On January 18, 2023, the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) designated Bitzlato Limited (Bitzlato), a crypto asset exchange business incorporated in Hong Kong, as a “primary money...more
In this latest issue of Wilson Sonsini's Focus on Fintech newsletter, we discuss the FTX bankruptcy and the increased federal regulatory scrutiny of crypto assets, and new rules and innovations in the payments...more
2/1/2023
/ Banking Sector ,
Banks ,
Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDCs) ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Department of Financial Protection and Innovation (DFPI) ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Services Industry ,
FinTech ,
OCC ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
U.S. Treasury ,
UK
The consent order issued by the New York Department of Financial Services (NYDFS) to crypto asset exchange, Coinbase, serves as a reminder of regulators’ growing interest in ensuring that crypto asset companies meet their...more
On November 28, 2022, the U.S. Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) announced that Payward, Inc. d/b/a Kraken, a U.S.-based cryptocurrency exchange, agreed to pay $362,158.70 to settle charges relating to its...more
Welcome to Wilson Sonsini’s Focus on Fintech newsletter. This quarterly newsletter provides ongoing analysis and commentary on regulatory developments impacting the fintech industry.
The third quarter of 2022 has been a...more
11/2/2022
/ Banking Sector ,
Banks ,
CFTC ,
Crypto Exchanges ,
Cryptoassets ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Digital Assets ,
Financial Crimes ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Services Industry ,
FinCEN ,
FinTech ,
Payment Systems
On October 11, 2022, the U.S. Treasury's Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) and Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) announced settlements with Bittrex Inc. (Bittrex). The settlements arise from violations of...more
10/19/2022
/ Anti-Money Laundering ,
Crypto Exchanges ,
Cryptoassets ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Economic Sanctions ,
Financial Institutions ,
FinCEN ,
Money Laundering ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Popular ,
Sanctions
On September 30, 2022, the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) published its final regulations on Beneficial Ownership Information (BOI) Reporting Requirements. The regulations...more
Two recent federal enforcement actions—announced the same day—have underlined the need for crypto companies to carefully consider their anti-money laundering (AML) obligations or else risk significant penalties....more
Wilson Sonsini provides extensive and cutting-edge legal services for innovators, technology pioneers, and disruptors. As part of our focus on emerging technologies, our attorneys are publishing a series on applying and...more
The global NFT (non-fungible token) market now is worth dozens of billions of dollars annually. Innovators and early adopters, marketplaces, and sellers, are all eager to join this market but may have questions about how to...more
5/24/2022
/ Anti-Money Laundering ,
Blockchain ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Digital Assets ,
Economic Sanctions ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Markets ,
Money Laundering ,
Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs) ,
Popular ,
Virtual Currency
President Biden launched an effort to establish a federal digital assets policy strategy and coordinate the related work of federal regulators by signing the Executive Order on Ensuring Responsible Development of Digital...more
3/16/2022
/ Biden Administration ,
Bitcoin ,
Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDCs) ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Digital Assets ,
Executive Orders ,
Financial Regulatory Reform ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Financial Transactions ,
Investor Protection ,
Investors
On February 4, 2022, the United States Department of the Treasury (the Treasury) issued a report titled, "Study of the Facilitation of Money Laundering and Terror Finance Through the Trade in Works of Art." The report...more
On December 8, 2021, the Treasury Department's Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) published its proposed regulations on beneficial ownership information (BOI) reporting requirements. These FinCEN regulations will...more
On August 31, 2021, the District Court for the Western District of Texas upheld the Payment Provisions in the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s (CFPB) 2017 “Payday, Vehicle Title, and Certain High-Cost Installment Loans”...more
On August 27, 2021 the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency released guidance on Conducting Due Diligence on Financial...more
11/10/2021
/ Asset Management ,
Banking Sector ,
Banks ,
Consumer Financial Products ,
Digital Assets ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Services Industry ,
FinTech ,
Popular ,
Risk Management ,
UK
The Conference of State Bank Supervisors (CSBS) released its Money Transmission Modernization Act (Money Transmitter Model Law) (Model Law) to create a single money transmitter regulatory regime across the country and...more
The U.S. Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) published new guidance last week for the virtual currency industry. While OFAC's economic sanctions compliance obligations apply to all U.S. persons, the...more
Earlier this month, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) announced the creation of a National Cryptocurrency Enforcement Team (NCET) to "tackle complex investigations and prosecutions of criminal misuses of cryptocurrency,...more