On March 9, 2022, the Biden Administration released its much-anticipated “Executive Order on Ensuring Responsible Development of Digital Assets”. The White House describes the Executive Order as the “first whole-of-government strategy” on digital assets and attempts to strike a balance between encouraging innovation and US leadership in the digital asset space, while signaling an appetite to protect against a variety of stated risks through additional regulation and legislation.
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Regulatory
US Sanctions Target Russia’s Energy Sector and Ban Imports of Russian Oil, LNG, and Coal as Enforcement Efforts Increase and Agencies Consider Cryptocurrency and Other Digital Assets
On March 8, 2022, President Biden issued an Executive Order prohibiting the importation of Russian-origin oil, liquified natural gas, and coal into the United States and prohibiting US persons from making new investments in Russia’s energy sector. On March 9, 2022, President Biden issued an Executive Order directing US government agencies to study and report on cryptocurrencies and other digital assets and consider, among other things, the use of digital assets to circumvent US sanctions.
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Government Officials Renew Call for Crypto Regulation
A series of recent statements by key financial regulators and US senators once again bring cryptocurrency regulation into the spotlight. In this post, we summarize several recent developments.
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US Sanctions Tighten on Russia’s Financial Sector and Technology Imports
On February 28, 2022, the US Department of Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control issued further sanctions on Russia’s Central Bank, National Wealth Fund, and Ministry of Finance, and announced regulations to implement Executive Order 14024 under the Russia Harmful Foreign Activities Sanctions Program. On February 24, 2022, the Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security issued an immediate final rule implementing sanctions under the Export Administration Regulations.
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Treasury Targets Nonfungible Tokens
The red-hot market for nonfungible tokens, or NFTs, continues to draw regulatory scrutiny. A Department of the Treasury report issued on February 4, 2022, is the latest to focus on potential regulatory issues associated with this digital asset class.
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Senator Outlines Stablecoin Principles
In connection with a December 14, 2021, hearing of the Senate Banking Committee focused on the topic of stablecoins, Ranking Member Pat Toomey (R-PA) released a collection of principles that he hopes will influence the development of a future legislative framework for the asset class.
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Biden Administration Announces US Strategy on Countering Corruption
On December 6, 2021, the Biden administration released a first-of-its-kind, comprehensive US Strategy on Countering Corruption. The Strategy addresses all angles of the fight against corruption: prevention, investigation, exposure, and prosecution.
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New Cryptocurrency Information Reporting Regime Required on Form 1099 and Form 8300
On November 15, 2021, President Biden signed the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, which significantly expands tax information reporting for certain cryptocurrency transactions. The Infrastructure Bill includes an information reporting requirement for cryptocurrency asset exchanges and custodians on an IRS Form 1099, and an information reporting requirement for certain persons who accept large payments in cryptocurrency in such person’s trade or business on an IRS Form 8300.
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Senate Banking Committee Probes Stablecoins
On November 23, 2021, the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs sent a series of letters to prominent stablecoin issuers and cryptocurrency exchanges. Citing the recent President’s Working Group on Financial Markets report on stablecoins, the letters seek to clarify basic operational features of various stablecoins which the Committee believes is critical to improving its understanding of digital assets.
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Dubai Financial Services Authority Recently Launched Its Framework for Regulating Digital Assets
On 25 October 2021, the Dubai Financial Services Authority, the regulatory body of the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC), announced that it implemented a regulatory framework for investment tokens issued or traded within the DIFC, which follows from the Consultation Paper No. 138 (Regulation of Security Tokens) it issued earlier in March this year.
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