On June 25, 2024, a final judgment was entered by a federal district court against investment adviser Lufkin Advisors LLC and its principal, Chauncey Lufkin, for losing access to a crypto wallet used to manage a client’s...more
As Congress is on its August recess, litigation over digital asset issues continued with major developments in the Yuga Labs trademark case and the SEC cases against Kraken and Consensys. While these matters all involve...more
Crypto Firms Announce New Products in Payments, Investments, Custody - A major U.S. digital asset management company recently announced the creation and public launch of its MakerDAO Trust, which “offers investors the...more
The last week of June saw a flurry of legal developments in quick succession. The SEC sued Consensys, the developers of the largest self-custodial digital wallet (MetaMask). The IRS released its digital asset tax rules. The...more
Big news dropped in the past few weeks, which sent shockwaves across the industry: according to a recently filed lawsuit, the SEC has classified the second largest cryptocurrency, Ether, as a security in certain ongoing...more
Fintech and Crypto Firms Announce New Cryptocurrency Products - According to recent reports, a major U.S. fintech firm will begin letting its users accept payments in USDC. ...more
The Blockchain Bi-Weekly presented by the Polsinelli Blockchain+ team is a rundown of some of the key stories in the Web3, blockchain and crypto ecosystems curated by our attorneys navigating the intersections of code, smart...more
US Exchange Approved for Crypto Futures; Wallet Integrates with Fintech Firm - A major U.S. cryptocurrency exchange recently announced that it has secured regulatory approval from the National Futures Association (NFA) to...more
Blockchain analysis is a powerful tool that provides insight into what is happening on a blockchain network. Who is trading with whom? Which wallets are most active on decentralized finance exchanges? Which wallets are...more
Legislation Targets Unhosted Wallets, Validators and Digital Asset ATMs - On July 28th, Senators Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass), Roger Marshall (R-Kan.), Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) and Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), reintroduced the...more
To help you keep abreast of relevant activities, below find a breakdown of some of the biggest events at the federal and state levels to impact the Consumer Finance Services industry this past week...more
New Products Launch for Crypto Futures, Wallets, Stablecoins and Settlement - According to a recent press release, a leading global options exchange has received the necessary approval from the U.S. Commodity Futures...more
Like Zeus unleashing the Kraken in Clash of the Titans, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has unleashed the Kraken (not the digital asset company) to unleash havoc on Genesis Global Capital LLC (Genesis) and...more
New Research and Surveys Address CBDCs, Institutional Crypto Investment - Staff from the board of governors of the U.S. central bank recently published a research paper addressing central bank digital currencies (CBDCs)....more
Cryptocurrency and digital assets have kept the courts and regulators busy as digital assets continue to pose new questions and challenges for anyone involved in their sale, trade or development. The following trends have...more
Significant parallel actions commenced this week by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Department of Justice (DOJ) bring crypto fraud enforcement into the spotlight, with the SEC alleging that multiple...more
Cryptocurrency investors, who were already in the icy clutches of the so-called “crypto winter,” now have another reason to shiver. Insolvency issues are cropping up with some frequency among crypto companies, which is...more
The battle over blockchain technology and digital assets bears a striking resemblance to the debate over the potential of the internet in the mid-1990s. Where critics see a passing fad with little actual utility or a lawless...more
U.S. Developments - Federal and State Regulatory Developments - U.S. Department of Homeland Security Issues Challenge for Development of Trusted User Interface for Digital Wallets - The U.S. Department of Homeland Security...more
For the past several years, advocates of crypto assets and other public uses of blockchain technology have sought guidance from U.S. regulators regarding the legal implications of new or novel uses of that technology....more
The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) recently issued guidance consolidating current FinCEN regulations, rulings, and guidance about cryptocurrencies and money services businesses (MSBs) under the Bank Secrecy Act...more