On February 15, 2023, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) published sweeping and controversial proposed amendments to Rule 206(4)-2 (Custody Rule) under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940 (Advisers Act). Last...more
The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) recently released a Digital Assets Primer that provides updated information to the public about emerging concepts in digital assets. The primer is part of a series issued by the...more
This blog post will briefly explore operational, strategic, and regulatory considerations related to the use of financial technologies by financial institutions in the COVID-19 era.
We specifically view these considerations...more
6/24/2020
/ Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Defense Strategies ,
FDIC ,
Financial Institutions ,
FinTech ,
NCUA ,
New Guidance ,
OCC ,
Operational Requirements ,
Popular ,
Regulatory Standards
On June 10, 2020, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) issued a summary report regarding the existing and emerging uses of artificial intelligence (AI) by securities industry market participants. The report,...more
This is the third and final part of our update series on the CFTC’s recent Guidance related to the “actual delivery” of a digital asset for purposes of the retail commodity transaction provisions of the Commodity Exchange...more
The Regulation of Retail Commodity Transactions—History and Background -
On March 24, 2020, the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (the Commission or the CFTC) finalized long-awaited interpretive guidance regarding...more
5/4/2020
/ Actual Delivery ,
Bitcoin ,
CFTC ,
Commodities ,
Designated Contract Markets (DCMs) ,
Digital Assets ,
Digital Currency ,
Dodd-Frank ,
Futures ,
Initial Coin Offering (ICOs) ,
Leveraged Finance ,
New Guidance ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Exchanges ,
Trading Platforms ,
Virtual Currency
On March 24, 2020, the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (the Commission or the CFTC) finalized long-awaited interpretive guidance regarding what constitutes the “actual delivery” of a digital asset in the context of...more
5/1/2020
/ Actual Delivery ,
Bitcoin ,
Blockchain ,
Bucket Shop ,
CFTC ,
Commodities ,
Commodity Exchange Act (CEA) ,
Commodity Futures Contracts ,
Designated Contract Markets (DCMs) ,
Digital Assets ,
Digital Currency ,
Dodd-Frank ,
Futures ,
Initial Coin Offering (ICOs) ,
Leveraged Finance ,
New Guidance ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Exchanges ,
Trading Platforms ,
Virtual Currency
The following update highlights recent corporate governance hot topics and trends for directors of public companies.
Board Oversight of Mission-Critical Risks -
In June 2019, the Delaware Supreme Court allowed a Caremark...more
8/25/2019
/ Board of Directors ,
Caremark claim ,
Corporate Governance ,
DE Supreme Court ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Diversity ,
Dodd-Frank ,
Duty of Loyalty ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
Financial Reporting ,
Internal Controls ,
Oversight Duties ,
Popular ,
Regulation S-K ,
Sarbanes-Oxley ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Shareholder Litigation
The Securities and Exchange Commission recently adopted amendments to modernize the rules relating to property disclosure requirements for mining registrants, and Industry Guide 7 (Guide 7), under the Securities Act of 1933,...more
Just like the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) is actively policing the virtual currency market. On January 24, 2018, the CFTC announced an enforcement action against...more
Earlier this week, CFTC Chairman Christopher Giancarlo testified before the House Agricultural Committee. The following are highlights of “Fin Tech” issues addressed during the course of that testimony....more
10/13/2017
/ Agricultural Sector ,
CFTC ,
Commodities ,
Congressional Investigations & Hearings ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Digital Currency ,
Digital Single Market ,
FinTech ,
Fintech Charter ,
Global Marketplace ,
Innovation ,
Jurisdiction ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Popular ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Startups
On July 25, 2017, the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) released groundbreaking materials relating to blockchain tokens. These materials provide significant and welcome insight to the SEC’s and its staff’s thinking...more
7/27/2017
/ Alternative Trading System (ATS) ,
Blockchain ,
Digital Currency ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Markets ,
Initial Coin Offering (ICOs) ,
Investment Advisers Act of 1940 ,
Investment Company Act of 1940 ,
Investor Advisory Committee ,
Popular ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Exchange Act ,
Unregistered Securities ,
Virtual Currency
On September 24th, the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) settled charges against TeraExchange LLC, a provisionally registered bitcoin swap execution facility (SEF). The charges stem from a non-deliverable...more
9/25/2015
/ Bitcoin ,
CFTC ,
Commodity Exchange Act (CEA) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Markets ,
GMAC ,
NDFs ,
SEFs ,
Swap Execution Facilities ,
Trading Platforms
On September 17th, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (“CFTC”) announced an enforcement order and settlement against an unregistered bitcoin options trading platform. The order is notable for six reasons:
1) It is...more
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) recently released long-awaited proposed rules, as mandated by Section 955 of the Dodd-Frank Act, that would require a public company to disclose whether the company permits its...more