The rise of blockchain, metaverse and Web3 technologies has lead to rapid adoption across all sectors of the economy. The government sector is no exception. Perhaps one of the most compelling examples is the recent...more
In an apparent follow up to President Biden’s March Executive Order on Digital Assets (which we previously discussed here), this week, California Governor Gavin Newsom signed a similar executive order aiming to foster...more
5/6/2022
/ Blockchain ,
California ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Digital Assets ,
Executive Orders ,
Governor Newsom ,
Joe Biden ,
New Legislation ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
State Legislatures ,
Technology ,
Transparency
“NFT” was 2021’s word of the year. This isn’t too surprising—they’re everywhere! The market cap for NFT transactions jumped from roughly $400 million at the beginning of 2021 to over $7 billion by year’s end. What’s next...more
A recent class-action lawsuit alleges that the “Uniswap Protocol” exchange is one of the largest crypto-asset exchanges in the world, which permits the unlawful promotion, offer, and sale of crypto tokens as unregistered...more
As the world economy increasingly goes digital, innovators and existing market participants are finding new ways to tokenize assets and expand upon their uses, particularly with non-fungible tokens (NFTs). NFTs have commonly...more
A couple rejected a refund settlement offer from the IRS over its tax treatment of tokens they earned from mining. Instead, the couple has sought formal adjudication on the issue from the federal courts. The government has...more
On March 9, President Biden signed a highly anticipated executive order outlining his administration’s cryptocurrency policy. We have previously blogged about the Biden administration’s working group on stablecoins and the...more
3/10/2022
/ Biden Administration ,
Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDCs) ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Digital Currency ,
Federal Reserve ,
New Legislation ,
New Regulations ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Stablecoins ,
Virtual Currency
In Nippon Shinyaku v. Sarepta Therapeutics, the Federal Circuit held that a forum selection clause specifying that patent infringement or invalidity actions shall be filed in federal district court in Delaware made clear that...more
For the past decade the crypto space has been described as the wild west. The crypto cowboys and cowgirls have innovated and moved the industry forward, despite some regulatory uncertainty. Innovation always leads regulatory...more
For some time now we have cautioned companies to seek legal advice for certain business models relating to NFTs. According to a recent report, the SEC is now targeting certain NFT uses. According to the report, the SEC is...more
As frequently as you heard “NFTs” in 2021, you will hear “metaverse” in 2022. The common denominator with these topics is that both heavily leverage blockchain technology. The other common denominator is that both NFTs and...more
Blockchain is one of the most significant new technologies since the internet. It has ushered in what has been referred to as Web3.0. Some of the most popular applications of this technology include NFTs and metaverses....more
2/28/2022
/ Blockchain ,
Corporate Governance ,
Cryptocurrency ,
FinCEN ,
Intellectual Property Protection ,
Money Laundering ,
Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs) ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Online Platforms ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Technology Sector
The Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) took action last Monday, November 8, 2021, and sanctioned a Latvia-based exchange, Chatex, its associated support network, and two ransomware operators for...more
11/17/2021
/ Compliance ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Cyber Crimes ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Financial Transactions ,
Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs) ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Ransomware ,
Sanctions ,
SDN List ,
U.S. Treasury
At least three different types of marketplaces facilitate the sale and/or resale of NFTs. These include open marketplaces, curated marketplaces and proprietary marketplaces. Other variations do exist, however, and it is...more
When the artist Beeple recently sold a digital work of art for $69 million, it caught the world’s attention especially because that one-of-a-kind digital art was a non-fungible token (NFT). In this episode, we’re taking a...more
Everything is being tokenized these days, including art, games, collectibles and much more. The record prices being fetched have created an NFT frenzy. This distribution model has created a new channel for monetization of...more
Many things are being tokenized, but the growth of NFTs for digital art is booming. This, in part, is due to the recent headline news that Beeple’s iconic digital art work was sold at auction by Christie’s for $69 million....more
The tokenization of physical and digital art has many advantages. Some of the advantages create potential complexities under US law. Each situation is fact specific, but the following is a summary of some of the areas for...more
As with other rapidly-evolving technologies, the blockchain space is experiencing a frenzy of patent activity. The data shows that there are 3-4 times as many published applications as there are issued patents for these...more
Posted in Patents As with other rapidly-evolving technologies, the FinTech space is experiencing a frenzy of patent activity. As its name implies, FinTech is part financial innovation (“fin”) relating to new aspects of...more
FinCEN has issued a notice that it intends to amend the regulations implementing the Bank Secrecy Act (BSA) regarding reports of foreign financial accounts (FBAR) to include virtual currency as a type of reportable account...more
The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) published a report on Regulatory Approaches to the Tokenisation of Assets (Jan. 2021). The report notes that: “Policy makers in different jurisdictions have...more
Loot boxes have become a regular feature in many mainstream video games. However, while their popularity is clear amongst gamers, the legal issues and positions from regulators about their use, both in the US and abroad, are...more
Blockchain technology and smart contracts continue to show their potential for disrupting the electric energy industry. Through the use of blockchain, electricity markets could become more decentralized, efficient,...more
As another example of crypto tokens going mainstream, team Barcelona sold 1.2 million euro worth of fan tokens in less than two hours. The 600,000 tokens were sold at a fixed price of 2 euro, and are tradeable on Socios.com...more