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Articles by Preston Brewer
ANALYSIS: Digital Assets Developments | Nov. 6–12, 2026
The Trump administration this week furthered its digital assets-friendly agenda by canceling a proposed rule and approving options trust shares and another digital asset firm’s bank charter. However, securities law issues remain unresolved, and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency’s downsizing during an explosion in new bank charters may create risks through enforcement gaps. The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network on Nov.
ANALYSIS: Digital Assets Developments | Nov. 6–12, 2026
The Trump administration this week furthered its digital assets-friendly agenda by canceling a proposed rule and approving options trust shares and another digital asset firm’s bank charter. However, securities law issues remain unresolved, and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency’s downsizing during an explosion in new bank charters may create risks through enforcement gaps. The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network on Nov.
ANALYSIS: Digital Assets Developments | Oct. 23–30, 2026
The Binance heist, where hackers made off with a record-breaking $6.3 billion in crypto assets dominated headlines Friday morning. On Thursday, blockchain-based prediction market Polymarket announced that hackers made off with $2.7 million of users’ funds. Notably, both Binance and Polymarket‘s US platforms were unaffected, as they run on separate systems, which have to comply with CFTC information security rules for designated contract markets.
ANALYSIS: Digital Assets Developments | Oct. 23–30, 2026
The Binance heist, where hackers made off with a record-breaking $6.3 billion in crypto assets dominated headlines Friday morning. On Thursday, blockchain-based prediction market Polymarket announced that hackers made off with $2.7 million of users’ funds. Notably, both Binance and Polymarket‘s US platforms were unaffected, as they run on separate systems, which have to comply with CFTC information security rules for designated contract markets.
ANALYSIS: Digital Assets Developments | Oct. 16–22 Original
The major digital asset development this week was that the OCC issued the final rule establishing the regulations that implement the GENIUS Act. Previous SEC and CFTC proposed regulations, orders, and guidance for brokers and exchanges depended on the issuance of GENIUS Act-compliant stablecoins, and now the rush to comply has begun for issuers despite lingering yield questions. The final rule sets two important dates for issuers and dealers in stablecoins: • Jan. 18, 2027.
ANALYSIS: Digital Assets Developments | Oct. 9–15, 2026
This week, state enforcement led developments, along with successful test transactions of tokenized Treasuries. The state actions emphasize the importance of state compliance — regardless of a more permissive federal regulatory environment — and the tokenization efforts point to the potential future of trading. Thirty-four states and territories are executing individual final orders against digital asset kiosk firm Coinme, Inc. pursuant to a multistate settlement signed late last week.
ANALYSIS: Digital Assets Developments | Oct. 9–15, 2026
This week, state enforcement led developments, along with successful test transactions of tokenized Treasuries. The state actions emphasize the importance of state compliance — regardless of a more permissive federal regulatory environment — and the tokenization efforts point to the potential future of trading. Thirty-four states and territories are executing individual final orders against digital asset kiosk firm Coinme, Inc. pursuant to a multistate settlement signed late last week.
ANALYSIS: Digital Assets Developments
Following the CLARITY Act's failure, federal agencies have proceeded with piecemeal digital assets regulation. The OCC's charter program already faces a court challenge, and the next phases for agencies will play out in comment letters and courtrooms.
ANALYSIS: Digital Assets Developments | Oct. 2–9, 2026
This week, federal agencies filled gaps in digital asset regulation, but with piecemeal solutions rather than a complete framework. The OCC’s charter program already faces a court challenge, and the next phase of agencies’ actions will play out in comment letters and courtrooms. Until legislation arrives, any progress built through rulemaking can be narrowed by a court or reversed by the next administration.
IPO Market Takes a Breather After SpaceX Spike
Q3 IPOs fell compared to the SpaceX-boosted Q2 results but remain elevated. IPOs notched 62 deals in Q3, raising $40.2 billion for the quarter.
