The American Bar Association Business Law Section published a robust and in-depth white paper in September 2025 on “Digital and Digitized Assets: Federal and State Jurisdictional Issues,” providing a comprehensive explanation...more
3/5/2026
/ Anti-Money Laundering ,
Blockchain ,
CFTC ,
Cross-Border Transactions ,
Cryptoassets ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Decentralized Finance (DeFi) ,
Digital Assets ,
FinCEN ,
Initial Coin Offering (ICOs) ,
International Regulatory Standards ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Stablecoins
The White House Crypto Policy Council convened a third meeting with executives and representatives from the crypto industry and traditional finance to continue discussions on digital asset market structure legislation....more
2/24/2026
/ Artificial Intelligence ,
Blockchain ,
Broker-Dealer ,
CFTC ,
Commodity Exchange Act (CEA) ,
Cryptoassets ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Cybersecurity ,
Digital Assets ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Innovative Technology ,
New Guidance ,
No-Action Letters ,
Popular ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Risk Management ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Stablecoins ,
Swaps ,
Tokenization
The White House Crypto Policy Council convened a second meeting with representatives from the crypto industry and traditional finance to continue negotiations over the treatment of stablecoin yield in digital asset market...more
2/18/2026
/ CFTC ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Digital Assets ,
Federal Reserve ,
FinTech ,
NCUA ,
Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NOPR) ,
Popular ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Stablecoins ,
The GENIUS Act ,
Tokenization
The White House Crypto Policy Council convened a meeting with executives and trade associations representing both the crypto industry and traditional financial institutions to discuss legislation on digital asset market...more
2/10/2026
/ CFTC ,
Commodity Futures Contracts ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Digital Assets ,
FDIC ,
No-Action Letters ,
Popular ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Rulemaking Process ,
Stablecoins ,
The GENIUS Act ,
U.S. Treasury
The Senate Agriculture Committee voted 12–11 to advance its version of the digital asset market structure bill out of committee. Although it was a party-line vote, members on both sides of the aisle emphasized a continued...more
2/3/2026
/ CFTC ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Digital Assets ,
Federal Reserve ,
New Guidance ,
Presidential Nominations ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Rulemaking Process ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Senate Committees ,
Stablecoins ,
Tokenization
Senate Agriculture Committee Republicans released updated digital asset market structure legislation clarifying the CFTC’s regulatory authority, while signaling that a bipartisan agreement has not been reached. A list of...more
1/27/2026
/ Blockchain ,
CFTC ,
Cryptoassets ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Digital Assets ,
Financial Markets ,
FinTech ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Senate Banking Committee ,
Senate Committees ,
Stablecoins ,
U.S. Treasury
The Senate Banking Committee delayed its scheduled markup of the digital asset market structure legislation as bipartisan negotiations continue. A key point of contention is a provision prohibiting digital asset service...more
1/21/2026
/ Blockchain ,
CFTC ,
Digital Assets ,
FinTech ,
Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NOPR) ,
NPRM ,
NYSE ,
OCC ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Proposed Rules ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Senate Banking Committee ,
Stablecoins ,
The GENIUS Act ,
Tokenization
In the final weeks of 2025, digital asset policy developments continued in Congress and the federal agencies. Senate Banking Committee Chairman Tim Scott (R-SC) released his 2025 Year-in-Review Report, highlighting key...more
1/6/2026
/ CFTC ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Digital Assets ,
Financial Markets ,
Financial Regulatory Reform ,
Government Agencies ,
Leadership ,
New Legislation ,
Presidential Nominations ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Senate Banking Committee ,
Senate Committees
On digital asset market structure legislation, senators met with crypto industry participants and trade associations to discuss policy priorities. The meeting was organized by Senate Banking Committee Chair Tim Scott (R-SC),...more
12/23/2025
/ Broker-Dealer ,
Capital Markets ,
CFTC ,
Crypto Exchanges ,
Cryptoassets ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Data Privacy ,
Digital Assets ,
FDIC ,
New Legislation ,
Payment Systems ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Senate Banking Committee ,
Senate Committees ,
Stablecoins ,
The GENIUS Act ,
U.S. Treasury
Last week, federal regulators took several notable steps affecting digital asset markets. The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) announced conditional approval of five national trust bank charter applications. It...more
12/16/2025
/ Anti-Money Laundering ,
CFTC ,
Cryptoassets ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Digital Assets ,
Enforcement Actions ,
FinCEN ,
Interpretive Letters ,
National Bank Act ,
National Bank Charters ,
New Legislation ,
No-Action Letters ,
OCC ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Stablecoins ,
Tokenization
The House passed two capital formation bills aimed at easing securities regulations for venture capital funds, and the following day SEC Chair Paul Atkins outlined the Commission’s agenda to revive U.S. capital markets,...more
12/9/2025
/ Blockchain ,
Capital Formation ,
Capital Markets ,
CFTC ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Digital Assets ,
New Legislation ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Regulation ,
Stablecoins ,
Tokenization ,
Venture Capital
Coming off a lengthy government shutdown, the Senate is showing bipartisan progress on digital asset market structure legislation, with both the Senate Agriculture and Banking Committees working to advance their respective...more
11/25/2025
/ Blockchain ,
CFTC ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Decentralized Finance (DeFi) ,
Digital Assets ,
Financial Services Industry ,
FinTech ,
New Legislation ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Senate Committees ,
Stablecoins
With the government shutdown ending, federal agencies, including the CFTC and SEC, are resuming operations and making further progress on crypto-related policy.
