A California federal district court has reversed its own order denying a preliminary injunction against a token issuer and its founder in an action arising from the offer and sale of alleged security tokens.  In a November 2018 order on the Securities Exchange Commission’s motion for a preliminary injunction, the court held that the SEC had failed to establish that the tokens were securities under the Howey test in what was seen as a setback to the agency’s claim of jurisdiction over initial coin offerings under the securities laws.  In last Thursday’s ruling, however, the court agreed with the SEC’s alternative theory that the defendants had engaged in the offer of securities in violation of Section 17(a) of the Securities Act because of false statements in the Defendant’s promotional material.  Accordingly, the court granted the SEC’s motion for reconsideration, in part, and entered a preliminary injunction.          

A federal district court in New York granted Coinbase's motion to compel arbitration by applying Second Circuit precedents from cases involving Amazon and Uber.

On January 2, 2019, the Texas Department of Banking issued revised guidance on the application of the Texas Money Services Act to virtual currency transactions.  Updating the Department’s 2014 guidance, the revised guidance offers new perspectives on the application of Texas law and regulations to certain stablecoins and Bitcoin ATMs.