On November 28, 2018, the U.S. Department of Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), announced an action against two Iranian citizens, Ali Khorashadizadeh and Mohammad Ghorbaniyan, who facilitated the exchange of bitcoin ransom payments on behalf of Iranian malicious cyber actors. This client update provides an overview of the OFAC action and identifies certain … Continue Reading
The following was posted on the Perkins Coie’s Asset Management ADVocate, to read the full post, please click here. 2018 Recap: Tokens, Coins, Cryptocurrencies, and Other Digital Assets under the Federal Securities Laws By Michael S. Didiuk on November 13, 2018 Posted in Compliance In this post we discuss where things stand regarding the treatment … Continue Reading
The following was posted on the Perkins Coie’s Asset Management ADVocate, to read the full post, please click here. EtherDelta Founder Sanctioned for Operating an Unregistered Securities Exchange By Michael S. Didiuk and Conor O’Hanlon on November 9, 2018 Posted in Compliance In this post we discuss how on November 8, the SEC announced an … Continue Reading
The following was posted on the Perkins Coie’s Asset Management ADVocate, to read the full post, please click here. 2017 Recap: Tokens, Coins, Cryptocurrencies, and Other Digital Assets under the Federal Securities Laws – Facts and Circumstances By Michael S. Didiuk on November 12, 2018 This post focuses on the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (“SEC”) … Continue Reading
U.S. Developments Regulatory Updates FATF Issues Virtual Currency Guidance On October 19, the Financial Action Task Force (“FATF”) published the outcomes of its Plenary meeting. Included in the outcomes of the meeting were new recommendations related to the regulation of virtual currency (the “2018 Virtual Currency Recommendations”). In addition to the 2018 Virtual Currency Recommendations, … Continue Reading
On June 27, 2018, the Chinese Hangzhou Internet Court announced its decision on a case regarding the infringement of the right of communication through an information network. In a first for Chinese courts, the court accepted electronic data that was stored using blockchain technology as legal evidence. The court also clarified the examination standards for … Continue Reading
On October 18, 2018, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), announced the launch of the agency’s Strategic Hub for Innovation and Financial Technology (FinHub).[1] FinHub is a resource for industry engagement between financial technology companies (fintechs), market participants, the public, and the SEC. This client update provides a high-level overview of the FinHub initiative … Continue Reading
On October 11, 2018, the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) released an advisory (the Advisory) intended to help money services businesses (MSBs) and foreign financial institutions better understand how U.S. sanctions on Iran affect their compliance obligations under the Anti-Money Laundering/Combating the Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) rules and under the … Continue Reading
While cryptocurrencies and digital tokens — also known as “digital assets” — have disrupted traditional notions of commerce, capital and investing, there is another asset which any company engaged in this space will need: insurance. Given the rapidly-evolving nature of this new technology and the uncertainties surrounding applicable laws and regulations, it can be challenging … Continue Reading
U.S. Developments Regulatory Updates FinCEN Issues Advisory on Illicit Iranian Activities On October 11, 2018, the U.S. Treasury Department Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (“FinCEN”) issued an advisory to help money services businesses and foreign financial institutions better understand the U.S. Anti-Money Laundering/Combating the Financing of Terrorism (“AML/CFT”) risks related to Iranian activity. The report encourages … Continue Reading
U.S. Developments Federal Bank Regulators Issue Joint Statement on Collaborative BSA/AML Compliance On October 3, 2018, a group of federal bank regulators and the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (“FinCEN”) announced in a joint statement that banks and credit unions could collaborate and share resources to manage their Bank Secrecy Act (“BSA”) and anti–money laundering (“AML”) … Continue Reading
The following summary is available in our sister blog, The Fintech Report. Roundup of CFTC Resources Blockchain Week in Review: Week of September 24-28, 2018 U.S. Developments Cryptocurrency and the Colorado Money Transmitter License Act On September 20, 2018, following months of consultation with the Colorado Attorney General’s office, Colorado’s Division of Banking released interim … Continue Reading
U.S. Developments Hester Peirce Remarks at Cato Institute Conference Hester Peirce made remarks at the Cato Institute’s Fintech Unbound conference on September 12, 2018. Commissioner Peirce commented that securities regulators are too risk averse, stating that “capital markets are all about taking risk, and queasiness around risk-taking is particularly inapt” and that “a key purpose … Continue Reading
This post originally appeared in The Derivatives and Repo Report, and can be accessed here.: This post is the second in a series that outlines key considerations for investment funds and their advisers regarding the application of the U.S. commodity laws to cryptocurrency derivatives. In Part 1, we focused on the status of cryptocurrencies as … Continue Reading
The following summary is available in our sister blog, The Fintech Report. State Bank Regulators and NYDFS to renew litigation against OCC Blockchain Week in Review: Week of September 10-14, 2018 U.S. Developments Regulatory Updates U.S. Judge Says Initial Coin Offerings May Be Covered by Securities Law On September 11, U.S. District Judge Raymond Dearie … Continue Reading
On August 7, Judge Richard Seeborg of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California denied in part a motion to dismiss (the “Order”) sought by the defendants in In Re Tezos Securities Litigation (the “Tezos Case”). Among other important insights, the Order’s reasoning illustrates the potentially broad reach of the U.S. federal … Continue Reading
“Why Blockchain Custody Is So Difficult—Paths Forward?” was recently posted on Perkins Coie’s Asset Management ADVocate blog. The blog post completes the analysis of the difficult question of how to comply with regulations requiring independent custody of cryptocurrency. This series focuses on the custody requirements for registered investment companies in an attempt to respond to … Continue Reading
U.S. Developments Regulatory Updates Ohio Enacts Cybersecurity Law with addition of Blockchain to Ohio’s Uniform Electronic Transactions Act… Continue Reading
The following summaries are available in our sister blog, The Fintech Report. OCC Begins Accepting National Bank Charter Applications from Financial Technology Companies New York Department of Financial Services Voices Opposition to Regulatory “Sandboxes” and OCC Charters for Fintech Companies… Continue Reading
Proud to be a part of the Chamber of Digital Commerce’s newest whitepaper “Understanding Digital Tokens: Market Overviews & Guidelines for Policymakers & Practitioners” Special thanks to the Perkins team: Joseph Cutler, Michael Didiuk, Dax Hansen, Fred Fedynyshyn, Stephen Keen, Tom Ahmadifar and Michael Selig for contributions to the Chamber’s Token Alliance guidelines for policymakers. … Continue Reading
On July 18, 2018, the Financial Action Task Force[1] (“FATF”), published its report to the July 2018 G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors’ meeting.[2] The report sets out FATF’s ongoing work to fight money laundering and terrorist financing, and in particular FATF’s work programme on virtual currencies, including the money laundering and terrorist financing … Continue Reading
The following update is on our Fintech Legal Report: FINRA Issues a Regulatory Notice for Firms to Let FINRA Know About Digital Asset Activities Blockchain Week in Review: Week of July 9, 2018 U.S. Developments Regulatory Updates Vermont Enacts Blockchain Business Development Bill On May 30, Vermont Governor Phil Scott signed SB 269 (thereby becoming … Continue Reading
