Crypto Initiatives Focus on Latin America; New Tether Policy Aligns with OFAC -
According to a press release, earlier this month Circle Internet Financial announced a partnership with Nubank, one of Latin America’s largest...more
Following one of the most turbulent years in crypto history, 2023, in contrast, unfolded as a year of reprieve, including from crypto threats. According to a July 12, 2023, report from blockchain analytics firm Chainalysis,...more
10/6/2023
/ Bitcoin ,
Blockchain ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Cyber Crimes ,
Cyber Insurance ,
Decentralized Autonomous Organization (DAO) ,
Decentralized Finance (DeFi) ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Extortion ,
FinCEN ,
Hackers ,
Ransomware ,
Risk Assessment ,
Risk Management ,
Risk Mitigation ,
Scams ,
Smart Contracts
Long-awaited enforcement actions may be coming soon for those who took advantage of the lucrative tax breaks offered by the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico without meeting the requirements. Prosecutions may also follow for...more
7/27/2023
/ Criminal Investigations ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Investigations ,
IRS ,
Puerto Rico ,
Relief Measures ,
Residency Requirements ,
Tax Avoidance ,
Tax Exemptions ,
Technology Sector ,
Voluntary Disclosure
On July 13, 2023, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York issued its highly anticipated summary judgment decision in the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) action against Ripple Labs, Inc....more
Join BakerHostetler for our series of Fireside Chats about the latest developments impacting the capital markets and their participants, and the blockchain industry....more
7/12/2023
/ Administrative Proceedings ,
Artificial Intelligence ,
Blockchain ,
Capital Markets ,
Cybersecurity ,
Digital Assets ,
Enforcement ,
Popular ,
SEC Commissioner ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Regulation ,
Webinars
New Products Launch for Crypto Futures, Wallets, Stablecoins and Settlement -
According to a recent press release, a leading global options exchange has received the necessary approval from the U.S. Commodity Futures...more
6/12/2023
/ Crypto Exchanges ,
Cryptoassets ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Digital Assets ,
Digital Wallets ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Fraud ,
Hackers ,
Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs) ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Stablecoins
On May 3, 2023, a jury found Nathaniel Chastain, a former manager of OpenSea (a major NFT marketplace), guilty of wire fraud and money laundering in connection with his attempts to conceal his use of confidential business...more
5/25/2023
/ Commodities ,
Confidential Information ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Criminal Convictions ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Digital Assets ,
Fraud ,
Insider Trading ,
Jury Verdicts ,
Material Nonpublic Information ,
Misappropriation ,
Money Laundering ,
Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs) ,
Securities ,
Wire Act ,
Wire Fraud
On March 29, Gensler testified before the U.S. House Appropriations Committee’s Financial Services and General Government Subcommittee during a hearing on the SEC’s Fiscal Year 2024 Budget Justification Annual Performance...more
Background and Scope -
The Assessment was drafted by Treasury’s Office of Terrorist Financing and Financial Crimes (“TFFC”), in consultation with multiple U.S. agencies, including the Departments of Homeland Security,...more
Dapper Labs was founded in 2018 shortly after the debut of its first NFT collection, “CryptoKitties,” which was so successful it created a bottleneck of transactions on the decentralized Ethereum Network. Seeking faster...more
3/7/2023
/ Blockchain ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Cryptoassets ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Decentralized Finance (DeFi) ,
Digital Assets ,
Ethereum ,
Howey ,
Investment Contract ,
Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs) ,
Popular ,
Securities ,
Securities Act of 1933
Mango Markets is a decentralized cryptocurrency exchange that allows users to purchase and borrow cryptocurrencies and cryptocurrency-related financial products. Mango Markets is run by the Mango Decentralized Autonomous...more
2/27/2023
/ CFTC ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Cryptoassets ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Digital Platforms ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Fraud ,
Market Manipulation ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Trading Platforms ,
Wire Fraud
The SEC’s Complaint -
According to the SEC’s complaint, Kraken offered and sold its staking services to the general public in which participants could transfer crypto assets to Kraken in exchange for “advertised annual...more
Two congressional committees of the U.S. House of Representatives commenced the new year by announcing the creation of new subcommittees for the 118th Congress that are expected to analyze issues concerning cryptocurrency and...more
DeFi, Stablecoin Products Launch; Bitcoin Network Spikes Due to NFTs -
According to reports, a new decentralized finance (DeFi) protocol recently launched that allows users to deposit the stablecoins USDC or DAI in a...more
