In Short -
The Situation: Following the release of the Responsible Financial Innovation Act (the "Lummis-Gillibrand Bill"), four senators on the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry released their own...more
In this latest White Paper on our Bill analysis, we underscore headline proposals in the Lummis-Gillibrand Responsible Financial Innovation Act (the "Bill") regarding the issuance and regulation of a "payment stablecoin,"...more
On June 7, 2022, U.S. Senators Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) and Cynthia Lummis (R-WY) introduced the Responsible Financial Innovation Act (the "Bill"), which proposes a regulatory framework for digital assets across nine titles...more
Nonfungible tokens, or NFTs, continue to grow in popularity as investors, artists, content developers, and other interested parties uncover new applications and opportunities. Jones Day partner Mark Rasmussen explains how...more
California's governor issued an executive order requiring state agencies, led by the Department of Financial Protection and Innovation, to create a "transparent" regulatory framework for blockchain technologies and digital...more
5/11/2022
/ Bitcoin ,
Blockchain ,
California ,
California Consumer Financial Protection Law (CCFPL) ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Digital Assets ,
Digital Currency ,
Executive Orders ,
Financial Instruments ,
Financial Markets ,
Financial Regulatory Reform ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Financial Transactions ,
Framework Agreement ,
Investment Opportunities ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
Transparency Directive ,
Virtual Currency
The SEC's Enforcement Action Against Ripple -
In December 2020, the SEC commenced an enforcement action against Ripple and two of its senior executives alleging that the defendants violated Section 5 of the Securities Act...more
4/1/2022
/ Aiding and Abetting ,
Digital Assets ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Extraterritoriality Rules ,
Fair-Notice Standard ,
Financial Markets ,
Investment ,
Ripple ,
Section 5 ,
Securities Act of 1933 ,
Securities Litigation ,
Securities Transactions ,
Securities Violations ,
Unregistered Securities
The SEC's Enforcement Action Against Ripple -
In December 2020, the SEC commenced an enforcement action against Ripple and two of its senior executives alleging that the defendants violated Section 5 of the Securities Act of...more
3/23/2022
/ Aiding and Abetting ,
Digital Assets ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Fair-Notice Standard ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Investment ,
Motion to Dismiss ,
Motion To Strike ,
Popular ,
Section 5 ,
Securities Act of 1933 ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Transactions ,
Securities Violations ,
Unregistered Securities
President Biden's executive order calls for "whole-of-government" approach to studying risks and harnessing potential benefits of digital asset technologies.
On Wednesday, March 9, 2022, President Biden signed a...more
3/11/2022
/ AML/CFT ,
Biden Administration ,
Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDCs) ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Digital Assets ,
Financial Crimes ,
Financial Regulatory Reform ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Financial Transactions ,
Investor Protection ,
Regulatory Agenda
The SEC's Proposal -
On January 26, 2022, the SEC released a rulemaking proposal that, among other things, would expand the definition of "exchange" under Rule 3b-16 of the Exchange Act. ...more
The digital asset industry has now met the regulatory state. Those interested in building digital asset businesses that operate in the United States thus need to be aware of a vital tool for resisting regulatory overreach by...more
12/13/2021
/ Bitcoin ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Digital Assets ,
Financial Instruments ,
Financial Markets ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Financial Transactions ,
Investment Products ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
Regulatory Standards ,
Virtual Currency
SEC Chairman Gary Gensler suggests SEC will aggressively police crypto assets and decentralized finance ("DeFi") platforms while seeking expanded authority to regulate these fast-growing industries....more
8/10/2021
/ Cryptoassets ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Decentralized Finance (DeFi) ,
Digital Assets ,
Gary Gensler ,
Initial Coin Offering (ICOs) ,
Policy Statement ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Token Sales ,
Unregistered Securities
The Situation: Non-fungible tokens are an emerging digital asset class that present a unique set of commercial, regulatory, and other legal considerations.
The Result: The current U.S. regulatory and legal framework is...more
5/14/2021
/ Art ,
Asset Class ,
Blockchain ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Digital Assets ,
FinCEN ,
FinTech ,
Intellectual Property Protection ,
Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs) ,
Online Marketplace ,
Virtual Currency
On February 26, 2021, the SEC's Division of Examinations released a Risk Alert to make digital asset market participants aware of recurring issues that have arisen in the course of recent examinations, and provide notice of...more
The Situation: On January 4, 2021, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency ("OCC") issued an Interpretive Letter permitting national banks and federal savings associations ("Banks") to participate in independent node...more
1/19/2021
/ Banking Sector ,
Cryptoassets ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Digital Assets ,
Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) ,
Financial Services Industry ,
FinCEN ,
Interpretive Letters ,
OCC ,
Popular ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Stablecoins
Federal court grants summary judgment to the SEC on its claim that sales of digital tokens constitute investment contracts under the Securities Act.
On September 30, 2020, U.S. District Judge Alvin Hellerstein granted...more
The OCC sees holding the cryptographic access keys to control and transfer cryptocurrency as an "electronic corollary" of banking's traditional safekeeping methods.
On July 22, 2020, the Office of the Comptroller of the...more
The Situation: In a recently released joint statement ("Statement"), the Staffs of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's ("SEC") Division of Trading and Markets, and the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority...more
8/5/2019
/ Blockchain ,
Broker-Dealer ,
Customer Protection Rule ,
Digital Assets ,
Digital Securities ,
Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) ,
Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) ,
Investor Protection ,
Joint Policy Statements ,
Rule 15c3-3 ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
SIPA
The Situation: The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC") issued a framework for market participants in assessing whether their digital assets-related activities involve the offer, sale, or distribution of investment...more
4/8/2019
/ Blockchain ,
Digital Assets ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Howey ,
Investment Contract ,
Investment Funds ,
No-Action Letters ,
No-Action Relief ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Token Sales ,
Tokenization
The Situation: The Director of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's Division of Corporate Finance, William Hinman, has weighed in on when digital assets will be characterized as securities.
The Result: In...more
6/26/2018
/ Bitcoin ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Digital Assets ,
Ether ,
Goods or Services ,
Howey ,
Initial Coin Offering (ICOs) ,
Investment Adviser ,
Securities Act of 1933 ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Token Sales