This is the second edition of The Distributed Ledger, a periodic publication covering the latest trends and developments in blockchain technology, digital assets and smart contracts. In this issue, we examine the SEC’s new...more
11/8/2018
/ Anti-Money Laundering ,
Blockchain ,
CFTC ,
CNIL ,
Commodity Exchange Act (CEA) ,
Cross-Border Transactions ,
Data Controller ,
Data Processors ,
Digital Assets ,
EU ,
FATF ,
FinHub ,
FinTech ,
Initial Coin Offering (ICOs) ,
International Data Transfers ,
Personally Identifiable Information ,
Popular ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Smart Contracts ,
Startups ,
Terrorist Financing Regulations ,
Virtual Currency
This is the inaugural issue of The Distributed Ledger, a periodic publication covering the latest trends and developments in blockchain technology, digital assets and smart contracts. In this edition, we examine a federal...more
10/16/2018
/ Anti-Fraud Provisions ,
Blockchain ,
CFTC ,
Commodities ,
Commodity Exchange Act (CEA) ,
Conflicts of Interest ,
Consumer Protection Laws ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Digital Assets ,
Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) ,
Exclusive Jurisdiction ,
Fraud ,
Misappropriation ,
NYDFS ,
Popular ,
Research and Development ,
Smart Contracts ,
State Attorneys General ,
State Legislatures ,
Trade Market Abuse ,
Trading Platforms ,
Virtual Currency ,
Young Lawyers
In this month's Privacy & Cybersecurity Update, we examine recent trends and court decisions, including a new law in Ohio that provides a safe harbor from tort-based data breach claims if the company adopts certain security...more
10/2/2018
/ Affirmative Defenses ,
Amended Rules ,
California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) ,
Class Action ,
Computer Fraud Insurance ,
Cybersecurity ,
Data Breach ,
Data Security ,
General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) ,
Internet of Things ,
Personal Data ,
Popular ,
Privacy Policy ,
Private Right of Action ,
Social Engineering ,
State Attorneys General ,
State Legislatures ,
UK ,
UK ICO
On September 11, 2018, Judge Raymond J. Dearie of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York issued a new decision in U.S. v. Zaslavskiy, No. 1:17-cr-00647-RJD-RER, Dkt. No. 37 (E.D.N.Y. Sept. 11, 2018),...more
9/21/2018
/ Constitutional Challenges ,
Criminal Procedure ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Howey ,
Indictments ,
Initial Coin Offering (ICOs) ,
Motion to Dismiss ,
Notice Requirements ,
Question of Fact ,
Sales of Securities ,
Securities Fraud ,
Vagueness
In this month's edition of our Privacy & Cybersecurity Update, we examine Brazil's new data protection regulation, the French data protection authority's warning to two companies of potential GDPR violations and the U.S....more
9/7/2018
/ Appeals ,
Brazil ,
Breach Notification Rule ,
CNIL ,
Computer Fraud Insurance ,
Consent ,
Critical Infrastructure Sectors ,
Cyber Attacks ,
Cybersecurity ,
Data Breach ,
Data Collection ,
Data Protection Acts ,
Data Protection Authority ,
Data Protection Officers (DPOs) ,
Data Retention ,
Denial of Insurance Coverage ,
Department of Homeland Security (DHS) ,
Email ,
Enforcement Actions ,
EU ,
European Commission ,
European Economic Area (EEA) ,
Extraterritoriality Rules ,
France ,
Fraudulent Transfers ,
General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) ,
Geological Data ,
International Data Transfers ,
Japan ,
Japan-EU Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) ,
NCCIC ,
Personal Data ,
Policy Terms ,
Popular ,
Public Private Partnerships (P3s) ,
Reciprocity Rules ,
Reversal ,
Scams ,
Social Engineering ,
Spoofing ,
Standard Contractual Clauses ,
Warning Letters ,
Wire Fraud
On June 28, 2018, California Gov. Jerry Brown signed into law the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA or “the Act”), which is the broadest and most comprehensive privacy law enacted in the United States to date.1 The CCPA...more
7/12/2018
/ Anti-Discrimination Policies ,
Business Entities ,
California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) ,
Consumer Privacy Rights ,
Consumer Protection Laws ,
Covered Entities ,
Cybersecurity ,
Damages ,
Data Breach ,
Data Collection ,
Data Storage ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
New Legislation ,
Opt-Outs ,
Personal Data ,
Popular ,
Portability ,
Privacy Laws ,
Privacy Policy ,
Private Right of Action ,
Right of Access ,
Right to Delete ,
State Attorneys General
