As of January 10, 2024, US securities exchanges may list Bitcoin ETFs for trading. Cryptocurrency enthusiasts hope this decision signals a broader adoption of cryptocurrency in the United States. Perhaps it does, but...more
On November 11, 2022, FTX, the world’s third-largest cryptocurrency exchange, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in the United States. Reports suggest that the exchange might have a shortfall of as much as US$8...more
On July 21, 2022, the US Department of Justice (DOJ) unsealed an indictment charging Ishan Wahi (Wahi), a former product manager at a large cryptocurrency trading platform (the Platform) - along with his brother Nikhil Wahi...more
7/28/2022
/ Conspiracies ,
Criminal Conspiracy ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Decentralized Finance (DeFi) ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Digital Assets ,
Digital Marketplace ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Howey ,
Indictments ,
Insider Trading ,
Popular ,
Rule 10b-5 ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Wire Fraud
Senators Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) and Cynthia Lummis (R- WY) introduced new proposed legislation on June 7, 2022, which would classify the vast majority of digital assets as commodities, and empower the Commodities Futures...more
6/14/2022
/ CFTC ,
Commodities ,
Cryptoassets ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Cybersecurity ,
Digital Assets ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
FERC ,
FinTech ,
Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) ,
Investment Contract ,
NIST ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
On May 2, 2022, a putative class action was filed against a decentralized autonomous organization (DAO) and its members seeking to recover $55 million in cryptocurrency losses stolen during a hack into the DAO’s decentralized...more
On May 3, 2022, the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced the expansion of its newly styled Crypto Assets and Cyber Unit (Unit) (formerly known as the Cyber Unit), housed within its Division of...more
5/10/2022
/ Bitcoin ,
Blockchain ,
Cryptoassets ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Decentralized Finance (DeFi) ,
Enforcement Authority ,
Enforcement Priorities ,
Howey ,
Lenders ,
Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs) ,
Popular ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Working Groups
In an Executive Order (EO) issued March 9, 2022, President Joseph Biden set out the guiding principles for US policy on digital assets and digital asset regulation, including US policy with respect to a US Central Bank...more
There is no love lost between the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the crypto industry with tensions escalating over the past year. So it seems fitting that on Valentine’s Day, the SEC brought a...more
On January 26, 2022, the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) proposed a rule (Proposed Rule) amending - and significantly broadening - a rule that defines certain terms used in the statutory definition of “exchange.”...more
In a US District Court complaint filed May 26, 2021, a married couple is seeking a refund of taxes they paid on cryptocurrency tokens the husband created, asserting that current law does not permit the treatment of created...more
6/23/2021
/ Asset Tokens ,
Blockchain ,
Coinbase ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Data Mining ,
Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) ,
Federal Taxes ,
Income Taxes ,
Internal Revenue Code (IRC) ,
IRS ,
Personal Property ,
Popular ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Tax Refunds ,
Token Sales
On April 9, 2021, the Internal Revenue Service (Service) released Chief Counsel Advice 202114020 (the Guidance) regarding the tax consequences to an individual in receipt of Bitcoin Cash (BCH) following the August 2017 hard...more
It was a tumultuous year for privacy and cybersecurity, and further uncertainty is all but guaranteed. The key to navigating this volatility, as 2020 proved, is to develop and maintain a proactive, agile and holistic data...more
2/10/2021
/ Artificial Intelligence ,
California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Cyber Crimes ,
Cybersecurity ,
Data Breach ,
Data Privacy ,
Data Security ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Financial Services Industry ,
General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) ,
NAIC ,
Popular
On October 8, 2020, the US Department of Justice (DOJ) Cyber-Digital Task Force issued an 83-page comprehensive “Cryptocurrency: An Enforcement Framework,” (Framework), signaling the DOJ’s increased focus on prosecuting...more
According to one blockchain and cryptocurrency security firm, this year is on pace to be the second highest in cryptocurrency theft, hacking and fraud, with January through May 2020 already seeing $1.36 billion stolen in...more
6/10/2020
/ Bank Secrecy Act ,
Bitcoin ,
Blockchain ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Fraud ,
Hackers ,
Misappropriation ,
Money Laundering ,
Money Services Business ,
OCC ,
Theft
On October 9, 2019, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) issued guidance addressing select issues involving the tax treatment of virtual currency transactions and reminding taxpayers of their reporting obligations. The...more
In a somewhat surprising move, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) entered into a $24 million settlement with Block.one on September 30, 2019, over its unregistered initial coin offering (ICO) that raised upwards of...more
10/18/2019
/ Blockchain ,
Civil Monetary Penalty ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Digital Currency ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Initial Coin Offering (ICOs) ,
Investors ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
Securities Act of 1933 ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Violations ,
Technology Sector ,
Token Sales ,
Unregistered Securities
Along with other regulators, the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) has been signaling its intention to pursue those in the cryptocurrency sphere that it believes are capitalizing on the excitement and novelty of...more