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Fit for Purpose: A Review of the SEC's Path Towards Crypto Regulation

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<p>We are Morrison Foerster — a global firm of exceptional credentials. Our clients include some of the largest financial institutions, investment banks, and Fortune 100, technology, and life sciences companies. Our lawyers are committed to achieving innovative and business-minded results for our clients, while preserving the differences that make us stronger.</p><p>Because of the generality of this update, the information provided herein may not be applicable in all situations and should not be acted upon without specific legal advice based on particular situations. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome.</p>

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<p>On August 18, 2026, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC or the “Commission”) proposed “Regulation Crypto Assets,” a package of new rules that would create, for the first time, a tailored offering regime for certain investment contracts involving crypto assets (the “Proposed Rule”). The Proposed Rule comes after nearly a decade in which the Commission regulated crypto assets primarily through enforcement actions, no-action letters, and informal staff guidance, an approach sometimes referred to as “regulation by enforcement."<br></p><p>Read the <a href="https://media2.mofo.com/v3/assets/blt5775cc69c999c255/bltb606cee14c440939/261016-futures-derivatives-sec-crypto-regulation.pdf" target="_blank">full article</a>.</p>

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<p>Ryan Adams is a Public Company Advisory & Governance partner in the firm’s Washington, D.C. office. His practice focuses on securities regulation, SEC reporting and compliance, proxy and shareholder issues, corporate governance, and corporate transactions, including mergers and acquisitions. </p><p>Ryan’s deep SEC experience enables him to provide insightful counsel on federal securities laws, helping clients navigate complex regulatory landscapes and anticipate shifts impacting their business. Ryan’s informed and pragmatic approach to the industry’s most challenging securities issues has earned him widespread commendation.</p><h4>Professional Background</h4><p>Before entering private practice, Ryan served as an attorney in the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) Division of Corporation Finance, in the Office of Chief Counsel and in Disclosure Operations. In the Office of Chief Counsel, he advised on issues arising under the Securities Act of 1933 and the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, and assisted with no-action letters. He also served as a member of the division’s Rule 14a-8 Shareholder Proposal Taskforce, including as a co-manager.</p><p>In Disclosure Operations, Ryan managed the comment letter process for numerous transactions, including IPOs, business combinations, proxy and information statements, and periodic and current reports.</p><h4>Thought Leadership and Recognition</h4><p>Ryan is a frequent speaker and author on securities law and corporate governance issues. Notably, he co-authors the Wolters Kluwer treatise chapter “E-Proxy, Electronic Communications, and Voting.” Ryan’s proficiency in the areas of securities regulation and governance has been recognized by <em>Best Lawyers</em>, naming him among the 2024 “Ones To Watch in America.”</p><h4>Professional Affiliations</h4><p>Ryan serves on the Board of Directors for the Society for Corporate Governance’s Mid-Atlantic Chapter. </p><h4>Education</h4><p>Ryan graduated cum laude from Loyola University Maryland with a B.A., and earned his J.D., also cum laude, from St. John’s University School of Law. At St. John’s, he served as a senior articles editor on the <em>St. John’s Law Review</em>, interned at the St. John’s Securities Arbitration Clinic representing underserved investors before the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA), and gained valuable experience as an intern at both the United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York (EDNY) and the United States District Court for the EDNY.</p>

