In a reversal of a policy that has spanned two administrations, on January 10, 2024, the SEC approved applications for 11 Bitcoin spot exchange traded funds, or ETFs. The SEC approved the order by a 3-2 vote, with Chair Gensler forming a majority with the two Republican commissioners, and the two Democratic commissioners voting against
Crypto Business
CFTC Advisory Committee Issues Report on Decentralized Finance
On January 8, 2024, the CFTC’s Technology Advisory Committee issued a detailed report on decentralized finance, or DeFi. The report, which was authored by the Subcommittee on Digital Assets and Blockchain Technology, notes that DeFi offers both promising opportunities and complex, significant risks to the US financial system, consumers and national security.…
Top Posts of 2023
As we begin the new year and reflect on what we learned last year, the Hunton Andrews Kurth Blockchain team would like to provide you with a recap of the top posts we shared throughout 2023. Please visit the links below for these highlights.…
CIPL Releases Paper on Privacy-Enhancing and Privacy-Preserving Technologies: Understanding the Role of PETs and PPTs in the Digital Age
On December 12, 2023, the Centre for Information Policy Leadership at Hunton Andrews Kurth LLP (“CIPL”) released a white paper on Privacy-Enhancing and Privacy-Preserving Technologies: Understanding the Role of PETs and PPTs in the Digital Age.…
AI and Emerging Technologies Newsletter
Welcome to the inaugural edition of Hunton Andrews Kurth LLP’s AI and Emerging Technologies Newsletter, a resource focused on multidisciplinary, current topics affecting businesses in the industry. Inside, we cover a bit of what you need to know about AI in the context of contract terms and conditions, US privacy laws, insurance, employer use monitoring…
New York DFS Announces New Guidance on Virtual Currencies
On September 18, 2023, the New York Department of Financial Services (“DFS”) announced new proposed guidance for BitLicense holders and certain limited-purpose trust companies (“VC entities”) seeking to list virtual currencies on their platforms. The proposed guidance would replace existing DFS procedures and establish new protocols for listing virtual currencies that are not subject to…
SEC Brings First NFT Enforcement Case
On August 28, 2023, the SEC settled enforcement charges against a Los Angeles-based media and entertainment company for conducting an unregistered offering of non-fungible tokens (NFTs). The case represents the SEC’s first foray into the NFT space.…
DOJ, BIS, and OFAC Issue Inter-Agency Guidance on Voluntary Self-Disclosures of Sanctions and Export Control Violations
As reported in a Hunton Client Alert, the US Department of Justice, the US Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security, and the US Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control recently issued guidance regarding the voluntary self-disclosure by US businesses of violations of US sanctions and export control laws to these…
Federal Court Declines to Follow Ripple Holding
As we previously reported in our summary of the Ripple case, a federal district court judged determined that under certain circumstances the offering of a digital asset does not create a security. The reasoning in the Ripple case has been criticized by leading to an outcome that places institutional investors ahead of retail investors and…
Court’s Ruling Splits Partly in Favor of SEC and Partly for Ripple
On July 13, 2023, the Federal District Court for the Southern District of New York issued the hotly anticipated ruling in the SEC’s case against Ripple Labs, Inc. On cross-motions for summary judgment, the court found that only Ripple’s sale of its XRP tokens to institutional buyers pursuant to sales contracts constituted unregistered sales of…