On January 8, 2024, the Digital Assets and Blockchain Technology Subcommittee (the Subcommittee) of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission’s (CFTC or the Commission) Technology Advisory Committee (TAC) presented a 79-page...more
On Sept. 18, the New York State Department of Financial Services issued proposed guidance for companies holding virtual currency business licenses and limited-purpose trust companies — collectively referred to as virtual...more
On September 18, the New York State Department of Financial Services (the DFS or the “Department”) issued proposed guidance for BitLicensees and limited-purpose trust companies (collectively, VCEs) seeking to list virtual...more
On May 5, New York Attorney General Letitia James announced a landmark legislative proposal—titled the Crypto Regulation, Protection, Transparency and Oversight (CRPTO) Act (hereinafter, the Proposal)—to tighten regulations...more
On May 5, New York Attorney General Letitia James announced a landmark legislative proposal — titled the Crypto Regulation, Protection, Transparency and Oversight Act — to tighten regulations on the digital asset industry....more
On January 23, the New York State Department of Financial Services (DFS or the Department) issued guidance clarifying its expectations for New York-based virtual currency businesses regarding the custody of customer assets...more
On January 3, the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve (FRB), Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) and Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) issued a Joint Statement on Crypto-Asset Risks to Banking...more
1/9/2023
/ Banking Sector ,
Commercial Bankruptcy ,
Cryptoassets ,
Cryptocurrency ,
FDIC ,
Financial Regulatory Agencies ,
FRB ,
Joint Policy Statements ,
NYDFS ,
OCC ,
Prudential Standards ,
Risk Alert ,
Risk Assessment
Cryptocurrency continues to dominate the headlines, from starting the year at a high with major TV ads to questions in recent weeks about the stability of the market. In this episode of In the Public Interest, co-host and...more
Western sanctions against Russia have continued to broaden substantially into new areas of trade, especially in the energy sector. Policymakers in Washington DC, Brussels, London and other allied capitals also continue to...more
3/18/2022
/ Asset Freeze ,
Belarus ,
Blocked Entities ,
Blocked Person ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Economic Sanctions ,
EU ,
Export Controls ,
General Licenses ,
Imports ,
Most-Favored Nations ,
Russia ,
Trade Relations ,
Trade Restrictions ,
UK ,
Ukraine
On November 1, 2021, the President’s Working Group on Financial Markets (PWG) - along with the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) - published the Report on...more
11/16/2021
/ Anti-Money Laundering ,
Blockchain ,
CFTC ,
Cross-Border ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Exchange Rates ,
FDIC ,
FinCEN ,
FSOC ,
Information Reports ,
Legislative Agendas ,
OCC ,
Payment Systems ,
Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Risk Assessment ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Stablecoins
On September 21, 2021, the US Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (“OFAC”) levied its first sanctions against a Russian-operated virtual currency exchange involved in ransomware payments and published an...more
9/24/2021
/ Advisory Opinions ,
AML/CFT ,
Anti-Money Laundering ,
Compliance ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Currency Exchange ,
Cybersecurity Information Sharing Act (CISA) ,
Economic Sanctions ,
FinCEN ,
Know Your Customers ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Ransomware ,
Russia ,
SDN List ,
U.S. Treasury ,
Virtual Currency
Two recent actions by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) - one enforcement action and one interpretive note - focus attention on the kinds of anti–money laundering (AML) controls needed for banks to custody...more
8/7/2020
/ Anti-Money Laundering ,
BSA/AML ,
Compliance ,
Consent Order ,
Cryptoassets ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Custody ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Financial Institutions ,
FinCEN ,
OCC
On November 28, the Treasury Department sanctioned two Iran-based individuals for exchanging bitcoin into Iranian rials on behalf of malicious cyber actors involved in the SamSam ransomware scheme. Notably, this action marks...more
12/3/2018
/ Bitcoin ,
Crypto Exchanges ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Digital Currency ,
Economic Sanctions ,
Iran ,
New Guidance ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Ransomware ,
SDN List ,
U.S. Treasury