2/13/2023
/ Bitcoin ,
Blockchain ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Decentralized Finance (DeFi) ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Digital Assets ,
FASB ,
Individual Retirement Account (IRA) ,
Money Laundering ,
Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs) ,
North Korea ,
Ransomware ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Tokens ,
Stablecoins
Reports Address Crypto Ownership, Stablecoins and Dapp Adoption -
Recent reports provide new data on various areas of the digital asset market. In one report, a survey published by a cryptocurrency trading platform found...more
1/30/2023
/ Blockchain ,
CFTC ,
Cryptoassets ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Decentralized Finance (DeFi) ,
Digital Assets ,
FBI ,
Hackers ,
New Guidance ,
Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs) ,
NYDFS ,
Request For Information ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Stablecoins
On January 4, 2023, the New York State Department of Financial Services (“DFS”) announced that Coinbase, Inc., a major U.S. cryptocurrency exchange, will pay a $50 million penalty and invest an additional $50 million in its...more
1/17/2023
/ Anti-Money Laundering ,
Bank Secrecy Act ,
Coinbase ,
Compliance ,
Consent Order ,
Crypto Exchanges ,
Customer Due Diligence (CDD) ,
Cybersecurity ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Government Investigations ,
Know Your Customers ,
Money Transmitter ,
NYDFS ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Regulatory Violations ,
Settlement ,
Statutory Violations ,
Virtual Currency
Payments Firms Launch Crypto Products, New DeFi Price Indices Announced -
A U.S. fintech company recently announced the launch of a fiat-to-crypto on-ramp, which facilitates fiat-to-crypto payments using “a customizable...more
12/12/2022
/ AML/CFT ,
Bitcoin ,
Blockchain ,
Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDCs) ,
Compliance ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Decentralized Finance (DeFi) ,
Enforcement Priorities ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Financial Services Industry ,
FinCEN ,
FinTech ,
Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs) ,
Popular ,
Royalties ,
Token Sales ,
Trading Platforms
Takeaways:
..2022 IRS Criminal Investigation Annual Report highlights significant prosecutions and identifies cryptocurrency as an area of top priority heading into 2023.
..Criminal Investigation Chief Jim Lee...more
In a sudden and stunning collapse, FTX, the world’s second largest cryptocurrency exchange, run by 30-year-old Sam Bankman-Fried along with more than 130 entities affiliated with FTX, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy...more
CBDC Report Published, Blockchain Settlement and Payment Initiatives Launch -
This week the New York branch of the U.S. central bank published a report on the Phase I results of Project Cedar, “a multiphase research effort...more
11/14/2022
/ Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDCs) ,
CFTC ,
Commercial Bankruptcy ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement Priorities ,
Fraud ,
Hackers ,
Information Reports ,
Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs) ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Popular ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
Takeaways:
..The Court granted the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s (the SEC) motion for summary judgment, holding that LBC tokens are securities and that the offers and sales of the tokens by LBRY, Inc. (LBRY)...more
The continued growth of the market for nonfungible tokens (NFTs) in 2022 has helped shape the zeitgeist of what has been referenced colloquially by some as the “fourth industrial revolution,” defined largely by network effect...more
10/27/2022
/ Blockchain ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Cyber Threats ,
Digital Assets ,
Financial Crimes ,
FinTech ,
Hackers ,
Insider Trading ,
Market Manipulation ,
Money Laundering ,
Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs) ,
Phishing Scams ,
Popular ,
Risk Management ,
Scams ,
Terrorism Funding
On October 11, 2022, the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) and Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) announced a $29 million civil monetary penalty against Bittrex, a...more
10/25/2022
/ Bank Secrecy Act ,
BSA/AML ,
Civil Monetary Penalty ,
Compliance ,
Consent Order ,
Crypto Exchanges ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Enforcement Actions ,
FinCEN ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Statutory Violations
Takeaways -
..U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC, or Commission) Chair Gary Gensler reaffirmed his view that the “vast majority” of cryptocurrency tokens are securities, and recent agency enforcement actions...more
Takeaways -
..The U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) issued the first-ever smart contracts sanction, and its decision to sanction a nonperson may be challenged in court.
..The U.S....more
8/23/2022
/ Corporate Counsel ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Cyber Crimes ,
Decentralized Finance (DeFi) ,
Economic Sanctions ,
Ethereum ,
Money Laundering ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
SDN List ,
Smart Contracts ,
U.S. Treasury