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David Slovick, partner at Kopecky Schumacher Rosenburg and former SEC and CFTC enforcement attorney, and Professor Phil Lieberman of Vanderbilt Law School dig into one of the most overlooked—but impactful—problems in securities enforcement: the arbitrariness of civil penalties.

But we are deeply concerned about what it means for cases where the SEC has gone even further—seeking the same punishment in cases with no fraud at all. This is why ICAN is fighting to bring forward the cases—and the people—that show how damaging this practice has become.

Peterson argues that crypto regulation doesn’t need to be lighter—it needs to be smarter. With trillions in market value at stake, growing institutional buy-in, and consumer usage climbing, the U.S. faces a choice: evolve its regulatory frameworks or risk ceding leadership in a defining 21st-century financial frontier.

ICAN Challenges FINRA Delays Again: Troubling Shadow Trading Ban Uncovered

Rather than accept those limits, the SEC has spent the past several years testing their boundaries, exploiting divisions among the courts, and deepening uncertainty for individuals and small businesses. ICAN’s long-term strategy—combining direct litigation, appeals, and targeted amicus advocacy—has now brought that unresolved conflict to the Court’s doorstep

In a surprising move, the SEC has asked the U.S. Supreme Court to review a Ninth Circuit ruling that upheld the agency’s use of disgorgement, even when no investors were harmed. The case, SEC v. Sripetch, highlights a growing split among federal appellate courts: Some circuits require proof of actual victim losses to justify disgorgement, while others — including the Ninth and First Circuits — do not. In this episode, Morgan and Zaccaro are joined by Keri Axel, a former SEC

The highly controversial SolarWinds cyber fraud case collapsed entirely. The SEC was forced to surrender its legal fight against the company and CISO Tim Brown, dismissing the case with prejudice—an outcome almost never seen in SEC litigation.

In this episode of Capital Ideas, we’re joined by David Weild IV—former NASDAQ Vice Chair and widely recognized as the “father of the JOBS Act.” With decades of Wall Street experience and a fierce passion for fixing broken systems, Weild delivers a searing critique of the U.S. capital formation landscape.

Hundreds of cases initiated one, five, or even ten years ago are still working their way through the courts, often carrying with them the threat of new precedents that, if left unchallenged, could cement past expansionary efforts and pave the way for future overreach.

Dr. Jan Jindra and Dr. Adrienna Huffman, two former SEC financial economists now with the Brattle Group, dive into their new report, which analyzes the numbers behind the dramatic policy shift from the Gensler-led Commission to the new Atkins administration.

In this episode, hosts Tom Zaccaro and Nick Morgan are joined by four academic co-authors—Professors Eldar Maksymov, Phillip Lamoreaux, Nate Cannon, and Noah Myers—to discuss their new paper, "Is the PCAOB enforcement approach aligned with its mandate?". Based on in-depth interviews with 20 sanctioned auditors and 13 former PCAOB enforcement staff, they uncover a deeply flawed system perceived by outsiders and former insiders alike as "punitive" rather than protective.

Harvard Law Professor Hal Scott, Director of the Committee on Capital Markets Regulation, unpacks two of the most pressing debates shaping the future of U.S. public markets and why U.S. capital markets are shrinking—and what bold reforms might be needed to reverse the trend of companies avoiding or fleeing U.S. exchanges.

Ross Cameron, the founder of Warrior Trading, one of the most recognizable voices in the day trading world, with nearly 2 million YouTube subscribers tackles the long-standing—and long-criticized—Pattern Day Trading Rule from FINRA, which requires U.S. traders to keep $25,000 in their accounts to make more than three day trades in a five-day period, effectively encouraging overexposure and high-stakes trading—especially for those just starting out.

The notion that the SEC staff has pulled back from aggressive enforcement is widely mischaracterized, and SEC v. Barry is a clear example of what is really happening unless we step in. For more than a decade, the agency has devoted extraordinary resources to pursuing these individual salespeople (destroying their lives and careers along the way) who had no reason to believe they were doing anything wrong. Their employer had received legal advice—based on binding precedent—tha

Karen Kerrigan on Trump’s Executive Order on 401(k) Alternative Assets: A Game-Changer for Small Businesses and Innovation

Miles Jennings, Head of Policy and General Counsel at Andreessen Horowitz (a16z), breaks down a timely and impactful proposal for the SEC to provide a clear, actionable safe harbor for developers in the decentralized finance (DeFi) space.

Jennifer Schulp, director of financial regulation studies at the Cato Institute, and Chris Iacovella, CEO of the American Securities Association, break down what the court’s decision really means. Together, they discuss: How the CAT evolved from a post–Flash Crash idea into a sprawling surveillance regime Why the court struck down the SEC’s funding model as “arbitrary and capricious” The broader constitutional questions now looming over over CAT and SEC rulemaking.

Now we are helping Ray fight one more SEC injustice: a professional bar that only ends when the SEC says it does, even though his “right to apply for reentry” began seven years ago. The SEC’s process for lifting bars is full of Catch-22 requirements, procedural traps for the unwary, and other impediments that make the right to apply for reentry “illusory” in the words of one former SEC Commissioner. We are fighting to change that.

We’re pleased to bring you the latest updates in this issue, including new developments in our ongoing construction of a legal bulwark against SEC overreach—and a critical look at H.R. 3394, a bill that threatens to take a major step backward in expanding access to America’s capital markets.

Despite years of constitutional scrutiny over the SEC’s administrative proceedings—and the very clear line between the politically accountable Commission and the staff—it appears the Enforcement Division felt emboldened to go it alone.