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The white paper examines how generative AI might shape the global derivatives markets, including new opportunities for industry stakeholders.

ISDA Future Leaders in Derivatives (IFLD) is a cohort of emerging leaders in the derivatives space representing financial services institutions, buy- and sell-side firms, and law firms (including Latham & Watkins, represented by associate Naffie Lamin).

In the white paper, IFLD provides guidance to regulators, financial institutions, technology providers, and other industry stakeholders to understand and explore potential use cases for…

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Under recent accounting rule changes, unrealized crypto gains must generally be reported on income statements, but questions arise about the alignment of the new Corporate Alternative Minimum Tax with constitutional tax principles.

By Andrew Strelka and Angelina Richards

Recent developments in taxation have brought cryptocurrency into the spotlight. The US Supreme Court’s 2024 ruling in Moore v. United States upheld a tax on undistributed foreign earnings, setting a precedent that could affect how unrealized gains are taxed under the new…

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A recent statutory instrument aims to remove legal uncertainty surrounding crypto staking and ease blockchain operations.

By Stuart Davis, Gabriel Lakeman, and Emma Trankeenan

On 9 January 2025, the UK Government published the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (Collective Investment Schemes) (Amendment) Order 2025 (SI 2025/17) (the Staking SI) and the accompanying explanatory memorandum (the Explanatory Memorandum).

The Staking SI together with the Explanatory Memorandum confirm that arrangements where a firm provides services to stake cryptoassets on…

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The FinmadiG introduces material implementation measures for the European Digital Finance Package.

By Axel Schiemann and Lasse Winzer

On 18 December 2024, the German Parliament (Deutscher Bundestag) has passed the Financial Market Digitisation Act (Finanzmarktdigitalisierungsgesetz — FinmadiG). The FinmadiG serves as the German implementation of several European rules, inter alia, Regulation (EU) 2023/1114 on Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) and Regulation (EU) 2023/1113 on information accompanying transfers of funds and certain cryptoassets (FTR). Under the amendments introduced by…

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The guidelines aim to ensure the consistent application of MiCA across the EU, including a standardised classification of cryptoassets.

By Axel Schiemann, Lasse Winzer, Thomas Vogel, Stuart Davis, and Gabriel Lakeman

On 10 December 2024, the European Banking Authority (EBA), the European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority (EIOPA), and the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) (together, ESAs) have published new joint guidelines on explanations and opinions, and the standardised test for cryptoassets, under Article 97(1) of Regulation (EU) 2023/1114 on the Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA).

Article 97(1) of MiCA mandated the ESAs to jointly issue guidelines by 30 December 2024 that specify the content and form of the explanation accompanying the cryptoasset white paper referred to in Article 8(4), and the legal opinions on the qualification of ARTs as per Article 17(1), point (b)(ii), and Article 18(2), point (e) of MiCA.

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The court ruled OFAC overstepped its authority in sanctioning Tornado Cash, holding that its smart contracts are not “property” under the governing statutes.

By Eric Volkman, Jenny Cieplak, Stephen P. Wink, and Deric Behar

On November 26, 2024, a three-judge panel of the US Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit reversed a Texas District Court decision and overturned the US Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) sanctions designations against certain smart contracts…

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With appropriate safeguards, distributed ledger technology may expand the use of non-cash assets as derivatives collateral, while mitigating certain market infrastructure inefficiencies.

By Yvette D. Valdez, Adam Bruce Fovent, and Deric Behar

On November 21, 2024, the Digital Asset Markets Subcommittee (the Subcommittee) of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission’s (CFTC) Global Markets Advisory Committee (GMAC) issued a report (the Report) that recommended expanding the use of non-cash collateral in derivatives markets through distributed ledger technology (DLT).

In the…

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The resource aims to provide a comprehensive, voluntary framework to enhance transparency in the digital assets market and enable informed decision-making for potential buyers.

By Zachary Fallon

Stakeholders have until January 31, 2025, to submit comments on the “Proposed Information Guidelines for Certain Tokens Made Available in the United States” (the Guidelines), which were published last month by a select group of legal and business experts in the area of digital assets and blockchain.

The Guidelines aim to…

The NPV aims to promote growth and international competitiveness by advancing open banking, re-evaluating the approach to regulating the sector, and continuing the fight against fraud.

By Brett Carr, Christian F. McDermott, and Stuart Davis

On 14 November 2024, the UK government published the National Payments Vision (NPV or Vision), which represents the government’s view on how to support the growth and competitiveness of the UK’s payments sector and outlines its key objectives. The central mission of the…

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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…