“Firsts” for the World of Virtual Currencies

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There have been two recent virtual currency-related actions worthy of note: (1) the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (“FinCEN”) announced its first civil enforcement action against a virtual currency exchanger, and (2) the New York Department of Financial Services (“NYDFS”) granted its first license to a Bitcoin exchange.

FIRST VIRTUAL CURRENCY EXCHANGER ENFORCEMENT ACTION -

On May 5, 2015, FinCEN announced an enforcement action against a virtual currency exchanger to settle alleged violations of the Bank Secrecy Act (“BSA”) and its implementing regulations. The virtual currency exchanger facilitates the sale and exchange of a particular virtual currency for fiat currency. A Statement of Facts and Violations issued concurrently alleges that the virtual currency exchanger previously engaged in these activities without registering as a money services business (“MSB”) and failed to comply with other BSA requirements. Under the terms of the settlement, the virtual currency exchanger agreed to pay a $700,000 civil money penalty and take certain remedial actions. A settlement between the virtual currency exchanger and the U.S. Attorney’s Office was also announced to resolve criminal charges associated with the alleged BSA violations.

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