2023 was a year filled with remarkable AI-related legal developments in legislation, litigation, and regulation. Recent headlines indicate that 2024 will be noteworthy as well. In our AI and Emerging Technologies Year in Review, we take a look at what happened over the past year and predict how key AI issues and trends in the law will continue to progress.
Corporate Transparency Act: FinCEN Updates FAQs on Beneficial Ownership Information
On January 12, 2024, FinCEN updated its Beneficial Ownership Information Frequently Asked Questions (“FAQs”) to include new information and clarifications about reporting companies, beneficial owners, company applicants, and other reporting requirements. We discuss these developments in our post.
FINRA Continues Focus on Crypto Asset Securities
FINRA, the self-regulatory organization overseeing the US broker-dealer industry, recently announced two items of interest for broker-dealers offering crypto asset securities. On January 9, 2024, FINRA published its 2024 Annual Regulatory Oversight Report, which includes a detailed section for broker-dealers conducting a crypto asset business. Then, on January 23, 2024, FINRA published a report detailing the results of a targeted sweep examination on customer communications involving crypto assets, finding potential substantive violations of FINRA Rule 2210 in approximately 70 percent of surveyed communications.
SEC Issues Omnibus Approval for Spot Bitcoin Exchange-Traded Products
The SEC’s long-awaited green light for spot bitcoin ETPs is welcomed by the market, but the ambivalent decision raises more questions than it answers.
By Jenny Cieplak, Aaron Gilbride, Yvette D. Valdez, Stephen P. Wink, and Deric Behar
On January 10, 2024, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) issued, on an accelerated basis, an Omnibus Approval Order (the Order) for proposed NYSE Arca, Nasdaq, and Cboe BZX rule changes seeking to list and trade shares of 11 spot bitcoin trusts. Spot bitcoin trusts hold actual bitcoin, as opposed to bitcoin futures trusts, which hold derivatives tied to the price of bitcoin.
The approval of these rule change requests represents a green light for spot bitcoin-based exchange traded products (ETPs) to trade on national securities exchanges for the first time in bitcoin’s 15-year history, after a decade of attempts by market participants to obtain such approval.
In the Order, the SEC found the proposals to be “consistent with the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (the Exchange Act) and rules and regulations thereunder applicable to a national securities exchange,” including the requirement that the exchanges’ rules be designed to “prevent fraudulent and manipulative acts and practices.”
What Does the BTC ETP Approval Mean for the SEC’s Regulatory Approach to Crypto? Five Observations on the Immediate, Near Term, and Post-2024 Impact
On January 10, 2024, the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC” or the “Commission”) approved the listing and trading of eleven spot bitcoin exchange traded products (“ETPs”). [1] The Commission declared effective the registration statements for ten of the ETPs on the same date. This long-awaited approval stands in contrast to the SEC’s sixteen prior denials
SEC Approves Exchange Listing Applications for Spot Bitcoin ETPs
On January 10, 2024, the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) issued an order approving the applications of 11 different spot Bitcoin exchange‑traded products (the “Approved ETPs”) to each list and trade their shares on a national securities exchange. As a result, each Approved ETP is expected to commence trading on either the NYSE Arca, Inc.,
SEC Approves 11 Bitcoin Spot ETFs
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 the action.
Proposed Bill Would Reform Bank Exam Processes
A recent bipartisan bill, if enacted, would particularly benefit small lenders and bank-fintech partnerships by promoting transparency, appellate rights, and examiner accountability.
By Arthur S. Long, Parag Patel, Barrie VanBrackle, Pia Naib, and Deric Behar
On December 14, 2023, a bipartisan group of senators introduced the Fair Audits and Inspections for Regulators’ Exams Act (FAIR Exams Act), which seeks to increase transparency in the bank examination process. The proposed legislation would require examining agencies to act quickly and transparently, while creating an independent review and appeals process under the Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council (FFIEC),[1] which would allow banks to seek independent review of material examiner findings.
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.
Hong Kong Consults on Proposed Approach to Stablecoin Legislation
The proposed regulatory framework would create substantive obligations on issuers of fiat-referencing stablecoins to safeguard the public.
By Simon Hawkins and Adrian Fong
On 27 December 2023, the Financial Services and the Treasury Bureau (FSTB) and the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) released a consultation paper on their legislative proposal for a regulatory regime governing stablecoin issuers in Hong Kong (Consultation Paper). The HKMA followed with its own press release announcing a future sandbox arrangement for stablecoin issuers.
This blog post summarises the proposed Hong Kong regulatory framework set out in the Consultation Paper, and next steps for stablecoin issuers who may fall within scope of the proposed regime.