The U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (“OFAC”) recently announced two settlements that underscore OFAC’s continued emphasis on companies developing and implementing effective, risk-based...more
Citing a substantial increase in recent years in the demand for both virtual currencies and virtual currency custody services, the New York Department of Financial Services (NYDFS) on January 23, 2023 released its Guidance on...more
The U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (“OFAC”) on August 8, 2022, imposed sanctions against the popular decentralized virtual currency mixer Tornado Cash alleging that it has been used to launder...more
9/16/2022
/ AML/CFT ,
Blockchain ,
Cyber Crimes ,
Data Privacy ,
Decentralized Finance (DeFi) ,
Ethereum ,
Financial Transactions ,
International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) ,
Money Laundering ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Ransomware ,
Sanctions ,
SDN List ,
State Sponsors of Cyberattacks ,
U.S. Treasury ,
Virtual Currency ,
Wire Transfers
DFS Guidance -
The New York State Department of Financial Services (DFS) Superintendent Adrienne A. Harris issued new DFS Regulatory Guidance (Guidance) on June 8, 2022, setting foundational criteria for USD-backed...more
Key Takeaways -
According to sources with firsthand knowledge, the SEC is conducting an industry-wide inquiry into alleged insider trading activities of cryptocurrency exchanges.
Insider trading occurs when a corporate...more
7/6/2022
/ Bitcoin ,
Capital Markets ,
Cryptoassets ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Enforcement Priorities ,
Financial Instruments ,
Financial Regulatory Agencies ,
Insider Trading ,
Investment Opportunities ,
Popular ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Trading Platforms ,
Virtual Currency
Key Takeaways -
A judge has issued an opinion in a first-of-its-kind criminal sanctions case involving the use of virtual currency to evade U.S. economic sanctions. The opinion reinforces the Treasury Department’s position...more
Introduction -
Cryptocurrencies have surged in popularity in recent years. As we have reported in recent OnPoints, the swift growth and adoption of cryptocurrencies raise legal questions about everything from their...more
The English High Court has granted a combination of powerful remedies including worldwide freezing orders in favour of a UK resident who fell victim to persons unknown operating a suspected cryptocurrency investment scam....more
3/10/2022
/ Bitcoin ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Digital Currency ,
Enforcement Actions ,
International Litigation ,
Investment Fraud ,
Investment Opportunities ,
Misappropriation ,
Popular ,
Scams ,
UK ,
Virtual Currency
The Financial Action Task Force ("FATF"), the global money laundering and terrorist financing (“ML/TF”) watchdog, recently issued updated guidance related to compliance risks resulting from activities involving Virtual Assets...more
12/22/2021
/ Anti-Money Laundering ,
Decentralized Finance (DeFi) ,
Digital Assets ,
FATF ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Guidance Update ,
Money Laundering ,
Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs) ,
Peer-to-Peer ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
Risk-Based Approaches ,
Stablecoins ,
Virtual Currency
The President’s Working Group on Financial Markets (PWG), joined by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), released a Report on Stablecoins (Report) on November 1,...more
Whether a cryptocurrency product is a security is an issue with serious regulatory consequences. In recent years, the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) has taken a broad position that various crypto assets are...more
11/19/2021
/ Bitcoin ,
Blockchain ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Digital Assets ,
Financial Instruments ,
Financial Markets ,
Howey ,
Investment Contract ,
Investment Opportunities ,
Popular ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Virtual Currency
As we recently noted in our OnPoint dated October 20, 2021, the rise in interest from retail and institutional investors in the cryptocurrency market has attracted increased regulatory and enforcement attention in the past...more
11/17/2021
/ Bitcoin ,
Capital Gains ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Digital Currency ,
Enforcement Priorities ,
Financial Transactions ,
Income Taxes ,
Internal Revenue Code (IRC) ,
Investment ,
IRS ,
Popular ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Tax Liability ,
Tax Planning ,
Tax Reform ,
Virtual Currency
In recent weeks, the U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (“OFAC”) has issued guidance regarding both virtual currency and ransomware, demonstrating the agency’s enforcement priorities and compliance...more
Key Takeaways - The federal government has the cryptocurrency market in its crosshairs. Specifically, the DOJ, SEC and CFTC have all continued to make announcements and show interest in regulating cryptocurrency and enforcing...more
Blockchain technology continues to mature and gain acceptance for a wide range of potentially disruptive financial and commercial uses. In the wake of COVID-19, we have seen an increased focus on the research and development...more
8/18/2020
/ 3D Printing ,
Bank of England ,
