23/09/2024 OpenSea NFT Marketplace Hit With Class Action Suit Over Alleged Securities Sales

The law firm targeting OpenSea has brought a series of cases against crypto companies, such as FTX and Binance.

OpenSea-Justice-16x9-1-gID_7.jpg

The Moskowitz Law Firm filed another class-action lawsuit against a crypto firm Thursday, this time alleging that OpenSea’s customers were sold NFTs as unregistered securities.

The lawsuit brought in a Florida federal court claims that two residents of the Sunshine State sustained damages as a result purchasing NFTs on the platform, which served as a go-to place to purchase digital art and collectibles when the NFT market ran red-hot in 2021 and 2022.

“We have learned a great deal in our extensive crypto litigation,” Moskowitz Law Firm Managing Partner Adam Moskowitz toldDecryptin a statement. “With today's ever-changing regulation, there should be a process to sell NFTs in a well-regulated environment.”

The Miami-based law firm is currently litigating against a wide range of crypto firms and their associates, includingFTX and 11 celebritieswho endorsed the collapsed crypto exchange. It has also sued basketball legendShaquille O’Neal over his Solana-based NFT project Astrals, and soccer starCristiano Ronaldo over his promotion of the crypto exchange Binance.

The latest lawsuit alleges that OpenSea engaged in a scheme “to mislead and deceive investors” while unjustly enriching itself by charging fees on NFT transactions. The Florida residents believed that NFTs traded on OpenSea were registered securities due to OpenSea’s representations, a copy of the case’s complaint shared withDecryptstates.

While the lawsuit does not list damages resulting from NFT purchases, it asserts that NFTs fall under the definition of a security asinvestment contracts. In various enforcement actions, the SEC itself has asserted similar claims, stating that NFT purchasers invested money in a common enterprise with the expectation of profit derived from the efforts of others.

Moskowitz’s lawsuit follows OpenSea’s disclosure of receiving a Wells notice in August, signaling that the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is likely to sue the marketplace. On Twitter (aka X), OpenSea CEO Devin Finzerdescribed the prospect of an enforcement action against OpenSea as a step into uncharted territory that puts artists at risk.

“The SEC [is] threatening to sue us because they believe NFTs on our platform are securities,” Finzer, a resident of Miami, said. “We should not regulate digital art in the same way we regulate collateralized debt obligations.”

As Finzer pointed out, NFTs can represent ownership in many things, including domain names, trading cards, and event tickets. Earlier this week, SEC Commissioners Hester Peirce and Mark Uyedadescribedthe regulator’s approach to NFTs as “misguided and overreaching.”

Though the commissioners accused the SEC of an overzealous application of securities laws while targeting anNFT-gated restaurant chain, Moskowitz’s lawsuit argues that “the SEC’sstance on cryptocurrency has always been consistent.”

Last month, the law firm notched a partial win in its case against O’Neal, when a Florida judge ruled that the case could proceed onsome accusations. In Thursday’s complaint, Moskowitz pointed to OpenSea as a platform where NFTs from O’Neal’s Astrals project were available.

OpenSea did not immediately respond to a request for comment fromDecrypt.

Arts

https://decrypt.co/250564/opensea-nft-marketplace-class-action-suit-securities?amp=1

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By OthersideDeployer
Who is Satoshi Nakamoto?
"Who is Satoshi Nakamoto?" is dedicated to the mysterious creation of Bitcoin, and acts as the showcase artwork within Javier ArrĂ©s’ exploratory series "Bitcoin, The Origin". "Who is the creator of Bitcoin?" The artist, ArrĂ©s, explores this question, and the feelings of doubt and mystery that accompany it, through his unique artistic language. An unknown, an enigma. It should be remembered that the name Satoshi Nakamoto is a pseudonym of Bitcoin's author or authors and gives us little insight into its true creator. For this Visual Toy, ArrĂ©s uses the signature claw machine, his famous half-operation, to symbolize our collective ignorance and unconfirmed belief: As soon as it has the stuffed animal within its grasp and appears to have solved the puzzle, the animal escapes again, and again. At present, there are three more public and studied possibilities who are either believed to be the creators of the currency or who directly claim the creation of it. It may be all or none of them, yet these three personalities leave us clues which are an important part of this interesting enigma. For this moment, it will remain unknown... In this artwork, ArrĂ©s elevates the claw machine from the apparatus, to an iconic pop art object serving as an important element to the Bitcoin creation narrative. Action is everywhere, with each movement serving an iconographical or metaphorical purpose related directly to cryptocurrency: Various ups and downs, roller coasters, mining points, robot, coins and more speak to a sense of hope, risk, mystery, randomness and possibility of pay out. Hundreds of manically thought out details make this creation one of the artist’s most complex Visual Toys to date. ------- "Bitcoin, The Origin" is a set of two Visual Toys, titled "Who is Satoshi Nakamoto" and "It’s Alive!" which reflect and explore the mystery and enigmas behind the creation of Bitcoin. ArrĂ©s presents these proposals to us in his signature style, full of iconography, fantasy, maniacal animations and a panoply of details (both subtle and overt) which simultaneously fascinate, hypnotize, and narrate this historical milestone through the singular vision of the artist. Through this series, ArrĂ©s freezes a crucial moment of cryptocurrency history, taking a still photo under his vision and turning it into two unique crypto artworks. ---- More info about Javier ArrĂ©s: https://javierarres.com/about.html
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Mystery lover like no other.
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What's up! I'm Kitty #453517. I want to live in a world where people believe that one day cats will rule this planet. I'm often described as seductive, and I own it. This will be an amewsing friendship.