When investors are considering investments in cryptocurrency, it is critical to understand the terms of asset ownership and transfer. Current and potential cryptocurrency investors should be aware that the Southern District of New York (SDNY) recently ruled that holders of cryptocurrency investments with the now-bankrupt cryptocurrency lending company Celsius Network LLC are not the true owners of these assets.
Continue Reading Terms of Use, A Deciding Factor In Asset Ownership: Why Some Cryptocurrency Holders Don’t Own Their AssetsTop Posts of 2022
As we begin the new year and reflect on what we learned last year, the Hunton Andrews Kurth Blockchain team would like to provide you with a recap of the top posts we shared throughout 2022. Please visit the links below for these highlights.
Our goal is to continue to provide our readers with relevant, real-time information on legal and regulatory developments in the blockchain space. If you would like to receive email alerts when new posts are published to this blog, please enter your email address in the ‘Subscribe’ field. Thank you for your readership!
Continue Reading Top Posts of 2022FSOC Annual Report Discusses Digital Assets
On December 16, 2022, the Financial Stability Oversight Council (Council) published its 2022 annual report. The report highlights a number of key policy recommendations for federal financial regulators, including four recommendations for further legislation or regulation in the digital asset space.
Continue Reading FSOC Annual Report Discusses Digital AssetsCFPB Investigates Crypto Lender
On December 1, 2022, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (Bureau) made public an administrative order denying Nexo Financial LLC’s (Nexo) petition to modify the Bureau’s civil investigative demand. The order represents the first publicly known Bureau investigation of a digital asset company, in this case, over Nexo’s “Earn Interest” crypto lending product.
Continue Reading CFPB Investigates Crypto LenderNew York Enacts Crypto Mining Moratorium
On November 22, 2022, New York Governor Kathy Hochul signed into law a two-year moratorium against granting permits to crypto mining operations that “are operated through electric generating facilities that use a carbon-based fuel.” Renewable sources of energy are not impacted.
Continue Reading New York Enacts Crypto Mining MoratoriumWebinar: From Stormy Seas to Safe Harbors: Crypto and New UCC Article 12
Thursday, December 1, 2022
1:30–2:30 pm ET
Feeling at sea about crypto and NFTs? Well, no wonder: existing laws that govern the transfer and financing of assets were last updated just before Captain Jack Sparrow first appeared on the big screen. An innocent time, when we knew how to transfer and finance not only gold doubloons, but many other assets. But nobody envisioned wanting to transfer and finance intangible digital assets such as crypto. The proliferation of cryptocurrencies and other digital assets, and the related new financing and investment structures, have caused thorny issues and concerns, including bankruptcy concerns. During this program your crew, er, panel will guide you into safe channels, explaining new Article 12 of the UCC, which was created to facilitate holding, transferring and financing emerging technologies.
Speakers:
• Greg Hesse, Partner
• Scott Kimpel, Partner
• Amy McDaniel Williams, Partner
• Mayme Donohue, Counsel
• Bryon Mulligan, Counsel
CLE: Hunton Andrews Kurth LLP will seek CLE credit for this program in CA, FL, GA, NC, NY, TX and VA only. Credit hours are not guaranteed and are subject to each state’s approval rules. Please be aware that due to various state bar closures, CLE accreditation will be delayed for the foreseeable future.
Questions? Please contact Julia Sherertz at jsherertz@HuntonAK.com.
CFPB Publishes Bulletin Analyzing Crypto Complaints
On November 10, 2022, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (“CFPB”) announced the publication of a “complaint bulletin” analyzing consumer complaints relating to crypto assets. The CFPB periodically releases a “complaint bulletin” to summarize key trends among the financial products and services complaints it receives. By devoting an entire bulletin to crypto assets, the CFPB may be foreshadowing greater scrutiny of the asset class and increased enforcement activity in the space.
Continue Reading CFPB Publishes Bulletin Analyzing Crypto ComplaintsEuropean Commission Publishes Report on Decentralized Finance
On October 18, 2022, the European Commission published a report, titled Information Frictions and Public Policies: Approaching the Regulation and Supervision of Decentralized Finance (“DeFi”) (the “Report”). The Report discusses the need to adapt existing policy frameworks to account for the change brought about by DeFi to the underlying information structure upon which financial services are provided. Unlike traditional finance, DeFi applications provide financial services based on blockchain technology, i.e., without requiring any intermediary agent and instead relying on automated protocols that are encoded in public digital contracts universally accessible and maintained by an open pool of pseudonymous miners.
Continue Reading European Commission Publishes Report on Decentralized FinanceTreasury Issues Final Rule on Beneficial Ownership Reporting Requirements Under the Corporate Transparency Act
On September 29, 2022, the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (“FinCEN”) issued final regulations (the “Final Rule”) implementing the comprehensive beneficial ownership reporting requirements of the Corporate Transparency Act (“CTA”), a critical part of the Anti-Money Laundering Act of 2020 (the “AMLA”).
Digital Asset Insurance Coverage
In a seven-part series delving into issues relating to insurance coverage for digital assets, we provide a comprehensive understanding of the types of loss that can be sustained, who can sustain them, the availability of coverage under traditional insurance policies, and the emergence of new insurance products.
Continue Reading Digital Asset Insurance Coverage