Blockchain ,
China ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Decentralized Finance (DeFi) ,
Digital Assets ,
Digital Currency ,
Financial Institutions ,
FinTech ,
Innovative Technology ,
Japan ,
Medical Devices ,
MiPasa ,
Popular ,
Stablecoins ,
UK ,
Virtual Currency ,
World Health Organization
The Commodity Futures Trading Commission published in the Federal Register on June 24, 2020 its final interpretive guidance concerning retail commodity transactions involving certain digital assets (2020 Guidance).1 The 2020...more
The U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) issued guidance on May 9, 2019, underscoring the application of the Bank Secrecy Act (BSA) and its implementing regulations relating to money...more
5/22/2019
/ Anti-Money Laundering ,
ATMs ,
Bank Secrecy Act ,
Casinos ,
Compliance ,
Convertible Virtual Currencies (CVCs) ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Digital Assets ,
Digital Currency ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Exemptions ,
Financial Institutions ,
FinCEN ,
Initial Coin Offering (ICOs) ,
Money Laundering ,
Money Services Business ,
Money Transfer ,
New Guidance ,
Payment Processors ,
Peer-to-Peer ,
Risk Assessment ,
Terrorism Funding ,
Trading Platforms ,
Virtual Currency
For years, regulators around the world have struggled with whether and how to police the offering and exchange of digital assets (including virtual currencies such as Bitcoin). In the United States, such efforts were stymied...more
12/17/2018
/ Bitcoin ,
Blockchain ,
Blocked Person ,
CFTC ,
Compliance ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Digital Assets ,
Economic Sanctions ,
FinCEN ,
Initial Coin Offering (ICOs) ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Risk Assessment ,
SDN List ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Virtual Currency
The New York Attorney General released a report on September 18, 2018 on the results of the Virtual Markets Integrity Initiative, which was launched earlier in the year by the New York State Office of the Attorney General...more
10/10/2018
/ Abusive Acts ,
Conflicts of Interest ,
Contractual Safeguards ,
Crypto Exchanges ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Data Security ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Fees ,
Integrity Policies ,
Investor Protection ,
Market Abuse ,
Money Laundering ,
State Attorneys General ,
Trade Suspensions ,
Trading Platforms ,
Trading Policies ,
Transparency ,
Virtual Currency ,
Virtual Private Networks
The National Futures Association (NFA), the U.S. self-regulatory organization of the futures and swaps trading industry, has published a new Interpretive Notice entitled “Disclosure Requirements for NFA Members Engaging in...more
8/22/2018
/ CFTC ,
Commodity Pool ,
Commodity Trading Advisors (CTAs) ,
CPOs ,
Derivatives ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Futures ,
NFA ,
Promotional Items ,
Swaps ,
Virtual Currency
With soaring cryptocurrency prices attracting significant new investment in late 2017, U.S. regulators sought to fill the statutory void by exercising jurisdiction over a variety of digital assets. That trend continued in the...more
6/28/2018
/ Bitcoin ,
Blockchain ,
CFTC ,
Commodities ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Digital Assets ,
Digital Currency ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Initial Coin Offering (ICOs) ,
Popular ,
Public Offerings ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
Securities ,
Securities Act of 1933 ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
State Securities Regulators ,
Token Sales ,
Virtual Currency
The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) scored a victory in its effort to assert jurisdiction over portions of the cryptocurrency and initial coin offering (ICO) markets last week, as a federal district judge...more
3/26/2018
/ CFTC ,
Commodities ,
Commodity Exchange Act (CEA) ,
Commodity Trading Advisors (CTAs) ,
CPO ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) ,
Fraud ,
Initial Coin Offering (ICOs) ,
Jurisdiction ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Virtual Currency
The Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) and the CBOE Futures Exchange (CFE) on December 1, 2017 self-certified contracts for bitcoin futures products with the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). Additionally, on...more
12/20/2017
/ Bitcoin ,
Block Trades ,
CBOE Futures Exchange (CFE) ,
CFTC ,
Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) ,
Commodities ,
Commodities Traders ,
Commodity Futures Contracts ,
Commodity Trading Advisors (CTAs) ,
CPOs ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Exchange-Traded Products ,
NFA ,
Registered Investment Companies (RICs) ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Self-Certification ,
Virtual Currency
The U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, on November 28, 2017, ordered the international digital currency broker, Coinbase, Inc., to produce to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) the records of...more
12/8/2017
/ Asset Seizure ,
Burden of Proof ,
Constitutional Challenges ,
Digital Currency ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Extraterritoriality Rules ,
IRS ,
Popular ,
Right to Privacy ,
Summons ,
Tax Evasion ,
Virtual Currency