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FINRA begins a dialogue with financial market participants about the metaverse’s potential opportunities, applications, and risks.

By Jenny Cieplak, Ghaith Mahmood, Stephen P. Wink, Naim Culhaci, and Deric Behar

On October 24, 2024, the Office of Financial Innovation (OFI) of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, Inc. (FINRA) published “The Metaverse and the Implications for the Securities Industry” (the Report).

FINRA cited current estimates that around 37.6 million users spend over $28 billion a year in metaverse platforms, with economic growth projected to reach $5 trillion by 2030. OFI therefore consulted with securities firms and other financial institutions, hardware and software providers, academics, industry observers, and government entities to better understand the opportunities and risks that metaverse platforms may present for the US financial industry. The Report outlines OFI’s findings and covers an overview of how it defines “the metaverse,” market trends, potential applications for metaverse platforms that the securities industry is exploring, potential use cases, challenges and related factors associated with metaverse platforms, and potential regulatory considerations.

The rule aims to reduce market concentration by guaranteeing consumer access to personal financial data, but faces strident criticism and immediate legal challenge.

By Arthur S. Long, Parag Patel, Barrie VanBrackle, Pia Naib, Mik Bushinski, and Deric Behar

On October 22, 2024, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) finalized the Personal Financial Data Rights rule (the Rule) under Section 1033 of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2010. The Rule requires…

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Remittance service providers would need to update their disclosure statements under a narrowly tailored proposed amendment which aims to resolve issues more efficiently and save consumers time.

By Parag Patel, Barrie VanBrackle, and Deric Behar

On September 20, 2024, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) proposed a rule amendment to disclosure requirements under the Electronic Fund Transfer Act (the Act) and Regulation E (the Act’s implementing regulation) for certain international money transfers, or remittances (the Proposal). The Proposal…

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In its third action involving NFTs, the SEC targets a restaurant membership token tied to fundraising and promises of potential price appreciation for buyers.

By Jenny Cieplak, Ghaith Mahmood, Nima H. Mohebbi, Stephen P. Wink, and Deric Behar

On September 16, 2024, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) issued a cease-and-desist order (the Order) against Flyfish Club, LLC (Flyfish) for an unregistered offering of crypto asset securities relating to Flyfish’s sale of $14.8 million worth of non-fungible tokens (NFTs), in violation of Section 5 of the Securities Act of 1933 (and no exemption from registration was available). The SEC alleged that the NFTs were issued to the public to finance the construction and operation of a members-only restaurant and club in in New York City.

Flyfish neither admitted nor denied any wrongdoing as part of the settlement, which does not include any allegations of misleading or fraudulent statements.

The SEC obtained this settlement roughly a year after its first and second enforcement actions against NFT issuers (for more information, see this Latham blog post on the first enforcement and this Latham blog post on the second enforcement), and less than a month after issuing a Wells Notice against one of the industry’s largest NFT marketplaces.

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The proposal would make key changes to the definition of “deposit broker” with significant ramifications for banks, fintechs, bank-fintech partnerships, and other third parties in the financial services industry.

By Arthur S. Long, Parag Patel, Barrie VanBrackle, Pia Naib, and Deric Behar

The Board of Directors of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) recently approved a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (“Unsafe and Unsound Banking Practices: Brokered Deposits Restrictions”) (the Proposal) to amend the agency’s brokered deposit…

Mica Tracker

Online resource provides overview of delegated acts, technical standards, and guidelines for cryptoasset businesses.

Latham & Watkins has launched the Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation Tracker, a new online resource that provides cryptoasset businesses with critical information to help navigate MiCA — a robust and detailed regulatory framework for cryptoassets.

Since MiCA was first published in the EU Official Journal in June 2023, various delegated acts, technical standards, and guidelines have come into force in different stages. By 30 December 2024…

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Paycheck advance products that are deemed consumer loans under the CFPB’s new proposal would be subject to increased disclosure and regulatory protections.

By Parag Patel, Barrie VanBrackle, and Deric Behar

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) recently proposed an interpretive rule titled “Consumer Credit Offered to Borrowers in Advance of Expected Receipt of Compensation for Work” (the Proposal). If finalized, the Proposal would designate “earned wage access” or “earned wage advance” products (EWAs) that require a fee as…

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The government will enact the new legislation to bring issuers of fiat-referencing stablecoins into the regulatory perimeter.

By Simon Hawkins, Adrian Fong, and Sam Maxson

On 17 July 2024, the Financial Services and the Treasury Bureau and the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) released the consultation conclusions on their legislative proposal for a regulatory regime governing stablecoin issuers in Hong Kong (Consultation Conclusions). The next day, the HKMA followed with its own press release announcing the first batch…

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Recent Supreme Court administrative law rulings change the power dynamic between the executive and the judiciary in critical areas of statutory interpretation, enforcement, and immunity from legal challenge.

By Jenny Cieplak, Arthur S. Long, Nima H. Mohebbi, Benjamin A. Naftalis, Marlon Q. Paz, Yvette D. Valdez, Stephen P. Wink, Douglas K. Yatter, Adam Fovent, and Deric Behar

The 2023-2024 US Supreme Court session has concluded the term with a series of…

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The centralized repository would assist the CFPB and law enforcement in detecting patterns of misbehavior and recidivism adversely affecting consumers.

By Arthur S. Long, Barrie VanBrackle, and Deric Behar

On June 3, 2024, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) finalized a rule (Registry of Nonbank Covered Persons Subject to Certain Agency and Court Orders) (the Rule) to track judicial and regulatory enforcement orders against nonbank financial firms, and to report on such orders in a publicly available registry.…