The landscape of cryptocurrency undergoes a significant transformation as the Bitcoin Virtual Machine (BitVM) integrates with Filecoin, orchestrated by the innovative efforts of Lighthouse. This pivotal collaboration signals a leap forward for Bitcoin Layer 2 solutions, ushering in an era marked by heightened efficiency and expanded capabilities for both developers and users.
At the
The Blast L2 network, co-founded by Blur NFT marketplace’s Tieshun “Pacman” Roquerre, has made headlines with its innovative approach to Ethereum Layer 2 solutions. Since November 2023, Blast has captivated investors, boasting over $500 million in Total Value Locked (TVL) and a rapidly growing user base of 50,000. What sets Blast apart is its distinction
AI-related cryptocurrencies, including notable names such as Fetch.ai ($FET) and SingularityNET ($AGIX), have seen a significant upswing this week, with increases of 35% and 30% respectively within just 24 hours. This surge comes in anticipation of the global AI Nvidia conference set for March 18, which has garnered the attention of developers and engineers worldwide.
Regulator sets out its expectations for banks looking to provide digital asset custody services, and sell and distribute tokenised products.
By Simon Hawkins and Adrian Fong
On 20 February 2024, the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) published two circulars prescribing additional guidance to banks interested in carrying on certain digital asset services:
The SEC’s ambiguous rule could have a chilling effect both on decentralized finance and on the provision of liquidity to centralized crypto exchanges.
By Jenny Cieplak, Marlon Q. Paz, Stephen P. Wink, and Naim Culhaci
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) adopted a new rule on February 6, 2024, further defining the
Implementation of Basel Committee cryptoassets standard to provide additional clarity for banks looking to engage in cryptoassets business.
By Simon Hawkins and Adrian Fong
On 7 February 2024, the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) released a consultation paper on its proposal for implementing new regulations on the prudential treatment of cryptoasset exposures (Consultation Paper).
The Consultation Paper comes shortly after the Financial Services and the Treasury Bureau and the HKMA issued a consultation paper in December 2023 outlining their legislative proposal for a regulatory regime governing stablecoin issuers in Hong Kong (see this Latham blog post). On 20 February 2024, the HKMA also published guidance on digital asset custody services and sale and distribution of tokenised products conducted by banks. Together, these papers offer guidance and greater certainty to banks interested in providing digital asset services (including digital asset issuance, custody, and dealing services).
This blog post summarises the proposed regulations set out in the Consultation Paper as well as next steps for banks, known in Hong Kong as authorised institutions (AI).
On February 6, 2024, by a 3-2 vote, the US Securities and Exchange Commission adopted new rules that expand the definition of “dealer” under the federal securities laws. Ostensibly adopted to provide the SEC with greater oversight over the market for Treasury bonds, the new rules are not limited to any particular asset class, and may impact the operations of firms that regularly trade in cryptocurrencies or other digital assets that are securities.
The requirements in the proposed framework are more extensive in scope and reach than what many virtual asset industry stakeholders anticipated.
By Simon Hawkins and Adrian Fong
On 8 February 2024, the Financial Services and the Treasury Bureau (FSTB) released a consultation paper on its legislative proposal to introduce a regulatory regime governing over-the-counter (OTC)
On December 22, 2023, President Biden signed the Foreign Extortion Prevention Act (FEPA) into law as part of the fiscal year 2024 National Defense Authorization Act. Although bribery always requires a giver and a receiver, US anti-corruption efforts have traditionally focused almost exclusively on those who pay bribes because of the way the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) is written. The FCPA criminalizes the act of giving bribes to foreign government officials, but until now, the US has not had a statute that criminalized the receipt of bribes by foreign government officials. The FEPA will now complement the FCPA by criminalizing demand-side bribery by foreign officials.
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.