On March 31, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) issued Staff Accounting Bulletin No. 121 (Bulletin), noting that a company safeguarding or exerting custody over cryptocurrency on behalf of its platform users must...more
On March 31, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) issued Staff Accounting Bulletin No. 121 (Bulletin), noting that a company safeguarding or exerting custody over cryptocurrency on behalf of its platform users must...more
On April 6, Senator Pat Toomey (R-PA) released a draft of his proposed stablecoin legislation titled, Stablecoin Transparency of Reserves and Uniform Safe Transactions Act, or the Stablecoin TRUST Act. Toomey, the ranking...more
On March 31, a New York federal court dismissed a proposed securities class-action lawsuit filed against Binance, the world's largest cryptocurrency exchange. The lawsuit, one of a host of similar actions brought against...more
Several recent releases of draft legislation, reports, and speeches highlight the federal government's efforts in the first quarter of 2022 to address the rapidly developing digital asset marketplace and its regulatory...more
The fiscal year 2022-2023 budget for New York, which takes effect in two months, includes requiring the New York Department of Financial Services (NYDFS) to charge a new “assessment” to all virtual currency businesses...more
On April 11, Virginia enacted a new law (HB 263), which goes into effect on July 1, 2022, permitting “banks” to provide customers with “virtual currency custody services so long as the bank has adequate protocols in place to...more
On April 7, in front of American University’s Kogod School of Business Center for Innovation, Secretary of the Treasury Janet Yellen addressed the Biden administration’s forthcoming legislative approach to digital assets, as...more
On March 28, Representative Stephen Lynch (D-MA), along with co-sponsors Jesús G. García (D-IL), Rashida Tlaib (D-MI), Ayanna Pressley (D-MA), and Alma Adams (D-NC), introduced H.R. 7231, the Electronic Currency and Secure...more
On March 17, Senators Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Jack Reed (D-RI), Mark Warner (D-VA), and Jon Tester (D-MT) introduced the Digital Asset Sanctions Compliance Enhancement Act (Act) in an attempt to ensure blacklisted Russian...more
On March 17, the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs conducted a hearing titled, “Understanding the Role of Digital Assets in Illicit Finance,” which focused extensively on whether and how Russia could use...more
On March 8, the U.S. Federal Reserve Banks launched the FedNow Service Provider Showcase (Showcase) to show financial institutions and users the various services to assist them in implementing the FedNow Service (Service)....more
Following the significant sanctions and other restrictions imposed by the United States and its global allies resulting from the Russian Federation's invasion of Ukraine, the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN)...more
On March 15, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC or Commission) released a consent agreement with Electronic Payment Systems and its owners John Dorsey and Thomas McCann (collectively, EPS) for allegedly opening credit card...more
On March 11, Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, and the United States (collectively, the G7) announced more sanctions against Russia, including first-time sanctions specific to virtual assets. The White House...more
The Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (the Board) recently issued a supplemental notice and request for comment to the guidelines proposed in May 2021 for use by Federal Reserve Banks (Reserve Banks) in...more
On March 9, President Biden signed an Executive Order (the Order) to establish the first comprehensive federal digital asset strategy for the U.S., which would promote digital asset innovation while balancing benefits and...more
On February 21, President Biden issued an executive order blocking property of certain persons, and prohibiting transactions regarding Russia’s invasion of the Ukraine. The following day, the U.S. Treasury’s Office of Foreign...more
On February 25, the New York State Department of Financial Services (NYDFS) issued Guidance to all individuals and entities subject to its regulation due to the rapidly evolving situation in Ukraine, following the Russian...more
On February 14, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) updated its Supervision and Examinations Manual to reflect changes it made to the Remittance Transfer Rule (Rule) in a final rule published on June 5, 2020. The...more
On February 4, the Department of the Treasury (Treasury) released the “Study of the Facilitation of Money Laundering and Terror Finance through the Trade in Works of Art” (Study). The Study assesses the various risks of the...more
On February 8, a Northern District of California judge ruled on cross motions for summary judgment filed by the states of California, Illinois, and New York (plaintiffs) and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency and...more
On January 26, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB or Bureau) announced its request for the public to share its input on “exploitative junk fees charged by banks and financial companies” to form its rulemaking and...more
On January 18, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) filed a proposed final judgment and order in its March 2021 lawsuit against BrightSpeed Solutions, a third-party payment processor, and its founder, Kevin Howard....more
On January 14, a D.C. federal judge granted the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s (CFPB) motion to dismiss a case filed by the National Association for Latino Community Asset Builders (NALCAB), after the NALCAB contested...more