The Federal Reserve is taking measured steps to better understand the types of cryptoasset-related activities contemplated by its supervised banking organizations. By Alan W. Avery, Pia Naib, and Deric Behar On August 16, 2022, the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (FRB) issued a Supervision and Regulation Letter outlining its expectations for FRB-supervised … Continue Reading
Bitcoin Association for BSV will release software to facilitate court orders to freeze stolen or lost coins, while some courts recently authorised service proceedings by tokenised airdrop. By Christian F. McDermott, Andrew C. Moyle, and Nara Yoo Earlier this year, in Tulip Trading Ltd (TTL) v. Bitcoin Association for BSV (Bitcoin Association) and others, the … Continue Reading
The latest analysis of “smarter contracts” provides helpful guidance on the opportunities and potential legal and practical risks in adopting these technologies. By Christian F. McDermott, Andrew C. Moyle, and Nara Yoo LawtechUK’s latest analysis of so-called smarter contracts in the UK, set out in its Smarter Contracts Report (the Report), seeks to identify how … Continue Reading
The global central bank cooperative body would bring stablecoins within the international standards for payment, clearing, and settlement systems. By Alan W. Avery, Stuart Davis, Simon Hawkins, Yvette D. Valdez, Stephen P. Wink, Pia Naib, and Deric Behar On July 13, 2022, the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) Committee on Payments and Market Infrastructures (CPMI) … Continue Reading
The RFIA could make it easier for fintechs dealing in digital assets and stablecoins to access Federal Reserve bank services. By Alan W. Avery, Pia Naib, and Deric Behar Latham & Watkins presents a blog series on the Responsible Financial Innovation Act, which was introduced in the US Senate on June 10, 2022, to create a framework for digital assets, … Continue Reading
The CFTC would take center stage in the regulation of spot digital asset markets under Title IV of the RFIA. By Yvette D. Valdez, Adam Bruce Fovent, and Emily Viola Latham & Watkins presents a blog series on the Responsible Financial Innovation Act, which was introduced in the US Senate on June 10, 2022, to create a … Continue Reading
The RFIA would define consumer protection standards for digital assets and introduce new requirements regarding digital asset use in interstate money transfers. By Jenny Cieplak, Parag Patel, Barrie VanBrackle, and Deric Behar Latham & Watkins presents a blog series on the Responsible Financial Innovation Act, which was introduced in the US Senate on June 10, 2022, to create … Continue Reading
The Executive Order aims to strengthen consumer protection and cultivate innovation in digital assets and related financial products and services. By Christopher D. Frey, Scott D. Joiner, Barrie VanBrackle, Katherine A. Sawyer, and Scott Kanchuger* On May 4, 2022, California Governor Gavin Newsom issued an Executive Order (California Order) calling upon California state agencies to … Continue Reading
The HKMA’s discussion paper seeks feedback on its proposed regulatory approach to stablecoins, with responses due by 31 March 2022. By Simon Hawkins and Adrian Fong On 12 January 2022, the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA), Hong Kong’s principal regulator for banks and payment systems, published a discussion paper seeking the public’s views on its … Continue Reading
The Clarity for Digital Tokens Act of 2021 would give token issuers the guardrails they need to innovate with far less regulatory anxiety. By Stephen P. Wink and Deric Behar US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Commissioner Hester Peirce has always been something of a maverick. She has been a lone dissenting voice on the … Continue Reading
A sovereign nation’s decision to adopt Bitcoin as legal tender raises interesting questions — and legal ramifications. By Elena Romanova, Larry Safran, Yvette D. Valdez, Eric S. Volkman, Stephen P. Wink, Adam Bruce Fovent, and Deric Behar On June 8, 2021, El Salvador’s Legislative Assembly voted to establish Bitcoin as unrestricted legal tender, making El … Continue Reading
SEC Commissioner Peirce has revived and refreshed her proposed three-year safe harbor for qualifying token projects, but some unresolved ambiguities remain. By Miles P. Jennings, Stephen P. Wink, Naim Culhaci, and Deric Behar US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Commissioner Hester Peirce, a longtime and vocal advocate for innovation in financial services, has not shied … Continue Reading
