Just three months. That’s how long it took for the Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) to use new powers to publicly name and shame a virtual asset (VA) exchange. Known as “JPEX” , the unlicensed crypto exchange was warned about potential breaches of the...
Amanda Lees, Suraj Sajnani and Sarah Jones look at a recent Singapore Court decision which determined that cryptocurrency is property. Introduction On 25 July 2023, the Singapore High Court handed down its decision in the case of ByBit Fintech Limited v Ho Kai Xin and...
In our latest post, we turn to crises – and, more importantly, how to manage them. Crises can take a number of forms and by their nature they happen unexpectedly without warning. Inhouse counsel have an important role in identifying risks in order to prepare for a crisis. While a crisis is unfolding, inhouse counsel are critical in protecting privilege and providing legal advice in the moment.
Xiaoxia Zhang, an IP Partner in KWM's Beijing office, introduces an IP dispute involving the determination of Damages Compensation for the illegal disclosure of software code. The Supreme People’s Court of the People’s Republic of China (SPC) has ruled that the...
James McKenzie & Romy Descours-Karmitz examine the controversial Tulip Trading Case and how it has thrust novel issues regarding cryptocurrency into the English courts and the media spotlight. The case awaits full trial. The regulation of digital assets is set for...
Urszula McCormack, Evan Manolios and Jack McNally give virtual asset service providers (VASPs) the low down on operating beyond June 1 in Hong Kong under a strict new regime. For nearly three years, KWM’s global fintech and blockchain team has exploded client inboxes...
Suraj Sajnani, Sian Knight and Michelle Chen discuss the Hong Kong High Court's express confirmation, for the first time ever, that cryptocurrency is “property” and can form the subject matter of a trust. The Court’s decision in Re Gatecoin Ltd aligns Hong Kong’s...
Peter Bullock discusses the rise of crypto disputes and why they will continue to occur in 2023 and beyond Although it has been 14 years since the the presumed pseudonymous Satoshi Nakamoto defined the genesis block of bitcoin, the subject of cryptocurrencies, digital...
Amanda Lees, Suraj Sajnani, and Sarah Jones talk about a recent Singapore case in which a cryptocurrency court proceeding was stayed to arbitration. The recent case of Parastate Labs Inc v Wang Li & Ors (including Babel Asia Asset Management Pvt Ltd (“Babel Asia”)...
“Now is the last chance to have your say on the shape of privacy laws in Australia for the next 10 years – so use it wisely.” KWM Partner Cheng Lim Australia’s privacy and data protection laws are set for an overhaul that will both strengthen and modernise the...
Debate continues around the potential for Artificial intelligence (AI) to replace the roles humans have occupied for generations. But can it be a force for good? AI could contribute more than $20 trillion for the global economy by 2030[1] and the use of generative AI...
With the initial dazzling rise of digital assets, courts had to grapple with how to adapt traditional remedies such as injunctions to assets that are often held and transacted anonymously. The crypto crash in 2022 has not reduced the importance of injunctions against...
In the latest word on cryptocurrency disputes, the English High Court in LMN v Bitflyer Holdings Inc and others granted a disclosure order against six cryptocurrency exchanges for know your client (“KYC”) and location information relating to cryptocurrency that had...
Digitisation can help public services to improve decisions – just as it does for the private sector.
Victor Dominello, the Minister for Customer Service & Digital Government in New South Wales, spoke with KWM Partner Annabel Griffin about his mission: “to use data, digital tech, to reduce suffering and improve quality of life”.
The current trending buzzword in the digital assets space in Singapore is “crypto winter” (with its seasonal variations aplenty: see crypto ice age and even crypto spring by the FT). With that topic on everyone’s mind, increasingly we are having conversations with...
A smart contract is self-executing code that follows pre-programmed rules, which are then verifiable on a blockchain. As such they are a misnomer. They are not smart, because they can only do what they are programmed to do. They are not so much a contract as a tool...
On 13 May 2022 the High Court did not monkey around when granting an urgent injunction against a legendary Bored Ape NFT. The High Court has now published its reasoning (Janesh s/o Rajkumar v Unknown Person (“CHEFPIERRE”) [2022] SGHC 264). In its ground breaking...
On 26 April 2020, the Shenzhen Intermediate People’s Court ruled that an arbitral award be set aside on the ground that awarding damages in US dollars in lieu of Bitcoin is against the public interest. This article explores the Court’s reasoning and alerts potential...
Financial crime is a truly global issue. As readers of this blog would know, it often involves cross-border issues, and the laws of multiple jurisdictions can apply. In this context, it perhaps unsurprising that the first alleged crime in outer space is connected to...
The United States (“US”) government has continued its drive to regulate virtual currencies through the first half of 2019. Its chief tools have been: the introduction of new FinCEN guidance; and sanctions and enforcement action targeting foreign financial institutions...