An executive order and related legislation centralizes Bitcoin and digital asset holdings across the federal government to optimize oversight and management of crypto as a US reserve asset.
On March 6, 2025, President...more
The SEC’s long-awaited green light for spot bitcoin ETPs is welcomed by the market, but the ambivalent decision raises more questions than it answers.
On January 10, 2024, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)...more
The Proposed Guidance would require enhanced criteria for coin-listing and delisting procedures for New York-licensed virtual currency entities.
On September 18, 2023, the New York Department of Financial Services (DFS)...more
10/6/2023
/ Bitcoin ,
Corporate Governance ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Guidance Update ,
Listing Rules ,
NYDFS ,
Popular ,
Stablecoins ,
Token Sales ,
Virtual Currency
An appeals court panel rules that the SEC rejection of a proposed spot bitcoin ETP was arbitrary and capricious, opening the door for the potential launch of numerous ETPs in the near future.
On August 29, 2023, a...more
Ethereum’s transition to proof of stake presents opportunities and pitfalls for certain digital assets and tokens built on the network.
After years of development, the Ethereum blockchain appears poised to make its...more
Popular and institutional interest in digital assets, decentralized applications, NFTs, and blockchain technology skyrocketed, and regulators sprinted to catch up.
For the digital asset markets, 2021 was a banner year....more
1/25/2022
/ Bitcoin ,
Blockchain ,
Capital Raising ,
Cryptoassets ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Decentralized Finance (DeFi) ,
Digital Assets ,
Enforcement ,
Entrepreneurs ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
Federal Reserve ,
Financial Regulatory Agencies ,
FinCEN ,
Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs) ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Startups ,
Unicorns ,
Venture Capital
Gary Gensler asserts the SEC’s broad powers over digital assets, and puts consumer protection at the forefront.
On August 3, 2021, Gary Gensler, chairman of the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), gave a speech on...more
8/13/2021
/ Bitcoin ,
Blockchain ,
Broker-Dealer ,
Consumer Financial Products ,
Consumer Protection Laws ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Decentralized Finance (DeFi) ,
Digital Assets ,
Enforcement ,
Exchange-Traded Products ,
Initial Coin Offering (ICOs) ,
Popular ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Stablecoins ,
Token Sales
A sovereign nation’s decision to adopt Bitcoin as legal tender raises interesting questions — and legal ramifications.
On June 8, 2021, El Salvador’s Legislative Assembly voted to establish Bitcoin as unrestricted legal...more
6/25/2021
/ Article 9 ,
Banking Sector ,
Bitcoin ,
CFTC ,
Commodity Exchange Act (CEA) ,
Cryptocurrency ,
El Salvador ,
Exchange-Traded Products ,
Financial Action Task Force ,
Foreign Currency ,
IRS ,
Money Transfer ,
Multinationals ,
New Legislation ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Uniform Commercial Code (UCC)
It was a year filled with tantalizing tidbits and many loose ends.
2019 marked the 10th year since blockchain technology was released into the wild by its still unknown inventor, Satoshi Nakamoto, who mined the first bitcoin...more
1/9/2020
/ Bitcoin ,
Blockchain ,
Chain of Custody ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Digital Assets ,
Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) ,
Enforcement ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) ,
Financial Transactions ,
Initial Coin Offering (ICOs) ,
No-Action Letters ,
Popular ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Regulatory Standards ,
Securities Act of 1933 ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Exchange Act ,
Securities Tokens ,
Token Sales ,
Unregistered Securities
Developing a framework for consumer tokens -
With the rapid growth in the development of blockchain technology, virtual currencies and token sales (sometimes referred to as initial coin offerings, or ICOs) in 2017 and...more
9/19/2018
/ Bitcoin ,
Blockchain ,
CFTC ,
Commodities ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Currency Control ,
Initial Coin Offering (ICOs) ,
Popular ,
Securities ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Token Sales ,
Tokenization ,
Virtual Currency
SEC’s Hinman provides helpful guidance for analyzing digital assets under the US securities laws.
William Hinman, Director of the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Division of Corporation Finance, provided...more
How should broker-dealers, investment advisers, and other registered firms in the US, UK, and Hong Kong address cryptocurrencies in their compliance programs?
Originally published on bloombergbna.com on April 16,...more
Regulators responded to a narrow question about trading bitcoin-based securities, with orders that should not limit innovation in bitcoin technologies.
On March 10, 2017, the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)...more
What is cryptocurrency?
There is no one standard definition of cryptocurrency. At the most basic level cryptocurrency—or digital currency or virtual currency—is a medium of exchange that functions like money (in that it...more
Cryptocurrency is on the rise...and so are enforcement actions.
In less than a decade, cyptocurrencies have grown from a novelty reserved for those dealing in the illicit into a robust platform embraced by financial...more
12/9/2015
/ Anti-Money Laundering ,
Bitcoin ,
BitLicense ,
CFTC ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Dodd-Frank ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
FinCEN ,
Popular ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Young Lawyers
As the proposed BitLicense takes shape, New York regulators are engaging in discussions with industry players.
On October 14, 2014 Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law organized a panel discussion as part of its Tech...more
The CFTC discusses first Bitcoin swap listed on a CFTC-regulated platform and Bitcoin regulation generally with panel of industry participants.
The Global Markets Advisory Committee (GMAC) of the U.S. Commodity...more