Following the recent focus on two major regulatory frameworks—the Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for U.S. Stablecoins Act (known as the GENIUS Act) in the United States, and Regulation (EU) 2023/1114 of the...more
7/28/2025
/ Cryptocurrency ,
Digital Assets ,
EU ,
Financial Markets ,
Financial Regulatory Reform ,
Financial Services Industry ,
FinTech ,
New Legislation ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Stablecoins ,
The GENIUS Act
Federal banking regulators continue to promote a more "crypto-positive" regulatory environment through recent joint guidance issued to clarify risk management and compliance expectations for banks providing crypto-asset...more
7/16/2025
/ Anti-Money Laundering ,
Banks ,
Consumer Financial Products ,
Cryptoassets ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Cybersecurity ,
Digital Assets ,
FDIC ,
Federal Reserve ,
Financial Regulatory Reform ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Investment ,
OCC ,
Popular ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Risk Management
The House Committees on Financial Services and Agriculture have unveiled a discussion draft for a new comprehensive U.S. crypto market structure bill, aiming to establish clear regulatory boundaries between the U.S....more
5/14/2025
/ Capital Raising ,
CFTC ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Decentralized Finance (DeFi) ,
Digital Assets ,
Financial Markets ,
Financial Regulatory Reform ,
Financial Services Committee ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Securities Regulation ,
Stablecoins
As Congress moves to enact comprehensive stablecoin legislation under the Trump administration, both the Senate and the House of Representatives have updated their respective payment stablecoin bills. Our recent Commentary...more
3/18/2025
/ Anti-Money Laundering ,
Bank Secrecy Act ,
Digital Assets ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Regulatory Reform ,
Financial Services Committee ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Financial Transactions ,
FinTech ,
Payment Systems ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Stablecoins ,
U.S. Treasury
President Trump signed an executive order ("EO") titled "Strengthening American Leadership in Digital Financial Technology" that signals a radical shift in the federal government's posture towards digital assets and the...more
On November 7, 2023, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau ("CFPB") issued a proposed rule that would grant it supervisory authority over major nonbank technology companies in the consumer digital payments space....more
11/16/2023
/ Consumer Financial Products ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Credit Cards ,
Credit Reports ,
Digital Wallets ,
Electronic Payment Transactions ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Regulatory Reform ,
Financial Services Industry ,
FinTech ,
Mortgage Lenders ,
Nonbank Firms ,
Peer-to-Peer ,
Proposed Rules ,
Regulatory Agencies ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Regulatory Authority
In Short -
The Situation: Regulatory "sandboxes" are trending. They represent a unique approach to regulation that permits selected companies to test and experiment with new and innovative products and services....more
In Short -
The Situation: Following a string of bankruptcies among virtual currency firms, the New York Department of Financial Services has issued guidance on the practices and procedures it expects from certain...more
California's governor issued an executive order requiring state agencies, led by the Department of Financial Protection and Innovation, to create a "transparent" regulatory framework for blockchain technologies and digital...more
5/11/2022
/ Bitcoin ,
Blockchain ,
California ,
California Consumer Financial Protection Law (CCFPL) ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Digital Assets ,
Digital Currency ,
Executive Orders ,
Financial Instruments ,
Financial Markets ,
Financial Regulatory Reform ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Financial Transactions ,
Framework Agreement ,
Investment Opportunities ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
Transparency Directive ,
Virtual Currency
On Monday, April 25, 2022, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau ("CFPB") issued a press release announcing its intent to utilize a "dormant authority" under the Dodd-Frank Act to examine nonbank "'fintechs'" that the...more
The SEC's Enforcement Action Against Ripple -
In December 2020, the SEC commenced an enforcement action against Ripple and two of its senior executives alleging that the defendants violated Section 5 of the Securities Act of...more
3/23/2022
/ Aiding and Abetting ,
Digital Assets ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Fair-Notice Standard ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Investment ,
Motion to Dismiss ,
Motion To Strike ,
Popular ,
Section 5 ,
Securities Act of 1933 ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Transactions ,
Securities Violations ,
Unregistered Securities
President Biden's executive order calls for "whole-of-government" approach to studying risks and harnessing potential benefits of digital asset technologies.
On Wednesday, March 9, 2022, President Biden signed a...more
3/11/2022
/ AML/CFT ,
Biden Administration ,
Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDCs) ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Digital Assets ,
Financial Crimes ,
Financial Regulatory Reform ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Financial Transactions ,
Investor Protection ,
Regulatory Agenda
The digital asset industry has now met the regulatory state. Those interested in building digital asset businesses that operate in the United States thus need to be aware of a vital tool for resisting regulatory overreach by...more
12/13/2021
/ Bitcoin ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Digital Assets ,
Financial Instruments ,
Financial Markets ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Financial Transactions ,
Investment Products ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
Regulatory Standards ,
Virtual Currency
On October 18, 2021, New York Attorney General Letitia James directed two virtual currency lending platforms to immediately cease their unregistered and allegedly unlawful activities in New York and sent letters to three...more
10/29/2021
/ Cryptocurrency ,
Decentralized Finance (DeFi) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Financial Markets ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Lenders ,
New York ,
Regulatory Violations ,
Securities Transactions ,
Stablecoins ,
State Attorneys General ,
Virtual Currency
CFTC Commissioner asserts that Decentralized Finance ("DeFi") likely violates the Commodity Exchange Act ("CEA") and that the regulator should respond accordingly.
DeFi is an umbrella term encompassing a range of...more
The Situation: On January 4, 2021, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency ("OCC") issued an Interpretive Letter permitting national banks and federal savings associations ("Banks") to participate in independent node...more
1/19/2021
/ Banking Sector ,
Cryptoassets ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Digital Assets ,
Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) ,
Financial Services Industry ,
FinCEN ,
Interpretive Letters ,
OCC ,
Popular ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Stablecoins