I’ve been thinking lately about Bitcoin’s track record, and I’m beginning to think the Bitcoin Maximalists are on to something. Despite all the ups and downs, the Bitcoin engine has been chugging along like a champ, showing its strength and consistency through thick and thin. And with the recent market turmoil (thanks FTX), the whole
Self-custody is the only way crypto survives
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If we’ve learned anything in 2022, it’s that we can’t trust our crypto to remain on centralized exchanges. Between the collapse of Celsius, Voyager, BlockFi, and FTX, investors have collectively lost billions of dollars this year. Millions of dollars could’ve been saved if most investors held their crypto in…
Proposed Rule Lays Out Who Will Have Access to New Corporate Beneficial Ownership Information
By Evan Abrams & Dave Stetson
On December 16, FinCEN issued a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) entitled “Beneficial Ownership Information Access and Safeguards, and Use of FinCEN Identifiers for Entities.” The NPRM is intended to implement the Corporate Transparency Act (CTA) and, in particular, to govern which entities may access corporate beneficial ownership information (BOI) that certain entities will soon…
Texas should embrace Bitcoin mining and lead the way for the U.S.
There’s no question that Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies have gotten a bad rap over the years. The year 2022 in particular has been a rough one as the house of cards has fallen for various crypto platforms, leading to a brutal bear market.
All the while, questions remain over the sustainability of Bitcoin and…
What I’m doing during the 2022 crypto bear market
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We’re a few months deep into a crypto bear market spurred by a series of cascading events starting in May 2022. Anyone who’s been in crypto long enough knows how rough bear markets can be. The excitement and collective euphoria are gone. Regulators are kicking us while we’re down.…
FTX: An Explainer on What Happened and What’s Next?
Reports of FTX Group’s demise has been inescapable since news first broke of potential insolvency and misuse of customer funds. This blog post provides some background on the situation as well as some thoughts on what is likely to come next. Please see our blog post here on the enforcement storm that is…
The Storm Is Here
By Jason Weinstein & Alan Cohn
With the collapse of FTX and Alameda so close on the heels of Celsius, one thing is clear – the regulatory and enforcement storm so many anticipated coming to crypto is now here. Unfortunately, regardless of what the facts surrounding FTX and Alameda ultimately turn out to be, incidents like this serve to reinforce the…
Antitrust Matters: What Digital Asset Innovators Need to Know
Unpacking three key competition issues for digital asset innovators and investors: M&A, interlocking directorates, and interoperability.
By Kelly Fayne, Anna Rathbun, and Evan Omi
In a sea of regulatory hurdles and issues, antitrust and competition laws may be low on the list of concerns of digital asset innovators and investors. But competition in…
OFAC and FinCEN Announce Enforcement Actions Against Bittrex
On October 11, 2022, the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) and Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) announced enforcement actions against Bittrex, Inc. (Bittrex), a privately-owned digital asset trading platform based in Bellevue, Washington, for apparent violations of anti-money laundering (AML) laws and of multiple sanctions programs. A settlement of over $24 million was announced by OFAC and a $29 million fine was announced by FinCEN. FinCEN will credit payment of the OFAC settlement amount toward Bittrex’s potential liability with FinCEN, meaning Bittrex will pay just over $29 million in total. Joint enforcement action between OFAC and FinCEN is uncommon—the settlements mark the first instance of parallel enforcement actions by OFAC and FinCEN in the digital asset sector.
The parallel settlements provide insight into certain sanctions and AML risks in the digital asset sector and illustrate how OFAC and FinCEN rules intersect and overlap in part: for example, that OFAC violations can trigger suspicious activity report filing obligations.
Crypto Lawyer Karen Ubell on Crypto Regulation, the SEC, and DAOs (Stronghold SpeakBold Fireside Chat)
By Karen Ubell
What’s the SEC’s reach on emerging blockchain technologies and what does that mean for crypto in the United States? In the newest SpeakBold Fireside Chat, Stronghold’s Sarah Lane sits down with Digital Currency & Blockchain Technology partner Karen Ubell to discuss.
The post Crypto Lawyer Karen Ubell on Crypto Regulation, the SEC, and…