ANALYSIS: IPO Market Takes a Breather After SpaceX Spike
Heady expectations for a sustained IPO bull market driven by huge AI company debuts are increasingly giving way to a litany of economic, market, and geopolitical concerns. Before these worries became ascendant, SK Hynix, a globally dominant South Korean high-bandwidth memory chipmaker, necessary for AI accelerators, made a big splash in Q3 2026 with the largest non-US company first time share sale on a US exchange. This $26.5 billion listing helped the quarter maintain momentum.
ANALYSIS: Digital Assets Legal Outlook | Sept. 25–Oct. 1, 2026
This week, we saw distinctions emerging between state and federal digital asset treatment — and not just in California’s ban on government officials’ memecoins, a provision that controversially wasn’t in the CLARITY Act. As digital assets continue to become more mainstream, practitioners need to watch for jurisdiction-specific issues that will help or harm their clients as well as state laws that could provide a template nationwide. On Oct.
ANALYSIS: Digital Assets Legal Outlook
Where you are, where you're licensed, and who seized the crypto stolen from you all matter in this week's roundup of key digital asset legal issues.
ANALYSIS: Digital Assets Legal Outlook | Sept. 18–24, 2026
The largest developments in digital assets over the last week hinged on one event: the failure of the CLARITY Act in the Senate. The act would have established an industry-wide framework on digital assets, giving the majority of digital asset regulation to the CFTC. After the failed committee vote, the SEC and CFTC issued proposals to provide more certainty on the status of digital assets; however, it’s unclear whether these actions will overcome the opposition that sank CLARITY.
ANALYSIS: Relationship, Not Crypto Token, Informs Howey Test
When are crypto assets securities? The SEC’s proposed Regulation Crypto Assets, which builds upon an SEC/CFTC Joint Interpretation, seeks to address this fundamental issue — one that has dogged crypto assets since their creation. The proposal would add some clarity but also raises questions when applied to the trading of fungible assets.
ANALYSIS: SpaceX’s IPO Soars, Anthropic and OpenAI to Follow Original
The year of the mega AI IPO has arrived. SpaceX rocketed to become the sixth largest company via an IPO that was twice as large as the next one on record. On the back of this monster offering, the IPO market notched its biggest haul since the peak of the pandemic bull market. Q2 amassed over $131 billion on just 108 deals versus the all-time quarterly IPO benchmark of $150 billion raised on 417 deals, reached in Q1 2021.
ANALYSIS: SpaceX—Breaking Records, Rewriting the Rules
SpaceX, a company with Mars-size ambitions, is rewriting the rules with the largest IPO ever. Beyond sheer size, its registration statement includes an unprecedented mandatory arbitration clause that could impact shareholders significantly because it negates their ability to file class actions against a company for false or misleading statements in their offering documents.
ANALYSIS: SpaceX—Breaking Records, Rewriting the Rules
SpaceX, a company with Mars-size ambitions, is rewriting the rules with the largest IPO ever. Beyond sheer size, its registration statement includes an unprecedented mandatory arbitration clause that could impact shareholders significantly because it negates their ability to file class actions against a company for false or misleading statements in their offering documents.
ANALYSIS: SPACs Rise to Majority of IPOs in Q1 Original
SPAC IPOs are now exceeding their all-time highest IPO market share, grabbing a larger piece of the market than even during the pandemic boom market. The largest SPAC initial public offering in the most recent quarter came from Mountain Lake Acquisition Corp II. The offering raised $360 million for a future deal.
ANALYSIS: Q1 IPOs ‘Forge’ Ahead as OpenAI, SpaceX Look to Debuts Original
The US IPO market raised almost twice as much for companies in Q1 2026 as Q1 2025. However, the outlook has darkened following recent domestic and world events, with uncertainty and unease continuing to grow. The IPO market has been disrupted by oil shocks from the 2026 US-Israeli war with Iran, which began Feb. 28.
