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
On March 19, 2021, the Financial Action Task Force (“FATF”), an intergovernmental body tasked with setting international standards aimed at preventing money laundering and terrorist financing (“FATF Standards”), released its...more
U.S. Developments - Tesla buys $1.5 billion in Bitcoin - In a 10-K filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on Monday, Tesla announced that it had bought $1.5 billion worth of bitcoin. Tesla said the...more
The U.S. Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) and the Board of Governors of the U.S. Federal Reserve System (FRB) proposed new rules that would expand the applicability of recordkeeping and travel rule requirements,...more
On October 27, 2020, the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) and the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (Federal Reserve, together with FinCEN, “the Agencies”)...more
In October of last year, we wrote about the challenges faced by virtual currency businesses in complying with the Travel Rule following new guidance from the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) and the Financial Crimes...more
US Developments - OCC Issues Interpretation that Banks Can Offer Crypto Custody Services - On July 22, 2020, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) issued an interpretive letter clarifying that national banks...more
FinCEN Director Ken Blanco addressed this year’s Consensus Blockchain Conference on May 13, 2020. In a set of prepared remarks, Blanco recognized the unprecedented challenges that the COVID-19 pandemic has created for...more
The Travel Rule is an old friend for those familiar with banking regulations and anti-money laundering rules. The Rule, first issued by FinCEN in 1995 with fiat currency in mind, requires banks and nonbank financial...more
On June 21, 2019, the Financial Action Task Force (“FATF”), a multi-national, inter-governmental body established in 1989 “to set standards and promote effective implementation of legal, regulatory and operational measures...more