On April 4, the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) Division of Corporation Finance issued a statement clarifying that reserve-backed U.S. dollar stablecoins are not securities, at least under current law and...more
4/21/2025
/ Cryptocurrency ,
Digital Assets ,
Financial Regulatory Reform ,
FinTech ,
New Guidance ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Regulation ,
Stablecoins ,
Technology Sector
On April 7, in a significant policy shift, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) announced via the release of a memorandum that it will no longer pursue criminal enforcement actions that effectively impose regulatory...more
On April 4, the California Department of Financial Protection and Innovation (DFPI) issued proposed regulations under the Digital Financial Assets Law (DFAL). The proposal provides clarification on DFAL’s licensing framework...more
4/14/2025
/ California ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Department of Financial Protection and Innovation (DFPI) ,
Digital Assets ,
FinTech ,
Government Agencies ,
Licensing Rules ,
Proposed Rules ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Rulemaking Process
On March 28, the FDIC issued updated guidance clarifying the process for FDIC-supervised institutions to engage in crypto-related activities. The guidance rescinds and replaces prior instructions issued in 2022 and makes...more
On March 24, Kentucky enacted House Bill 701, establishing a statutory framework to support blockchain-based activity and clarifying the treatment of digital assets under state law. The legislation defines key terms, permits...more
Following President Trump’s March 6 Executive Order establishing a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve and U.S. Digital Asset Stockpile, federal agencies and market participants may begin to grapple with the operational and compliance...more
On March 24, acting FDIC Chairman Travis Hill informed Congress that the agency is preparing to eliminate the use of “reputation risk” as a basis for supervisory criticism. In a letter to Rep. Dan Meuser (R-Pa.), Hill...more
Following President Trump’s March 6 Executive Order establishing a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve, released alongside a White House Briefing, the U.S. government has taken its most formal step yet toward integrating digital assets...more
3/28/2025
/ Blockchain ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Digital Assets ,
Executive Orders ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Investment ,
National Security ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
Technology ,
Trump Administration
On February 20, the SEC announced the creation of its Cyber and Emerging Technologies Unit (CETU) to address misconduct involving new technologies and strengthen protections for retail investors. The CETU replaces the SEC’s...more
On March 18, Acting Comptroller of the Currency Rodney Hood reiterated the OCC’s commitment to ensuring fair access to banking services, including for cryptocurrency firms. Speaking at a retail banking industry conference,...more
On March 7, the OCC issued Interpretive Letter 1183 and an accompanying statement affirming prior guidance regarding whether national banks and federal savings associations may engage in cryptocurrency-related activities,...more
3/17/2025
/ Banking Sector ,
Blockchain ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Digital Assets ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Interpretive Letters ,
OCC ,
Payment Systems ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Risk Management ,
Stablecoins
On December 23, 2024, the California Department of Financial Protection and Innovation (DFPI) announced a consent order with a lender to resolve its investigation into the company’s crypto-backed lending program, which the...more
3/3/2025
/ California ,
Consumer Financial Products ,
Consumer Lenders ,
Consumer Protection Laws ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Department of Financial Protection and Innovation (DFPI) ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Loans ,
Settlement ,
State and Local Government
On February 12, the Trump administration announced Jonathan McKernan as the Director of the CFPB and Jonathan Gould as the Comptroller of the Currency. McKernan and Gould will replace Acting Directors Russell Vought and...more
On January 2, 2025, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) proposed an interpretive rule under the Electronic Fund Transfer Act (EFTA) and Regulation E to clarify how emerging payment systems, such as those used in...more
On November 26, the U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals overturned sanctions imposed by the U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) against a decentralized cryptocurrency mixing service (a...more
12/9/2024
/ Blockchain ,
Blocked Person ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Hackers ,
International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) ,
Money Laundering ,
North Korea ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Sanctions ,
SDN List ,
Technology Sector ,
U.S. Treasury
On February 7, a Florida-based cryptocurrency company agreed to settle charges brought by the SEC and the California Department of Financial Protection and Innovation alleging that, an interest-earning feature offered on the...more
On July 13, the FTC issued a press release announcing that it had reached a settlement with a bankrupt crypto platform. The New Jersey based company, which filed for bankruptcy in July 2022, marketed a variety of...more
On June 16, Michael Hsu, the Acting Comptroller of the Currency gave remarks at the American Bankers Association’s Risk and Compliance Conference about the risks of tokenization and AI on the banking industry. While...more
On May 1, NYDFS settled with a cryptocurrency trading platform over the company’s cybersecurity deficiencies, resulting in a consent order and $1.2 million fine for the crypto company. NYDFS alleged “multiple deficiencies in...more
5/15/2023
/ Crypto Exchanges ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Cybersecurity ,
Digital Currency ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Regulatory Reform ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Investment ,
Legislative Agendas ,
NYDFS ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Settlement ,
Trading Platforms
On March 16, NYDFS entered a consent order resolving an examination of a payment service provider that allows merchants to accept Bitcoin payments from customers in exchange for the equivalent value in local currency credited...more
On January 26, the California DFPI announced its participation in a $22.5MM multi-state into a settlement with a with a Cayman Islands digital asset firm to resolve a securities enforcement action in connection with the...more
On January 23, the NY DFS released updated guidance with regard to better protecting consumers in the event of virtual currency insolvency. This updated guidance applies to entities that DFS has licensed or chartered to hold...more
On January 27, the Federal Reserve Board (FRB) announced that it unanimously voted to deny a crypto firm’s application to become a member of the Federal Reserve System. This denial ends the crypto firm’s 27-month effort to...more
On November 22, the CFPB denied a crypto lending institution’s petition for an order modifying a pending civil investigative demand (“CID”) that the Bureau issued to the institution in December of 2021. The CFPB issued the...more
On September 7, Acting Comptroller of the Currency, Michael Hsu, discussed the long-term threats to trust in banking in remarks at the TCH + BPI Annual Conference. Hsu provided updates on key priorities at the OCC, including...more
9/16/2022
/ Banking Sector ,
Banks ,
BSA/AML ,
Comptroller ,
Cryptocurrency ,
FDIC ,
Federal Reserve ,
Financial Services Industry ,
FinTech ,
OCC ,
Risk Management