DLT LAW

02/02/2026

Nik's Crypto Corner just landed...again (loving the consistency Nikolas)!

From quiet court moves to loud on-chain mistakes, political capital, and regulators turning to AI (shocking!) - today’s stories show one thing: crypto isn’t slowing down, it’s getting a makeover.

Let’s jump into what’s moving the needle today…

⚖️ What happens when prediction markets collide with gaming regs? A Nevada court just issued a 2-week restraining order against Polymarket for flouting laws, dismissing CEA jurisdiction. The Gaming Control Board halts unlicensed wagers to protect integrity, events, and players – echoing global crackdowns in Hungary, Portugal, and Tennessee.

🔓 Sneaky exploit hits CrossCurve's bridge Sunday, draining ~$3M across chains, while the stolen funds are chilling in 10 different Ethereum wallets. CEO Boris Povar sets a 72-hour return deadline, threatening lawsuits, freezes, and cops.

💸 Chainalysis uncovered $16.1B in illicit crypto laundered via Chinese networks in 2025!!!👀 - that's 20% of the $82B global total.

🤝 Just days before Trump’s 2025 inauguration, a UAE firm tied to Sheikh Tahnoon paid $500 million for a 49% stake in the Trump-family-linked Liberty Financial crypto venture, funneling millions to Trump and Witkoff family entities - prompting Sen. Warren to call it “corruption, plain and simple” (again, shocking 🫢) and demand probes into potential emoluments violations and foreign influence.

🤖 South Korea's Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) has upgraded its VISTA AI system with new high-performance servers and a ₩170 million (~$116,000) budget for 2026, adding automated algorithms to detect price manipulation, anomalies, and unfair trades in crypto markets without manual intervention. Working with the Financial Services Commission (FSC) and Korea Exchange, the enhanced VISTA analyzes massive trading data, flags suspicious patterns like wash trading or spoofing, and boosts real-time oversight—aiming to catch savvy manipulators faster in volatile markets.

The days ahead look tight and consequential, not chaotic — and that’s where things get interesting. If you want to unpack what’s shifting or turn headlines into decisions, the DLT Law team (Yitzy, Yarden, Marina, Amit, and Samuel) are here!

*** Disclaimer: Crypto developments evolve quickly. Content reflects information available as of Feb 2, 2026

01/02/2026

Hey crypto crew!

Nik’s Crypto Corner is live! Sanctions smackdown on exchanges, India’s tax driving volume offshore, a Solana treasury heist, BTC ETF bleed pushing prices under $80K, and one firm staring down a $6B+ ETH paper loss. Quick hits below — let’s roll…

🇺🇸 U.S. Treasury Targets Crypto Exchanges in Iran Sanctions Push

→ In a landmark move, the U.S. Treasury's OFAC sanctioned UK-registered exchanges Zedcex and Zedxion for the first time, citing their role in processing billions in transactions linked to Iran's financial sector and IRGC networks (this, just days after the EU designates the IRGC as a terrorist organization...finally!). This escalation underscores regulators' growing focus on crypto as a potential sanctions-evasion vector - take note: compliance tooling just got more essential.

🇮🇳 India's Tax Squeeze Sends Crypto Volume Offshore

→ With a 30% flat tax on gains, no loss offsets, and the 1% TDS still in place, India’s crypto scene reports that roughly three-quarters of trading has migrated to offshore platforms. As the Union Budget approaches, industry voices are pressing for tweaks to revive domestic liquidity and bring activity back under local oversight.

🔓 Step Finance Treasury Hit Hard in Solana DeFi Breach

→ Solana DeFi dashboard Step Finance revealed a treasury compromise, with attackers moving around $27 million in SOL from compromised wallets - now under investigation. The governance token STEP plunged over 80% in a day, serving as a stark reminder of the persistent vulnerabilities in protocol treasury management.