The market for cryptocurrencies and the current wave of initial coin offerings (ICOs) that seek to raise capital for blockchain-based projects have enjoyed a swell of popularity in recent years. U.S. regulatory agencies and...more
6/20/2018
/ Blockchain ,
Breach of Contract ,
CFTC ,
Commodities ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Digital Currency ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Initial Coin Offering (ICOs) ,
Investment Contract ,
Popular ,
Rule 10(b) ,
Securities ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Exchange Act ,
Token Sales ,
Unjust Enrichment ,
Unregistered Securities
“Smart contracts” are a critical component of many platforms and applications being built using blockchain or distributed ledger technology. Below, we outline the background and functions of smart contracts, discuss whether...more
5/8/2018
/ Ancillary Agreements ,
Automated Systems ,
Blockchain ,
Conditions of Payment ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) ,
Enforceability ,
Ethereum ,
Payment Systems ,
Penalties ,
Risk Allocation ,
Smart Contracts ,
Statute of Frauds ,
UETA ,
Uniform Commercial Code (UCC) ,
Young Lawyers
On March 6, 2018, Judge Jack B. Weinstein of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York ruled that virtual currencies are commodities under the Commodity Exchange Act (CEA) and therefore subject to the...more
3/8/2018
/ Administrative Authority ,
CFTC ,
Commodities ,
Commodity Exchange Act (CEA) ,
Derivatives ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Fraud ,
Jurisdiction ,
Market Manipulation ,
Preliminary Injunctions ,
Standing ,
Trial Court Orders ,
Virtual Currency
In 2017, the increased adoption of blockchain technology in various industries was partially obscured by the dramatic fluctuations in the price of bitcoins and the prevalence of so-called initial coin offerings (ICOs) to...more
2/1/2018
/ Anti-Money Laundering ,
Bank Secrecy Act ,
Bitcoin ,
BitLicense ,
Blockchain ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Department of Financial Services ,
FinCEN ,
Initial Coin Offering (ICOs) ,
NYDFS ,
Popular ,
Securities ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Smart Contracts ,
Virtual Currency
On December 15, 2017, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC or Commission) released its proposed interpretation of the term “actual delivery” with respect to virtual currency retail commodity transactions. A retail...more
On December 1, 2017, the Chicago Mercantile Exchange and CBOE Futures Exchange took the necessary regulatory steps to begin trading new bitcoin futures contracts this month. The Cantor Exchange took similar steps to begin...more
On October 17, 2017, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission’s (CFTC) newly formed financial technology (fintech) innovation group, LabCFTC, released its first fintech primer, “A CFTC Primer on Virtual Currencies” (VC...more
11/15/2017
/ Bitcoin ,
Blockchain ,
CFTC ,
Commodities ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Digital Currency ,
Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) ,
Financial Instruments ,
Financial Markets ,
FinTech ,
Initial Coin Offering (ICOs) ,
LabCFTC ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
Swaps ,
Token Sales ,
Unregistered Securities ,
Virtual Currency
For the past few months, issuers of token sales or “initial coin offerings” (ICOs) have known that they were, to some extent, sailing in unchartered waters. Those waters have just gotten a bit murkier with an announcement by...more
9/8/2017
/ Bitcoin ,
Blockchain ,
Canadian Securities Administration ,
Capital Raising ,
China ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Digital Currency ,
Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) ,
Financial Crimes ,
Fraud ,
Global Market ,
Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission (HKSFC) ,
Illegal Activity ,
Initial Coin Offering (ICOs) ,
Investment Contract ,
Popular ,
Public Financing ,
Pyramid Schemes ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Fraud ,
Startups ,
Token Sales
On August 7, 2017, the Office of Compliance Inspections and Examinations (OCIE) of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) released a summary of its observations (the report) from cybersecurity examinations of 75...more
8/31/2017
/ Broker-Dealer ,
Customer Information ,
Cybersecurity ,
Cybersecurity Examination Initiative ,
Data Protection ,
Data Security ,
Employee Training ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Information Reports ,
