On February 27, the staff of the Division of Corporation Finance (the “Staff”) of the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC” or “Commission”) released a statement concerning meme coins (“Statement”) with the stated...more
Coming off a busy 2024, we expect that 2025 will be a landmark year for the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC or Commission). Rostin Behnam’s resignation as Chairman on January 20 marked the end of the Biden...more
3/11/2025
/ Artificial Intelligence ,
Biden Administration ,
CFTC ,
Decentralized Finance (DeFi) ,
Derivatives ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
Executive Orders ,
Final Rules ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Markets ,
Proposed Rules ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Trump Administration
On February 20, 2025, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced the creation of a new specialized unit, the Cyber and Emerging Technologies Unit, to “focus on combatting cyber-related misconduct and to protect...more
Crypto Currently News Center With the commencement of the Trump 2.0 Administration, the White House, Congress, agencies and certain states have each announced significant developments related to crypto. The WilmerHale...more
On January 23, 2025, President Donald Trump signed an executive order laying out his new administration’s vision on digital assets (the Order). The Order reflects Trump’s oft-repeated commitment to make the United States the...more
On February 4, 2025, Commissioner Hester Peirce offered a first glimpse at the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (“SEC”) roadmap for establishing a regulatory framework for crypto. Tasked with leading the SEC’s...more
2/7/2025
/ Blockchain ,
Broker-Dealer ,
Clearing Agents ,
Cryptoassets ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Digital Assets ,
Initial Coin Offering (ICOs) ,
Investors ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Regulation ,
Securities Tokens ,
Transfer Agents
On January 10, 2025, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB or Bureau) issued a proposed interpretive rule that would expand the Bureau’s consumer protection authority under the Electronic Fund Transfer Act (EFTA) and...more
1/30/2025
/ Comment Period ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Digital Assets ,
Digital Currency ,
Electronic Fund Transfer Act ,
Financial Institutions ,
FinTech ,
Interpretive Rule ,
Proposed Rules ,
Regulation E ,
Stablecoins
On January 21, 2025, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) under Acting Chairman Mark T. Uyeda launched an agencywide “Crypto Task Force” dedicated to developing a comprehensive and clear regulatory framework for...more
On December 20, 2024, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) issued a final rule amending SEC rules 15c3-3 (the customer protection rule) and 15c3-1 (the net capital rule). The SEC also amended Form X-17A-5 Part II (the...more
On November 21, 2024, the US District Court for the Northern District of Texas vacated rules adopted by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in February 2024. Those rules had defined language in the definitions of...more
12/16/2024
/ Broker-Dealer ,
Decentralized Finance (DeFi) ,
Final Rules ,
Government Securities ,
Investment Advisers Act of 1940 ,
Market Participants ,
Proprietary Trading ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Dealers ,
Securities Exchange Act ,
Vacated
The election of Donald Trump as president could have a significant impact on the crypto industry given his campaign promise of a procrypto administration. Trump will be able to appoint a new chair of the U.S. Securities and...more
The election of Donald J. Trump as President could have a significant impact on the crypto industry given his campaign promise of a pro-crypto administration. President Trump will be able to appoint a new chair of the...more
11/15/2024
/ Broker-Dealer ,
CFTC ,
Cryptoassets ,
Election Results ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Securities ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Exchange Act ,
Trump Administration ,
Unregistered Securities
On October 21, 2024, the Securities and Exchange Commission Division of Examinations published its examination priorities for fiscal year 2025.1 In this alert, we offer ten observations for broker-dealers. Our observations...more
10/31/2024
/ Artificial Intelligence ,
Broker-Dealer ,
Compliance ,
Cryptoassets ,
ETFs ,
Exchange-Traded Products ,
Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) ,
Form CRS ,
Information Reports ,
Investment Adviser ,
Regulation BI ,
Regulation S-P ,
SEC Examination Priorities ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Third-Party Service Provider
On September 18, 2024, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC or Commission) approved amendments to Regulation NMS (the Amendments) that take several steps intended to narrow bid/ask spreads, reduce transaction costs for...more
