On September 7, Acting Comptroller of the Currency, Michael Hsu, discussed the long-term threats to trust in banking in remarks at the TCH + BPI Annual Conference. Hsu provided updates on key priorities at the OCC, including...more
9/16/2022
/ Banking Sector ,
Banks ,
BSA/AML ,
Comptroller ,
Cryptocurrency ,
FDIC ,
Federal Reserve ,
Financial Services Industry ,
FinTech ,
OCC ,
Risk Management
On July 27, CFPB Director Chopra was interviewed in multiple publications, here and here, about, among other topics, how the CFPB could seek to help mortgage borrowers strained by the Federal Reserve’s battle against...more
On July 11, the Financial Stability Board (FSB) published a letter sent to G20 finance ministers and central bank governors outlining concerns over the rapid growth in crypto-assets and vulnerabilities facing the global...more
On June 30, the DOJ charged six individuals in four separate cases for a fraudulent NFT trading scheme.
The first case alleged that an individual committed wire fraud and engaged in a conspiracy to commit international...more
Recently, the Louisiana lawmakers and regulators have taken steps to legalize operations in the state involving virtual currencies. On June 15, the Louisiana governor signed a bill that, effective August 1, 2022, will allow...more
On July 12, the California Department of Financial Protection and Innovation (DFPI) announced that it is investigating multiple crypto companies that offer interest-bearing crypto asset accounts. These accounts allow users to...more
On June 14, CFTC Commissioner Christy Goldsmith Romero discussed cryptocurrency regulation, rejecting suggestions that the agency would take a relaxed approach toward regulating cryptocurrency and affirming that the CFTC is...more
On June 8, the New York State Department of Financial Services (DFS) released its Guidance on the Issuance of U.S. Dollar-Backed Stablecoins meant to set foundational criteria for USD-backed stablecoins issued by...more
On June 1, the California DFPI began formally seeking input from the public to assist in developing guidance and regulatory clarity for Blockchain and Crypto companies as directed by Governor Newsom’s Executive Order (which...more
6/8/2022
/ Blockchain ,
California ,
Comment Period ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Department of Financial Protection and Innovation (DFPI) ,
Executive Orders ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Governor Newsom ,
Proposed Regulation ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Rulemaking Process ,
State and Local Government
On May 19, Alessio Evangelista, the Associate Director of the Enforcement and Compliance Division of FinCEN, presented at the Chainalaysis Links Conference on the topic of “Intersection of Cryptocurrencies and National...more
On May 24, the acting Comptroller of the Currency, Michael Hsu remarked at the DC Blockchain Summit 2022 about his observations on the “deep” vulnerabilities of cryptocurrency in light of the recent market volatility and...more
On May 10, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen presented the Financial Stability Oversight Council (FSOC) Annual Report before the Senate Banking Committee about the need for sensible stablecoin legislation (we have previously...more
On May 17, the FDIC and the CFPB took parallel actions to combat the misuse of the name or logo of the FDIC and deceptive representations about deposit insurance. The FDIC approved a final rule implementing its statutory...more
5/23/2022
/ Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Cryptoassets ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Deposit Insurance ,
False Advertising ,
FDIC ,
Final Rules ,
Misrepresentation ,
Name and Likeness ,
Stablecoins ,
UDAAP
In an apparent follow up to President Biden’s March Executive Order on Digital Assets (which we previously discussed here), this week, California Governor Gavin Newsom signed a similar executive order aiming to foster...more
5/6/2022
/ Blockchain ,
California ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Digital Assets ,
Executive Orders ,
Governor Newsom ,
Joe Biden ,
New Legislation ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
State Legislatures ,
Technology ,
Transparency
State and federal crypto and NFT-related enforcement actions continue to occupy the regulatory landscape with an apparent uptick coinciding with the issuance of The White House’s Executive Order in March (we discussed the...more
4/19/2022
/ CFTC ,
Cryptoassets ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Executive Orders ,
Investors ,
Metaverse ,
Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs) ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Tax Fraud ,
Wire Fraud
Decentralized finance, DeFi, has quickly grown in popularity and is beginning to gain the attention of regulators attempting to stay ahead of one of the latest investor crazes. Blockchain-based financial technology such as...more
On April 7, the FDIC issued a Financial Institution Letter (FIL-16-2022) calling on all FDIC-supervised intuitions that intend to engage in, or that are currently engaged in, any activities involving or related to crypto...more
On April 8, the acting comptroller of the currency, Michael J. Hsu, discussed many aspects of stablecoins (we previously discussed the President’s Working Group report on stablecoins and Hsu’s comments...). In his speech at...more
In a novel transaction for the blockchain and mortgage industries, a blockchain-focused financial services company and an investment firm announced the completion of a transaction involving the origination of digital mortgage...more
On March 3, Virginia passed a new bill (HB 263) permitting banks in the Commonwealth to provide its customers with crypto custody services “so long as the bank has adequate protocols in place to effectively manage risks and...more
On February 8, the House Financial Services Committee held a hearing titled, “Digital Assets and the Future of Finance: The President’s Working Group on Financial Markets” to consider legislative recommendations from the...more
On November 3, Acting Comptroller of the Currency, Michael J. Hsu, remarked at the BritishAmerican Business Transatlantic Finance Forum 2021-2022 Executive Roundtable about the regulation of stablecoins and other...more
On November 18, the Chief Counsel of the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) issued a fourth interpretive letter (Letter 1179) regarding whether it is permissible for national banks and federal savings...more
On November 23, the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, and Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (“banking agencies”) released a joint statement recognizing that the...more
Building on his remarks to the Blockchain Association and the American Fintech Council earlier this month, the Acting Comptroller of the Currency, Michael J. Hsu, issued a statement on November 16 before the Federal Reserve...more