal interpretations, and that unclear registration rules have created confusion. The task force will work within the statutory framework set by Congress, coordinate with agencies including the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, and welcomes public input at Crypto@sec.gov, with roundtables expected later.

## 21. BlackRock files for options on spot Ethereum ETFs

- Kiwi News: https://news.kiwistand.com/stories/BlackRock-files-for-options-on-spot-Ethereum-ETFs?index=0x66b321a0905ed0d562ca54e11a8e7a2ef981cb3afd163c0770190658d38d0135d6586920
- Source: https://www.sec.gov/files/rules/sro/ise/2024/34-100661.pdf
- Shared 7 August 2024, 1 upvote, 0 comments

## 22. SEC updates rules for internet investment advisors (22 yr old rule)

- Kiwi News: https://news.kiwistand.com/stories/SEC-updates-rules-for-internet-investment-advisors-22-yr-old-rule?index=0x6609e802172ba670f6822089fb97f773e1647a77ef630ca2e597c8594daceabb5f990685
- Source: https://www.sec.gov/files/ia-6354-fact-sheet.pdf
- Shared 31 March 2024, 1 upvote, 0 comments

## 23. SEC Charges LA-Based Media & Entertainment Co. for Unregistered Offering of NFTs

- Kiwi News: https://news.kiwistand.com/stories/SEC-Charges-LA-Based-Media-and-Entertainment-Co-for-Unregistered-Offering-of-NFTs?index=0x64eccfb9383497adbc0ed74626b81bd0deb0700050317e7a8d3ea284aa8112f13a91fccf
- Source: https://www.sec.gov/news/press-release/2023-163
- Shared 28 August 2023, 1 upvote, 0 comments

The SEC charged Impact Theory, LLC, a Los Angeles-headquartered media and entertainment company, with conducting an unregistered offering of crypto asset securities in the form of purported NFTs. According to the SEC's order, Impact Theory sold three tiers of NFTs called Founder's Keys from October to December 2021 and encouraged buyers to see them as investments, saying it was "trying to build the next Disney." The company raised approximately $30 million from hundreds of investors. Without admitting or denying the findings, Impact Theory agreed to a cease-and-desist order and to pay more than $6.1 million in disgorgement, prejudgment interest, and a civil penalty.

## 24. We‘ve seen this story before

- Kiwi News: https://news.kiwistand.com/stories/Weve-seen-this-story-before?index=0x64880e8d651e400cf03b10de3ca6c2164669ec271f8f7b0c86c24e36727783c0131a0a00
- Source: https://www.sec.gov/news/speech/gensler-remarks-piper-sandler-060823
- Shared 13 June 2023, 1 upvote, 0 comments

SEC Chair Gary Gensler argues that crypto tokens and intermediaries fall under existing U.S. securities laws, which have applied for 90 years, and that most crypto tokens meet the investment contract test from SEC v. W.J. Howey Co. He cites the 2017 DAO report, the 2019 staff framework, and more than 100 Commission orders and court decisions as guidance. He also says crypto exchanges such as Binance, Bittrex, Beaxy and Coinbase were charged with operating unregistered securities intermediation functions, and that lending and staking-as-a-service programs are classic securities.