ANALYSIS: IPOs Built Momentum in 2025 Despite Federal Shutdown
IPOs continued apace in 2025, with their count increasing 49.2% over 2024 after growing 48% in 2024 compared to the prior year. Many expect the new year to be even better for new offerings, especially if big names like SpaceX, OpenAI, and Anthropic go public. The US IPO market faced plenty of challenges in 2025, including geopolitical tumult, persistent inflation, tariffs, and a six-week federal government shutdown which largely put the kibosh on companies going public.
ANALYSIS: IPOs Built Momentum in 2025 Despite Federal Shutdown
IPOs continued apace in 2025, with their count increasing 49.2% over 2024 after growing 48% in 2024 compared to the prior year. Many expect the new year to be even better for new offerings, especially if big names like SpaceX, OpenAI, and Anthropic go public. The US IPO market faced plenty of challenges in 2025, including geopolitical tumult, persistent inflation, tariffs, and a six-week federal government shutdown which largely put the kibosh on companies going public.
ANALYSIS: IPOs’ Continued Ascent Grounded by Federal Shutdown
An IPO market that in September enjoyed its busiest week since 2021 and was continuing its upward trend has ground to a virtual halt as SEC staff aren’t available to review filings during the federal government shutdown which began Oct. 1. A prolonged shutdown could have a significant negative impact on companies in the IPO pipeline, and when the government does reopen, the market may experience unusually high volatility owing to a slew of delayed government economic data being released.
ANALYSIS: IPOs’ Continued Ascent Grounded by Federal Shutdown
An IPO market that in September enjoyed its busiest week since 2021 and was continuing its upward trend has ground to a virtual halt as SEC staff aren’t available to review filings during the federal government shutdown which began Oct. 1. A prolonged shutdown could have a significant negative impact on companies in the IPO pipeline, and when the government does reopen, the market may experience unusually high volatility owing to a slew of delayed government economic data being released.
ANALYSIS: AI Fuels Silicon Valley 150’s IPO Newcomers
Four initial public offerings made 2025’s Fenwick–Bloomberg Law SV 150 List of largest Silicon Valley public technology and life sciences companies. Although that represents only a small percentage (less than 2.7%) of the list, it is nonetheless twice the tally recorded for each of the prior two years’ lists.
ANALYSIS: The SEC Rebalances Its Rules; SPACs Make a Comeback Original
SEC Chair Paul Atkins, sworn in April 22, is swiftly leaving his mark on the agency. Many significant rules proposed by his predecessor, Gary Gensler, are now set to be withdrawn, and enforcement actions against crypto firms have generally been settled or abandoned. Even SPACs, presumed dead by many in 2022, are on the rise again. In many ways, the changes that attorneys predicted would occur are already here.
ANALYSIS: Lawyers See Regulatory Tumult, Lighter-Touch SEC Original
Attorneys expect a more hands-off approach by the SEC under the Trump administration, according to a recent Bloomberg Law survey. Furthermore, the administration’s regulatory shift, courtesy of President Donald Trump’s executive orders, has made practicing before government regulators less predictable and more challenging, increasing attorney workloads, the survey respondents said.
ANALYSIS: SEC’s Goals Under Atkins: Innovation, Not Regulation Original
The message dispatched by SEC Chair Paul Atkins at the recent SEC Speaks in 2025 conference in Washington, DC, was that, under his leadership, the agency will return to innovating and reducing regulations. This is all part of a coordinated push for crypto by the new administration, with stablecoins representing the first major step. A stablecoins-related bill that’s advancing in the US Senate is part of the effort to establish new US regulations addressing crypto.
ANALYSIS: Tariffs Put IPOs on Hold; Atkins Era Begins at SEC Original
Tariffs have blown a hole in the IPO market, upending expectations for this year. Market watchers had expected 2025 to bring increased IPO activity with some big IPOs listing on the exchanges, but a trade war has spooked investors, leading to volatility—such as happened with Venture Global’s IPO—that’s suppressing the pipeline of companies going public.
