In a recent ruling, a California federal judge held that Kraken, an online cryptocurrency exchange program, has to turn over user information to the IRS as a result of a John Doe summons originally served on Kraken in 2021....more
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 September 21, 2022, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York granted the IRS’s ex-parte motion for leave to serve a John Doe summons to M.Y. Safra Bank after the IRS’s investigation into digital asset...more
The IRS knows it has a problem, in that it knows there are far more cryptocurrency transactions than are being reported on tax returns. The IRS may also get an $80 billion increase in funding for enforcement that will help...more
On June 2, 2022, the Supreme Court of the State of New York issued an Order to Show Cause and Temporary Restraining Order (collectively, the Order) that authorized the plaintiff's counsel to serve a copy of the Order and...more
Editor’s Note: On May 18, 2022, HaystackID shared an educational webcast developed to highlight the foundational basics of blockchain, cryptocurrencies, and NFTs and to present practical considerations for the investigational...more
The answer to the question: “Is your Crypto in a Personal Wallet or in an Exchange?” matters as we have learned that cryptocurrency held in a Crypto Exchange is NOT the same as cryptocurrency held in a Personal Wallet in...more
Last Friday, a federal Magistrate Judge in Washington, D.C. wrote an opinion, in a still sealed case, explaining why he approved a DOJ criminal complaint against an American citizen accused of transmitting more than $10...more
Continuing with both its crackdown on cybercriminals and illicit digital marketplaces, along with its continued economic pressure on the Russian Federation, OFAC has sanctioned two entities that fit both criteria. On April...more
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
In our recent article on the legal framework governing virtual currencies, we briefly discussed the distinction between money transmitters and virtual currency exchanges. In short, transmitters are entities that convert fiat...more
Case Sheds Light on Latest Methods to Evade Detection: “Peeling” Chains - On March 2, the U.S. government sanctioned and indicted two Chinese nationals for helping North Korea launder nearly $100 million in stolen...more
A recent federal criminal action shows the depth of the U.S. government’s concern about the use of cryptocurrency (or virtual currency) to violate economic sanctions laws and the lengths to which it will go to charge such...more
With the emergence of digital assets, the question has arisen whether digital assets held in “wallets” in foreign exchanges need to be reported on Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Form 8938, Statement of Specified Foreign...more
The US has blacklisted 28 Chinese companies—mostly in the tech sector—over China’s “campaign targeting Uighurs and other predominantly Muslim minorities in the autonomous region of Xingjiang,” a move that’s drawn both...more
This week saw two items of note in the regulation of digital assets and both came out of the state of New York. The Return of the Empire State - A New York State Supreme Court ruled that it has personal and subject...more
The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has signaled for years that it would eventually bring enforcement actions against individuals who failed to report cryptocurrency gains. It appears that “eventually” is over and that those...more
Blockchain Initiatives in Healthcare and Other Industries Target Data Integrity, Speed and Analytics - Last week, a not-for-profit alliance of life sciences industries firms announced an expansion of its blockchain project...more
QuadrigaCX, one of the largest Canadian cryptocurrency exchanges, recently left users in the lurch when it took its website offline and filed for creditor protection in Nova Scotia. ...more
United American Corp., operating as UnitedCorp, filed a lawsuit in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida last Thursday alleging that several prominent figures in the Bitcoin cryptocurrency...more
As part of its Virtual Markets Integrity Initiative, on September 18, 2018, the New York Attorney General’s Office issued a report reviewing the platforms of various cryptocurrency exchanges. ...more
Amid concerns that many investors may not fully understand the risks associated with virtual currencies, or the limits of regulatory oversight, the National Futures Association (NFA) recently issued an interpretive notice...more
The proper use of social media, blogging, cloud computing, and crowdfunding are just a few of the ever-growing tech-related issues that have ethical implications for attorneys. We must add to the list the cryptocurrency...more
For those still new to the sector, Coinbase has established itself as one of (if not the) most prominent cryptocurrency exchanges operating in the U.S. Coinbase, to the delight of compliance officers everywhere, has been...more
Just weeks after Mexico’s central bank was targeted by hackers who stole $15 million, Chile’s biggest bank, Banco de Chile, announced on May 28, 2018, that it had been struck by a “virus” that affected its workstations,...more