Recently, a group of central bankers issued a report entitled “Central Bank Digital Currencies: Foundational Principles and Core Features.” Released on October 9, 2020, the report lays out common foundational principles and core features of a central bank digital currency, or CBDC.
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DOJ Releases Cryptocurrency Enforcement Report
By Scott H. Kimpel on
Posted in Cryptocurrencies, Regulatory
On October 8, 2020, the Department of Justice’s Cyber-Digital Task Force released an 83-page report entitled “Cryptocurrency: An Enforcement Framework.” The DOJ report highlights many of the legal and enforcement risks posed in the burgeoning crypto marketplace, and includes various enforcement case studies as well as informative graphics.…
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SEC Staff Provides Guidance on Non-Custodial Digital Asset Settlement
By Scott H. Kimpel on
Posted in Regulatory
Providing additional clarity on the role of an alternative trading system (ATS) in the settlement of digital asset security trades, the staff of the SEC’s Division of Trading and Markets issued a no-action letter to FINRA on September 25, 2020. In brief, the SEC staff endorsed a three-step settlement process for digital asset securities held in a third-party’s custody if certain customer-protection conditions are met.…
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Bank of England’s Governor Discusses Digital Currencies
By Scott H. Kimpel on
Posted in Cryptocurrencies
In a recent speech entitled “Reinventing the Wheel (with More Automation)”, Andrew Bailey, Governor and chief executive of the Bank of England, discussed the future of digital currencies. According to Governor Bailey, we have reached the point in the cycle of innovation in payments where it is essential that we set the standards and thus the expectations for how innovation will take effect. It should not, in his opinion, happen the other way round, with the standard setting playing catch up.…
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Senate Banking Committee Shows Continued Interest in Cryptoassets
By Scott H. Kimpel on
Posted in Cryptocurrencies, Regulatory
As a show of continued interest in the development of cryptoasset solutions, Senator Mike Crapo (R-ID), Chairman of the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs, recently sent a letter to Acting Comptroller of the Currency Brian Brooks. Chairman Crapo’s letter requested an update on findings of the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency and information regarding next steps the OCC intends to take with respect to blockchain and distributed ledger technology.…
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Louisiana Adopts Virtual Currency Business Act
By Scott H. Kimpel on
Posted in Cryptocurrencies, Regulatory
Effective August 1, 2020, Louisiana adopted the Virtual Currency Business Act. In doing so it becomes the second state after New York to require certain operators of virtual currency businesses to obtain a virtual currency license in order to conduct business in the state. The Act is perhaps notable not so much for the conduct it covers, but rather the very broad classes of persons and businesses granted exemptions from regulation.…
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FINRA Issues Regulatory Notice on Digital Assets
By Scott H. Kimpel on
Posted in Regulatory
As part of its ongoing effort to supervise broker-dealers conducting transactions in digital assets, FINRA recently issued Notice 20-23. The Notice encourages FINRA members to continue to keep FINRA updated on a firm’s activities relating to digital assets that have not been previously disclosed.…
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Appellate Court Greenlights NYAG’s Bitfinex Investigation
By Scott H. Kimpel on
Posted in Crypto Exchanges, Regulatory
As we previously reported, for over a year the New York Attorney General has been seeking to enforce an investigative subpoena under New York’s expansive Martin Act against cryptocurrency exchange Bitfinex and its affiliated companies that issue the Tether stablecoin.…
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Senate Banking Committee Considers Digitization of Money
By Scott H. Kimpel on
Posted in Cryptocurrencies, Regulatory
On June 30, 2020, the full Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs held a virtual hearing entitled “The Digitization of Money and Payments.” The hearing focused on stablecoins and the prospects for a US central bank digital currency.…
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New York Announces Five BitLicense Initiatives
By Scott H. Kimpel on
Posted in Cryptocurrencies, Regulatory
On June 24, 2020, the New York Department of Financial Services announced a series of five initiatives involving virtual currency. The announcement was timed to coincide with the five-year anniversary of the launch of New York’s BitLicense for operators of certain virtual currency businesses.…
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