Author Info for Proskauer - Blockchain and the Law

Steven Baker

From Cryptic to (Some) Clarity: English Law and Policy Rising to the Challenge of Cryptoassets (Part 3)

In the first two instalments of our series we examined the progress of English law to provide a secure and certain legal infrastructure for cryptoasset investment and management. In particular, we looked at how recent English…more

Blockchain, Critical Infrastructure Sectors, Cryptoassets, Cryptocurrency, Digital Assets

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Julia Bihary

From Cryptic to (Some) Clarity: English Law and Policy Rising to the Challenge of Cryptoassets (Part 3)

In the first two instalments of our series we examined the progress of English law to provide a secure and certain legal infrastructure for cryptoasset investment and management. In particular, we looked at how recent English…more

Blockchain, Critical Infrastructure Sectors, Cryptoassets, Cryptocurrency, Digital Assets

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Allan Bloom

Legal Ramifications of Paying Employees with Cryptocurrency

As cryptocurrencies surge in value and enter mainstream consciousness, an increasing number of employers may consider compensating their employees with bitcoin, ether, or other cryptocurrencies. While a cryptocurrency…more

Bitcoin, Cryptocurrency, Department of Labor (DOL), Employer Liability Issues, Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA)

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Wai Choy

Roots of Confusion Over “v1” CryptoPunks NFTs Raise Key Copyright and Practical Considerations for NFT Minters, Acquirers and Platform Operators

Minters of collectible non-fungible tokens (NFTs) have taken a wide range of approaches. In addition to variations in the means of distribution, token standards, governing smart contracts and platforms on which initial sales or…more

Blockchain, DMCA, Intellectual Property Protection, Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs), Sales & Distribution Agreements

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Peter Cramer

Part II: With New DAO Law on the Books, Utah Joins Race with Wyoming and Tennessee to Become U.S. “Crypto Capital”

As discussed in Part I of this series, state DAO LLC laws have been enacted in the last several years and have become one option for decentralized autonomous organizations (or DAOs) to create a so-called “legal wrapper” or…more

Blockchain, Cryptocurrency, Decentralized Autonomous Organization (DAO), Financial Services Industry, General Partnerships

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Rita Halabi

Congress and the IRS Make Moves to Improve Taxpayer Compliance for Cryptocurrency Transactions

IRS Commissioner Charles Rettig, testifying before Congress in April 2021, estimated the gap between taxes owed and taxes collected in the United States to be close to $1 trillion…more

Bitcoin, Cryptocurrency, Digital Assets, Digital Currency, Financial Transactions

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Jordan Horowitz

SEC Responds to Wyoming’s Opinion on Custody of Digital Assets and Qualified Custodian Status

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) issued a statement in response to the Wyoming Division of Banking’s No-Action Letter on Custody of Digital Assets and Qualified Custodian Status…more

Asset Management, Blockchain, Cryptocurrency, Custodians, Custody Rule

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Sarah Hughes

SEC Brings Charges against Blockchain-Based Trading Platform over Alleged Violations of Disclosure Rules

On January 10, 2022, the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC” or the “Commission”) announced it settled charges in In re tZERO ATS, LLC, No. 93938 (SEC Order Jan. 10, 2022) (“Order”)…more

Alternative Trading System (ATS), Blockchain, Cease and Desist Orders, Cryptocurrency, Digital Currency

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Timothy Karcher

Regulation in the Post-FTX Environment: SEC’s Proposed Enhanced Custody Rule and Its Effects on Crypto

When it rains, it pours. On January 23, 2023, the New York Department of Financial Services announced that it had issued certain Guidance on Custodial Structures for Customer Protection in the Event of Insolvency in which it…more

Crypto Exchanges, Cryptoassets, Custody Rule, Investment, Investment Adviser

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Meredith Lipson

Cryptocurrency Companies: Enforceable Terms of Use Matter

It is not unusual for users of a platform or of software to challenge the enforceability of a company’s terms of use if they take issue with the company’s product or service and decide to bring suit. As most terms of use contain…more

