News & Analysis as of

Virtual Currency › Money Transmitter › Bank Secrecy Act

Virtual Currency (aka Digital Currency or Digital Money) is a type of currency or medium of exchange that is not issued by any government nor guaranteed by a government currency. Despite lacking legal tender... more +
Virtual Currency (aka Digital Currency or Digital Money) is a type of currency or medium of exchange that is not issued by any government nor guaranteed by a government currency. Despite lacking legal tender status, Virtual Currency is still traded and exchanged in some environments, typically online environments or communities. Bitcoin is the most well-known form of Virtual Currency.    less -
Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati

Pending Changes to Anti-Money Laundering Program Requirements for MSBs and Other Financial Institutions

Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati on

Money services businesses (MSBs), a category which includes money transmitters (e.g., PayPal and other payment facilitators), as well as administrators and exchangers of convertible virtual currencies (e.g., Bitcoin...more

Ballard Spahr LLP

PA Department of Banking and Securities: Virtual Currency is “Money”

Ballard Spahr LLP on

On April 20, 2024, the Pennsylvania Department of Banking and Securities (“DoBS”) issued a policy statement (“Policy Statement”) to “clarify” that the Department’s interpretation of the term “money” in the Pennsylvania Money...more

Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP

U.S. Indicts KuCoin: What It Means for Cryptocurrency Companies Offering Money Transmission Services to U.S. Customers

Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP on

In a display of the United States' jurisdictional reach, the Justice Department has indicted KuCoin, a prominent global cryptocurrency exchange, along with founders Chun Gan and Ke Tang, for Bank Secrecy Act (BSA) and...more

BakerHostetler

US Crypto Exchange Consents to $100M DFS Settlement for AML Compliance Failures

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On January 4, 2023, the New York State Department of Financial Services (“DFS”) announced that Coinbase, Inc., a major U.S. cryptocurrency exchange, will pay a $50 million penalty and invest an additional $50 million in its...more

BakerHostetler

[Podcast] Blockchain University: Relationship Drama: Cryptocurrencies, Blockchain and the Law

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Our fifth episode provides an overview of the key legal issues facing cryptocurrencies and blockchain in the U.S....more

Latham & Watkins LLP

Understanding NFTs and Their Legal Implications

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Latham & Watkins lawyers discuss the emerging technology of non-fungible tokens (NFTs), including how they function and their various legal implications in the US, UK, and APAC. Topics: • Understanding NFTs and their...more

Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP

FinCEN and Federal Reserve Propose To Significantly Lower Threshold for International Funds Transfers Under Recordkeeping and...

Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP on

On October 27, 2020, the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) and the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (Federal Reserve, together with FinCEN, “the Agencies”)...more

Ballard Spahr LLP

To Fight Terrorism, FinCEN and Federal Reserve Board Request Comment on Proposed Major Expansion of Recordkeeping and Travel Rules...

Ballard Spahr LLP on

Proposed Change Would Expand BSA Definition of “Money” to Include Virtual Currency - The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (“FinCEN”) and the Federal Reserve Board (“Board”) have requested comment on an important...more

Orrick - On the Chain

Wyoming, the “Equality State,” Seeks to Level the Playing Field for Digital Assets Businesses

Orrick - On the Chain on

In its continued effort to establish itself as the go-to jurisdiction for digital asset businesses, Wyoming, through its Department of Audit, Division of Banking, recently published a digital asset custody regime for its...more

Ballard Spahr LLP

FinCEN Deputy Director Stresses Technological Innovation, Virtual Currency Enforcement and the U.S. Culture of Compliance

Ballard Spahr LLP on

Last Wednesday, FinCEN Deputy Director Jamal El-Hindi appeared at the annual conference of the Money Transmitter Regulators Association and delivered prepared remarks. The topics of his address covered three issues of...more

Foodman CPAs & Advisors

If you Exchange Virtual Currency, you are a Money Transmitter and must comply with the Bank Secrecy Act (BSA)

