In a clear reference to cryptocurrencies and tokens, U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission Chair Gary Gensler outlined a vigorous enforcement approach in his keynote remarks at the annual Securities Enforcement Forum.
The following update provides analysis of the agency’s new enforcement approach and its implications.
Weekly Focus:
Continue Reading Blockchain Week in Review: Week of November 20, 2020
Privacy-enabling cryptocurrencies, commonly known as privacy coins, are enhanced versions of early cryptocurrencies that were developed to protect the financial privacy of individuals and businesses alike. Each privacy coin leverages innovative mechanisms that provide privacy, encryption, and security to its users. Alongside their positive effects, howev
er, these mechanisms have raised an important compliance question:
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Cryptocurrency owners must face death—be it their own, or that of anyone else with custody of the owner’s cryptocurrency or other digital assets. We received a stark reminder of this when the Canadian exchange QuadrigaCX recently filed court papers[1] indicating it may have lost access to nearly $200 million USD of its customers’ Bitcoin, Ether and other cryptocurrencies. The exchange claimed to have used cold wallets to store its portion of customers’ vital cryptocurrency offline. After the owner of the exchange died, however, the exchange has apparently struggled to access this cryptocurrency and related fiat deposits, and customers may forever lose their assets housed on the exchange.[2]
Continue Reading Dying and Private Keys
The French data protection authority, Commission Nationale de l’Informatique et des Libertés (CNIL), became the first European data protection authority to issue written guidance on the intersection of the use of blockchain technology and the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). The CNIL guidance provides welcome clarification on how to tackle some of the inherent tensions between GDPR and blockchain, although the CNIL left open certain important issues that will require deeper analysis and explanation in the future.
Continue Reading French Data Protection Authority Issues Guidance on Application of Blockchain to the GDPR
On November 19, the New Jersey Attorney General entered into a $1,000,000 settlement with E-Sports, a website that had allegedly deployed malicious software onto its own users’ computers, creating a virtual network to mine bitcoins. The AG asserted claims for deceptive and unconscionable commercial practices under the New Jersey Consumer Fraud Act, N.J. Stat. §