Coinbase, Crypto Exchanges, Cryptocurrency, Enforcement, Mandatory Arbitration Clauses

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Sulaiman Malik

Tokenised Funds – Key UK Regulatory Considerations

In its February 2023 discussion paper (DP23/2) relating to the UK regulatory regime for asset management, the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (“FCA”) briefly touched on fund tokenisation as an area of technological drive and…more

E-Money, Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), Financial Promotions, Fund Management Companies, MiFID II

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Stéphanie Martinier

Is Blockchain Technology Compatible with GDPR? French Data Protection Regulator Provides Guidance

Uncertainty regarding the compatibility of blockchain technology and the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) has often been highlighted as a potential obstacle to the development and widespread…more

Blockchain, CNIL, Corporate Counsel, Cybersecurity, EU

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David Munkittrick

Will NFT Piracy Compel Changes to the Digital Millennium Copyright Act?

So you bought an NFT. You now own what is effectively an immutable electronic deed meant to record ownership of an asset, often a digital artwork. You probably paid for the NFT upfront—and if the artist is popular, you may have…more

Art, Blockchain, Copyright, Copyright Ownership, Digital Assets

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Jeremy Naylor

Congress and the IRS Make Moves to Improve Taxpayer Compliance for Cryptocurrency Transactions

IRS Commissioner Charles Rettig, testifying before Congress in April 2021, estimated the gap between taxes owed and taxes collected in the United States to be close to $1 trillion…more

Bitcoin, Cryptocurrency, Digital Assets, Digital Currency, Financial Transactions

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Jeffrey Neuburger

App Store Protected by CDA Immunity (and Limitation of Liability) for Losses from Fraudulent Crypto Wallet App

Background - The issue of fraudulent crypto-related mobile apps has received much attention of late. Back in July 2022, the FBI issued a notice, warning financial institutions and investors about instances where criminals…more

Apple, Communications Decency Act, Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (CFAA), Corporate Counsel, Cryptocurrency

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Joshua Newville

Fraud Claims Against Token Issuer Dismissed Based on Disclosures to Accredited Investor

The organizers of an initial coin offering (ICO) recently won dismissal of an investor’s fraud claims by establishing that their public risk disclosures negated the investor’s claims of reliance on alleged misstatements. The…more

Cryptocurrency, Disclosure, Dismissals, Fraud, Initial Coin Offering (ICOs)

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Brendan O'Rourke

As NFTs Blur the Line Between “Receipt” and “Product”, Trademarks Owners Fight Over New Virtual Markets

Last month, our post about art NFTs and the DMCA highlighted the distinction between non-fungible tokens and the copyrighted works they represent. In the context of copyright, this dichotomy is generally uncontroversial: In most…more

Blockchain, Corporate Counsel, Fashion Industry, First Sale Doctrine, Intellectual Property Protection

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Seetha Ramachandran

Don’t Get Caught Up in the Mix: OFAC Sanctions Another Crypto Mixer for Potential Violations of Sanctions Regulations and FinCEN Proposes New Rule

U.S. government agencies continue to take action against cryptocurrency mixing services that enable cybercriminals to obfuscate the trail of stolen proceeds on public blockchains stemming from illicit cyber activity. On November…more

Blockchain, Cryptocurrency, Cyber Crimes, Enforcement, FinCEN

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Louis Rambo

New SEC Probe of ICO Issuers and SAFT Structure

The Wall Street Journal recently reported that the SEC has issued dozens of subpoenas and information requests in connection with sales and pre-sales of initial coin offerings. As we have previously noted, the SEC Enforcement…more

Cryptocurrency, Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT), Financial Markets, Initial Coin Offering (ICOs), Regulatory Oversight

