'If It Quacks': Judge Hints Kalshi's Biz Is Sports Gambling

By Abigail Harrison

Fourth Circuit judges appeared dubious Thursday as counsel for Kalshi explained why its "sports event contracts" can only be regulated by the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission rather than state gambling laws, with one judge remarking, "If it quacks, you know, it's a duck. Right? It's gambling isn't it?"

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Crypto Bill Could Get Senate Banking Markup Next Week

By Aislinn Keely

A bill to regulate crypto markets known as the Clarity Act could be marked up by the Senate Banking Committee as soon as next week, but lawmakers are still finalizing key provisions that could make or break the voting process, policymakers told attendees of the crypto conference Consensus.

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Rakoff Expands On Coinbase Securities Suit Dismissal Ruling

By Katryna Perera

U.S. District Judge Jed Rakoff on Thursday explained his ruling last month dismissing securities fraud claims against cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase, brought by investors in a digital asset associated with the now-failed Terraform blockchain ecosystem, stating in a new opinion that the suit fails to plead falsity, among other things.

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Kalshi Nets $1B Fundraise, Reaches $22B Valuation

By Isaac Monterose

Kalshi, guided by Cooley LLP, announced Thursday that it raised $1 billion for its Series F fundraising round as it reached a $22 billion valuation.

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2 Firms Guide Payward's $600M Crypto Payments Co. Deal

By Sydney Price

Jones Day and Latham & Watkins LLP are steering a deal under which Payward Inc., parent company of crypto exchange Kraken, will acquire financial technology company Reap Technologies Holdings Ltd. in an up to $600 million payable cash-and-stock deal, the parties announced Thursday.

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Dems Press Big 3 Bureaus On BNPL Credit Reporting Gaps

By Sarah Jarvis

Democratic U.S. senators are calling on the "Big Three" credit bureaus to explain how they're adapting their consumer credit scoring and reporting to account for buy-now-pay-later products, citing concerns about inconsistent tracking of a fast-growing source of everyday purchase financing.

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Warren Asks Meta About Reported Stablecoin Payment Plans

By Sarah Jarvis

The top Democrat on the Senate Banking Committee has called on Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg to provide more information about the company's reported plans to introduce stablecoin-based payment features for its users, accusing it of a "deeply troubling" lack of transparency about the project.

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Wyden Probes Wall Street Firms For Tariff Refund Stakes' Info

By Dylan Moroses

The top Democratic lawmakers on the Senate Finance Committee sent letters to major Wall Street firms Thursday about their activity in buying the rights to importers' tariff refund interests at a discount following the U.S. Supreme Court's decision in February striking down President Donald Trump's emergency tariff regime. 

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Ex-Beneficient CEO Convicted In $150M Shell Co. Fraud

By Bonnie Eslinger

The former CEO of Texas financial services firm Beneficient was convicted by a Manhattan federal jury on Thursday of securities fraud and other charges connected with a scheme to fraudulently loot more than $150 million from now-defunct GWG Holdings, a publicly traded company for which he served as chairman.

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Sanctions Sought For Trader Accused Of Using Frozen Funds

By Carolina Bolado

The receiver overseeing The Traders Domain, a brokerage accused by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission of orchestrating a $283 million scheme, pushed Thursday for sanctions against a commodities trader accused of funding a lavish lifestyle with $3.4 million from an entity that is supposed to be part of the receivership.

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Church Exec Seeks Crowdfunding OK In Forced-Labor Case

By Melanie Dorsey

An executive of a religious organization accused in a sprawling forced-labor and money laundering prosecution has asked a Michigan federal judge to loosen her bond conditions so she can raise money online while awaiting trial, saying pretrial officers can adequately monitor donations and prevent church funds from being funneled to her. 

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Firm Sanctioned For Misleading Merchants In Swipe-Fee Case

By Hailey Konnath

A New York federal judge on Thursday sanctioned personal injury firm Betz & Baril PLC and its referral partner ClickFunds for misleading would-be class members in long-running antitrust litigation against Visa and Mastercard, ordering the firm and ClickFunds to notify clients about the misinformation.

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Chip Co. Must Face Suit Over Apple Biz Loss, Judge Says

By Sydney Price

Semiconductor manufacturer Skyworks must face a proposed shareholder class action accusing it of downplaying the financial impact of its diminished business relationship with Apple, with the court finding the investors plausibly show the company concealed relevant information before revealing last year it would pull back its revenue expectations.