Inventory ,
Investment Adviser ,
Investment Companies ,
OCIE ,
Policies and Procedures ,
Popular ,
Ransomware ,
Regulation S-P ,
Risk Alert ,
Risk Assessment ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Senior Managers
Over the last 12 months, a growing number of start-ups, primarily those offering blockchain-based services, have raised capital utilizing so-called initial coin offerings or token sales (collectively referred to herein as...more
8/3/2017
/ Capital Raising ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Initial Coin Offering (ICOs) ,
Investor Protection ,
New Guidance ,
Registration Requirement ,
Securities ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Startups ,
Stock Exchange ,
Token Sales ,
Virtual Currency
In this month's edition of our Privacy & Cybersecurity Update, we examine new privacy laws in Germany, an FTC settlement with an alleged consumer loan company over unfair and deceptive practices, the dismissal of a data...more
8/2/2017
/ Children's Toys ,
Civil Monetary Penalty ,
Consumer Financial Products ,
Cyber Insurance ,
Cybersecurity ,
Data Breach ,
Data Collection ,
Data Protection ,
Dismissals ,
EU ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) ,
Germany ,
Incident Response Plans ,
Lenders ,
Member State ,
Popular ,
Privacy Laws ,
Risk Mitigation ,
Settlement ,
Standing ,
Unfair or Deceptive Trade Practices
On July 17, 2017, the CoinDash initial coin offering (ICO) was hacked within minutes of its launch, resulting in numerous potential purchasers sending their money to a fraudulent address. The hack has raised many questions...more
On 10 May 2017, two years after launching its e-commerce sector inquiry on 6 May 2015, the European Commission published its final report (Final Report) on the inquiry. The inquiry was opened in the framework of the...more
6/5/2017
/ Corporate Counsel ,
Cross-Border Transactions ,
Digital Single Market ,
E-Commerce ,
Electronics ,
EU ,
European Commission ,
European Economic Area (EEA) ,
Final Rules ,
Geo-Blocking ,
Holidays ,
Hotels ,
Member State ,
UK ,
Video Games
Cybercrime has emerged as one of the foremost threats a company faces. As a result of a few keystrokes, a company may find its customers’ data sold on the dark web, its intellectual property in the hands of a competitor or...more
4/20/2017
/ Acquisitions ,
Cyber Crimes ,
Cyber Insurance ,
Cybersecurity ,
Due Diligence ,
Incident Response Plans ,
Indemnification Clauses ,
Mergers ,
Network Security ,
Ransomware ,
Representations and Warranties ,
Risk Management
In this edition of our Privacy & Cybersecurity Update, we discuss how the prospect of a new chair and three new commissioners at the FTC may impact the agency's approach to cybersecurity regulation, a new Massachusetts...more
2/4/2017
/ Administrative Appointments ,
Breach Notification Rule ,
Cyber Insurance ,
Cybersecurity ,
Cybersecurity Framework ,
Data Breach ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) ,
Internet of Things ,
NIST ,
OCR ,
Popular ,
Privacy Policy ,
Public Disclosure ,
Software ,
Swiss Privacy Shield ,
Trump Administration
Blockchain, the distributed ledger technology that underlies bitcoin transactions, has been heralded as a transformative technology that is as significant as the development of the internet. The enthusiasm for blockchain...more
2/2/2017
/ Blockchain ,
Cybersecurity ,
Digital Currency ,
Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Services Industry ,
FinTech ,
Global Economy ,
Popular ,
Smart Contracts ,
Technology
President Donald Trump’s statements to date on regulation in general and cybersecurity regulation in particular suggest a conflict between his desire to strengthen the country’s cybersecurity efforts and his general antipathy...more
In this month's edition of our Privacy & Cybersecurity Update, we examine modifications to New York state's proposed cybersecurity regulations for financial institutions, a 5th Circuit ruling that a phishing scam is not...more
1/4/2017
/ Banks ,
Commercial Crime Insurance Polices ,
Consumer Insurance Products ,
Cyber Insurance ,
Cybersecurity ,
Data Breach ,
Data Privacy ,
Department of Financial Services ,
FCC ,
Home Depot ,
Internet of Things ,
Phishing Scams ,
Privacy Laws ,
Trump Administration ,
U.S. Treasury
On December 2, 2016, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) announced its willingness to entertain applications from financial technology (fintech) companies for special purpose national bank charters. In recent...more