agrees – Earlybirds Invest https://earlybirdsinvest.com Latest Crypto News Wed, 16 Apr 2025 00:24:07 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.9.7 https://i0.wp.com/earlybirdsinvest.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/cropped-New-Project-2024-12-17T235703.455.png?fit=32%2C32&ssl=1 agrees – Earlybirds Invest https://earlybirdsinvest.com 32 32 240146708 Semler Scientific agrees to pay DOJ $30 million to resolve fraud investigations https://earlybirdsinvest.com/semler-scientific-agrees-to-pay-doj-30-million-to-resolve-fraud-investigations/ https://earlybirdsinvest.com/semler-scientific-agrees-to-pay-doj-30-million-to-resolve-fraud-investigations/#respond Wed, 16 Apr 2025 00:24:06 +0000 https://earlybirdsinvest.com/semler-scientific-agrees-to-pay-doj-30-million-to-resolve-fraud-investigations/

Healthcare technology company Semler Scientific has reached a temporary settlement agreement with the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), and on Tuesday it is ready to pay a $29.75 million fine to resolve all claims related to any potential violations of the Federal v. Fullerd Act in connection with marketing of its flagship products.

Last month, Semler Scientific revealed that it received a private investigation demand from the DOJ in 2017, or a CID (a subpoena from a federal agency that essentially precedes the lawsuit) from the DOJ in 2017.

Semler Scientific’s Quantaflo marketing research is unrelated to Bitcoin Holdings.

In 8-K filing on Tuesday, Semler Scientific, a large corporate holder of Bitcoin, said it could borrow both cash and digital assets in an agreement with Crypto Exchange Coinbase using Bitcoin Holdings as collateral. If the company’s settlement agreement with DOJ is approved, Semler Scientific said in the filing that “we intend to borrow under the Coinbase Master Loan agreement and use such proceeds (with cash on hand) to pay the proposed settlement with DOJ.”

Semler Scientific’s settlement agreement with DOJ is principled, meaning that it has not yet been set on stone. In an application Tuesday, we warned investors that there is still a risk that the DOJ could file a claim against a company that “seeks for damages beyond the amount of such agreed settlement” if the parties are unable to reach the final agreement.

“If the parties reach a settlement and the DOJ fails to file a complaint, Semler Sci will be fiercely defending themselves in such a lawsuit,” the company said in its filing.

Semler Scientific currently holds 3,192 bitcoins. This is a stockpile worth around $267 million at today’s prices.

]]> https://earlybirdsinvest.com/semler-scientific-agrees-to-pay-doj-30-million-to-resolve-fraud-investigations/feed/ 0 31013 SEC Agrees to Drop Enforcement Suit Against Cumberland DRW, Firm Says https://earlybirdsinvest.com/sec-agrees-to-drop-enforcement-suit-against-cumberland-drw-firm-says/ https://earlybirdsinvest.com/sec-agrees-to-drop-enforcement-suit-against-cumberland-drw-firm-says/#respond Tue, 04 Mar 2025 21:08:16 +0000 https://earlybirdsinvest.com/sec-agrees-to-drop-enforcement-suit-against-cumberland-drw-firm-says/

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has agreed to drop its enforcement case against Cumberland DRW, the crypto trading arm of Chicago-based trading firm DRW, according to a Tuesday announcement from the company.

The SEC sued Cumberland DRW last October, accusing the firm of acting as an unregistered securities dealer and alleging it sold more than $2 billion in unregistered securities, naming tokens like Polygon (POL), Solana (SOL), Cosmos (ATOM), Algorand (ALGO) and Filecoin (FIL) as a “non-exhaustive” list of tokens the agency considered to be securities.

At the time the suit was filed, Cumberland DRW and its CEO Don Wilson pledged to fight the charges. In an interview with CoinDesk last October, Wilson said that his firm had tried and failed to register as a securities dealer with the SEC, and suggested that the lack of clarity for crypto companies under then-Chair Gary Gensler was a feature, not a bug of the agency’s regulatory approach.