On Capitol Hill, the Senate Agriculture Committee released a...more
11/18/2025
/ Blockchain ,
CFTC ,
Cryptoassets ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Digital Assets ,
FinTech ,
Government Agencies ,
Grantor Trusts ,
Howey ,
IRS ,
New Guidance ,
New Legislation ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Stablecoins ,
The GENIUS Act ,
Trading Platforms
In Part 3 of this three-part series, we address the current outlook of the CFTC and how it may evolve given changes in leadership.
In late October, the Trump administration nominated Michael Selig to serve as the new CFTC...more
11/4/2025
/ Blockchain ,
CFTC ,
Cryptoassets ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Decentralized Finance (DeFi) ,
Derivatives ,
Digital Assets ,
FinTech ,
New Legislation ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Tokenization
On Wednesday of last week, the U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) took a significant further step to increase economic pressure on Russia in connection with the war in Ukraine, sanctioning...more
10/27/2025
/ Blocked Person ,
Economic Sanctions ,
Energy Sector ,
Executive Orders ,
Export Controls ,
Financial Institutions ,
International Trade ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Oil & Gas ,
Russia ,
Sanctions ,
SDN List ,
Secondary Sanctions ,
Supply Chain ,
U.S. Treasury
The CFTC Has Broad Enforcement Authority -
The CFTC’s enforcement authority is exercised through its Division of Enforcement (DOE), which is empowered with broad authority to investigate and pursue violations of the...more
10/8/2025
/ Anti-Fraud Provisions ,
Anti-Money Laundering ,
CFTC ,
Commodity Exchange Act (CEA) ,
Decentralized Finance (DeFi) ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Digital Assets ,
Enforcement ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Fraud ,
Money Laundering ,
Registration Requirement ,
Regulatory Authority ,
SCOTUS ,
Whistleblowers
In Part 1 of this three-part overview of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), we take a look at the basics of CFTC regulation, highlighting what you need to know about the agency and its jurisdiction....more
9/25/2025
/ CFTC ,
Commodity Exchange Act (CEA) ,
Cross-Border Transactions ,
Derivatives ,
Designated Contract Markets (DCMs) ,
Dodd-Frank ,
Extraterritoriality Rules ,
Financial Markets ,
Futures ,
Futures Commission Merchants (FCMs) ,
Jurisdiction ,
Regulatory Authority ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Swaps
This week, the CFTC released an Enforcement Advisory setting forth concrete guidelines for self-reporting, cooperation and remediation that will reshape how market participants report and defend potential violations....more
Earlier this year, as described in a previous client alert, the Department of Justice (“DOJ”) Criminal Division announced a landmark pilot program to pay monetary awards to whistleblowers (the “Program”). At that time, Deputy...more
8/9/2024
/ Asset Recovery ,
Bribery ,
CFTC ,
Corporate Misconduct ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
False Claims Act (FCA) ,
FEPA ,
Financial Crimes ,
FinCEN ,
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) ,
Healthcare Fraud ,
Incentives ,
Money Laundering ,
Popular ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Whistleblower Awards ,
Whistleblowers
On July 31, 2024, nine Democratic lawmakers from the House and Senate wrote a letter to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission’s (“CFTC”) Chairman in support of the proposed guidance regarding the listing of voluntary...more
On October 17, 2023, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission’s (“CFTC” or “Commission”) Division of Enforcement (“DOE”) released its latest enforcement advisory, providing guidance to CFTC staff on resolution of an...more
The voluntary carbon market is rapidly growing to match the increasing focus by corporate leaders on ESG efforts and net-zero goals. In 2021, the voluntary carbon market reached $2 billion, and by some estimates may be worth...more
The U.S. Sentencing Guidelines (“Guidelines”) provide federal courts with a framework for sentencing criminal defendants based on the seriousness of the offense and the defendant’s criminal history. While the Guidelines are...more
Happy New Year! While the holidays hopefully provided a chance to rest and recharge, things have not slowed down in the world of digital asset enforcement. We see a growing dedication of resources by government law...more
1/13/2023
/ Bank Secrecy Act ,
CFTC ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Decentralized Autonomous Organization (DAO) ,
Decentralized Finance (DeFi) ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
FDIC ,
FinCEN ,
Fraud ,
Ponzi Scheme ,
Popular ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Exchange Act ,
Suspicious Activity Reports (SARs) ,
Wire Fraud
The FTC recently concluded that many noncompete agreements between employers and employees violate federal antitrust law. These actions represent a rejection of the centuries-old principle that noncompete provisions are...more