The Law and Economics of Blacklisting

By Nizan Geslevich Packin and Hadar Y. Jabotinsky September 2, 2022 by renholding

The crackdown on Tornado Cash, a crypto mixing service, continues a recent trend of regulators using blacklisting as a key enforcement tool. Tornado Cash was blacklisted by the Treasury Department for allegedly helping to launder over $7 billion in …

Congress Should Grant the SEC Oversight of Digital Asset Spot Markets

By Lee Reiners April 21, 2022 by renholding

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) has classified Bitcoin and Ether – and by extension other cryptocurrencies that are similarly structured – as commodities (courts have also upheld this classification). While the CFTC regulates commodity derivatives, they do not regulate …

Sullivan & Cromwell Discusses FinCEN Update of Ransomware Advisory

By Sullivan & Cromwell November 16, 2021 by renholding

On November 8, 2021, the United States Department of the Treasury Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (“FinCEN”) issued an updated version of its Advisory on Ransomware and the Use of the Financial System to Facilitate Ransom Payments, originally issued in the …

Davis Polk Discusses FinCEN, CFTC Penalties on Cryptocurrency Derivatives Exchange

By Robert Cohen, Jai Massari, Daniel Stipano, Zachary Zweihorn and Kendall Howell August 19, 2021 by renholding

The CFTC and FinCEN recently announced a settlement with BitMEX for $100 million to resolve an enforcement action related to the exchange’s failure to register as a futures commission merchant and failure to establish a BSA/AML compliance program.

The Order

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O’Melveny & Myers Discusses the Legal Challenges of NFTs

By Heather J. Meeker, Laurel Loomis Rimon, Eric Sibbitt and Braddock Stevenson April 14, 2021 by Nisha Chandra

Non-Fungible Tokens, or NFTs, are big news these days. After an NFT for a piece of digital art by the artist Beeple (Mike Winkelmann) sold for $69 million in March 2021―making it the third-most expensive artwork by a living …

Toward a Better Coordinated Regulatory Response to Cryptoassets

By Carol Goforth March 10, 2021 by renholding

On Monday, January 8, 2021, Tesla announced in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission that it had purchased $1.5 billion worth of Bitcoin.[1] This purchase coincided with a dramatic increase in the price of the cryptoasset, which …

Latham & Watkins Looks Back at Digital Asset Regulation in 2020

By Stephen P. Wink, Todd Beauchamp, Yvette D. Valdez, Eric S. Volkman, Adam Bruce Fovent and Deric Behar February 5, 2021 by renholding

Last year, Latham & Watkins sounded a hopeful note that 2020 would provide a clearer vision than 2019 for the regulation of digital assets in the US. In the wake of the emergence of COVID-19, priorities changed, along with forecasts …

Latham & Watkins Discusses Digital Asset Regulations of 2020

By Stephen P. Wink, Todd Beauchamp, Yvette D. Valdez, Eric Volkman, Adam Bruce Fovent and Deric Behar January 29, 2021 by Nisha Chandra

The Cost of Doing Business: Corporate Crime and Punishment Post-Crisis

By Dorothy S. Lund and Natasha Sarin March 18, 2020 by renholding

For many years, law and economics scholars, as well as politicians and regulators, have debated whether corporate criminal enforcement deters too much beneficial corporate activity or lets corporate criminals off too easily. This debate has recently grown more polarized: On …

SEC, CFTC, and FinCEN Leaders Issue Statement on Digital Asset Activities

By Heath Tarbert, Kenneth A. Blanco and Jay Clayton October 14, 2019 by renholding

The leaders of the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission, the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the “Agencies”) today issued the following joint statement to remind persons engaged in activities involving digital assets of their

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Debevoise Discusses Guidance on Applying Bank Secrecy Act Framework to Convertible Virtual Currency

By Satish M. Kini and Byungkwon Lim June 5, 2019 by renholding

The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (“FinCEN”) issued interpretive guidance on May 9, 2019 explaining how the agency intends to apply its existing regulatory framework to companies offering common types of convertible virtual currency (“CVC”) products and services (the “CVC Guidance”).…

