The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) issued a proposed interpretive rule that, if finalized as written, would bring certain virtual currency products and services, such as stablecoins and digital wallets, within...more
To keep you informed of recent activities, below are several of the most significant federal and state events that have influenced the Consumer Financial Services industry over the past week...more
Carey Olsen has contributed to The Legal 500 Country Comparative Guide 2024 for Blockchain. The aim of this guide is to provide its readers with a pragmatic overview of the law and practice of blockchain law across a variety...more
Chris Duncan and Katrina Lindsay have authored the British Virgin Islands (BVI) chapter of Global Legal Insight's sixth edition guide to blockchain and cryptocurrency regulation. The chapter covers the BVI legal requirements...more
The 24th National Forum on Prepaid Accounts Compliance will address the latest developments impacting the prepaid industry and provide answers to the most pressing questions and challenges being faced by practitioners in this...more
Last year, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) revised a question regarding digital assets that appears at the top of certain 2022 income tax returns. Now, in IR-2023-12, the IRS has provided guidance on how to answer that...more
As we first warned last summer, crypto property held in a custodian-controlled account could become the property of that custodian in the case of a bankruptcy filing. At the time, we recommended that crypto investors avoid...more
Settlement Agreement with Bittrex, Inc. Today, on October 11, 2022, the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) announced a $24,280,829.20 settlement agreement with Bittrex, Inc., an online virtual currency exchange and...more
Cryptocurrency investors, who were already in the icy clutches of the so-called “crypto winter,” now have another reason to shiver. Insolvency issues are cropping up with some frequency among crypto companies, which is...more
Reaffirming DOJ’s focus on digital assets, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York today charged a defendant, for the first time ever, with insider trading in non-fungible tokens (NFTs). ...more
Ontario Superior Court Issues an Anton Piller Order in Connection with Alleged Cryptocurrency Theft - Previously under seal and only recently released to the public, the Ontario Superior Court’s decision in Cicada 137 LLC v...more
Cryptocurrency, Bitcoin, Ethereum. You have likely heard of these terms as cryptocurrencies, and Bitcoin in particular, have seen immense growth in recent years, the so-called “digital gold rush.” In 2021, cryptocurrencies,...more
The battle over blockchain technology and digital assets bears a striking resemblance to the debate over the potential of the internet in the mid-1990s. Where critics see a passing fad with little actual utility or a lawless...more
THE CHALLENGE: In the emerging cryptocurrency space, most investors store their assets in digital wallets, where—unlike traditional bank accounts—they earn no interest. In the last few years, cryptocurrency investors have...more
On 18 December, the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) at the U.S. Department of the Treasury announced highly anticipated and controversial new proposed requirements designed to mitigate illicit finance risks...more
Earlier this month, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed the money laundering convictions of Thomas Costanzo, a bitcoin broker. According to Costanzo, the bitcoin transfers at issue, which originated from and were...more
UK regulations implementing the EU 5th Money Laundering Directive (“5MLD”) came into force on 10 January 2020: the Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing (Amendment) Regulations 2019 (“MLR 2019”). The regulations make a...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
ABA Tax Fraud Panel to Discuss IRS CI and Crypto Criminals - The Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigation (IRS CI) has made it clear that it is focusing on the abuse of digital currencies to further tax evasion,...more
For the past several years, advocates of crypto assets and other public uses of blockchain technology have sought guidance from U.S. regulators regarding the legal implications of new or novel uses of that technology....more
Firstly, no, you don’t have to be an Uber driver driving a Jag to reap the benefit of the car manufacturer’s new innovation. Jaguar Land Rover has announced it is testing “Smart Wallet” technology that will enable drivers to...more
In an age where cyber security breaches are a near daily occurrence, and where we’re frequently reminded to keep our passwords secret and safe, the story that’s emerged regarding the fate of over AU$190 million of...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
Just before the new year, the Department of Health and Human Resources (HHS) released voluntary cybersecurity practices for health care organizations, which consists of a main document, two technical volumes, and resources...more
A scary scheme by hackers recently successfully lifted Bitcoin from Electrum wallet owners to the tune of approximately $750,000....more