Ryan Adams

Partner

<p>Rhys Bortignon is a partner in Morrison Foerster’s Capital Markets practice, based in New York. Rhys’ practice focuses on derivatives and structured products. He is a member of the firm’s Derivatives, Commodities + Structured Products practice group and Co-Head of its Securities + Derivatives Regulatory Solutions team.</p><p>With a focus on practical and commercial solutions, Rhys provides counsel to a diverse range of U.S. and international clients, from both the buy side and sell side, including corporates, investment banks, commercial banks, private equity, funds, investment managers, and sovereigns. Rhys offers strategic guidance to his clients from both a transactional and a regulatory perspective and navigates complex cross-border issues with proficiency, providing pragmatic advice to clients operating globally.</p><p>Rhys’ experience spans the spectrum of derivative transactions across asset classes, including rates, foreign exchange, credit, equity, digital assets, and commodities. He also frequently advises on margin loans, repo and securities lending transactions, the hedging components of project and corporate financings, as well as various structured products. </p><p>Rhys is well-versed in U.S. derivatives legal and regulatory matters under the Dodd-Frank Act, the Commodity Exchange Act, and the Securities Exchange Act as well as related CFTC, SEC, and prudential regulation, including the regulation of security-based swaps, swaps, futures and options as well as security-based swap dealers, futures commission merchants, introducing brokers, swap dealers, commodity pool operators, commodity trading advisors, and exchanges and clearing organizations. </p><p>Rhys advises on leading-edge issues in the derivatives space, such as AI, digital assets, distributed ledger technologies (including DeFi), energy transition matters, and sustainability-linked transactions. He frequently authors thought leadership pieces on current and proposed derivatives regulations in the United States.</p><p>Rhys sits on the Board of Directors of the LGBT Bar Association of New York, a voluntary professional organization dedicated to ensuring full equality for members of the LGBTQ+ community, promoting the advancement of LGBTQ+ legal professionals, and serving the larger community through various pro bono initiatives.</p><p>Prior to joining the firm, Rhys was counsel at another international law firm in New York. He also gained experience as an associate at leading law firms in London and Sydney. </p><p>Rhys is admitted to practice law in New York, England & Wales, and New South Wales, Australia.</p><h4>Representative Experience</h4><h5>Securitizations</h5><ul><li>Advised a global vehicle rental and leasing company with respect to its derivatives transactional and regulatory matters, including in connection with its international securitization platform and related financing activities</li></ul><h5>Equity Derivatives</h5><ul><li>Represented a leading geothermal company engaged in recovered energy generation in connection with its Rule 144A private offering of green convertible senior notes and the negotiation and execution of the associated capped call transactions with various dealer counterparties</li><li>Represented a data security and analytics pioneer in connection with its private Rule 144A offering of convertible senior notes, and the negotiation and execution of the associated capped call transactions with various dealer counterparties</li><li>Represented the initial purchasers and the capped call transaction counterparties in a digital sports betting and gaming platform’s offering of convertible senior notes, including the negotiation and execution of the associated capped call transactions</li><li>Represented a major South American mobile telecoms operator on its derivatives trading documentation in connection with its high-yield bond tap issuance</li><li>Represented the sole bookrunner in connection with the offering of a leading player in the global snack arena’s guaranteed zero-coupon exchangeable bonds and associated derivatives elements</li></ul><h5>Lending + Finance</h5><ul><li>Represented an international specialty finance company in connection with its global funding structure, which included: a notes offering; a consent solicitation of the holders of multiple preexisting issuances of notes; an amended multi-currency revolving credit facility; and the amendment and restatement of the company’s private placement notes purchase agreement</li><li>Represented a portfolio company of a Canadian asset management firm in connection with its entrance into a warehouse facility intended to finance a portfolio of consumer home rental contracts</li></ul><h5>Business Restructuring + Insolvency</h5><ul><li>Represented an operator of power infrastructure in the United States and its applicable debtor subsidiaries in connection with the consummation of the strategic transactions contemplated by the company’s chapter 11 plan of reorganization and provided assistance with the completion of its restructuring. The plan of reorganization entailed, among other components: the infusion of new equity capital pursuant to a common equity rights offering; a revolving credit facility; a Term Loan B credit facility; a Term Loan C credit facility; and a bilateral line of credit, as well as full repayment of the company's formerly existing first-lien funded debt and the consensual equitization of all of the company’s formerly existing unsecured notes. Representation included the drafting and negotiation of the foregoing debt financing transactions (including implementing intercreditor and first-lien security arrangements for derivative counterparties) and the renegotiation and implementation of commodity derivative documentation with several counterparties.</li></ul><h5>Project Finance</h5><p>Advised on the derivatives transactional and regulatory aspects of several high-profile project financing matters, including drafting and negotiation derivatives documentation, structuring hedging trades, and advising on intercreditor and other related matters:</p><ul><li>Represented a group of 13 commercial banks in connection with a non-recourse senior secured financing of the redevelopment of multiple terminals of a major global airport in the United States</li><li>Represented a group of international commercial banks in connection with a non-recourse financing of a wind project in Brazil</li><li>Represented a group of international banks as lenders and issuing banks in connection with the non-recourse first- and second-lien project financings of a wind farm and a solar power plant in Chile</li><li>Represented a leading private equity firm specializing in the energy industry in connection with a senior secured facility to finance the development, operation and maintenance of certain assets in the United States</li></ul><h5>M&A</h5><ul><li>Represented a leading private equity firm specializing in the energy industry in its sale of one of the premier independent utility-scale energy storage and renewable energy platforms in the United States to a French multinational utility company</li></ul>