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Apis Partners Clinches $1.23B Tech-Focused Funds

By Jade Martinez-Pogue

British private equity firm Apis Partners Group Ltd., led by Clifford Chance LLP, on Thursday revealed that it closed its latest funds with a combined $1.23 billion of commitments, which will be used to invest in technology-enabled businesses in the financial infrastructure and services sectors.

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FinCEN Rule Could Reshape AML Priorities Across Finance

Financial institutions should prepare for a proposed Financial Crimes Enforcement Network rule that would heighten scrutiny of anti-money laundering requirements and encourage responsible use of technology, potentially reorienting compliance, governance decisions and enforcement exposure for organizations across the financial sector, not just banks, say attorneys at Pillsbury.

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Surveying The CFTC Campaign To Control Prediction Markets

The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission is simultaneously asserting exclusive jurisdiction over prediction markets and signaling aggressive enforcement within them, a combination that will reshape the regulatory landscape for event contract platforms — pending the outcome of several court cases throughout the country and a likely circuit split, say attorneys at Paul Weiss.

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Series

Speed Jigsaw Puzzling Makes Me A Better Lawyer

My passion for speed puzzling — I can complete a 500-piece jigsaw puzzle in under 50 minutes — has sharpened my legal skills in more ways than one, with both disciplines requiring patience, precision and the ability to keep the bigger picture in mind while working through the details, says Tazia Statucki at Proskauer.

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Womble Bond Atty's 'Draconian' Penalty Gives 4th Circ. Pause

By Hayley Fowler

A Fourth Circuit panel seemed to struggle Thursday with what one judge described as a "draconian" contempt order against a Womble Bond Dickinson partner, with the panel nudging counsel for both sides toward a simpler solution that wouldn't force the court's involvement.

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Ex-Jackson Walker Atty Seeks Breakup With Romance Suit

By Adrian Cruz

A former Jackson Walker LLP partner said Thursday that she should be dropped from a suit accusing her, a former Texas bankruptcy judge she had a secret relationship with and multiple law firms of fomenting "mass corruption" in Houston's bankruptcy court.

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SEC Fines Ex-BigLaw Atty For Insider Trades On Apollo Deal

By Hailey Konnath

A former Buchalter PC shareholder has agreed to pay $71,625 to settle the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's allegations he purchased stock ahead of Apollo Global Management's $1.5 billion acquisition of Bridge Investment, which the commission said he was representing in an unrelated matter at the time.

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Comey Retains NC Criminal Defense Pro For 2nd Indictment

By Rachel Rippetoe

Former FBI Director James Comey has added a North Carolina white collar defense pro to his legal team fighting an indictment by the Trump administration over a social media post last year that prosecutors characterized as a threat of violence against the president, according to a court filing on Thursday.

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Judiciary Panel Punts AI Rules, Mulls Judges' Survey Results

By Jeff Overley

Buckle up: Efforts to modernize evidentiary rules amid artificial intelligence fears are getting bumpy, as judiciary advisers Thursday agreed to dramatically delay action while digesting an AI survey of nearly 1,000 judges and organizing a symposium of litigators and tech pros.

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Toss Of Ex-Shkreli Atty's Deal May Be Error, 2nd Circ. Hints

By Pete Brush

A Second Circuit judge hinted Thursday that a trial judge may have erred in rejecting a retirement-fund garnishment deal that would have protected Martin Shkreli's convicted former lawyer from a potential $1 million "punitive tax event."

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Analysis

How Litigation Funding Disclosure Could Affect ITC Cases

By Ryan Davis

The U.S. International Trade Commission's proposed rule to require disclosure of litigation funding in intellectual property cases could bring more transparency to disputes and promote settlements, but it could also discourage some suits if it's not carefully tailored, attorneys say.

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NC Judge Tosses Atty's Suit Against State Bar Panel Member

By Andrea Keckley

A North Carolina federal judge dismissed a suspended attorney's lawsuit against a State Bar Disciplinary Hearing Commission member he accused of bias and due process violations, finding Thursday that the defendant is entitled to absolute quasi-judicial immunity.

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Analysis

Why Compliance Is Getting Complicated In Latin America

By Phillip Bantz

White collar compliance is getting trickier for companies that do business in Latin America, according to experts, who say they are seeing big shifts in the region connected to cartel crackdowns and efforts to strengthen corporate regulations, including relatively recent pushes for voluntary self-disclosure.

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