RegFi Episode 4: Consumer Reports Evaluates Fintech to Empower Consumers
The Compliance Challenge: Managing Legal & Regulatory Risk
Welcome to the “Overview: 2024 Lessons and 2025 Emerging Trends” chapter of our annual report, Consumer Financial Services: 2024 Year in Review. As Goodwin predicted in our previous year in review, the enforcement and...more
In its Fall 2023 Semiannual Risk Perspective, published on December 7, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (“OCC”) reported on key issues facing the federal banking system. In evaluating the overall soundness of...more
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
The US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit overturned a district court dismissal of a patent case for errors in analyzing the claims’ patent eligibility under Alice. The Court found that regardless of whether the claimed...more
Consumers’ worldwide adoption of instant, contactless transactions has provided an opportunity for some to take advantage of loopholes and weaknesses in digital systems. Peer-to-peer (P2P) payments fraud, synthetic...more
On May 4, the Connecticut Department of Banking issued a temporary cease and desist order directing a peer-to-peer lending platform that connected borrowers with third-party lenders to cease its lending-related activities on...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
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
Recently proposed regulations could present significant compliance burdens for the banks and money service businesses that engage in cryptocurrency transactions with unhosted wallets or wallets held in jurisdictions specified...more
Human traffickers, like all criminals, rely on the international financial system to facilitate their crimes and to disguise proceeds from their illegal activities. Traffickers open bank accounts to deposit and launder...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
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 U.K. Financial Conduct Authority has published a Policy Statement containing its final changes to the rules and guidance governing loan-based crowdfunding platforms (or "peer-to-peer" platforms). The Policy Statement...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
I attended a meeting of cybersecurity professionals recently and overheard several of them talking about their new security cameras and how great it is to see everyone who comes up the driveway and to the front door, and...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
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
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