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Brianna Reed

IRS Issues New Guidance for Virtual Currency Donations

The U.S. Internal Revenue Service (IRS) quietly added two new questions and answers regarding virtual currency donations to its answers to Frequently Asked Questions on Virtual Currency Transactions (FAQs) on December 26, 2019…more

Charitable Organizations, Cryptocurrency, Income Taxes, IRS, New Guidance

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Corey Rogoff

Gladius Escapes Fines for Unregistered ICO after Self-Reporting to the SEC

On February 20, 2019, the SEC announced that it settled charges against Gladius Network LLC (“Gladius”) for failing to register non-exempt offers and sales of securities in violation of Sections 5(a) and 5(c) of the Securities…more

Blockchain, Civil Monetary Penalty, Enforcement Actions, Howey, Initial Coin Offering (ICOs)

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Kathleen Semanski

Congress and the IRS Make Moves to Improve Taxpayer Compliance for Cryptocurrency Transactions

IRS Commissioner Charles Rettig, testifying before Congress in April 2021, estimated the gap between taxes owed and taxes collected in the United States to be close to $1 trillion…more

Bitcoin, Cryptocurrency, Digital Assets, Digital Currency, Financial Transactions

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Jordan Matthew Shelton

Digital Dollars: Amid the COVID-19 Crisis, Support for a U.S. Digital Currency Emerges

During congressional debates over the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act), a relatively novel idea was the focus of proposals from the Senate and House of Representatives: “digital dollars.” Several…more

CARES Act, Coronavirus/COVID-19, Digital Currency, Financial Stimulus, Proposed Legislation

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Michael Singh

Tokenised Funds – Key UK Regulatory Considerations

In its February 2023 discussion paper (DP23/2) relating to the UK regulatory regime for asset management, the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (“FCA”) briefly touched on fund tokenisation as an area of technological drive and…more

E-Money, Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), Financial Promotions, Fund Management Companies, MiFID II

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Elanit Snow

CFTC Wades into DeFi Enforcement Again

Last month, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) announced settled charges against three decentralized finance (DeFi) protocols for various registration and related violations under the Commodity Exchange Act (CEA)…more

Anti-Money Laundering, Bitcoin, CFTC, Commodity Exchange Act (CEA), Decentralized Autonomous Organization (DAO)

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Amar Unadkat

The Investment Association Publishes a “Blueprint” for Fund Tokenisation in the UK

On 24 November 2023, the Investment Association published a report on behalf of the wider Technology Working Group to the UK Government’s Asset Management Taskforce (the “Working Group”) on a “Blueprint” for the implementation…more

Cryptocurrency, Due Diligence, Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), Investment, Investment Management

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John Verwey

The Investment Association Publishes a “Blueprint” for Fund Tokenisation in the UK

On 24 November 2023, the Investment Association published a report on behalf of the wider Technology Working Group to the UK Government’s Asset Management Taskforce (the “Working Group”) on a “Blueprint” for the implementation…more

Cryptocurrency, Due Diligence, Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), Investment, Investment Management

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Steven Weise

Part II: NFT Lending — Legal Issues Involving Secured Transactions under the UCC, Pre- and Post-Article 9 and 12 Amendments

As discussed in Part I of this series, NFT-based lending is pioneering a new avenue of investment and activity on the blockchain that will enable new and innovative use cases. In this Part II, we will discuss the implications…more

Collateral, Digital Assets, Financing, Investment, Lending

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Frank Zarb

NFTs Are Interesting but Fractionalized Non-Fungible Tokens (F-NFTs) May Present Even More Challenging Legal Issues

Except for the extensive coverage surrounding Coinbase’s IPO last week and the volatility in the price of cryptocurrencies, much of the air in the crypto space in the last few months has been taken up by the meteoric rise of…more

Art, Cryptocurrency, Digital Assets, Enforcement Actions, Howey

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Proskauer - Blockchain and the Law

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