On April 18, the Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) issued a draft version of Form 1099-DA, a proposed information reporting form regarding certain digital asset sales and exchanges that “digital asset brokers” will need to...more
4/24/2024
/ Anti-Money Laundering ,
Bank Secrecy Act ,
BSA/AML ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Decentralized Finance (DeFi) ,
Digital Assets ,
Digital Wallets ,
Internal Revenue Code (IRC) ,
IRS ,
Know Your Customers ,
Reporting Requirements
Summary -
The SEC’s pursuit of the crypto industry continues with its second-ever settlement of a non-fungible token (NFT) enforcement action. The SEC settled with Stoner Cats 2 LLC (SC2), which sought to finance an...more
Summary -
The SEC’s focus on the crypto industry expanded this week to include non-fungible tokens (NFTs). In its first NFT-enforcement action, the SEC settled with Impact Theory, a media and entertainment company, over...more
9/5/2023
/ Crypto Exchanges ,
Cryptoassets ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Digital Assets ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Ethereum ,
Howey ,
Investment Contract ,
Investment Opportunities ,
Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs) ,
Offerings ,
Popular ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Regulation ,
Securities Transactions ,
Securities Violations ,
Unregistered Securities
Summary -
Just when it looked like a victory for the crypto industry in SEC v. Ripple, a mere two weeks later, a different judge in the Southern District of New York disagreed with Ripple’s holding, introducing greater...more
Summary -
The past week was a busy one in the cryptocurrency sphere: The Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) proposed new standards for crypto assets, and the SEC released an alert urging investors to remain...more
Summary -
The jurisdictional lines between the different types of digital assets remain unclear. As Congress weighs separate bills seeking to establish a clear and workable regulatory framework, market participants are...more
The FTC recently reported that over $650 mm worth of cryptocurrency was stolen by hackers last year. Thus far, over $320 mm in cryptocurrency has been stolen by hackers this year. Not surprisingly, this surge in crypto...more
Treasury Offers Something for Everyone to Comply With: Trades and Businesses, Banks, Crypto Exchangers and Individuals -
On May 21, 2021, the U.S. Department of Treasury (“Treasury”) released its American Families Plan Tax...more
Incorporating in the Seychelles but Allegedly Operating in the U.S. Spells Trouble for Company and its Founders -
The Bitcoin Mercantile Exchange, or BitMEX, is a large and well-known online trading platform dealing in...more
10/13/2020
/ Anti-Money Laundering ,
Bank Secrecy Act ,
Bribery ,
BSA/AML ,
CFTC ,
Commodity Exchange Act (CEA) ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Digital Assets ,
Financial Institutions ,
Indictments ,
Know Your Customers ,
Registration Requirement ,
Suspicious Activity Reports (SARs) ,
Trading Platforms
The ongoing debate on whether virtual currencies with certain characteristics should be classified as commodities subject to regulation and enforcement by the Commodities Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) is the focal point...more
10/1/2018
/ Bitcoin ,
CFTC ,
Commodities ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Digital Currency ,
Financial Instruments ,
Financial Transactions ,
Investment Products ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
Subject Matter Jurisdiction ,
Virtual Currency
Address Emphasizes Role of SARs in Fighting Illegal Activity, Including Drug Dealing Fueling the Opioid Crisis -
Kenneth Blanco, the Director of the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (“FinCEN”), discussed last week...more
8/13/2018
/ Anti-Money Laundering ,
Bank Secrecy Act ,
Bitcoin ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Digital Currency ,
Filing Requirements ,
Financial Crimes ,
FinCEN ,
Illegal Drugs ,
Information Sharing ,
Initial Coin Offering (ICOs) ,
Money Services Business ,
Opioid ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
Regulatory Standards ,
Suspicious Activity Reports (SARs) ,
Virtual Currency
As we previously have blogged, the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (“FinCEN”) became one of the first regulators to wade into the regulation of cryptocurrency when it released interpretive guidance in March 2013 stating...more
3/9/2018
/ AML/CFT ,
Bitcoin ,
Blockchain ,
Broker-Dealer ,
CFTC ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Digital Currency ,
Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Financial Instruments ,
Financial Markets ,
FinCEN ,
Initial Coin Offering (ICOs) ,
Interpretive Rule ,
Money Services Business ,
Money Transmitter ,
Mutual Funds ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Token Sales ,
Virtual Currency
A decision this week from a New York federal district court ruling that the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) had jurisdiction to regulate a cryptocurrency business represents the first opinion from a federal...more
3/9/2018
/ Bitcoin ,
Blockchain ,
CFTC ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Digital Currency ,
Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) ,
Financial Instruments ,
Initial Coin Offering (ICOs) ,
Jurisdiction ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Token Sales ,
Virtual Currency
A federal court this week found that the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) had jurisdiction to regulate a cryptocurrency business, raising the possibility of jurisdictional tension among the CFTC and other...more
3/9/2018
/ Bitcoin ,
Blockchain ,
CFTC ,
Commodities ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Digital Currency ,
Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) ,
Financial Instruments ,
Financial Markets ,
Initial Coin Offering (ICOs) ,
Jurisdiction ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
Token Sales ,
Virtual Currency
On February 23, the Financial Action Task Force (“FATF”) signaled that the inter-governmental body “will step up its efforts in monitoring the use of cryptocurrencies in money laundering.” ...more
3/2/2018
/ Anti-Money Laundering ,
Banking Sector ,
Bitcoin ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Digital Currency ,
FATF ,
G20 ,
Initial Coin Offering (ICOs) ,
Money Laundering ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
Risk Management ,
Token Sales ,
Virtual Currency
The following joint statement was issued this last week from the Enforcement Directors of the Securities Exchange Commission and Commodity Futures Trading Commission...more
1/22/2018
/ Bitcoin ,
Blockchain ,
CFTC ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Digital Currency ,
Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Financial Markets ,
Initial Coin Offering (ICOs) ,
Investment ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Fraud ,
Virtual Currency
As the value of bitcoin continues to soar (USD:BTC this past weekend exceeded $19,000.00:1), we thought that now would be a good time to emphasize the need to ensure regulatory compliance with the many federal and state AML...more
12/22/2017
/ Anti-Money Laundering ,
Bitcoin ,
BitLicense ,
BSA/AML ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Digital Currency ,
Financial Services Industry ,
FinCEN ,
Know Your Customers ,
Money Services Business ,
Virtual Currency
As digital currency becomes more ubiquitous, state and federal regulators across the United States, as well as regulators in many other countries, are examining how existing regulatory structures need to be adapted to account...more
8/23/2017
/ Australia ,
Bitcoin ,
BSA/AML ,
Counter-Terrorist ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Digital Currency ,
India ,
Know Your Customers ,
Regulatory Standards ,
Terrorism Funding ,
Virtual Currency