regulation – FinTech and Blockchain Law Watch

Australia: Crypto in the Courts – ASIC v Finder Update

Sep 02 2025

By: Daniel Knight, Ben Kneebush and Thais Fernandes

The Federal Court of Appeal has dismissed ASIC’s appeal and upheld the primary judge’s decision that Finder Wallet’s (Finder) product “Finder Earn” was not a “debenture” and they did not have to hold an Australian Financial Services License (AFSL). ASIC is still considering the implications of this decision and have not yet indicated whether they will seek to appeal to the High Court of Australia.

United States: The Continuing Shift to Modern Money Transmission Laws

May 05 2025

By: Judith Rinearson, Jeremy McLaughlin, Jennifer Crowder, and Joshua Durham

Within the past two months, three states have adopted the Money Transmission Modernization Act (MTMA). The governors of Virginia, Mississippi, and most recently Colorado, signed bills that implement the MTMA, and two other states are currently considering similar bills (Alaska and Nebraska).

Massachusetts Revamps Its Money Transmission Law

Jan 03 2025

By: Andrew C. Glass, Jeremy M. McLaughlin, and Joshua L. Durham

On 2 January 2025, Massachusetts went from being one of the least regulated states for money transmission to becoming one of the more highly regulated states. Formerly, only entities engaging in foreign money transmission required licensing. Under the newly enacted Money Transmission Act (Massachusetts MTA) (H4840), covered entities will include any entity that sells or issues payment instruments or stored value, as well as any entity that receives money for transmission from a person located in Massachusetts. Such entities will soon be required to obtain a license from, and will be subject to supervision by, the Massachusetts Division of Banks. In signing the Massachusetts MTA into law, Governor Maura Healey expressed that the law is intended to protect Massachusetts consumers “when transferring money to friends and businesses through payment apps.”

Crypto.com’s Mission to Seek Regulatory Clarity for Digital Assets

Oct 14 2024

By: Cheryl L. Isaac, Judith Rinearson, Eden L. Rohrer, and Joshua L. Durham

On 8 October, Crypto.com made two novel, strategic moves to seek regulatory clarity regarding the classification of digital assets. First, the digital asset exchange sued the SEC, claiming that the SEC exceeded its statutory authority with respect to its classification of digital assets as securities without any notice-and-comment rulemaking as required under the Administrative Procedure Act (APA). Second, Crypto.com’s affiliate that is a CFTC-registered derivatives exchange petitioned the SEC and CFTC to provide a joint interpretation on how its swap products should be governed by the agencies.

Vermont Enters a New Age of Virtual Currency Money Transmission

Aug 14 2024

By: Jeremy McLaughlin and Joshua Durham

Effective July 2024, Vermont rehauled its money transmission law, joining the other states (approximately half) that have enacted some or all of the Money Transmission Modernization Act (MTMA). In doing so, Vermont furthers a trend of states expanding their regulators’ purview over the virtual currency industry.

CFPB Aims to End the Use of Medical Debt Information in Making Credit Determinations and in Credit Reporting

Jun 19 2024

By: Andrew C. Glass, Gregory N. Blase, and Joshua L. Durham

On June 11, 2024, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) published a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) to ban the inclusion of medical bills in consumer credit reports.

South Carolina Becomes the Fifth State to Enact An Earned Wage Access Law

May 29 2024

By: John ReVeal and Jennifer Crowder

On May 21, the South Carolina Governor signed a Bill to enact the Earned Wage Access Services Act (the Act), joining Kansas, Missouri, Nevada and Wisconsin as the fifth state to codify earned wage access (EWA) services. Many other states are considering such legislation, while a few others have so far relied on regulatory opinions or guidance.

In an About-Face, Pennsylvania to Regulate Virtual Currency as Money

Apr 25 2024

By: Jeremy McLaughlin and Joshua Durham

Based on a new statement of policy (“Statement”) issued on 20 April 2024 by Pennsylvania’s Department of Banking and Securities (“Department”), effective 15 October 2024, the Department will include virtual currency in the definition of “money” for purposes of the state’s money transmission law (“Law”). Previously, in January 2019, the Department had issued guidance concluding the opposite, that only fiat currency constituted “money” under the Law. The Department’s about-face follows other state regulators that have increasingly concluded that virtual currency is regulated under their state money transmission laws.

Australia: BNPL Regulation Takes Another Step Forward

Apr 01 2024

By: Dan Knight and Ben Kneebush

On 12 March 2024, the Australian Treasury released for consultation an exposure draft legislative package that proposes to amend the current regulatory framework to regulate low cost credit contracts (LCCCs), including Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL) arrangements and other types of credit contracts. These changes are designed to be flexible, adaptable and proportionate to the risk of consumer harm.

CFPB Wants to Oversee Large Nonbank Digital Payment Providers

Nov 08 2023

By Jeremy McLaughlin, Andrew Hinkes, 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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