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The growth of cryptocurrency theft triggered the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to take action... The growth of cryptocurrency theft triggered the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to take action. On April 11, 2022, the Division of Corporation Finance’s Office of the Chief Accountant issued Staff Accounting Bulletin. No. 121, Release No. SAB 121 (“SAB”) […]

Government Agencies Are Increasingly Turning to the Use of Regulatory Sandboxes to Promote Innovation in Fintech While Maintaining Oversight… Regulatory uncertainty remains the primary roadblock for the financial technology (fintech) industry and other disruptive business models that don’t fit neatly into existing regulatory structures. The good news is that government agencies are increasingly turning to the use […]

Securities lawsuits involving either cryptocurrencies or bitcoin have tripled so far this year, according to a new report by Lex Machina. Not surprisingly, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filed 30 percent of the cases.

According to a pronouncement by the SEC's Division of Corporation Finance director Bill Hinman, Bitcoin and Ether are not securities.

Numerous States Have Adopted Their Own Virtual Currency Laws or are Currently Considering Legislative Proposals One of the roadblocks holding back the growth of virtual currency is the lack of uniform regulations. As the Bitcoin and Ether blockchain-based currencies have now gained legitimacy, and other “virtual currencies” are seeking to gain legitimacy, states are creating […]

Since They Are Considered Commodities, the CTFC Has Oversight Over Virtual Currencies Under the Commodity Exchange Act The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) isn’t the only federal agency flexing its regulatory muscle in response to the explosive growth of virtual currencies, such as bitcoin. Because virtual currencies are considered commodities, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission’s […]

As Part of its Ongoing Effort to Crack Down on Tax Evaders in the World of Virtual Currency, IRS is Requiring Coinbase To Turn Over Customer Account Information Coinbase, one of the country’s largest exchanges for cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin, must turn over the account information of more than 14,000 customers to the Internal Revenue Service […]

Investor Recourse for Initial Coin Offering Fraud With the price of Bitcoin rising and blockchain technology gaining increasing legitimacy, Initial Coin Offerings (ICOS) are gaining popularity with investors. However, as highlighted by two recent SEC enforcement actions, ICOs are extremely risky investments and in some cases, may be completely fraudulent. In such cases, private investors […]

What Does Recent SEC Ruling Mean for Bitcoin? The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) recently denied an application to create an exchange-traded fund (ETF) tied to the price of Bitcoin. In its decision, the agency cited the lack of regulatory oversight capabilities for the cryptocurrency. Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss, who are long-established supporters of Bitcoin, were behind […]

What is Cryptocurrency? Cryptocurrency is such a new technology that not much is known about it. In fact, most people who have some familiarity with it only have a rough understanding of bitcoin, which is just one form of cryptocurrency. In the eyes of many, the technology still resides in the dark web — a […]

What’s the deal with Bitcoin? Bitcoin does not exist physically, although you must exchange hard currency to acquire it. Unlike cash, Bitcoin resides in your “electronic wallet” as a computer file. A network tracks the transfer of the computer files from purchaser to seller, but does not record the nature of the transaction. The value […]

New York is poised to become the leading authority on virtual currency (generally referred to as “Bitcoin”) regulation. The New York State Department of Financial Services (“NYSDFS”) recently published a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking regarding the regulation of such virtual medium of exchange. As noted in the NYSDFS proposal, the proposed regulation is intended to […]