FinTech and Blockchain Law Watch

At the Crossroads of Law, Innovation and Commerce

1
Singapore to Share Cryptocurrency Tax Information With Other Countries
2
CFPB Wants to Oversee Large Nonbank Digital Payment Providers
3
NY AG Sues Gemini, Genesis, and DCG for Fraud
4
Australia: Licensing Comes to the Crypto Industry
5
CFTC Files Complaint Against Voyager’s Former CEO Stephen Ehrlich Alleging Fraud and Registration Failures
6
Connecticut Stifles Employees’ Access to their Earned Wages
7
New FTC Guidance: The INFORM Consumers Act’s Impact on Online Marketplaces’ Third-Party Sellers
8
An SEC First: NFTs are Sold as Securities
9
First SEC Enforcement Action Arising Out of the New Marketing Rule Targets FinTech Investment Advisor Titan Global Management
10
SDNY Rules Ripple’s XRP token is NOT a Security

Singapore to Share Cryptocurrency Tax Information With Other Countries

By: Nicolet-Serra and Josh Durham

Singapore has just become the 48th nation (joining the US) to begin implementing the international Crypto-Asset Reporting Framework (CARF), which is intended to standardize the automatic exchange of personal financial information between countries and to reduce tax evasion by those engaging in cryptocurrency transactions.

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CFPB Wants to Oversee Large Nonbank Digital Payment Providers

By Jeremy McLaughlin and Josh Durham

Yesterday the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) that, according to the agency, aims to “crack down on [fintech] regulatory arbitrage by ensuring large technology firms and other nonbank payment providers are subjected to appropriate oversight.”

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NY AG Sues Gemini, Genesis, and DCG for Fraud

By Josh Durham

On 19 October 2023, New York Attorney General Letitia James filed a lawsuit against cryptocurrency companies Gemini Trust Company, LLC (Gemini), Genesis Global Capital, LLC (Genesis), Digital Currency Group, Inc. (DCG), and several of their affiliates and controlling persons, in relation to Gemini’s digital asset investment program called Gemini Earn (Earn). In addition to claims that Earn constituted the offering of an unregistered security, which we have seen recently in other SEC and state regulator enforcement actions, the lawsuit also claims that the defendants allegedly defrauded investors by concealing the program’s risks and misleading investors about the financial stability of Genesis.

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Australia: Licensing Comes to the Crypto Industry

By Daniel Knight

Yesterday the Australian Federal Government released its proposal paper on regulating the crypto industry (Paper). The government proposes to regulate exchanges, custodians and other digital asset service providers within the scope the Australian Financial Services (AFS) licensing regime.

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CFTC Files Complaint Against Voyager’s Former CEO Stephen Ehrlich Alleging Fraud and Registration Failures

By Cliff Histed, Cheryl Isaac, and Josh Durham

On 12 October, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) filed a complaint against Stephen Ehrlich, the former CEO of the now-defunct cryptocurrency platform, Voyager Digital (Voyager), in the US District Court for the Southern District of New York. In its 55-page complaint, the CFTC asserts both fraud and registration failures by Ehrlich in connection with the Voyager platform and Voyager’s operation of an unregistered commodity pool.

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Connecticut Stifles Employees’ Access to their Earned Wages

By John ReVeal and Jeremy McLaughlin

Earned Wage Access (or EWA) programs are popular programs that allow employees to access their salary or wages that have already been earned, prior to the scheduled payroll date. Many argue that these beneficial programs are not truly “loans” because employees are accessing their own money without paying the high fees charged by payday lenders. However, some state regulators disagree, making EWA programs more difficult to access, depending on what state in which the employee lives.

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New FTC Guidance: The INFORM Consumers Act’s Impact on Online Marketplaces’ Third-Party Sellers

By Adam Husik and John ReVeal

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has issued guidance on how the Integrity, Notification, and Fairness in Online Retail Marketplaces for Consumers Act (the “INFORM Consumers Act” or “Act”) may impact online sellers who offer consumer products through online marketplaces.

The Act, as described in our prior blog post, is aimed at addressing consumer complaints about online purchases of stolen, counterfeit, or defective products. As of the Act’s 27 June 2023 effective date, online marketplaces are now generally required to obtain, verify, and disclose certain financial and business information about high-volume sellers on their platforms.

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An SEC First: NFTs are Sold as Securities

By Drew Hinkes, Eden Rohrer, and Josh Durham

On 28 August 2023, in its first enforcement action for securities registration violations brought against an issuer of NFTs, the SEC settled with media and entertainment company, Impact Theory, LLC (Impact).  

The settlement order included findings that from 13 October 2021 to 6 December 2021, Impact sold non-fungible tokens called Founder’s Keys (KeyNFTs) raising approximately US$30 million. Broadly interpreting Howey, the SEC found that the NFTs were sold in investment contracts, based on the company’s public statements about the expected rise in value of the NFTs and its use of profits from sales to develop the company. 

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First SEC Enforcement Action Arising Out of the New Marketing Rule Targets FinTech Investment Advisor Titan Global Management

By Judie Rinearson, Richard Kerr, and Josh Durham

Effective in 2022, the SEC adopted a new Marketing Rule for investment advisers to modernize the regulation of investment adviser advertising and solicitation practices. The adoption of the new Marketing Rule was the first substantive amendment to Rule 206(4)-1 under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940 since its adoption in 1961. A discussion of the impact of the new Marketing Rule can be found here.

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SDNY Rules Ripple’s XRP token is NOT a Security

By Andrew Hinkes and Eden Rohrer

On July 13, 2023, in a long awaited decision in Securities and Exchange Commission v. Ripple Labs, Inc., Bradley Garlinghouse and Christian A. Larsen, Judge Analisa Torres of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York ruled on the cross-summary judgement motions finding that Defendant Ripple Labs’  XRP Token is not a security, handing the SEC a stunning defeat on many arguments that have been advanced by the SEC in multiple enforcement actions affecting issuers and exchanges of digital assets.

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