📉 Bitcoin Dips Below $80K Amid Heavy ETF Outflows

→ U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs saw about $1.6 billion in net outflows during January, capped by a major single-day redemption. Institutional risk-off moves contributed to BTC breaking below $80,000 for the first time since April 2025, amid ongoing broader market turbulence.

💸 BitMine's ETH Treasury Takes a $6B+ Paper Hit

→ Publicly traded BitMine Immersion Technologies now faces over $6 billion in unrealized losses on its 4.24 million ETH holdings following Ether's recent drop. Fresh purchases just before the slide have intensified debate on the wisdom of large-scale corporate crypto treasuries in volatile, deleveraging conditions - staking yields help, but only so much.

Buckle up — busy weeks ahead across regulation, flows, and protocol defenses.

Got questions, want to dive into the implications, or just grab a virtual coffee? Ping the DLT Law team anytime!

*** As always, crypto moves at warp speed while regulators move at their own pace. These updates reflect publicly available information as of Februray 01, 2026 and do not constitute legal or financial advice.

28/09/2025

Last week marked a huge milestone for our firm. We landed a tier-1 household name client, one that was at the very top of our wishlist - two years ahead of our roadmap expectations.

We’re a young and growing firm, steadily building our client portfolio step-by-step, and working our own way to become a household name in the crypto legal industry.

Building a practice and a brand does not happen overnight, and neither did this achievement - this came from consistent hard work, patience, and nurturing long-term relationships in our industry (this all stemmed from a casual meeting at ETHCC back in 2021).

This is a reminder that playing the long game pays off. Relationships built on trust, consistency, and authenticity really do open doors.

Champagne glasses down, back to work.

Yitzy Hammer Yarden Noy Marina D'Angelo Shir Amir Samuel Goldfaden LFG!

15/05/2025

Congratulations to our client WonderFi on its acquisition by Robinhood!

This is a major milestone for one of Canada’s leading digital asset platforms.

We’re proud to be part of the journey.

https://www.tradingview.com/news/financemagnates:d0870a88b094b:0-robinhood-to-acquire-canada-s-wonderfi-for-c-250-million-in-all-cash-deal/

&A

11/05/2025

The full video recording of our Thursday event in Limassol, is live and available on YouTube.

Tune in here:

On May 8th, 2025, DLT LAW brought together crypto entrepreneurs and enthusiasts, legal and regulatory experts in Cyprus for its first iteration of CryptoConn...

09/05/2025

Our Cyprus event last night was 🔥
Stay tuned for more pics of the event, full recording of last night's panel and more Crypto Connect events hosted by our firm.

07/05/2025

Tomorrow (May 8), DLT Law brings CryptoConnect Limassol to life — and you won’t want to miss it! 🚀 Our powerhouse panel, moderated by our very own Yitzy Hammer, will dive into the hottest topics in crypto regulation and innovation:

🔜 Stavros "Stav" Psyllos, CCO at Cryptopay and Founder of Cyprus Fintech Society;
🔜Lior Aizik, Co-founder & COO of XBO.com;
🔜Yiannos Ashiotis, Managing Partner, GRC Partners
Board Chairman, Revolut Digital Assets;
🔜George Agathangelou, COO at IPMB;

Join us for an evening of sharp insights, great conversations, and valuable connections.

See you there! 🔗 https://lu.ma/7xezb99l (we're waaaay oversubscribed, but you can join the waitlist).

07/05/2025

Amidst controversy regarding the $2 billion USD1 settlement routed through an Abu‑Dhabi investment firm and Senator Warren's pointing of the blame at pending “pro‑crypto” bills, our Partner, Yarden Noy, was quoted in Cointelegraph’s May 5 article pointing out that, under today’s U.S. laws, there are no regulatory or disclosure requirements for a stablecoin transaction of this kind—and argues that Congress should fill that gap.