Rhys Bortignon

Co-Head of Securities + Derivatives Regulatory Solutions

<p>Val Dahiya is a partner in the firm’s Broker-Dealer Compliance + Regulation and Capital Markets practice groups, Co-Head of its Securities + Derivatives Regulatory Solutions team, and Co-Lead of the firm’s Digital Assets practice within the Fintech Group.</p><p>Val advises financial services clients on complex compliance, regulatory, and transactional matters arising under U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and Financial Institution Regulatory (FINRA) jurisdiction. She has nearly two decades of experience in advising on securities market infrastructure, including over 10 years of work history at the SEC and three years at FINRA.</p><h4 dir="ltr">Professional Experience: SEC and FINRA </h4><p>Prior to joining Morrison Foerster, Val chaired the securities trading and markets practice and served as office managing partner at another international law firm. Before that, she served as the Washington, D.C. Branch Chief in the Office of Trading Practices in the Division of Trading and Markets at the SEC, where she provided analysis and recommendations on complex legal and policy issues related to the securities industry, including the application of Exchange Act rules and regulations to emerging areas such as cryptocurrencies and digital assets. Val’s counsel was essential in shaping SEC policies and ensuring their consistent application across the evolving financial landscape. </p><p>Prior to this, Val’s responsibilities as Special Counsel in the Division of Trading and Markets included providing essential guidance on securities regulation compliance, including the Commission’s financial integrity and regulatory programs for broker-dealers and securities exchanges. Val also worked closely with the Divisions Office of Market Supervision reviewing self-regulatory organization (SRO) rule filings.   </p><p>In her capacity as Attorney/Senior Counsel in the Division of Examinations, Broker-Dealer Group, Val led comprehensive examinations and inspections of broker-dealers and dually registered entities, ensuring compliance with federal securities laws and SRO rules. Her responsibilities also extended to preparing enforcement referral memoranda and assisting the Enforcement Division in complex trading cases. </p><p>While at the SEC, Val also worked extensively on issues related to trading practices, including market making, ETFs, direct market or sponsored access, when-issued securities, and trading in the grey markets.</p><p>Prior to her tenure at the SEC, Val worked at FINRA (formerly NASD), where she conducted reviews and investigations of broker-dealer activities, identified violations of relevant regulations, and made disciplinary recommendations. Her work at FINRA involved analyzing trading activity for irregularities and patterns indicating violative conduct.</p><p>Collectively, this experience informs Val’s counsel on the highly complex regulatory issues associated with broker-dealer, transfer agent, clearing agency, exchange and Alternative Trading System (ATS) operations, registration requirements, and compliance.</p><h4 dir="ltr">Capabilities</h4><p>Val also advises clients in the distributed ledger technology space that are seeking to understand the potential securities regulatory implications. Her practice ranges from product counseling all the way through to counseling on complex compliance and regulatory issues.</p><p>Other areas Val is particularly well qualified to advise on include:</p><ul dir="ltr"><li dir="ltr">broker-dealer compliance issues relating to Regulations ATS, NMS, M, SCI, and SHO, as well Rules 15c2-11, 15c3-5, and 15c3-3;</li><li dir="ltr">Regulation BI and standard of care issues;</li><li dir="ltr">books-and-records requirements;</li><li dir="ltr">large trader and position reporting;</li><li dir="ltr">forex trading;</li><li dir="ltr">market access and other electronic trading issues;</li><li dir="ltr">information barriers and insider trading;</li><li dir="ltr">soft dollars and commission sharing arrangements;</li><li dir="ltr">the net capital and customer protection rules; and</li><li dir="ltr">cybersecurity and data protection issues.</li></ul><h4 dir="ltr">Leadership</h4><p>Val is a member of the Nasdaq Exchange Review Council for each of Nasdaq’s six exchanges. Prior to joining Morrison Foerster, Val served as office managing partner at another international law firm.  </p>

