The VASP Act defines “Virtual Assets” as digital representations of value that can be digitally traded or transferred and can be used for payment or investment purposes. Digital representations of fiat currencies (which is...more
The UAE has continued to implement significant legislative and structural reforms during 2024 in areas including financial crime compliance, whistleblowing, and virtual assets regulation. These improvements demonstrate the...more
What is the Travel Rule? The virtual asset “Travel Rule”, formally known as the “Financial Action Task Force (FATF) Recommendation 16”, requires Virtual Asset Service Providers (VASPs) to share and hold specific customer...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
Financial technology is already well established in Jersey, and firms are embedding technological solutions which enhance their products and services, increase efficiencies, and provide greater transparency. Originally...more
Ether ETFs Begin Public Trading, Generate $1.07B in Cumulative Volume - According to reports, on July 23, nine different spot ether (ETH) exchange-traded funds (ETFs) from eight different issuers began public trading on...more
In recent years, the global economy has witnessed the popularity and adoption of cryptocurrencies, with Dubai emerging as a notable player in this digital financial landscape. As the market for virtual assets continues to...more
FATF’s latest Targeted Update Report on Implementation of the FATF Standards on VAs and VASPs stresses that many jurisdictions continue to struggle with the fundamentals of virtual asset regulation, including undertaking risk...more
Welcome to the second instalment of 2024 of the Regulatory & Risk Advisory Review. In this edition we cover several Cayman Islands regulatory updates including updates to the Beneficial Ownership Transparency Act, the...more
Crypto Product News: BTC/ETH ETNs, Custody, Insurance, Tokenized Treasuries - The London Stock Exchange (LSE) recently published a market notice addressing applications for Bitcoin and Ether exchange traded notes (ETNs),...more
Approaches and developments - The Cayman Islands has long been a leading offshore jurisdiction for investment funds, as well as a significant global financial centre overall. It is therefore not surprising that, reflecting...more
SWIFT Publishes Blockchain Pilot Findings; Firms Announce USDC Integrations - According to a recent press release, the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication (Swift) recently published a report with...more
Crypto Firms Expand Offerings in Stablecoins, Private Key Management - The issuer of the Pax Dollar (USDP) stablecoin recently announced that USDP is now available to all Mexican customers of a major Latin American online...more
On 07 June 2023, K2 Integrity hosted a webinar on the state of cryptocurrency and digital assets in a rapidly evolving regulatory landscape. A discussion was held with Bryan Stirewalt, senior managing director at K2...more
As part of a coordinated effort with the U.S. Secretary of State, Attorney General, Secretary of Commerce, Secretary of Homeland Security, Director of the Office of Management and Budget, Director of National Intelligence,...more
On 14 September 2022, K2 Integrity hosted a webinar on considerations in the digital assets space. K2 Integrity Board Member Christopher Brummer and AML/CFT experts Mariano Federici and Alex Levitov discussed the current...more
The Financial Action Task Force (“FATF”) recently issued an updated review of the implementation of its anti-money laundering (“AML”) and counter-terrorist financing (“CFT”) standards to financial activities involving Virtual...more
The States of Guernsey has approved the Lending, Credit and Finance (Bailiwick of Guernsey) Law, 2022 (the “LCFL”) which will regulate various virtual asset service providers (“VASPs”) and financial services businesses...more
On March 9, 2022, President Joseph Biden issued Executive Order 14067, which charged the Department of Justice (in consultation with the Departments of State, Treasury, and Homeland Security) to submit a report on how to...more
Key Takeaways - ..In June 2022, the DOJ issued a Report recommending increased cooperation amongst international law enforcement to combat crimes involving digital assets. ..The Report identified characteristics...more
Virtual asset is an innovative technology representing value which could be stored, traded, transferred or used as a payment tool in a digital form. Bitcoin, crypto assets, non-fungible tokens (NFTs) are all virtual assets. ...more
In this Issue. The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) published an alert warning financial institutions of possible efforts to evade U.S.-imposed sanctions on Russia and Belarus; the U.S. Department of the Treasury...more
Traditional Financial Firms Expand Reach into Cryptocurrency Sphere - Early this week, a major investment bank announced that it plans to launch a digital asset custody platform later this year. This announcement follows...more
The extension of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) ‘Travel Rule’ to ‘Virtual Asset Service Providers’ (VAPSs) is emblematic of the continued and growing push to bring crypto businesses into the mainstream of financial...more