As the market for NFTs heats up, market participants should remain mindful of the regulatory implications of complex schemes. By Stephen P. Wink, Miles P. Jennings, Shaun Musuka, and Deric Behar As the current crypto boom has progressed, it seemed Decentralized Finance (DeFi) had cemented its position as the dominant new narrative of this cycle. … Continue Reading
In a new publication, ISDA explores the benefits of digitization and blockchain solutions for global foreign exchange derivatives markets. By Yvette D. Valdez, Adam Bruce Fovent, and Deric Behar As blockchain and distributed ledger technology (DLT) use cases continue to grow across the broad spectrum of financial markets, the International Swaps and Derivatives Association, Inc. … Continue Reading
A thorough dispute resolution model can help market participants navigate inevitable disputes in the blockchain network and minimize costly litigation. By Jenny Cieplak Some of the biggest challenges in scaling blockchain solutions revolve around setting up an effective governance framework, particularly a component to manage the processes by which disputes among parties are properly … Continue Reading
US Department of Justice’s sprawling report reveals regulatory enforcement priorities for cryptocurrencies and highlights multi-agency cooperation. By Susan Engel, Miles Jennings, Benjamin Naftalis, Yvette Valdez, Eric Volkman, Stephen Wink, Douglas K. Yatter, and Deric Behar On October 8, 2020, the US Attorney General’s Cyber-Digital Task Force of the Department of Justice (DOJ) published an extensive … Continue Reading
A collaborative project led by the Global Blockchain Business Council represents an unprecedented effort to analyze the technical and regulatory blockchain landscape. By Stuart Davis, Axel Schiemann, Farhana Sharmeen, Simon Hawkins, Max von Cube, Kenneth Y.F. Hui, and Gen Huong Tan On October 14, 2020, the Global Blockchain Business Council (GBBC) and the World Economic … Continue Reading
The milestone fund structure portends a reduced role for broker-dealers, who may be sidelined by innovators unwilling to wait for regulators. By Stephen P. Wink and Deric Behar On July 6, 2020, asset management firm Arca announced that the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) granted it approval under the Investment Company Act of 1940 … Continue Reading
Latham fintech lawyers and key industry leaders explore the progress and potential of CBDCs, use cases for stablecoins, and the global regulatory landscape. Many central banks around the world are currently considering central bank digital currency (CBDC). According to the Bank of International Settlements’ recent survey of 66 central banks, 80% of surveyed central banks … Continue Reading
Latham fintech partners explore tokenization and distributed business models with guest speakers from Energy Web Foundation, ConsenSys, and The LAO. Tokenization of assets, as well as the innovation of blockchain-based distributed business models, have the potential to unlock asset liquidity, create more efficient, trustless and transparent processes, and reshape systems and entire industries by minimizing … Continue Reading
Latham Fintech partner Jenny Cieplak discussed consortium governance on a panel hosted by WEF at the Consensus: Distributed Conference. Jenny Cieplak, a member of Latham & Watkins’ Fintech Industry Group, recently discussed blockchain consortia governance issues as part of a panel hosted by the World Economic Forum (WEF) at the Consensus: Distributed conference. A replay … Continue Reading
MAS confirms regulatory approach for derivative contracts on payment tokens. By Farhana Sharmeen and Marc Jia Renn Tan On 15 May 2020, the Monetary Authority of Singapore (the MAS) issued its response to feedback about its proposed regulatory approach for derivative contracts that reference payment tokens as underlying assets (Payment Token Derivatives), confirming that it … Continue Reading
The report encourages the G20 to consider a broad set of supervisory principles when evaluating global stablecoin arrangements. By Todd Beauchamp, Stuart Davis, Christian F. McDermott, Yvette D. Valdez, Stephen P. Wink, Simon Hawkins, and Deric Behar On April 14, 2020, the G20’s Financial Stability Board (FSB) published a consultation on the regulation, supervision, and … Continue Reading
The resource aims to help businesses create more resilient supply chains and trusted data by responsibly deploying blockchain technology. By Stuart Davis, Fiona Maclean, Andrew Moyle, Jenny Cieplak, Mitch Rabinowitz and Masha Smith The World Economic Forum has launched a new, first-of-its-kind resource — Redesigning Trust: Blockchain Deployment Toolkit (Toolkit) — to help organizations responsibly … Continue Reading
