Welcome to Wilson Sonsini’s Focus on Fintech newsletter. This quarterly newsletter provides ongoing analysis and commentary on regulatory developments impacting the fintech industry.
In this issue, our attorneys discuss...more
5/2/2025
/ Banking Sector ,
Consumer Protection Laws ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Financial Services Industry ,
FinTech ,
Popular ,
Proposed Rules ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Securities Regulation
In this issue of Wilson Sonsini's Focus on Fintech, our attorneys discuss updates and developments from federal regulators, including those related to bank-fintech partnerships, cryptocurrency and virtual currency updates,...more
12/17/2024
/ Banking Sector ,
Banks ,
Blockchain ,
CFTC ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Digital Assets ,
Federal Reserve ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Services Industry ,
FinCEN ,
FinTech ,
Popular ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
On September 4, 2024, the U.S Department of the Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) published a final rule that expands the definition of “financial institution” to include Registered Investment Advisers...more
10/4/2024
/ AML/CFT ,
Anti-Money Laundering ,
Financial Adviser ,
Financial Crimes ,
Financial Institutions ,
FinCEN ,
Investment Adviser ,
Money Laundering ,
Popular ,
Registered Investment Advisors ,
Unregistered Brokers
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has announced two settled charges involving alleged violations of Rule 206(4)-2 under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940 (Advisers Act), known as the “Custody Rule.” These...more
Companies in the growing “wealthtech” space often face novel regulatory and legal issues under the federal securities laws. Wealthtech companies blend traditional asset management and brokerage services with new technologies:...more
Where will the fintech industry head in 2024? Our fintech and financial services partners make a few predictions below....more
1/16/2024
/ Artificial Intelligence ,
Banking Sector ,
CFTC ,
Cryptoassets ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Financial Transactions ,
FinTech ,
Machine Learning ,
Popular ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
A pair of recent rulings from the Southern District of New York (SDNY) have potentially increased confusion around the regulatory status of crypto asset regulation—but may also provide some interesting signs of what’s to...more
In this latest issue of the firm’s Focus on Fintech newsletter, our attorneys discuss the dissolution of Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank and the increased scrutiny on banking activity, as well as a number of updates...more
The last few years had started to see a convergence between crypto and banking, with bitcoin appearing to rapidly grow mainstream. That momentum hit a wall with the spectacular crypto market failures of 2022, including the...more
2/7/2023
/ Banking Sector ,
Banks ,
Cryptoassets ,
Cryptocurrency ,
FDIC ,
Federal Reserve ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Services Industry ,
FinTech ,
OCC ,
Popular
In its recent Request for Comment on Certain Information Providers Acting as Investment Advisers (the Request for Comment), the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) asks whether innovative investment indices, model...more
The global NFT (non-fungible token) market now is worth dozens of billions of dollars annually. Innovators and early adopters, marketplaces, and sellers, are all eager to join this market but may have questions about how to...more
5/24/2022
/ Anti-Money Laundering ,
Blockchain ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Digital Assets ,
Economic Sanctions ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Markets ,
Money Laundering ,
Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs) ,
Popular ,
Virtual Currency
The qualities of non-fungible tokens (NFTs), including digital scarcity, immutable persistence, and transferability on a blockchain, make NFTs an attractive technology to integrate into video games. NFTs have been implemented...more
2/11/2022
/ Bitcoin ,
Blockchain ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Digital Assets ,
Digital Currency ,
Financial Markets ,
Gaming ,
Intellectual Property Protection ,
Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs) ,
Popular ,
Sales Tax ,
Video Games ,
Virtual Currency
Artificial intelligence (AI) is an increasingly important technology within the investment management industry. AI has been used in a variety of ways—including as the newest strategy for attempts to "beat the market" by...more