The wealthtech industry is deploying AI to create more efficient, bespoke, user-driven, and data-intensive portfolio management strategies, and to streamline analytics and administration. AI can be used in a vast number of...more
Welcome to Wilson Sonsini’s Focus on Fintech newsletter. This quarterly newsletter provides ongoing analysis and commentary on regulatory developments impacting the fintech industry.
In this issue, our attorneys discuss...more
5/2/2025
/ Banking Sector ,
Consumer Protection Laws ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Financial Services Industry ,
FinTech ,
Popular ,
Proposed Rules ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Securities Regulation
Several recent enforcement actions from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC or Commission) reaffirm that “finders” involved in soliciting investors on behalf of private companies are, in the SEC’s view, required...more
In this latest issue of The Entrepreneurs Report, we’ve compiled a range of data on venture, convertible note, and SAFE financing transactions in which the firm was involved during 2024, with the objective of identifying...more
In this issue of Wilson Sonsini's Focus on Fintech, our attorneys discuss updates and developments from federal regulators, including those related to bank-fintech partnerships, cryptocurrency and virtual currency updates,...more
12/17/2024
/ Banking Sector ,
Banks ,
Blockchain ,
CFTC ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Digital Assets ,
Federal Reserve ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Services Industry ,
FinCEN ,
FinTech ,
Popular ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
In the latest edition, our attorneys discuss updates and developments from federal regulators, including those related to cryptocurrencies, cybersecurity in financial markets, and the intersection of fintech and AI. They also...more
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has announced two settled charges involving alleged violations of Rule 206(4)-2 under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940 (Advisers Act), known as the “Custody Rule.” These...more
In this latest edition, our attorneys discuss updates and developments from federal regulators, including those related to the intersection of fintech and artificial intelligence, cryptocurrency and virtual currency updates,...more
The firm is pleased to distribute the Q1 2024 edition of All Eyes on AI: Regulatory, Litigation, and Transactional Developments, which closely follows the evolving regulatory landscape for artificial intelligence (AI) in the...more
5/24/2024
/ Antitrust Division ,
Artificial Intelligence ,
Biden Administration ,
Canada ,
EU ,
Executive Orders ,
FCC ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Financial Services Industry ,
New Legislation ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Technology Sector ,
U.S. Treasury ,
USPTO
The U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) has proposed a sweeping expansion of the Bank Secrecy Act’s (BSA) affirmative anti-money laundering (AML) and countering the financing of...more
2/27/2024
/ AML/CFT ,
Anti-Money Laundering ,
Banking Sector ,
Compliance ,
Financial Adviser ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Services Industry ,
FinCEN ,
Investment Adviser ,
Money Laundering ,
Terrorist Financing
In this issue, we discuss updates and developments from federal regulators, including those related to the intersection of fintech and artificial intelligence, crypto-asset and central bank digital currencies, and consumer...more
Creative, attention-grabbing marketing is an art mastered by many fintech companies. However, federal financial and consumer protection regulators are ramping up scrutiny of marketing materials related to financial services,...more
Where will the fintech industry head in 2024? Our fintech and financial services partners make a few predictions below....more
1/16/2024
/ Artificial Intelligence ,
Banking Sector ,
CFTC ,
Cryptoassets ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Financial Transactions ,
FinTech ,
Machine Learning ,
Popular ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
In this most recent issue, we discuss a number of updates and developments from federal regulators, including those related to novel banking arrangements, misrepresentations in advertisements and marketing, the intersection...more
In this most recent issue, we discuss a number of federal banking agency updates, including the long-awaited Final Interagency Guidance on Third-Party Relationships and the Federal Reserve Bank of New York’s report on the...more
8/23/2023
/ Banking Sector ,
Banks ,
Cryptoassets ,
Cryptocurrency ,
FDIC ,
Federal Reserve ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Services Industry ,
FinTech ,
OCC ,
UK
M&A transactions involving financial services providers—including tech-based providers or “fintechs”—raise a host of unique questions based on the types of services they provide, which are often highly regulated and may...more
6/16/2023
/ Acquisitions ,
Anti-Money Laundering ,
Banking Sector ,
Banks ,
Cybersecurity ,
Data Privacy ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Services Industry ,
FinTech ,
Foreign Investment ,
Mergers ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Regulatory Agencies
More than two years after the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) introduced a new class of “special purpose broker-dealers” authorized to custody crypto asset securities, the first special purpose broker-dealer...more
In this latest issue of the firm’s Focus on Fintech newsletter, our attorneys discuss the dissolution of Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank and the increased scrutiny on banking activity, as well as a number of updates...more
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) approved a new form of “Cash Management” exemptive order under the Investment Company Act of 1940 (the 1940 Act) on April 3, 2023. The approved order allows the company that...more
With the announcement of charges against and a settlement with two subsidiaries of a prominent crypto exchange, Kraken, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) appears to have a new target within the blockchain...more
The last few years had started to see a convergence between crypto and banking, with bitcoin appearing to rapidly grow mainstream. That momentum hit a wall with the spectacular crypto market failures of 2022, including the...more
2/7/2023
/ Banking Sector ,
Banks ,
Cryptoassets ,
Cryptocurrency ,
FDIC ,
Federal Reserve ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Services Industry ,
FinTech ,
OCC ,
Popular
In this latest issue of Wilson Sonsini's Focus on Fintech newsletter, we discuss the FTX bankruptcy and the increased federal regulatory scrutiny of crypto assets, and new rules and innovations in the payments...more
2/1/2023
/ Banking Sector ,
Banks ,
Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDCs) ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Department of Financial Protection and Innovation (DFPI) ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Services Industry ,
FinTech ,
OCC ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
U.S. Treasury ,
UK
Welcome to Wilson Sonsini’s Focus on Fintech newsletter. This quarterly newsletter provides ongoing analysis and commentary on regulatory developments impacting the fintech industry.
The third quarter of 2022 has been a...more
11/2/2022
/ Banking Sector ,
Banks ,
CFTC ,
Crypto Exchanges ,
Cryptoassets ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Digital Assets ,
Financial Crimes ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Services Industry ,
FinCEN ,
FinTech ,
Payment Systems
President Biden launched an effort to establish a federal digital assets policy strategy and coordinate the related work of federal regulators by signing the Executive Order on Ensuring Responsible Development of Digital...more
3/16/2022
/ Biden Administration ,
Bitcoin ,
Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDCs) ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Digital Assets ,
Executive Orders ,
Financial Regulatory Reform ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Financial Transactions ,
Investor Protection ,
Investors