As another sign of the times, but arguably quite apt given the subject matter, the Consensus Blockchain Conference convened virtually in 2020, with Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) Director Ken
Continue Reading FinCEN Director Confirms Enforcement Focus on Virtual Currency AML Compliance
In the last decade, traditional financial institutions such as banks and broker-dealers have faced increased scrutiny from federal regulators and prosecutors related to the adequacy of their anti-money laundering (AML)
Continue Reading AML Compliance Scrutiny of Virtual Currency Services in 2020 and Beyond
On Jan. 14, 2020, the Financial Services Agency of Japan published draft amendments of enforcement orders, cabinet office ordinances and guidelines concerning the recently amended and enacted crypto asset laws.
Continue Reading Crypto Asset Custody Regulations in Japan
In the summer of 2015, the New York State Department of Financial Services (DFS) finalized its regulatory framework for virtual currency firms seeking to conduct certain virtual currency (VC) business
Continue Reading New York State Department of Financial Services Proposes Guidance on Adoption or Listing of Virtual Currencies by Exchanges
On Oct. 16, 2019, Bermuda Premier the Hon. E. David Burt JP, MP announced that Bermuda has committed to accept, for payment of government taxes, fees, and services, 1:1 U.S.-dollar-backed
Continue Reading Bermuda Launches Two Key Fintech Initiatives, Becomes First Nation to Accept Stable Coins for Government Payments
On Oct. 9, 2019, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) released revenue ruling (Rev. Rul. 2019-24) and a Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) document, which provide additional guidance on the tax treatment and reporting obligations for transactions involving virtual currency (also known as cryptocurrency). This guidance supplements the original guidance that was issued in 2014 in the form of a notice (Notice 2014-21), which provides a baseline rule that cryptocurrency is property for federal income tax purposes.
Rev. Rul. 2019-24 addresses questions related to the tax treatment of hard forks. The revenue ruling describes a hard fork as a protocol change that results in a permanent split of a new distributive ledger from a legacy or existing distributed ledger, resulting in the creation of a new cryptocurrency on the new distributed ledger in addition to the legacy cryptocurrency on the legacy distributed ledger.
Continue Reading IRS Issues New Cryptocurrency Guidance
The SEC’s Division of Trading and Markets and the Office of the General Counsel of FINRA (Financial Industry Regulatory Authority) published on July 8, 2019, a joint staff statement (Custody
Continue Reading SEC/FINRA Joint Statement on Broker-Dealer Custody of Digital Assets
In July 2019, the SEC qualified the first token offerings under Regulation A+, approving blockchain startup Blockstack’s bitcoin-like digital tokens on July 10, and live video streaming platform YouNow’s offering
Continue Reading SEC Clears First Two Regulated Token Offerings
In a significant step forward for the cryptocurrency industry, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission issued its first “no-action” letter (NAL) to a U.S.-based company using utility tokens created for
Continue Reading SEC Issues ‘No-Action’ Letters Allowing Sales of Utility Tokens
A bill to amend the Act on Settlement of Funds and the Financial Instruments and Exchange Act (FIEA) has passed both the upper and lower houses of Japan’s National Diet
Continue Reading New Regulations in Japan on Security Token Offerings