RegFi Episode 4: Consumer Reports Evaluates Fintech to Empower Consumers
The Compliance Challenge: Managing Legal & Regulatory Risk
Despite the protracted crypto bear market, innovators in non-fungible tokens (“NFTs”) are hard at work. Gone are the days when NFTs were merely profile pictures (“PFPs”) displayed on a pseudonymous social media account or...more
Approaches and developments - The government of the British Virgin Islands (“BVI”) and the BVI Financial Services Commission (“FSC”) – the principal financial services regulator – have progressed important initiatives in...more
Decentralized finance, DeFi, has quickly grown in popularity and is beginning to gain the attention of regulators attempting to stay ahead of one of the latest investor crazes. Blockchain-based financial technology such as...more
I read an interesting article by Justin Brown and Lisa Schreter of Littler Mendelson about the usage of cryptocurrency as a way of paying employees. As if those of us who advise management did not have enough headaches, this...more
In the 1920s, Wall Street cleared and settled trades by the end of the day after the trade instruction (“T+1”). Over the years, that cycle bloated to T+4, to T+3 in 1993, and then T+2 in 2017. Last week, the SEC proposed to...more
As cryptocurrency, decentralized finance (DeFi), and other uses of blockchain technology continue to proliferate, global regulators are grappling with how best to regulate their use. We have previously written about the...more
What first started as a meme featuring a fluffy dog with poor grammar has now resulted in a trademark fight over the ownership of an estimated $80 billion brand. If the progression of this Internet sensation has left your...more
Bitcoin was first introduced in a 2009 white paper, Bitcoin: A Peer-to-Peer Electronic Cash System. Since then, cryptocurrencies, also known as virtual or digital currencies, have exploded, with thousands of different types...more
As NFTs gain popularity, buyers and sellers should consider the potential issues related to federal anti-money laundering laws. While non-fungible tokens (“NFTs”) have existed for several years, the market for NFTs grew...more
The energy market has been dominated by major energy companies for a long time. New market opportunities and digitalization could lead to a higher market penetration of startups. 1. The 100 percent green energy goal - ...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
The first official guidance on the taxation of cryptocurrency transactions in more than five years has been issued. The guidance includes both a Revenue Ruling (Rev. Rul. 2019-24, 2019-44 I.R.B. 1) and answers to...more
On October 9, 2019, the IRS released Revenue Ruling 2019-24, which provides guidance with respect to hard forks and airdrops of cryptocurrency, and new frequently asked questions (FAQs), which provide guidance on other...more
The Situation: The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network ("FinCEN") released interpretive guidance concerning the application of the Bank Secrecy Act ("BSA") and the anti-money laundering ("AML") regulations to certain...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
In the past few years, many industries have poured resources into exploring how they can use blockchain to grow. The retail industry is no exception. ...more
There is a lot of buzz around blockchain technology and its potential to revolutionize a wide range of industries from finance and health care to real estate and supply chain management. Many institutions and companies are...more
For all the publicity generated by the recent increase in value of Bitcoin, as well as the generally increasing awareness of the existence of blockchain technology, the recent Blockchain in Energy Forum 2018 held in New York...more
Historically commercial real estate was stuck in the Stone Age. Traditionally, ownership and encumbrancing regarding the properties have been kept in paper formats — some of which may or may not be publicly available....more
One of the questions I commonly get asked is what is the difference between public and private blockchains. It is easy to see why people get confused as public and private blockchains have many similarities....more
In 2017, the Blockchain Energizer highlighted the latest developments in blockchain technology and use cases for the energy industry, covering everything from peer-to-peer energy trading platforms and financing platforms for...more
There is a lot of buzz around blockchain technology and its potential to revolutionize a wide range of industries from finance and health care to real estate and supply chain management. Reports estimate that over $1.4...more
The same technology underlying the efficiency of bitcoin transactions and largely responsible for the online currency’s success could be the key to developing a smarter energy grid. Blockchain, a shared, encrypted ledger...more
Whoever thinks of blockchain also has inevitably bitcoins in mind. The Internet currency is largely based on the blockchain technology and it is therefore one of the most obvious fields of application for this technology, to...more
Blockchain technology (“Blockchain”), also known as Distributed Ledger Technology, stands poised to transform the future of the financial industry. Generally speaking, Blockchain enables the creation of a continuously growing...more