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
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Bermuda Launches Two Key Fintech Initiatives, Becomes First Nation to Accept Stable Coins for Government Payments
By Barbara A. Jones on
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…
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IRS Issues New Cryptocurrency Guidance
By Mary F. Voce & Pallav Raghuvanshi on
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.
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SEC/FINRA Joint Statement on Broker-Dealer Custody of Digital Assets
By Rebecca G. DiStefano on
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…
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SEC Clears First Two Regulated Token Offerings
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…
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SEC Issues ‘No-Action’ Letters Allowing Sales of Utility Tokens
By Barbara A. Jones & Rebecca G. DiStefano on
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…
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New Regulations in Japan on Security Token Offerings
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…
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Cryptocurrencies and Unclaimed Property: Potential Implications of State Escheat Laws for the Blockchain Technology Industry
The use of blockchain technology and the issuance of cryptocurrencies have grown considerably in recent years, inviting heightened scrutiny and regulation. While federal securities, tax, and other financial services regulatory…
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FinCEN Issues Guidance on Application of Regulations to Certain Business Models Involving Convertible Virtual Currencies
By Richard Abeeku Mills-Robertson, Jonathan R. Cyprys, Obiamaka P. Madubuko, Marina Olman-Pal, William Mack & Greenberg Traurig on
On May 9, 2019, the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network of the U.S. Department of the Treasury (FinCEN) issued “interpretive guidance” addressing how FinCEN’s money services business (MSB) regulations apply to…
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Proposed Amendment to Japanese Crypto Asset Laws
A bill to amend the Japanese laws regulating cryptocurrency exchange businesses or financial instruments transactions, including the Act on Settlement of Funds (Settlement Act) and the Financial Instruments and Exchange…
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