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
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
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
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
Hackers who targeted airport currency exchange mainstay Travelex in a ransomware attack on New Year’s Eve have alerted British media that they possess 5 GB of sensitive customer data from the company “since gaining access to...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
Uber reported another quarter of billion+ dollar losses, but as so many things on Wall Street & Silicon Valley tend to go, the news wasn’t all bad because those numbers were far better than the $5.2 billion it lost in Q2....more
The New York Department of Financial Services virtual currency license is back in the spotlight after NYDFS announced that it had rejected the application of Bittrex Inc., a virtual currency exchange, to conduct virtual...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
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
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
CYBERSECURITY - Financial Conduct Authority Warns Banking Industry of ICOs and Cryptocurrency - Writing a “Dear CEO” letter to banking executives, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) warned executives on June 11,...more
This writer received three cold emails in two weeks asking for legal help around operating a Bitcoin ATM (BTM). Each groundbreaker asked: “What are the legal requirements for an operator putting a BTM in, say, a coffee shop?”...more
Last week, a federal magistrate judge in the Northern District of California granted in part and denied in part a motion by the IRS to enforce a “John Doe” summons served on Coinbase, Inc., which operates a virtual currency...more
On July 27, 2017, the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network for the Department of Treasury (FinCEN) seized the website of the digital currency exchange BTC-e for allegedly operating a multi-billion dollar money laundering...more
On March 10, 2017, the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) rejected the highly anticipated Winklevoss twins’ COIN bitcoin exchange traded fund (“ETF”), causing the digital currency to plummet 18% in value, to $978.76,...more
On August 2, 2016, Hong Kong-based bitcoin exchange Bitfinex was the latest target of hackers who stole 119,756 bitcoins, for a total loss of approximately $72 million at that time. Some are estimating it to be as high as...more
The European Commission recently published a proposal to amend the Fourth Anti-Money Laundering Directive, the legislation that specifies the anti-money laundering, or AML, and counter terrorist financing rules for EU Member...more
CSBS publishes Draft Model Regulatory Framework to promote consistent state regulation of virtual currency activities and protect consumers in the event of a breach. In March 2014, “Mt. Gox,” one of the largest and best-known...more
On December 5, 2014, the New York Department of Taxation and Finance (Department) released TSB-M-14(5)C, (7)I, (17)S. This (relatively short) bulletin sets forth the treatment of convertible virtual currency for sales,...more