On June 6, 2024, the US Department of the Treasury (Treasury) issued a request for information (RFI) on the “uses, opportunities and risks of artificial intelligence (AI) in the financial services sector.” The RFI seeks...more
On March 18, 2024, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC or the Commission) announced settled charges against two investment advisers, Delphia (USA) Inc. and Global Predictions, Inc., for making false and misleading...more
The current SEC administration has expressed the view that most crypto assets are offered and sold as securities and has proposed several rules that address “digital asset securities” or “crypto asset securities.” In this...more
3/18/2024
/ Alternative Trading System (ATS) ,
Best Execution ,
Broker-Dealer ,
Cryptoassets ,
Custody Rule ,
Decentralized Finance (DeFi) ,
Market Participants ,
Proposed Rules ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Safeguards Rule ,
Securities ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Dealers ,
Securities Exchange Act
At an industry event in early 2023, Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC or the Commission) Chairman Rostin Behnam set out a comprehensive agenda to include nearly three dozen rulemaking proposals as well as “business...more
2/28/2024
/ Asset Class ,
CFTC ,
Commodities ,
Compliance ,
Conflicts of Interest ,
Congressional Review Act ,
Derivatives ,
Derivatives Clearing Organizations ,
Dodd-Frank ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Enforcement Priorities ,
Form PF ,
Futures Commission Merchants (FCMs) ,
Major Swap Participants ,
Regulatory Authority ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Risk Management ,
Rulemaking Process ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Swaps
On February 6, 2024, by a vote of 3-2 along party lines, the Securities and Exchange Commission (the SEC or the Commission) adopted Rules 3a5-4 and 3a44-2 under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (the Exchange Act), which...more
2/27/2024
/ Dealers ,
Government Securities ,
Liquidity ,
Market Participants ,
New Rules ,
Registered Investment Companies (RICs) ,
Registration Requirement ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Dealers ,
Securities Exchange Act ,
Securities Traders
On January 8, 2024, the Digital Assets and Blockchain Technology Subcommittee (the Subcommittee) of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission’s (CFTC or the Commission) Technology Advisory Committee (TAC) presented a 79-page...more
Decentralized Finance (DeFi) is an umbrella term used to describe financial services provided outside of the traditional markets, that rely on blockchain technologies to create innovative products instead of relying on...more
2/9/2024
/ Anti-Money Laundering ,
Bank Secrecy Act ,
Blockchain ,
Broker-Dealer ,
CFTC ,
Commercial Insurance Policies ,
Cryptoassets ,
Decentralized Finance (DeFi) ,
Financial Services Industry ,
FinCEN ,
FinTech ,
IRS ,
Jurisdiction ,
Money Services Business ,
Proposed Regulation ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Rulemaking Process ,
Securities Act of 1933 ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Exchange Act ,
Terrorist Financing Regulations ,
U.S. Treasury
On January 25, 2024, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission’s (CFTC) Staff issued a request for comment (RFC) on the current and potential uses and risks of artificial intelligence (AI) in the markets that the CFTC...more
On January 9, 2024, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority published its 2024 FINRA Annual Regulatory Oversight Report. Previously titled Report on FINRA’s Examination and Risk Monitoring Program, the Report is released...more
1/18/2024
/ Artificial Intelligence ,
Best Execution ,
Broker-Dealer ,
Conflicts of Interest ,
Cryptoassets ,
Electronic Communications ,
Equity Securities ,
Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) ,
Fixed Income Investments ,
Public Communications ,
Regulation Best Interest ,
Regulation BI ,
Regulation SHO ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
Retail Investors ,
Retail Sales ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
On October 13, Governor Gavin Newsom signed into law a comprehensive licensing regime for digital asset companies operating in California. Until this point, California had refrained from taking a definitive position on...more
11/13/2023
/ Best Execution ,
Capital Requirements ,
Department of Financial Protection and Innovation (DFPI) ,
Digital Assets ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Exemptions ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Governor Newsom ,
Licensing Rules ,
Money Transmission Act ,
New Legislation ,
Stablecoins ,
Surety Bonds
On Sept. 18, the New York State Department of Financial Services issued proposed guidance for companies holding virtual currency business licenses and limited-purpose trust companies — collectively referred to as virtual...more