Sports betting app Sleeper Markets LLC has accused the Commodity Futures Trading Commission of an "illegal delay" of its bid to become a registered futures commission merchant, calling on the agency's internal watchdog to investigate the status of its application and the "broader potential illegality this incident strongly suggests may be occurring."
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TOP NEWS

Sports Betting Co. Accuses CFTC Of Blocking Its Registration

By Aislinn Keely

Sports betting app Sleeper Markets LLC has accused the Commodity Futures Trading Commission of an "illegal delay" of its bid to become a registered futures commission merchant, calling on the agency's internal watchdog to investigate the status of its application and the "broader potential illegality this incident strongly suggests may be occurring."

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Robinhood Seeks Legal Shield After Mass. AG Sues KalshiEX

By Julie Manganis

Days after Massachusetts' attorney general sued so-called prediction market operator KalshiEX, accusing it of running an unlicensed sports betting platform, Robinhood, which provides access to the Kalshi system on its own platform, urged a federal judge Monday to grant it protection from similar claims.

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Ex-Voyager CEO To Pay $750K To Resolve CFTC Action

By Aislinn Keely

A New York federal judge signed off on a deal Monday that will have the former CEO of Voyager Digital pay $750,000 to resolve the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission's claims he misled investors about the safety of the crypto lender prior to its collapse.

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Brief

SEC, Gemini Strike Deal Over Unregistered Crypto Trading

By Lauren Berg

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has reached a settlement in principle to resolve its unregistered securities trading claims against cryptocurrency exchange Gemini Trust Co., the parties told a New York federal judge Monday.

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POLICY & REGULATION

DC Circ. Says Fed's Cook Can Keep Job For Now

By Jon Hill

A D.C. Circuit panel said Monday that Federal Reserve Gov. Lisa Cook can remain on the central bank's board while challenging President Donald Trump's effort to fire her, clearing the way for her to participate in a key interest-rate policy vote this week.

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Senate Confirms Top Trump Economist To Federal Reserve

By Jon Hill

The U.S. Senate narrowly confirmed top White House economist Stephen Miran to the Federal Reserve Board on Monday, giving President Donald Trump a close ally at the central bank as he pushes for greater control over the traditionally independent body.

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ENFORCEMENT & COMPLIANCE

Tom Goldstein Can't Pay Attys With 'Tainted Funds,' DOJ Says

By Jeff Overley

Indicted appellate luminary Tom Goldstein cannot cover his legal bills by selling his multimillion-dollar home, because it's a "tainted asset" worth "far less" than his attorney fees, the U.S. Department of Justice said in a blistering court filing, adding that Goldstein may flee the country as his reputation and marriage collapse.

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DEALS

Saudi Fintech Hala Secures $157M Of Series B Funding

By Jade Martinez-Pogue

Saudi Arabia's Hala on Monday revealed that it has wrapped a $157 million Series B funding round, a feat that the fintech provider called "one of the largest" fintech Series B investment rounds in the Middle East.

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PEOPLE

Cooley Welcomes New York SEC Enforcement Leader Home

By Tracey Read

An associate regional director for the New York office of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has rejoined Cooley LLP as a core member of the firm's SEC enforcement practice.

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ING Atty To Lead Cahill Gordon's New Derivatives Practice

By Michele Gorman

After more than two decades working in-house, a seasoned derivatives lawyer has transitioned back into private practice as a bank regulatory partner at Cahill Gordon & Reindel LLP, the law firm said Monday.

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Ex-Coinbase CLO, OCC Acting Chief Joins BitGo's Board

By Emilie Ruscoe

A former chief legal officer of digital asset exchange Coinbase Inc. and onetime acting head of the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency has joined the board of directors of cryptocurrency custodian BitGo Inc.

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EXPERT ANALYSIS

Stablecoin Committee Promotes Uniformity But May Fall Short

While the Genius Act's establishment of the Stablecoin Certification Review Committee will provide private stablecoin issuers with more consistent standards, fragmentation remains due to the disparate regulatory approaches taken by different states, say attorneys at Morgan Lewis.

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Senate Bill Could Overhaul Digital Asset Market Structure

The Senate Banking Committee's draft Responsible Financial Innovation Act would not only clarify the roles and responsibilities of financial institutions engaging in digital asset activities but also impose new compliance regimes, reporting requirements and risk management protocols, say attorneys at Troutman.

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LEGAL INDUSTRY

Ex-Epstein Prosecutor Maurene Comey Sues DOJ Over Firing

By Emily Sawicki

Maurene Comey, a former Manhattan federal prosecutor who brought high-profile criminal cases against the likes of Jeffrey Epstein and Sean "Diddy" Combs, sued the Justice Department on Monday alleging her abrupt July firing came "solely or substantially" because she is the daughter of former FBI Director James Comey, a Trump critic.

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Feds Urge 3rd Circ. To Restore NJ US Atty's Authority

By Emily Sawicki

The federal government has urged the Third Circuit to reverse a district court ruling disqualifying acting U.S. Attorney Alina Habba from prosecuting two criminal cases in New Jersey after the clock allegedly ran out on her interim term, arguing that her appointment is valid and that the court erred in its interpretation of the statute.

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Calif. Court Issues AI Hallucinations 'Warning,' Sanctions Atty

By Y. Peter Kang

A California appeals court has issued a published opinion "as a warning" to Golden State attorneys to personally review case law quotations made by generative artificial intelligence, and imposed a $10,000 monetary sanction on plaintiff's counsel in an otherwise straightforward appeal in an employment case.

