The US Treasury opens a Pandora’s box of legal issues as it targets a decentralized finance protocol used for both licit and illicit means. By Eric Volkman and Deric Behar On August 8, 2022, the US Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) announced sanctions against decentralized virtual currency “mixer” Tornado Cash (and … 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 ease tax compliance burdens for parties transacting in digital assets and defer or eliminate tax on some transactions. By Jiyeon Lee-Lim, Elena Romanova, Ted Gkoo, and Jacob Nagelberg 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 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
Treasury officials believe congressional action is “highly appropriate” this year to address the risks that the latest financial stability report underscores. By Alan W. Avery, Pia Naib, and Deric Behar On May 9, 2022, the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (FRB) published its semi-annual Financial Stability Report (Report). The Report, which covers … Continue Reading
Assertive regulators are bringing greater clarity and new challenges as they step up oversight of fintech innovation. By Stuart Davis, Tom D. Evans, Nicola Higgs, Christian F. McDermott, David J. Walker, Brett Carr, Catherine Campbell, and Charlotte Collins As the fast-growing fintech industry thrives, the sector has begun to attract greater regulatory scrutiny. We expect new legal and regulatory focus and oversight of … Continue Reading
Popular and institutional interest in digital assets, decentralized applications, NFTs, and blockchain technology skyrocketed, and regulators sprinted to catch up. By Todd Beauchamp, Yvette D. Valdez, Stephen P. Wink , Adam Bruce Fovent, Adam Zuckerman, and Deric Behar For the digital asset markets, 2021 was a banner year. Among the milestones: • Bitcoin prices hit … 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 US OCC allows banks, with certain restrictions, to hold assets in reserve for stablecoin issuers. By Alan W. Avery, Todd Beauchamp, Stephen P. Wink, Pia Naib, Loyal T. Horsley, Charles Weinstein, and Deric Behar On September 21, 2020, the US Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) issued Interpretive Letter #1172 (the Letter), … Continue Reading
Andrew Bailey outlined what payments market participants can expect from regulators seeking to address financial stability risk in the world of payments, including as part of the rise and adoption of global stablecoins. By Brett Carr and Stuart Davis On 3 September 2020, the Governor of the Bank of England (BoE) Andrew Bailey delivered a … Continue Reading
HM Treasury is planning significant changes to the financial promotion regime, including expanding its scope to certain cryptoassets, and amending the approval process for promotions of unauthorised firms. By Stuart Davis, Sam Maxson, and Anna Lewis-Martinez On 20 July 2020, HM Treasury published two consultation papers on a regulatory framework for approval of financial promotions … 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
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
Latham derivatives and FinTech partner Yvette Valdez explores regulatory issues impacting cryptocurrency derivatives on the Fintech Beat podcast. By Yvette D. Valdez New York partner Yvette Valdez, a member of Latham & Watkins’ FinTech Industry Group, recently discussed timely issues at the intersection of cryptoassets and derivatives law on a new episode of Fintech Beat. … Continue Reading
Latham FinTech partners discuss the evolving stablecoin landscape on the New Territories Podcast. By Christian F. McDermott, Yvette D. Valdez, and Stephen P. Wink New York partners Yvette Valdez and Stephen Wink and London partner Christian McDermott recently discussed the evolving stablecoin landscape on new episodes of The Brooklyn Project’s New Territories Podcast. The partners, … Continue Reading
Global monetary authorities and financial regulators have responded forcefully to the advent of privately developed global stablecoins. By Todd Beauchamp, David L. Concannon, Stephen P. Wink, Simon Hawkins, Stuart Davis, and Deric Behar A new report highlights the risks of global stablecoins and enumerates the legal, regulatory, and oversight hurdles a global stablecoin must clear … Continue Reading
By Brian Meenagh, and Khaled Alhuneidi. In June 2018, the Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM) Financial Services Regulatory Authority (FSRA) unveiled a dedicated cryptoasset regulatory framework by way of various amendments to the FSRA’s core regulations – the Financial Services and Markets Regulation (FSMR) as well as supplementary guidance thereto. In May 2019, the FSRA … Continue Reading
The Abu Dhabi Global Market’s Guidance clarifies and expands FSRA expectations for OCAB Framework license holders. By Brian A. Meenagh In June 2018, the Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM) Financial Services Regulatory Authority (FSRA) unveiled a dedicated cryptoasset regulatory framework by way of various amendments to the FSRA’s core regulations — the Financial Services and … Continue Reading