Val Dahiya

<p>Ryne Miller is a partner in the firm’s Financial Services Group, advising global trading and markets businesses, financial institutions, and fintech companies on complex regulatory, governance, investigative, and transactional matters. He is widely sought for his experience across traditional and emerging markets, including commodities, derivatives, securities, digital assets, and prediction markets. Ryne delivers clear, commercially focused guidance to help clients achieve strategic objectives and is valued for his longstanding relationships with market participants and regulators across the trading and markets industry.<br></p><p>Clients rely on Ryne’s deep experience with the regulatory and enforcement programs of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), Securities and Exchange Commission, FINRA, National Futures Association, FinCEN, Department of Justice, and other federal and state regulators. Executives consistently seek his judgment on high-stakes matters involving investigations, governance, strategic relationships and negotiations, and crisis and incident response.<br></p><p>Ryne is a frequent speaker at trading and markets industry events, a guest lecturer at leading U.S. law and business schools, and has testified before Congress on digital asset market structure regulation. He has also participated in a CFTC roundtable on the evolution of U.S. derivatives market structure.<br></p><p>Before joining Morrison Foerster, Ryne served as chair of the Commodities, Futures & Derivatives Group and co-chair of the Fintech, Crypto, Trading & Markets Group at another leading law firm. Earlier in his career, he was a New York-based partner and co-head of the Commodities and Derivatives practice at an Am Law 10 firm, served as legal counsel to a former chairman of the CFTC, and was general counsel to a U.S. financial services and digital assets business.</p>

Ryne Miller

<p>Trevor Levine is a partner in the firm’s Financial Services Group, where he advises financial services firms and digital asset companies on turning regulatory complexity into commercial opportunity. He advises clients operating at the intersection of finance and technology, guiding them through rapidly evolving legal frameworks while supporting growth, innovation, and market expansion.<br></p><p>Trevor advises exchanges, intermediaries, market participants, and technology companies on issues arising under the Commodity Exchange Act, including representing clients seeking to register with the CFTC and NFA. He also helps clients navigate federal securities laws, FINRA rules, and state money transmission laws. Clients trust Trevor to guide them through regulatory inquiries while helping them design, launch, and operationalize compliant financial products and structures, including advising on applicable registration and licensing processes.<br></p><p>Before joining Morrison Foerster, Trevor served as general counsel to a brokerage firm focused on the digital asset, Bitcoin mining, and data center sectors. In that role, he oversaw legal and regulatory matters across multiple regulated subsidiaries, including a FINRA-registered broker-dealer, an NFA-registered introducing broker, and a New York BitLicensee. He also previously worked in-house at a large, regulated digital asset trading platform, where he advised on the acquisition and maintenance of CFTC, SEC, and state licenses.<br></p><p>Earlier in his career, Trevor practiced at two Am Law 100 firms, advising clients on a range of regulatory matters, including CFTC inquiries related to reporting obligations and market activity, as well as state and federal regulatory issues involving consumer lending practices. He has also advised companies on the development and launch of blockchain networks, cryptocurrencies, and decentralized applications.</p>

Trevor Levine

<p>Andrew Kliewer is an associate in Morrison Foerster’s New York office and a member of the Financial Services Group.</p><p>Andrew Kliewer’s practice focuses on Fintech and financial services, advising clients on transactional and regulatory matters at the intersection of banking, payments, and emerging technologies. He has experience counseling companies on federal and state banking regulations, money transmission laws, and evolving guidance applicable to digital assets and stablecoin products.</p><p>Prior to joining Morrison Foerster, Andrew served as an associate at other prominent law firms, where he advised financial services, Fintech, and blockchain companies on the launch of innovative products, fund formation issues, and other strategic transactions in the Fintech sector.</p><p>While attending law school, Andrew externed for the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, where he served on the rulemaking team for the Dodd-Frank 1033 open banking rule, and at the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.</p><p>Andrew earned his J.D. cum laude from the University of Pennsylvania Law School, where he also received a Wharton Certificate in business economics and public policy and served in editorial roles on the <em>University of Pennsylvania Law Review</em> and <em>The Regulatory Review</em>. He received his B.A. summa cum laude in political science and economics from Emory University.</p>