Sabal Law Week in Review: November 28–December 4, 2025
Catch up on this week’s key legal and regulatory updates impacting startups, funds, and emerging tech. Sabal Law breaks it down:
Traditional Finance
Private Credit Scrutiny. The SEC highlights private credit and alternative investments as 2026 examination priorities, focusing on disclosures, retail products, complex structures, and potential favoritism in allocations.
Private Credit Valuations. DOJ's top prosecutor warns private market managers against subjective or inflated asset valuations that could improperly boost fees at investors' expense.
Adviser Compliance Failures. The SEC censures Rudney Associates and its principal for longstanding violations, including failing to conduct annual compliance reviews, maintain accurate brochures, obtain written client agreements, and keep brochure delivery records.
Reg. S-P & S-ID Violations. The SEC finds M Holdings violated Regulation S-P and S-ID by lacking reasonably designed policies to protect customer information and prevent identity theft, resulting in multiple email takeovers exposing PII.
Digital Assets
Digital Asset Treasury Index Exclusion. MSCI extends its consultation on excluding companies with 50% or more assets in digital assets from global indexes due to similarities with investment funds.
CFTC Innovation Council. Acting CFTC Chairman Pham seeks CEO nominations by December 8 for an Innovation Council to guide regulations on crypto, prediction markets, perpetuals, and blockchain infrastructure.
RWA DeFi Expansion. Securitize partners with Plume to launch institutional-grade tokenized funds on its Nest staking protocol, connecting to over 280,000 RWA holders and targeting $100 million in capital.
Ether-Backed Loans Launch. Coinbase introduces ether-collateralized loans for U.S. users, allowing borrowing up to $1 million in USDC on Base via the Morpho protocol with an 86% LTV threshold.
Bitcoin Municipal Bond. New Hampshire launches a $100 million Bitcoin-collateralized conduit bond with 160% overcollateralization and liquidation at 130%, directing gains to an economic development fund.
Vanguard Policy Reversal. Vanguard now permits trading of ETFs and mutual funds primarily holding cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin and Ether, on its platform.
BofA client crypto allocation. Bank of America reports its wealth management clients may allocate up to 4% of portfolios to crypto, signaling growing institutional acceptance.
China Crypto Stance. China's central bank reaffirms that digital assets lack legal status and warns stablecoins pose risks to financial stability and AML compliance.
Fuse No-Action Relief. The SEC issues a no-action letter to Solana-based DePIN project Fuse, confirming no enforcement for sales of its utility-focused FUSE token.
Spot Crypto Trading Approval. The CFTC authorizes the first listed spot cryptocurrency trading on regulated U.S. exchanges, implementing long-standing authority for enhanced retail protections.
Sports Investing
Kalshi Valuation Surge. Kalshi achieves an $11 billion valuation after a $1 billion funding round led by Sequoia and others, amid rapid growth in prediction markets.
NHL Team Valuations. CNBC releases official 2025 valuations for all 32 NHL franchises, highlighting franchise worth and market trends.
Mexican American Football Investment. A $100 million investment targets growth in Mexican American football, expanding opportunities in the sport.
University third-party LLCs. Schools increasingly form their own LLCs to manage NIL deals and third-party revenue in college athletics.
ICYMI
SEC Wells Reforms. Chairman Atkins advances transparency with Wells process changes, including early staff engagement, white paper submissions, minimum four-week response times, evidence access, and simultaneous settlement-waiver reviews.
NYDFS Third-Party Guidance. NYDFS clarifies Part 500 requirements for third-party cybersecurity risk management, emphasizing life-cycle oversight from due diligence to termination.
California Privacy Developments. The California Privacy Protection Agency gains momentum approaching its fifth anniversary, with expanded rulemaking and enforcement activity.
Kalshi CNN Partnership. Kalshi becomes CNN's official prediction market partner for event-based forecasting and analysis.
FTC Noncompete Order. The FTC approves a final order barring Gateway Services from enforcing noncompete agreements following its challenge to their validity.
Fund Tokenization Trend. More fund managers invest in crypto startups to capitalize on the surging wave of asset tokenization.
Stay ahead with Sabal Law PLLC’s tailored solutions in securities, wealth management, private funds, co-investments, venture financing, private equity, FinTech, SportsTech, DefenseTech, and blockchain. Schedule a consultation to connect! #SabalLaw #StartupLaw #PrivateFunds #EmergingManagers #WealthManagement #PrivateEquity #VentureCapital #CoInvestments #FamilyOffices #Crypto #DigitalAssets