The SEC is targeting ICOs once again, but it is now adding more focus through its new Enforcement Division Cyber Unit. In its enforcement settlement with Munchee, Inc., the SEC looked past the utility of a “utility token” in its “securities” analysis and instead focused on aspects such as marketing and the existence of a … Continue Reading
On December 15, 2017, the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (the “CFTC”) issued a proposed interpretation of the term “actual delivery” as used in the provision of the Commodity Exchange Act (the “CEA”) that grants the CFTC explicit authority to oversee the marketplace for “retail commodity transactions.” This is the second blog posting in a … Continue Reading
On December 15, 2017, the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (the “CFTC”) issued a proposed interpretation of the term “actual delivery” as used in the provision of the Commodity Exchange Act (the “CEA”) that grants the CFTC explicit authority to oversee the marketplace for “retail commodity transactions”. This is the first blog posting in a … Continue Reading
It was a busy morning at the intersection of derivatives and virtual currencies. The world of virtual currencies is about to simultaneously become a lot more institutional and a lot more retail. Read an overview of what happened and some thoughts about what it means for the world of virtual currencies on our Derivatives & … Continue Reading
Earlier today, LabCFTC released, “A Primer on Virtual Currencies,” which it describes as being the first of a series of publications “to help market participants and innovators navigate the FinTech landscape”. Click here to read the full blog post.… Continue Reading
On May 2, 2016, during a keynote address at Consensus 2016, Jack Markell – Governor of Delaware from 2009 to 2017 – announced a comprehensive program to provide an enabling regulatory and legal environment for the development of blockchain technology in Delaware. As part of this initiative, Delaware implemented distributed ledger technology for the Delaware … Continue Reading
Below is a summary of some of the significant legal and regulatory actions that occurred over the past week. This alert is not intended to be a comprehensive list of all such developments, but rather a selection of publicly-reported news that may be of particular interest. U.S. Developments Regulatory IRS Tailors Request for Coinbase … Continue Reading
On June 30, 2017, the SEC and the U.S. Attorney brought parallel civil and criminal fraud charges against Renwick Haddow, the owner of an unregistered broker-dealer entity named In Crowd Equity Inc., and two corporate entities named Bitcoin Store, Inc. and Bar Works, Inc. (SEC Litigation Release, US Attorney Press Release) In addition to filing the … Continue Reading
Below is a summary of some of the significant legal and regulatory actions that occurred over the past week. This alert is not intended to be a comprehensive list of all such developments, but rather a selection of publicly-reported news that may be of particular interest. U.S. Developments Regulatory Updates Illinois Regulators Determine that Digital … Continue Reading
We are pleased to release two in-depth white papers discussing cutting-edge legal and technology issues applicable to smart contracts and self-sovereign identity systems. In the smart contracts white paper, Dax Hansen, Partner and Chair of the Blockchain and Digital Currency Industry Group, and Carla Reyes, Visiting Assistant Professor of Law at the Stetson University College of … Continue Reading
On April 18 the governor of Washington signed into law amendments proposed by the Washington Department of Financial Institutions (“DFI”) in December of last year, to the state’s Uniform Money Services Act, including provisions specific to digital currency. The changes take effect on July 23, 2017. Aligning with Washington’s Interim Regulatory Guidance on Virtual Currency … Continue Reading
In this recently published Perkins Coie white paper, the authors analyze the treatment of bitcoin under applicable U.S. property law. The authors conclude that property interests should exist in bitcoin under such law, and that multiple sources of persuasive authority provide additional support for that conclusion. The paper is divided into 5 parts: Treatment of … Continue Reading
Through our longstanding relationship with The Chamber of Digital Commerce, Dana Syracuse presented a blockchain legal and regulatory update at the DC Blockchain Summit held in Washington DC, March 15-16, 2017. Please find a video of Dana’s presentation here and a copy of the presentation slides here. The Chamber of Digital Commerce, along with Georgetown University’s Center for Financial … Continue Reading
Read our new article in The Investment Lawyer to learn more about the legal and regulatory implications of emerging technologies, including blockchain and digital ledger technology, investing in fintech companies, robo-advisers and algorithms, and cybersecurity.… Continue Reading
The Securities and Exchange Commission announced today that it would deny a proposed rule change that would have permitted the first exchange traded fund to track digital currency. If granted it would have permitted the Bats BZX Exchange, Inc. (“Exchange”) to list and trade shares issued by the Winklevoss Bitcoin Trust on the Exchange. The SEC … Continue Reading
Below is a summary of some of the significant legal and regulatory actions that occurred over the past week. This alert is not intended to be a comprehensive list of all such developments, but rather a selection of publicly-reported news that may be of particular interest. U.S. Developments California and New York Take Divergent Approaches … Continue Reading
Below is a summary of some of the significant legal and regulatory actions that occurred over the past week. This alert is not intended to be a comprehensive list of all such developments, but rather a selection of publicly-reported news that may be of particular interest. U.S. Developments The Saga of Coinbase and its IRS … Continue Reading
On December 28, 2016, the New York State Department of Financial Services (NYDFS) issued a revised proposed cybersecurity regulation, Cybersecurity Requirements for Financial Services Companies. The revised proposed regulation reflects several substantive changes made in response to over 150 public comments received by NYDFS in response to the original proposed regulation published this past September. … Continue Reading
Blockchain Loans as Uncertificated Securities In a previous post, I examined the risk that efforts to employ distributed ledger technology to trade syndicated loans could result in their reclassification as “securities” for purposes of federal securities laws. I will now explain why such a system may need to treat blockchain syndicated loans as “securities” for … Continue Reading
Some banks are hard at work applying distributed ledger technology to trading syndicated loan transactions. Their system would make it easier than ever to invest in syndicated bank loans. At some point, the combination of widespread holdings and a major default could force a reassessment of whether syndicated loans traded over the new system are … Continue Reading
On December 2, 2016, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (“OCC”) announced its intention to move forward with considering applications from financial technology (“FinTech”) companies to become special purpose national banks. In his prepared remarks at the Georgetown University Law Center announcing the release of a new white paper entitled, “Exploring Special Purpose … Continue Reading
Below is a summary of some of the significant legal and regulatory actions that occurred over the past week. This alert is not intended to be a comprehensive list of all such developments, but rather a selection of publicly-reported news that may be of particular interest. U.S. Developments OCC Moves Forward with Plans to Develop … Continue Reading
On November 14, 2016, the SEC convened four panels of individuals at the forefront of the FinTech industry to address the rapid growth of recent innovations in FinTech. Panelists addressed how these innovations impact four main areas: investment advisory services; trading, settlement, and clearance activities; capital formation; and investor protection. The over-arching theme of the … Continue Reading
Banks are exploring using blockchain to increase the efficiency of trading syndicated loans. The hope is to increase the liquidity and transparency of the secondary market for loans. The risk is that their efforts will be so successful that the loans may lose their historical exemption from the registration and anti-fraud provisions of the Securities … Continue Reading