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Fired DOJ Deputy Says Lobbyists 'Playing Dangerous Game'

By Bryan Koenig

A former top Justice Department Antitrust Division deputy, allegedly fired for opposing the "pay-to-play" settlement clearing Hewlett Packard Enterprise's $14 billion purchase of Juniper Networks, had a warning Monday for the lobbyists he said made the deal possible: there are only so many times they can go over division leadership.

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Stradley Ronon Wants Keesal Young's Poaching Suit Tossed

By Emma Cueto

Stradley Ronon Stevens & Young LLP has moved to nix a suit by California firm Keesal Young & Logan, saying its recruitment of 10 former Keesal Young attorneys was entirely above board and that the noncompete clauses in Keesal Young's partnership agreement were not allowed under California law.

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FTC Commissioner Says Antitrust Moment Has Been Building

By Matthew Perlman

Federal Trade Commissioner Mark R. Meador said Monday the current interest in antitrust enforcement has been building for the last several decades as corporate boardrooms increasingly take control over the economic lives of Americans.

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3 Law Firms Want Ford's 'Thermonuclear' RICO Suit Snuffed

By Linda Chiem

Knight Law Group LLP, the Altman Law Group and Wirtz Law APC have urged a California federal judge to dismantle Ford Motor Co.'s racketeering lawsuit accusing the firms of overzealous billing and conspiring to dupe unsuspecting clients in product liability and personal injury cases against automakers.

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Software Co. Defends Contempt Order Against Womble Atty

By Abigail Harrison

A North Carolina federal court fairly held Womble Bond Dickinson partner Pressly Millen in contempt after he and his client made misrepresentations in a "parallel" trademark dispute abroad, U.S.-based software company Dmarcian Inc. told the Fourth Circuit on Friday.

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DC Circ. Won't Stay District Court's Order On Quick Removals

By Jared Foretek

The D.C. Circuit declined to stay a district judge's suspension of specific U.S. Department of Homeland Security actions implementing expedited removal of noncitizen parolees Friday, saying that the government faces no irreparable harm from the order because it has separate, pre-existing regulatory authority to quickly deport parolees.

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W.Va., Idaho Tell Justices Trans Sports Bans Based On Science

By Elaine Briseño

West Virginia and Idaho urged the U.S. Supreme Court to rule that courts should not use subjective preferences when analyzing whether laws that ban transgender athletes from competing on sports teams different from their sex assigned at birth violate the Constitution.

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Catching Up With Delaware's Chancery Court

By Katryna Perera and Jeff Montgomery

Delaware's governor weighed in on a challenge to recently approved state legislation that bars damages or "equitable" relief for some controlling stockholder or going-private deals. Meanwhile, Moelis told the Delaware Supreme Court that the struck-down stockholder agreement that triggered that legislation was valid. Additionally, one of two newly funded magistrates' posts in the Chancery Court has been filled.

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COMPANIES IN TODAY'S NEWS

Albertsons Cos. Inc.

Alliance Defending Freedom

American Bankers Association

American Civil Liberties Union

American Economic Liberties Project

Binance.US

BitGo Inc.

Bitfury Group Ltd.

Coinbase Global Inc.

Federal National Mortgage Association

Ford Motor Co.

Gemini Trust Co. LLC

George Washington University

Google LLC

Hewlett Packard Enterprise Co.

Jana Partners LLC

Juniper Networks Inc.

LinkedIn Corp.

Live Nation Entertainment Inc.

Meridian Capital Group LLC

Moelis & Co.

National Futures Association

New York City Bar Association

New York University

OneWest Bank Group LLC

Portigon AG

Securities Investor Protection Corp.

The Goldman Sachs Group Inc.

The Kroger Co.

The Markets LLC

Zendesk Inc.

LAW FIRMS IN TODAY'S NEWS

Atkinson Andelson

Baughman Kroup

Blank Rome

Brooks Pierce

Cahill Gordon

Clarick Gueron

Cooley LLP

Cozen O'Connor

Cravath Swaine

Day Pitney

Eckert Seamans

Ellis & Winters

Fox Rothschild

Goldstein & Russell

Hecker Fink

Hodel Wilks

Katten Muchin

Keesal Young

Klinedinst PC

Knight Law Group

Koskoff Koskoff

Krovatin Nau

Lowell & Associates

Milbank LLP

Morgan Lewis

Munger Tolles

O'Melveny & Myers

Pillsbury Winthrop

Stradley Ronon

Troutman

Williams & Connolly

Wirtz Law APC

Womble Bond

GOVERNMENT AGENCIES IN TODAY'S NEWS

Commodity Futures Trading Commission

Delaware Court of Chancery

Executive Office for U.S. Attorneys

Federal Bureau of Investigation

Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.

Federal Reserve System

Federal Trade Commission

Financial Stability Oversight Council

Idaho Attorney General's Office

Office of the Comptroller of the Currency

U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Maryland

U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Massachusetts

U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of New Jersey

U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York

U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit

U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit

U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit

U.S. Department of Homeland Security

U.S. Department of Justice

U.S. Department of the Treasury

U.S. District Court for the Central District of California

U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia

U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland

U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts

U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey

U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia

U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania

U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York

U.S. House of Representatives

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement

U.S. Office of Personnel Management

U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission

U.S. Senate

U.S. Senate Select Committee on Intelligence

U.S. Supreme Court

West Virginia Attorney General's Office