Ballard Spahr Discusses SEC Case Against Clearing Broker Under Bank Secrecy Act

By Brad Gershel January 7, 2019 by renholding

On December 11, Judge Denise Cote of the Southern District of New York granted, in part, the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (“SEC”) motion for summary judgement in its action against Alpine Securities, Inc. (“Alpine”), finding that the clearing broker …

Arnold & Porter Discusses Easing of FinCEN Rules on Identifying Beneficial Owners of Accounts

By Richard M. Alexander, David F. Freeman, Jr., Michael A. Mancusi, Brian C. McCormally and Kevin M. Toomey September 12, 2018 by renholding

On September 7, 2018, after considerable industry feedback and two issuances of temporary relief, the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) issued permanent relief to the banking industry from the requirement to collect beneficial ownership information on certain accounts that automatically …

Arnold & Porter Discusses Regulators’ Clamp-Down on ICOs, Virtual Currencies, and Blockchain Firms

By Andrew Joseph Shipe, Lawton M. Camp, Michael D. Trager, Christopher L. Allen and Anthony Raglani April 30, 2018 by renholding

If there was ever a regulatory grace period for virtual currencies and blockchain technology, it is officially over. Five federal regulators—The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network of the US Treasury Department (FinCEN), the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the Commodity Futures …

Debevoise Discusses FinCEN’s Guidance on the Customer Due Diligence Rule

By Satish M. Kini, Zila Reyes Acosta-Grimes and Robert T. Dura April 17, 2018 by renholding

On April 3, 2018, the U.S. Treasury Department’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (“FinCEN”) issued long-awaited frequently asked questions (“FAQs”) regarding its new customer due diligence requirements (“CDD Rule”) that become effective on May 11, 2018.1 As a reminder, on May …

Paul Weiss Reviews Economic Sanctions and Anti-Money Laundering Developments for 2017

By Brad S. Karp, Roberto J. Gonzalez, Michael E. Gertzman, H. Christopher Boehning and Jessica S. Carey February 12, 2018 by renholding

Economic sanctions and anti-money laundering (“AML”) remain at the forefront of U.S. regulatory priorities. Indeed, in 2017, federal and state agencies imposed over $2.5 billion in penalties for sanctions/AML violations. And, despite its generally deregulatory agenda, the Trump administration has …

K&L Gates Discusses the Virtual-Currency Businesses Act and Coming Cryptocurrency Regulation

By Jeremy M. McLaughlin and Eric A. Love November 17, 2017 by charlesbluesky

The Uniform Law Commission (“ULC”) is an organization focused on developing and preparing “non-partisan, well-conceived, and well-drafted” state legislation in areas of state law where there is a perceived need for uniformity. In practice, once the ULC releases proposed state …

K&L Gates Discusses Trump’s Plan to Make Mexico Pay for the Wall

By Joseph A. Valenti, Daniel F. C. Crowley and Michael R. Komo January 25, 2017 by Jeff Himelson

One of the most significant post-election questions for the financial-services industry—particularly global financial institutions that move money across borders—is, what is the status of President Trump’s proposal to tax electronic remittances to Mexico to pay for the wall between Mexico …

Latham & Watkins analyzes Court Ruling on Bitcoin Sales and Crime

By Serrin A. Turner, Benjamin A. Naftalis and Pia Naib September 7, 2016 by renholding

In State of Florida v. Espinoza, a trial court in Miami recently dismissed all charges against an individual Bitcoin exchanger, who was arrested in a sting operation after agreeing to sell bitcoins to an undercover detective who purported to …

Akin Gump discusses Tackling a Panamanian Money Laundering Organization

By Jonathan C. Poling and Anne E. Borkovic May 27, 2016 by AJ

On May 5, 2016, the U.S. Department of Treasury, Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) announced sanctions against 77 entities and individuals associated with the Waked Money Laundering Organization (“Waked MLO,” collectively, the “Waked Sanctions”). OFAC stated that the designation …

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