Foodman CPAs & Advisors on

FinCEN defines a Money Service Business (MSB) as any person DOING BUSINESS, whether or not on a regular basis or as an organized business concern, in one or more of the following capacities...more

Eversheds Sutherland (US) LLP

Application of FinCEN’s regulations to certain business models involving convertible virtual currencies

Eversheds Sutherland (US) LLP on

On May 9, 2019, the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) issued interpretive guidance1 summarizing the application of the Bank Secrecy Act (BSA) rules to business models “involving money transmission denominated in...more

Sheppard Mullin Richter & Hampton LLP

What Game Companies Need to Know About FinCEN’s Updated Guidance on Virtual Currency

Sheppard Mullin Richter & Hampton LLP on

FinCEN has issued updated guidance addressing the use of crypto currency and other convertible virtual currency (CVC). A portion of this guidance addresses the use of CVC in games. The guidance does not establish any new...more

Dechert LLP

Financial Services Quarterly Report - First Quarter 2019: A U.S. Regulatory Patchwork Quilt: Cryptocurrency and Money Transmitter...

Dechert LLP on

According to its original design, Bitcoin was intended to reduce market participants’ need to rely on “financial institutions serving as trusted third parties to process electronic payments.”1 While Bitcoin and other...more

Ward and Smith, P.A.

Should You Bank a Virtual Currency Business?

Ward and Smith, P.A. on

Virtual currencies like Bitcoin and Ethereum have spawned many types of businesses that need banking services. Many banks "de-risk" -- do not provide banking services -- to these businesses. Many virtual currency...more

Blank Rome LLP

FinCEN Director’s Speech Underscores the Need for Virtual Currency Businesses to Comply with the Bank Secrecy Act

Blank Rome LLP on

Individuals and businesses that accept and transmit virtual currency must register with the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (“FinCEN”) as a money service business (“MSB”). Registrants must develop and maintain an...more

Ballard Spahr LLP

Unlicensed Bit Coin Exchange Operator Sentenced to One Year and a Day for Attempted Money Laundering in Undercover Sting Operation...

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Earlier this month, the District Court for the Central District of California imposed a prison sentence of one year and a day, with three years of supervised release, on defendant Theresa Lynn Tetley, who had pleaded guilty...more

Sheppard Mullin Richter & Hampton LLP

Legal Issues With Blockchain-Based Crypto Games and Collectibles

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The use of blockchain technology for crypto games and token-based digital collectibles is on the rise. One of the first crypto games of note was CryptoKitties. It may turn out that CryptoKitties becomes to crypto games what...more

Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati

Anti-Money Laundering Obligations for Virtual Currency Companies

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Virtual currency businesses are under scrutiny by U.S. anti-money laundering (AML) regulators. Earlier this year, U.S Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin emphasized that virtual currencies are subject to AML regulations. He...more

Goodwin

FinTech Flash: So You Want to Put a Bitcoin ATM in a Coffee Shop?

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This writer received three cold emails in two weeks asking for legal help around operating a Bitcoin ATM (BTM). Each groundbreaker asked: “What are the legal requirements for an operator putting a BTM in, say, a coffee shop?”...more

Perkins Coie

FinCEN Is Watching ICOs for BSA Violations

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In a recently published letter to the Senate Finance Committee, FinCEN confirmed that when an ICO token is a “convertible virtual currency,” administrators or exchangers of the token would be “money transmitters” under...more

Goodwin

FinCEN Continues Scrutiny of Virtual Currency Companies

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The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network recently issued two administrative rulings holding that certain virtual currency trading platforms and payment systems were subject to registration as money services businesses....more

Morrison & Foerster LLP

FinCEN Rulings Designate Certain Virtual Currency Businesses as Money Transmitters

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On October 27, 2014, the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (“FinCEN”) issued two administrative rulings regarding virtual currency. The first administrative ruling concerns a proposed virtual currency trading and booking...more

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