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
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 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
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
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
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
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 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
Blockchain technology continues to mature and gain acceptance for a wide range of potentially disruptive financial and commercial uses. In the wake of COVID-19, we have seen an increased focus on the research and development...more
8/18/2020
/ 3D Printing ,
Bank of England ,
Blockchain ,
China ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Decentralized Finance (DeFi) ,
Digital Assets ,
Digital Currency ,
Financial Institutions ,
FinTech ,
Innovative Technology ,
Japan ,
Medical Devices ,
MiPasa ,
Popular ,
Stablecoins ,
UK ,
Virtual Currency ,
World Health Organization
The U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) issued guidance on May 9, 2019, underscoring the application of the Bank Secrecy Act (BSA) and its implementing regulations relating to money...more
5/22/2019
/ Anti-Money Laundering ,
ATMs ,
Bank Secrecy Act ,
Casinos ,
Compliance ,
Convertible Virtual Currencies (CVCs) ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Digital Assets ,
Digital Currency ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Exemptions ,
Financial Institutions ,
FinCEN ,
Initial Coin Offering (ICOs) ,
Money Laundering ,
Money Services Business ,
Money Transfer ,
New Guidance ,
Payment Processors ,
Peer-to-Peer ,
Risk Assessment ,
Terrorism Funding ,
Trading Platforms ,
Virtual Currency
Through two publications on April 3, 2018, the Staff of the Securities and Exchange Commission provided greater clarity on the application of the federal securities laws to blockchain-based “digital assets.”1 While the Staff...more
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission announced two settled enforcement actions on November 16, 2018, imposing registration requirements and civil penalties against issuers of initial coin offerings (ICOs) for failing...more
12/6/2018
/ Broker-Dealer ,
Civil Monetary Penalty ,
Compliance ,
Digital Assets ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) ,
Howey ,
Initial Coin Offering (ICOs) ,
Investment Advisers Act of 1940 ,
Investment Company Act of 1940 ,
Registration Requirement ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Exchange Act ,
Securities Violations ,
Settlement ,
Unregistered Securities
The staff of the Divisions of Enforcement and Trading and Markets (collectively, Staff) of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on March 7, 2018 jointly issued a statement on digital asset trading platforms...more
3/28/2018
/ Alternative Trading System (ATS) ,
Broker-Dealer ,
CFTC ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Digital Assets ,
Digital Currency ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Initial Coin Offering (ICOs) ,
Investor Protection ,
Investors ,
Market Participants ,
Personal Liability ,
Registration Requirement ,
Securities ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Token Sales