On July 13, 2023, the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York (the “Court”) issued a major ruling in in a closely-followed lawsuit brought by the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”)...more
In a recent judgment, the English Court of Appeal has opened the door to the possibility that cryptocurrency software developers may owe fiduciary duties to cryptocurrency users. These duties could have far-reaching...more
The UK Supreme Court has found that an introducer of business was not entitled to any remuneration for a valuable introduction outside of circumstances expressly provided for in the contract.
This judgment highlights the...more
Citing a substantial increase in recent years in the demand for both virtual currencies and virtual currency custody services, the New York Department of Financial Services (NYDFS) on January 23, 2023 released its Guidance on...more
The Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (Federal Reserve), the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) (collectively, the Agencies) on January 3, 2023...more
1/27/2023
/ Anti-Money Laundering ,
Cryptoassets ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Cyber Attacks ,
Decentralized Finance (DeFi) ,
Enforcement ,
FDIC ,
Federal Reserve ,
Financial Regulatory Agencies ,
Fraud ,
Investment Contract ,
Market Volatility ,
OCC ,
Risk Management
The staff of the SEC’s Division of Corporation Finance (Division) on December 8, 2022 released guidance for companies issuing securities in an illustrative letter, entitled “Sample Letter to Companies Regarding Recent...more
The White House released a fact sheet on September 16, 2022, issuing the “First-Ever Comprehensive Framework for Responsible Development of Digital Assets” (Fact Sheet), which provides insight into the federal government’s...more
10/5/2022
/ Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDCs) ,
Cross-Border Transactions ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Cybersecurity ,
Digital Assets ,
Environmental Justice ,
Federal Reserve ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Infrastructure ,
Investors ,
New Guidance ,
Shareholders
The U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (“OFAC”) on August 8, 2022, imposed sanctions against the popular decentralized virtual currency mixer Tornado Cash alleging that it has been used to launder...more
9/16/2022
/ AML/CFT ,
Blockchain ,
Cyber Crimes ,
Data Privacy ,
Decentralized Finance (DeFi) ,
Ethereum ,
Financial Transactions ,
International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) ,
Money Laundering ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Ransomware ,
Sanctions ,
SDN List ,
State Sponsors of Cyberattacks ,
U.S. Treasury ,
Virtual Currency ,
Wire Transfers
The Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (Federal Reserve) approved final guidelines (Guidelines) on August 15, 2022, to be used by Federal Reserve Banks (Reserve Banks) to evaluate requests to use accounts and...more
9/13/2022
/ Anti-Money Laundering ,
Cryptoassets ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Due Diligence ,
Federal Reserve ,
Financial Institutions ,
Fraud ,
Money Laundering ,
New Guidance ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Risk Management ,
Stablecoins
The Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) on July 21, 2022, filed a complaint (the “SEC Complaint”) alleging insider trading violations against an insider, his brother, and a friend, claiming that the trio engaged in...more
8/15/2022
/ Coinbase ,
Crypto Exchanges ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Digital Assets ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Insider Trading ,
Misappropriation ,
Non-Public Information ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Fraud ,
Securities Violations
The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation and the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (Board of Governors) issued a joint letter (Joint Letter) on July 28, 2022, to Voyager Digital, LLC and its related entities...more
8/5/2022
/ Consumer Financial Products ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Deposit Insurance ,
Depository Institutions ,
Enforcement Actions ,
False Statements ,
FDI Act ,
FDIC ,
Federal Reserve ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Misleading Statements ,
Misrepresentation
DFS Guidance -
The New York State Department of Financial Services (DFS) Superintendent Adrienne A. Harris issued new DFS Regulatory Guidance (Guidance) on June 8, 2022, setting foundational criteria for USD-backed...more
Key Takeaways -
According to sources with firsthand knowledge, the SEC is conducting an industry-wide inquiry into alleged insider trading activities of cryptocurrency exchanges.