ANALYSIS: Trump Sets Pro-Crypto Course While SEC Awaits Atkins
It’s a new year—and there are new resolutions from a new administration. The SEC’s upcoming “Atkins diet” looks heavy on the crypto, light on enforcement, and even lighter on ESG. Separately, White House crypto czar David Sacks is already pushing ahead to get stablecoin legislation drafted and looking into the federal government amassing a Bitcoin reserve. The SEC will need to be involved in those efforts.
ANALYSIS: Trump Sets Pro-Crypto Course While SEC Awaits Atkins
It’s a new year—and there are new resolutions from a new administration. The SEC’s upcoming “Atkins diet” looks heavy on the crypto, light on enforcement, and even lighter on ESG. Separately, White House crypto czar David Sacks is already pushing ahead to get stablecoin legislation drafted and looking into the federal government amassing a Bitcoin reserve. The SEC will need to be involved in those efforts.
ANALYSIS: 2024 IPO Market Was Just Like 2022-2023, Only More So Original
The most recent quarter and year in the IPO market maintained trends that have been prevalent since early 2022. Initial public offerings continued increasing in both quantity and total volume, but those figures remain substantially lower than during the pandemic boom years of 2020–2021. Lineage Inc.’s IPO in July topped all others in 2024. The global temperature-controlled warehouse REIT raised over $5.1 billion, by far the most for any IPO last year.
ANALYSIS: 2024 IPO Market Was Just Like 2022-2023, Only More So
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ANALYSIS: After 20 Years, PIPEs Continue Bridging Capital Needs
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ANALYSIS: After 20 Years, PIPEs Continue Bridging Capital Needs
PIPEs, or private investment in public equity, are a means of financing that has adapted to changes in regulation and market conditions, remaining a vital tool for raising capital for some public companies. PIPE financing has ebbed and flowed in popularity since its inception 20 years ago but continues to be used because it fills a need.
ANALYSIS: Financing Crunch Pushes Biotech to Alternative Funding Original
Biotechnology companies in need of cash have struggled to find financing in recent years—pushing many toward PIPE (Private Investment in Public Equity) deals and follow-on offerings. Yet only one of these options may be viable in the long-term. When the market for special purpose acquisition company IPOs crashed in late 2021 after leading IPO market volume to unprecedented heights, biotech IPOs fell hard, too. Annual deal count plummeted nearly 89% from 2021 to 2023.
ANALYSIS: Lineage Cold Storage Warms Up IPO Market
The US IPO market continues its volatile ways, not yet finding a clear trajectory. However, the ingredients for sustained market improvement appear to be slowly coming together, the most important being declining interest rates—and with it, a greater risk appetite from investors.
ANALYSIS: Public Benefit Funds Offer Altruistic Investing Option
Delaware has created a novel type of investment fund that, if shown to be successful, may herald a new trend in impact investing. These “public benefit” funds are statutorily designed to prioritize both societal benefit and financial gain. They serve as a counterpart to the better-known benefit corporation, which also combines a for-profit entity with an intention to make a positive impact in the world.
ANALYSIS: Viking Helps IPO Market Find More Favorable Winds
The IPO market improved in the first half of this year, raising more than $21 billion with some big-name companies like Viking Holdings Ltd. finding favorable winds for their offerings. Overall, however, IPO market conditions remain choppy, leading some companies like ticketing platform Stubhub Inc. and aluminum company Novelis Inc. to delay their IPOs. Viking topped all IPOs in Q2 with its nearly $1.8 billion dollar offering—the only IPO larger than $1 billion for the quarter.
ANALYSIS: SPACs’ Boom, Gloom, and Doom After New SEC Rules
Are SPACs doomed? The SPAC industry enjoyed an unprecedented pandemic boom, followed by widespread gloom over rising interest rates and the prospect of restrictive new SEC rules. Now that gloomy feeling may be giving way to a sensation more akin to doom following the Securities and Exchange Commission’s adoption of expansive new SPAC (more broadly, blank check company) rules last week that threaten SPACs’ continued relevance. Those new rules should become effective in June 2024.
