On, May 22, 2024, the U.S. House of Representatives passed H.R. 4763, Financial Innovation for Technology for the 21st Century Act (“FIT21”). The legislation was touted by the House Financial Services Committee’s Chairman,...more
6/12/2024
/ Blockchain ,
CFTC ,
Digital Assets ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Enforcement ,
Investment Advisers Act of 1940 ,
Investment Company Act of 1940 ,
Jurisdiction ,
Registration Requirement ,
Securities Act of 1933 ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
SIPA ,
Stablecoins
Federal and state regulators have taken an increased interest in regulating cryptocurrencies, digital assets, and the larger blockchain ecosystem. This landscape is opaque and rapidly evolving, and many industry participants...more
9/25/2023
/ Anti-Money Laundering ,
Bitcoin ,
Bitcoin Mining ,
Blockchain ,
CFIUS ,
CFTC ,
Coinbase ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Decentralized Finance (DeFi) ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Digital Assets ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Ethereum ,
FinCEN ,
Fraud ,
Insider Trading ,
Ponzi Scheme ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Stablecoins ,
Unregistered Securities
Although longtime advocates of federal privacy legislation have learned through experience not to hold their breath, this month brought reason for renewed optimism as House representatives and stakeholders reaffirmed strong...more
On March 2, 2023, the White House Office of the National Cyber Director released the National Cybersecurity Strategy (the “Strategy”). While the Strategy carries no legal force in and of itself, it sets forth a bold roadmap...more
The Attorney General Alliance (“AGA”) recently issued a collaborative White Paper that signals heightened scrutiny of digital asset businesses by state Attorneys General in coming years. Recognizing that it is “no longer...more
7/13/2022
/ Blockchain ,
Civil Monetary Penalty ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Cyber Crimes ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Digital Assets ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Executive Orders ,
FinCEN ,
Fraud ,
Injunctions ,
Money Laundering ,
Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs) ,
OCC ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Popular ,
Restitution ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
State Attorneys General ,
Uniform Commercial Code (UCC)
With Increased Congressional Scrutiny, Continued Interest From Committees in Both the House and Senate, and a Turf War Between Congress and Key Regulatory Agencies, Digital Assets Continue to Be Under the Regulatory...more
On March 15, 2022, President Biden signed into law the Cyber Incident Reporting for Critical Infrastructure Act of 2022 (the “Act”) as part of an omnibus appropriations bill. The Act compels “covered entities” — companies in...more
4/7/2022
/ Critical Infrastructure Sectors ,
Cyber Attacks ,
Cyber Incident Reporting ,
Cybersecurity ,
Cybersecurity Information Sharing Act (CISA) ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
False Claims Act (FCA) ,
FBI ,
Popular ,
Proposed Rules ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
Signed into law on November 15, 2021, the landmark Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act allocates $10 billion for the remediation of PFAS in drinking water. In turn, the bill divides the $10 billion into three categories:...more
Signed into law on November 15, 2021, the landmark Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, also called the bipartisan infrastructure bill, ("infrastructure bill") allocates $10 billion for the remediation of per- and...more
The United States Department of the Treasury (“Treasury”) is taking further action to combat corruption, money laundering, terrorist financing, tax fraud, and other illicit activities.
Following its Advance Notice of...more
Guidance Demonstrates OFAC’s Expectations for Sanctions Compliance by Cryptocurrency Industry -
On October 15, 2021, the Office of Foreign Assets Control (“OFAC”) of the U.S. Department of the Treasury published Sanctions...more
10/26/2021
/ Audits ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Cybersecurity ,
FinCEN ,
Internal Controls ,
Money Laundering ,
New Guidance ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Popular ,
Ransomware ,
Risk Assessment ,
Sanctions ,
Testing Requirements ,
Training ,
U.S. Treasury ,
Virtual Currency
Advancing Environmental Justice (“EJ”) is a central pillar of the Biden Administration. Beginning with President Biden’s Executive Order “Tackling the Climate Crisis at Home and Abroad,” signed during his first week in...more
In January, the Federal Reserve Banks announced that over 110 organizations were participating in the FedNow Service’s pilot program. After announcing the launch would move up to 2023, and then setting forth FedNow’s message...more
On September 15, 2020, the Conference of State Bank Supervisors (CSBS) announced a “one company, one exam” program for examinations of money services businesses. These businesses, spanning from money transmitters like PayPal...more
On September 11, 2020, U.S. Representatives Bill Foster (D-IL), John Katko (R-NY), Jim Langevin (D-RI), and Barry Loudermilk (R-GA) introduced H.R. 8215, the Improving Digital Identity Act of 2020 (“the Act”) to address the...more
On July 22, 2020, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (“OCC”) published an interpretative letter regarding national banks’ and federal savings associations’ authority to provide cryptocurrency custody services for...more
The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) released an Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPR) on June 4, 2020, announcing a review of 12 CFR part 7, subpart E related to national bank electronic activities and...more
On June 5, 2020, President Trump signed into law the Paycheck Protection Program Flexibility Act, H.R. 7010 (P.L. 116-142). While this law does not add any new funding to the Small Business Administration (SBA) Paycheck...more
As greater amounts of data are being collected to track and mitigate the spread of COVID-19, concerns about personal privacy have led lawmakers in Congress from both parties to introduce legislation to ensure appropriate...more
The SEC signaled last week that it appears to be growing more comfortable approving certain digital asset activities, qualifying the first two initial coin offerings ever to proceed as registered securities....more
This past Monday, November 5, 2018, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) published much-sought after guidance regarding the recognition of franchise fees under Accounting Standard Codification 606, Revenue...more
In the ancient parable of the Blind Men and the Elephant, a group of blind men who had never come across an elephant before were asked to describe it. Each blind man felt a different part of the elephant’s body, but only one...more
New York Attorney General’s Office publishes a detailed report on policies and practices at virtual asset trading platforms, citing multiple common deficiencies -
The New York Attorney General’s Office (“NYAG”) issued a...more
U.S. Treasury Report Recommends Congressional and Regulatory Support of Technological Innovation for FinTech and Nonbank Financial Services Industries -
The Department of the Treasury (“Treasury”) released a sweeping...more
On July 31, 2018, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (“OCC”) announced that it would begin accepting applications for national bank charters from FinTech entities that satisfy the licensing requirements for...more