Insider trading occurs when a corporate...more
7/6/2022
/ Bitcoin ,
Capital Markets ,
Cryptoassets ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Enforcement Priorities ,
Financial Instruments ,
Financial Regulatory Agencies ,
Insider Trading ,
Investment Opportunities ,
Popular ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Trading Platforms ,
Virtual Currency
Introduction -
Cryptocurrencies have surged in popularity in recent years. As we have reported in recent OnPoints, the swift growth and adoption of cryptocurrencies raise legal questions about everything from their...more
Key Takeaways-
The United States Securities and Exchange Commission announced a settlement against chip manufacturing company Nvidia Corporation, on May 6, 2022, for inadequate disclosures concerning the impact of...more
5/19/2022
/ Bitcoin Mining ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Failure To Disclose ,
Gaming ,
Gaming Revenues ,
Microchip Technology ,
NVIDIA ,
Popular ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Fraud ,
Settlement Agreements
On Wednesday, March 9, President Biden issued an Executive Order entitled Ensuring Responsible Development of Digital Assets. The President’s order represents the first time that the White House has sought to develop a...more
4/5/2022
/ Biden Administration ,
Bitcoin ,
Blockchain ,
Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDCs) ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Digital Assets ,
Executive Orders ,
Financial Regulatory Reform ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Financial Transactions ,
Investment Contract ,
Investor Protection ,
Regulatory Agenda
The Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve on January 20, 2022, published a discussion paper (the “Paper”) concerning the possibility of creating a central bank digital currency (“CBDC”). The Paper discusses the uses,...more
2/11/2022
/ Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDCs) ,
Comment Period ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Digital Assets ,
Digital Currency ,
Federal Reserve ,
Financial Instruments ,
Financial Markets ,
Financial Regulatory Reform ,
Financial Transactions ,
Popular ,
Regulatory Agenda
The Financial Action Task Force ("FATF"), the global money laundering and terrorist financing (“ML/TF”) watchdog, recently issued updated guidance related to compliance risks resulting from activities involving Virtual Assets...more
12/22/2021
/ Anti-Money Laundering ,
Decentralized Finance (DeFi) ,
Digital Assets ,
FATF ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Guidance Update ,
Money Laundering ,
Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs) ,
Peer-to-Peer ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
Risk-Based Approaches ,
Stablecoins ,
Virtual Currency
The President’s Working Group on Financial Markets (PWG), joined by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), released a Report on Stablecoins (Report) on November 1,...more
As we recently noted in our OnPoint dated October 20, 2021, the rise in interest from retail and institutional investors in the cryptocurrency market has attracted increased regulatory and enforcement attention in the past...more
11/17/2021
/ Bitcoin ,
Capital Gains ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Digital Currency ,
Enforcement Priorities ,
Financial Transactions ,
Income Taxes ,
Internal Revenue Code (IRC) ,
Investment ,
IRS ,
Popular ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Tax Liability ,
Tax Planning ,
Tax Reform ,
Virtual Currency
In recent weeks, the U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (“OFAC”) has issued guidance regarding both virtual currency and ransomware, demonstrating the agency’s enforcement priorities and compliance...more
Key Takeaways - The federal government has the cryptocurrency market in its crosshairs. Specifically, the DOJ, SEC and CFTC have all continued to make announcements and show interest in regulating cryptocurrency and enforcing...more
The staff of the Securities and Exchange Commission’s Division of Examinations (Staff) on February 26, 2021, published a Risk Alert (Risk Alert)1 regarding digital asset securities.2 The Risk Alert highlights observations...more
The Attorney General’s Cyber-Digital Task Force (Task Force) issued a report on October 8, 2020, which outlines the Task Force’s proposed Cryptocurrency Enforcement Framework (Framework). The comprehensive Framework—which...more
The Staff of the Securities and Exchange Commission’s Division of Trading and Markets (Staff) issued a no-action letter to the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority on September 25, 2020 (Letter), in which the Staff stated...more