As cryptocurrency, decentralized finance (DeFi), and other uses of blockchain technology continue to proliferate, global regulators are grappling with how best to regulate their use. We have previously written about the...more
11/23/2021
/ Anti-Money Laundering ,
Blockchain ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Decentralized Finance (DeFi) ,
Enforcement ,
FATF ,
Investigations ,
Licensing Rules ,
New Guidance ,
Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs) ,
Peer-to-Peer ,
Popular ,
Registration
Even those who are most suspicious of the rise of cryptocurrency will likely admit that the underlying blockchain technology and its potential uses are exciting. One use of this technology, decentralized finance, or DeFi, is...more
9/1/2021
/ Bitcoin ,
BitMEX ,
Blockchain ,
CFTC ,
Commodity Exchange Act (CEA) ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Decentralized Finance (DeFi) ,
Ether ,
Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) ,
Hackers ,
Popular ,
Securities Act of 1933 ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
As cryptocurrency’s market cap surpasses the $2.5 trillion mark and continues to climb, global regulators have turned their attention to understanding and addressing the risks surrounding digital assets.
In recent years,...more
7/16/2021
/ Anti-Money Laundering ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Customer Identification Program (CIP) ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Digital Assets ,
Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) ,
FinCEN ,
Know Your Customers ,
NDAA ,
Popular ,
Risk Assessment ,
Terrorism Funding
As NFTs gain popularity, buyers and sellers should consider the potential issues related to federal anti-money laundering laws.
While non-fungible tokens (“NFTs”) have existed for several years, the market for NFTs grew...more
5/19/2021
/ Anti-Money Laundering ,
Bank Secrecy Act ,
Bitcoin ,
Blockchain ,
Compliance ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Customer Due Diligence (CDD) ,
FinCEN ,
Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs) ,
Peer-to-Peer ,
Popular
As we wrote over the summer, Congress has passed a bill that will require certain corporations and limited liability companies (“LLCs”) to report information on their beneficial owners to the U.S. Treasury Department’s...more
12/23/2020
/ Anti-Money Laundering ,
Civil Monetary Penalty ,
Currency Transaction Reports (CTR) ,
Customer Due Diligence (CDD) ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
FinCEN ,
Internal Revenue Code (IRC) ,
Limited Liability Company (LLC) ,
NDAA ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Popular ,
Securities Exchange Act ,
Shell Corporations ,
Suspicious Activity Reports (SARs) ,
U.S. Treasury ,
Whistleblowers
The Fair Housing Act (“FHA”), enacted more than fifty years ago, prohibits discriminatory practices in housing. The FHA makes it illegal to “make unavailable or deny . . . a dwelling to any person” or “discriminate against...more
6/20/2019
/ Algorithms ,
Anti-Discrimination Policies ,
Artificial Intelligence ,
Fair Housing Act (FHA) ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Services Industry ,
HUD ,
Lenders ,
Popular ,
Screening Procedures ,
Technology Sector ,
UDAP
While SEC FinHub’s new framework announced last week for identifying crypto-securities suggests continued resistance for those using digital assets to access capital markets, an SEC no-action letter issued the same day to...more
4/11/2019
/ Blockchain ,
Capital Markets ,
Digital Assets ,
Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) ,
Howey ,
Initial Coin Offering (ICOs) ,
No-Action Letters ,
Offerings ,
Popular ,
Regulation A ,
Regulation D ,
Regulation S ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Securities ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Token Sales
Stepping outside of SWIFT -
Since its inception more than a decade ago, cryptocurrency has been viewed as a way to supplant traditional global methods of exchanging money. Today, as virtual currencies proliferate,...more
2/19/2019
/ Corruption ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Digital Currency ,
Economic Sanctions ,
Initial Coin Offering (ICOs) ,
International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) ,
Iran ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Popular ,
SDN List ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Self-Regulatory Organizations ,
SWIFT ,
Virtual Currency
On October 24, 2018, Japan’s Financial Services Agency (FSA) gave the country’s cryptocurrency industry self-regulatory status, allowing the Japan Virtual Currency Exchange Association (JVCEA) power to police and penalize...more
Nearly a year after then-acting US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) Chairman J. Christopher Giancarlo actively promoted FinTech innovation as a key to economic growth, he has minted a groundbreaking FinTech...more
On March 15, Acting US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) Chairman J. Christopher Giancarlo excited the futures and options markets when he spoke at length about embracing technology as a key to economic growth. ...more