ANALYSIS: SPACs’ Boom, Gloom, and Doom After New SEC Rules
Are SPACs doomed? The SPAC industry enjoyed an unprecedented pandemic boom, followed by widespread gloom over rising interest rates and the prospect of restrictive new SEC rules. Now that gloomy feeling may be giving way to a sensation more akin to doom following the Securities and Exchange Commission’s adoption of expansive new SPAC (more broadly, blank check company) rules last week that threaten SPACs’ continued relevance. Those new rules should become effective in June 2024.
ANALYSIS: SPACs’ Boom, Gloom, and Doom After New SEC Rules
Are SPACs doomed? The SPAC industry enjoyed an unprecedented pandemic boom, followed by widespread gloom over rising interest rates and the prospect of restrictive new SEC rules. Now that gloomy feeling may be giving way to a sensation more akin to doom following the Securities and Exchange Commission’s adoption of expansive new SPAC (more broadly, blank check company) rules last week that threaten SPACs’ continued relevance. Those new rules should become effective in June 2024.
ANALYSIS: After Touch-and-Go 2023, IPOs Step Carefully Into 2024
The 2023 IPO market was notable, not simply as another down year, but also for its tentative improvements followed by a slower stream of initial offerings.
ANALYSIS: Do NFTs Ape Securities-or Preview Easier Disclosures?
Are NFTs (non-fungible tokens like the popular Bored Ape artwork) securities? The Securities and Exchange Commission’s first enforcement decision against an NFT would have you believe they are. But in the analog world, digital assets such as NFTs don’t fit cleanly into existing boxes for what is and what isn’t a security regulated by the SEC.
ANALYSIS: Q3 Roundup: IPOs Keen for (Maple)bear Market to End
The ongoing IPO bear market has swallowed SPACs whole, but the recently completed quarter is generating cautious optimism that the bears plaguing traditional IPOs may finally be getting ready to hibernate. Some big names decided to go public in the third quarter, not the least being Arm Holdings, the biggest IPO of the year so far at over $5.2 billion.
ANALYSIS: Proposed SEC AI Rules Could Deter Finance From Tech
The SEC recently proposed new rules that would change the way broker-dealers and investment advisers manage conflicts of interest associated with their use of predictive analytics, including artificial intelligence (AI). The proposed rules prescriptively describe the process these financial firms must take for evaluating, testing, and documenting a technology covered by the rules, as defined in the proposal. Many technologies would be included, from AI used to forecast models to spreadsheets.
ANALYSIS: AI, SV 150 Write Themselves Into SEC Risk Factors
The era of the intelligent machine, or artificial intelligence, abruptly arrived late last year with the launch of ChatGPT—and public companies are wrestling with what material risks AI poses and how to disclose those risks in their SEC filings. What could go wrong when AI commits blunders like making up facts, inventing legal precedent, or amplifying bias? The SEC likely expects companies to disclose such risks.
ANALYSIS: IPO Winter Shows Early Signs of Thaw
The IPO winter hasn’t ended, but signs of a spring thaw are upon us. Although capital-raising during the second quarter continued a now 18-month run of disappointing results, the success of several recent offerings is giving investors and would-be public companies some much-needed reason for optimism. Long-Awaited Green Shoots Seen in an Icy Market A strong debut by fast-casual Washington, D.C.-based restaurant chain Cava Group Inc.
ANALYSIS: In-House, Law Firms Diverge on SEC Rulemaking Impacts
In a recent Bloomberg Law survey, concerns about the additional burden of cybersecurity and privacy rulemaking far and away led the list of impacts for in-house attorneys but ranked lower for law firm lawyers, who see disclosure obligations affecting their practices the most.
ANALYSIS: IPOs Slim Down to Pre-Y2K Size During Market Winter
Initial public offerings remain huddled amid their winter of discontent, shrinking in size as they endure turbulent market conditions and frigid economic headwinds made colder by a startups-centered banking crisis almost no one saw coming (but perhaps more should have).
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