The Staff clarifies that protocol staking does not qualify as a security under the Howey Test, clearing the way for market participants to engage in staking....more
6/16/2025
/ Blockchain ,
Crypto Exchanges ,
Cryptoassets ,
Digital Assets ,
Howey ,
Investment Contract ,
Market Participants ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Securities Act of 1933 ,
Securities Exchange Act ,
Securities Regulation ,
Stablecoins ,
Unregistered Securities
An executive order and related legislation centralizes Bitcoin and digital asset holdings across the federal government to optimize oversight and management of crypto as a US reserve asset.
On March 6, 2025, President...more
Commissioner Hester Peirce outlined 10 priorities for the Crypto Task Force, aiming for regulatory clarity while promoting innovation in digital asset markets....more
2/11/2025
/ Blockchain ,
Broker-Dealer ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Digital Assets ,
Enforcement Priorities ,
Exchange-Traded Products ,
FinTech ,
Investment Adviser ,
Popular ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Regulation
With its pro-crypto stance and urgent posture, the executive order promises to make the US the “crypto capital of the planet.”
On January 23, 2025, President Trump issued a highly anticipated executive order on digital...more
1/28/2025
/ Blockchain ,
CFTC ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Digital Assets ,
Executive Orders ,
Federal Reserve ,
Financial Regulatory Reform ,
FinTech ,
Popular ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Stablecoins ,
Trump Administration
With appropriate safeguards, distributed ledger technology may expand the use of non-cash assets as derivatives collateral, while mitigating certain market infrastructure inefficiencies....more
12/13/2024
/ Blockchain ,
Books & Records ,
CFTC ,
Collateral ,
Commodity Exchange Act (CEA) ,
Compliance ,
Derivatives ,
Digital Assets ,
Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) ,
Information Reports ,
Tokenization
FIT21 would provide regulatory certainty for the US digital asset ecosystem, balancing support for innovation with consumer protection....more
5/30/2024
/ Blockchain ,
CFTC ,
Commodities ,
Consumer Protection Laws ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Decentralized Finance (DeFi) ,
Digital Assets ,
FinTech ,
Investment Contract ,
Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs) ,
Pending Legislation ,
Rulemaking Process ,
Securities ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Stablecoins
The bipartisan bill seeks to foster innovation and promote US dollar dominance while protecting consumers and mitigating illicit finance risks.
On April 17, 2024, US Senators Cynthia Lummis from the Senate Banking...more
The viability of DAO structures draws attention after a judge declares that a decentralized autonomous organization is a “person” under the law.
On June 8, 2023, the US District Court for the Northern District of...more
The bipartisan bill would provide a federal safe harbor for non-custodial blockchain service providers from state money transmission and digital asset licensing laws.
On March 23, 2023, US House of Representatives...more
3/31/2023
/ Bank Secrecy Act ,
BitLicense ,
Blockchain ,
Cryptoassets ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Custody ,
FATF ,
FinCEN ,
Market Participants ,
Preemption ,
Proposed Legislation
Ethereum’s transition to proof of stake presents opportunities and pitfalls for certain digital assets and tokens built on the network.
After years of development, the Ethereum blockchain appears poised to make its...more
Popular and institutional interest in digital assets, decentralized applications, NFTs, and blockchain technology skyrocketed, and regulators sprinted to catch up.
For the digital asset markets, 2021 was a banner year....more
1/25/2022
/ Bitcoin ,
Blockchain ,
Capital Raising ,
Cryptoassets ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Decentralized Finance (DeFi) ,
Digital Assets ,
Enforcement ,
Entrepreneurs ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
Federal Reserve ,
Financial Regulatory Agencies ,
FinCEN ,
Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs) ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Startups ,
Unicorns ,
Venture Capital
For market participants pivoting toward ESG and digital assets, weighing the issues at the crossroads of these two megatrends is critical.
The huge rise in popularity of Bitcoin - and the growing interest by mainstream...more
4/13/2021
/ AML/CFT ,
Blockchain ,
Climate Change ,
Corporate Governance ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Decentralized Finance (DeFi) ,
Digital Assets ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
Paris Agreement ,
Popular ,
Risk Management
Throughout 2020, cryptocurrencies experienced incremental progress towards the mainstream as institutional investors and financial institutions made positive statements about the nascent asset class, an increasing number of...more
1/29/2021
/ Anti-Money Laundering ,
Banking Sector ,
Blockchain ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Digital Assets ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Regulatory Reform ,
Financial Services Industry ,
FinTech ,
Initial Coin Offering (ICOs) ,
Investment Firms ,
Investors ,
Popular ,
Virtual Currency
In a new publication, ISDA explores the benefits of digitization and blockchain solutions for global foreign exchange derivatives markets.
As blockchain and distributed ledger technology (DLT) use cases continue to grow...more
Crypto-asset trading is a fast-growing part of the financial sector. Some countries have wholeheartedly embraced crypto-assets; others have been reticent to permit widespread adoption. Generally, countries have interpreted...more
The US derivatives regulator continues to foster FinTech adoption and leadership in US markets.
The US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) has affirmed its commitment to engaging the fast-moving financial...more
Developing a framework for consumer tokens -
With the rapid growth in the development of blockchain technology, virtual currencies and token sales (sometimes referred to as initial coin offerings, or ICOs), token...more
11/13/2019
/ Blockchain ,
CFTC ,
Commodities ,
Compliance ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Derivatives ,
Digital Assets ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Futures ,
Howey ,
Initial Coin Offering (ICOs) ,
Securities Act of 1933 ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Swaps ,
Token Sales
Developing a framework for consumer tokens -
With the rapid growth in the development of blockchain technology, virtual currencies and token sales (sometimes referred to as initial coin offerings, or ICOs) in 2017 and...more
9/19/2018
/ Bitcoin ,
Blockchain ,
CFTC ,
Commodities ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Currency Control ,
Initial Coin Offering (ICOs) ,
Popular ,
Securities ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Token Sales ,
Tokenization ,
Virtual Currency
Regulators responded to a narrow question about trading bitcoin-based securities, with orders that should not limit innovation in bitcoin technologies.
On March 10, 2017, the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)...more
What is cryptocurrency?
There is no one standard definition of cryptocurrency. At the most basic level cryptocurrency—or digital currency or virtual currency—is a medium of exchange that functions like money (in that it...more
Six things every investor, start-up, financial institution and payment processor should know about the future regulation of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrency derivatives.
With the quickly developing market for...more
6/2/2015
/ Administrative Authority ,
Bitcoin ,
Blockchain ,
CFTC ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Derivatives ,
Financial Institutions ,
Investors ,
Popular ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Startups ,
Young Lawyers