Read more: Who’s Afraid of Gary Gensler? Not Don Wilson, the Trader Who Beat the Regulator Once Before

“This dynamic put the SEC in a position where they could say everyone is breaking the rule, and we’re just going to go after whoever we want to,” Wilson told CoinDesk. “[It] reminds me of ‘Atlas Shrugged.’ If everybody is breaking the law, they get to selectively harass whoever they want to.”

Just five months later, under the new leadership of Acting Chair Mark Uyeda, the SEC has completely reversed course. The agency’s decision to drop its suit against Cumberland DRW is the latest in a series of abandoned lawsuits: the SEC has also dropped its case against Coinbase, and agreed to drop its cases against ConsenSys and Kraken. It has also closed a multitude of probes into crypto companies, including Gemini, OpenSea, Robinhood Crypto and Yuga Labs. As with its ConsenSys and Kraken agreements, the SEC’s agreement with Cumberland is pending approval from a majority of the three commissioners currently on the panel. The Commission voted to drop its Coinbase case last week.

“As a firm deeply committed to the principles of integrity and transparency, we look forward to continuing our dialogue with the SEC to help shape a future where technological advancements and regulatory clarity go hand in hand, ensuring tha the U.S. remains at the forefront of global financial innovation,” Cumberland said in its announcement.

A representative for Cumberland DRW declined to comment beyond the firm’s X post.

The SEC did not respond to CoinDesk’s request for comment.

]]> https://earlybirdsinvest.com/sec-agrees-to-drop-enforcement-suit-against-cumberland-drw-firm-says/feed/ 0 23271 SEC agrees to dismiss enforcement case against Consensys https://earlybirdsinvest.com/sec-agrees-to-dismiss-enforcement-case-against-consensys/ https://earlybirdsinvest.com/sec-agrees-to-dismiss-enforcement-case-against-consensys/#respond Thu, 27 Feb 2025 18:49:25 +0000 https://earlybirdsinvest.com/sec-agrees-to-dismiss-enforcement-case-against-consensys/

The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has agreed in principle to dismiss its securities enforcement case against Consensys, according to a Feb. 27 statement.

Once final approvals are secured, the SEC will file a stipulation with the court to formally close the case. The resolution follows Consensys’ commitment to contest the allegations.

Consensys CEO Joseph Lubin said the dismissal, which is still pending final approvals, concludes the dispute. He added that the decision to challenge the agency was a broader effort to support blockchain software developers and protect innovation within the crypto industry.

Lubin said:

“No company wants to be the target of agency enforcement, but at the same time, it was our duty and honor to stand up for blockchain software developers in the hour it was most needed, as I’m sure our industry peers who also stood up against regulatory overreach would tell you.”

Development efforts

The Consensys CEO expressed appreciation for the SEC’s shift in approach under its current leadership, which he described as more pro-innovation and pro-investor.

He also reaffirmed the firm’s commitment to constructive dialogue with public and private policymakers to ensure balanced regulation supporting consumer protection and industry growth.

With the regulatory matter concluded, Consensys plans to focus entirely on development efforts. Lubin indicated that the firm is optimistic about the future of Ethereum and decentralized technologies, emphasizing the acceleration of the shift toward a more decentralized financial system.

The SEC filed charges against Consensys on June 28, 2024, alleging that the company engaged in the unregistered offer and sale of securities through its MetaMask Staking service and operated as an unregistered broker via both MetaMask Staking and MetaMask Swaps.

According to the complaint, Consensys has facilitated the sale of unregistered securities on behalf of liquid staking providers Lido and Rocket Pool since at least January 2023.

Stance shift

Since Mark Uyeda was nominated as the acting chairman of the SEC and the regulator’s Crypto Task Force was created, high-profile enforcement actions have escalated.

On Feb. 21, the SEC reached an agreement with Coinbase to drop its enforcement case, which is also pending final approval from the regulator. The dismissal was followed by a similar decision regarding Robinhood’s crypto unit.

In the past week, the SEC also closed its enforcement actions against Uniswap Labs and Gemini, while Tron founder Justin Sun seeks to end the protocol’s litigation with the regulator.

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