In his words: “The US should tackle the issue, not blame the technology being used.“"

Read the full story here:

This link will take you to a page that’s not on LinkedIn

05/05/2025

In just three days, DLT LAW is bringing CryptoConnect to Limassol! 🇨🇾

Join us on May 8th for an evening of insightful conversations on crypto regulation, networking with industry leaders, and practical tips for navigating the evolving blockchain landscape. Whether you’re a founder, investor, or curious explorer, we’d love to see you there.

Register now and let’s shape the future of crypto together! 🚀

Register here ➡️ https://lu.ma/7xezb99l

12/03/2025

DLT Law around the globe 🌐
Everywhere you look, you'll see one of our partners 👀

As a global firm, it is our duty (and privilege) to be present wherever things are happening, regardless of timezones.

If you will be in or around any of these events, contact our partners and let's meet up!

02/03/2025

Wow, Consensus Hong Kong was a blast!

Was great to meet so many Beyond the Code listeners IRL and get their feedback and to be able to livestream live interviews from the event!

Now all I have to do is to get back to the hundreds of new potential clients and partners we met at Consensus!

Lots of work to do!

Thanks to CoinDesk for a fantastic event!
hashtag

30/11/2022

LBRY's CEO announced today that it was killed by Gary Gensler's SEC.

It's unfortunate that this is the result of the SEC's deep probing. While LBRY, as a company might be dead, the hope is that the decentralized publishing platform may survive on its own.

Just last week, Yitzy Hammer shared a post, summarising some of the key takeaways from the recently-published case.

For a recap of Yitzy's post 👇

******

Disclaimers are not enough.

At least not according to Judge Barbadoro.

I just finished reading through the Judge’s recent order issued in SEC v. LBRY, Inc., granting the SEC’s motion for summary judgment against LBRY.

Some immediate takeaways:
🔳Disclaimers are not enough to cover you’re a$%;
🔳Having utility doesn't mean a token can't be sold as an “investment contract”;
🔳Retaining a large portion of tokens for your team may constitute "efforts of others” under Howie;
🔳Everything you say, at any point, will likely be used against you;
🔳Post-sale statements are also fair game;

In the Court’s ruling - issued ~18 months after the SEC brought its initial enforcement action against LBRY - the court found that LBRY offered and sold $LBC as a security in violation of the registration provisions of federal securities laws.

In assessing whether LBRY's offering met the Howie test, the Judge focused on various statements made by LBRY representatives to prospective purchasers.

This is not uncommon. What is unusual, however, is that most statements the court focused on were made (i) post-offering; and (ii) on social media/private statements/interviews, as opposed to in an official whitepaper/website, both of which we tend to think of as less probative/relevant to a Howie analysis.

👨‍🦰LBRY: But your honor, $LBC was purchased strictly as a utility token, and strictly for consumptive use.

The court concluded however that even if some tokens were purchased for consumptive use, that didn't mean that $LBC was not offered as a security.

👨‍⚖️Court: “nothing in case law suggests that a token with both consumptive and speculative uses cannot be sold as an investment contract.”

👨‍🦰LBRY: But your honor, I had a disclaimer.

We've all seen those disclaimers: I HEREBY DECLARE THAT THIS TOKEN IS AND ALWAYS WILL BE A WORTHLESS PIECE OF SH%$. I AM NOT PURCHASING IT FOR INVESTMENT OR ANY OTHER SPECULATIVE PURPOSES. THIS TOKEN IS NOT A SECURITY.

The court also threw that one out the window.

👨‍⚖️Court: “a disclaimer cannot undo the objective economic realities of a transaction.”

Regarding Howie prongs 3 and 4 ("expectation of profit from the efforts of others"), the court concluded that by retaining 40% of all $LBC for itself, LBRY “signaled that it was motivated to work tirelessly to improve the value of its blockchain for itself and any LBC purchasers.”

Before you freak out, it's important to note that the LBRY decision is not binding on other courts, and may be limited to the specific facts and circumstances of the case.