Cryptocurrencies & ICOs – Page 3 – FinTech and Blockchain Law Watch

Louisiana Proposes Administrative Rules for Virtual Currency Businesses

Jul 07 2022

By Jeremy M. McLaughlin and Christian A. Zazzali

The Louisiana Office for Financial Institutions (“OFI”) has proposed administrative rules governing the licensing process for virtual currency businesses. Louisiana’s Virtual Currency Business Act (the “Act”) became effective in August 2020 and granted OFI broad supervisory and enforcement powers. The Act also required OFI to promulgate rules regarding licensing. Roughly two years later, OFI has done so. Those wishing to submit written comments on the proposed rules may do so through 5:00 pm on July 10, 2022. It’s expected the rules will be adopted later this year.

Change Is Constant* and There’s a lot of Regulatory Change Happening in the UK – Impacting Fintechs and Crypto Asset companies.

Jun 29 2022

By Kai Zhang

Critical third party regime

This is to address the concentration issue where financial services firms outsource key functions/services to a few large service providers (e.g. cloud service providers). HM Treasury will designate which third party service providers are considered “critical”. Then the relevant regulators will be given power to make rules supervising them with respect to certain “material services”. See policy statement of 8 June.

On Heels of Crypto Legislative Activity, NYDFS Follows Up With Crypto Stablecoin Guidance

Jun 21 2022

By Jeremy M. McLaughlin, Andrew M. Hinkes, and Christian Zazzali

On June 8, 2022, the New York State Department of Financial Services (“NYDFS”) released regulatory guidance applicable only to payment stablecoins that are backed by the U.S. Dollar and issued by entities regulated by NYDFS. The guidance comes one day after Senators Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) and Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyo.) released a bill calling for dramatic changes to federal regulation of the cryptocurrency industry (see our quick analysis here) and less than a week after New York’s legislature passed two bills aimed at crypto regulation. Focusing on three criteria—redeemability, reserves, and attestation—the NYDFS stablecoin guidance is intended to ensure that payment stablecoin issuers remain solvent so holders of those payment stablecoins can timely exercise their right to redeem. This guidance does not address a stablecoin’s trading price and does not mandate that the issuer take any active measures to ensure the price of the asset on markets.

New York Legislators Address Crypto Head-On

Jun 14 2022

By Jeremy M. McLaughlin, Christian A. Zazzali, and Josh Durham

On Friday June 3, 2022, New York lawmakers passed two cryptocurrency bills, whose fate now lie in the hands of Gov. Kathy Hochul. Together, they would impose a moratorium on certain cryptocurrency mining operations and establish a cryptocurrency and blockchain task force. If successful, the mining ban would make New York the first state to enact such a moratorium.

10 Impactful Provisions of the Lummis-Gillibrand Bill

Jun 07 2022

By Andrew Hinkes, Eden Rohrer, and Judie Rinearson

The “Lummis-Gillibrand Responsible Financial Innovation Act,” announced this morning, lays out a bold agenda for legal reform across multiple regulatory regimes aimed at clarifying legal requirements for regulated entities to issue, trade, and provide services related to certain digital assets. Although a point by point summary of the 69 page bill is beyond the scope of this post, here’s a brief summary of 10 impactful provisions from the Bill:

California Soliciting Comments on Potential Regulation of Crypto Products and Services

Jun 02 2022

By Jeremy McLaughlin and Christian A. Zazzali

On May 4, 2022, California Governor Gavin Newsom issued an executive order on digital assets, which seeks sensible, transparent regulation through engagement with developers of digital asset-related products and services. For a detailed discussion on the executive order, see our prior blog here. In response, California’s financial regulator, the Department of Financial Protection and Innovation (DFPI), issued an invitation to submit comments on crypto-asset related products and services under the California Consumer Financial Protection Law (CCFPL). The deadline for submission is August 5, 2022.

California’s Executive Order Embraces Crypto

May 10 2022

By Jeremy McLaughlin and Christian A. Zazzali

On May 4, 2022, California Governor Gavin Newsom issued an executive order on digital assets largely echoing the positive sentiments of President Biden’s February executive order. The order looks to create transparent regulation around digital assets and drive innovation into the state. By directing state agencies to engage in a cooperative discussion with stakeholders and developers in web3, California seeks to create an informed supplement to the federal report on digital assets, which is due in September.

UK’s Increased Regulatory Interest in Cryptoassets

Apr 07 2022

By Judith Rinearson and Kai Zhang

On 24 March 2022, the Bank of England (in the name of its Financial Policy Committee) published a paper on the potential risks of cryptoassets to UK financial stability. While the risks are currently considered to be limited given the small size of the cryptoassets and associated markets relative to the global financial system, the FPC notes that the rapid growth of the crypto sector and potential for interconnections with the wider financial system mean that they will present financial stability risks in the future.

The Fed Wants Your Input On A Potential Digital Dollar

Jan 26 2022

By Jeremy M. McLaughlin and Daniel S. Nuñez Cohen

Last week the Federal Reserve Board (the “Fed”) issued a discussion paper entitled “Money and Payments: The U.S. Dollar in the Age of Digital Transformation” (the “Paper”). The Paper explores the advantages and disadvantages of the Fed issuing a central bank digital currency (CBDC or digital dollar); key design considerations of such a currency; and seeks feedback from the public on 22 specific questions directed at those topics. Comments are due by May 20, 2022. Given that Congress has indicated its interest in the Paper, digital asset and financial services industry participants should use this opportunity to have their voices heard by the Fed and members of Congress.

Satoshi Goes to Washington : Senator Toomey Issues RFI to Inform Digital Asset Legislation

Aug 27 2021

By Jeremy M. McLaughlin, Judith Rinearson, and Daniel S. Cohen

As we have noted in the past, federal regulation of the digital asset/cryptocurrency/DeFi community is evolving and there are many perspectives on what direction it should take. For instance, earlier this week, the House Democratic leadership and a group of moderate House Democrats agreed to a compromise that would prevent the House of Representatives from amending the Senate-passed “Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act” (H.R. 3684), thereby preserving the bill’s provisions expanding the definition of “broker” under the Internal Revenue Code to apply to various digital asset market participants.

Category:Cryptocurrencies & ICOs