New York is considering groundbreaking legislation that the state’s attorney general calls the “strongest and most comprehensive set of regulations on cryptocurrency in the nation.” Attorney General Letitia James said the...more
The past week delivered three major shocks to the financial and tech worlds: first, the March 8 failure of Silvergate Bank; second, the sudden, March 10 failure of Silicon Valley Bank (“SVB”); and third, the weekend collapse...more
Prosecution of executives for insider trading is not necessarily headline news – except when the prosecution involves the SEC wading deep into the waters of defining crypto as a security enroute to securing two guilty pleas. ...more
Digitally progressive California has achieved another tech first, bringing blockchain to California’s Department of Motor Vehicles in a quest for a better, faster and cheaper administrative process for the state’s motor...more
With 2022 now fading into the background and 2023 underway, a review of some of the 2022 highlights in cryptocurrency provides an opportunity to look at the developments of the past year with a fresh perspective – and to...more
2/7/2023
/ Biden Administration ,
Blockchain ,
Coinbase ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Digital Assets ,
Enforcement ,
Executive Orders ,
FinCEN ,
New Regulations ,
NYDFS ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
On January 5, 2023, the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) reported Peloton agreed to pay a $19,065,000 civil penalty as a settlement regarding its Tread+ treadmill, approximately a year and a half after the CPSC and...more
New York’s Department of Financial Services (“DFS”) recently announced a $100 million settlement with Coinbase, Inc., one of the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchanges, for Bank Secrecy Act/Anti-Money Laundering (“BSA/AML”)...more
1/10/2023
/ Anti-Money Laundering ,
Bank Secrecy Act ,
Coinbase ,
Compliance ,
Crypto Exchanges ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Cybersecurity ,
Data Breach ,
Digital Assets ,
Due Diligence ,
Financial Institutions ,
New York ,
NYDFS ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Settlement ,
Suspicious Activity Reports (SARs) ,
Transaction Monitoring
The overlap of social media, celebrity endorsement, and cryptocurrency have long been viewed as a potential breeding ground for regulatory and litigation liability. The proliferation of cryptocurrency and the lack of...more
On November 15, 2022, the CEO of FTX and various alleged celebrity endorsers were sued in Florida federal court by Edwin Garrison, an FTX investor. In the complaint, Garrison alleges that FTX engaged in the unlawful sale of a...more
The U.S. Treasury Department’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (“FinCEN”) and Office of Foreign Assets Control (“OFAC”) settled enforcement actions with Washington state-based Bittrex. In the two settlements, Bittrex...more
This summer was a busy one for cryptocurrency regulators, with aggressive actions potentially signaling an increase in consumer protection compliance activity.
In August alone, the New York Department of Financial Services...more
10/4/2022
/ Coinbase ,
Compliance ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Financial Institutions ,
Fines ,
Fraud ,
Howey ,
Money Laundering ,
Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs) ,
NYDFS ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Penalties ,
Ponzi Scheme ,
Popular ,
Pyramid Schemes ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Settlement
The recent OpenSea insider trading case emphasizes the need for businesses in the digital assets industry to stay abreast of the fast-changing legal landscape surrounding their industry, and also emphasizes that new digital...more
California Governor Gavin Newsom vetoed the Digital Financial Assets Law requiring companies offering services that involve investing, lending, or trading cryptocurrencies to register with the state’s Department of Financial...more
California is one step closer to joining New York in requiring cryptocurrency licenses.
Governor Gavin Newsom has until September 30 to sign or veto the Digital Financial Assets Law, which would go into effect in 2025. The...more
If your staff member wants his or her paycheck in cryptocurrency, should you – as an employer keeping up with the times — accommodate the request?
You don’t have to work in Silicon Valley or play for the NFL to field this...more
7/29/2022
/ Bitcoin ,
Blockchain ,
CFTC ,
Compensation ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Digital Assets ,
Estate Planning ,
Ethereum ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
New York ,
Payment Systems ,
Popular ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Wages
On May 16, President Biden signed the Safe Sleep for Babies Act into law, less than two weeks after being passed by Congress. The Act addresses the controversy around inclined sleepers and crib bumpers for infants by banning...more
\Once a fairly loosely scrutinized space, online reviews have become an area of increased interest to and enforcement by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). A recent FTC order is particularly telling...more
The newly signed the bi-partisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (“IIJA”) includes new regulations aimed directly at cryptocurrency oversight. Unlike more traditional asset classes, cryptocurrencies are not governed...more
Among other things, the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) is tasked with consumer protection, including pursuit and prosecution of false advertising. To that end, the FTC has long regulated the use of the phrase “Made in...more
The Consumer Product Safety Commission (the “CPSC”) is tasked with protecting the public from unreasonable risks of injury or death associated with the use of the thousands of types of consumer products. Like most federal...more