Tagged: fincen

April 11, 2021 @ 3:36 pm By JD Alois  |  

Several months ago, FinCEN submitted for publication in the Federal Register its Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) regarding certain transactions that involve virtual currency or digital assets. FinCEN or the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network is a bureau of the US Department of the Treasury that… Read More

March 30, 2021 @ 11:00 am By Ariel Glasner and Amit Roitman  |  

President Joe Biden’s young administration is poised to deliver heightened – and perhaps unprecedented – regulatory scrutiny of the exploding Fintech industry.  The groundwork for a more active regulatory regime has been set over the course of the past decade.  Prior administrations harnessed existing enforcement… Read More

March 20, 2021 @ 10:22 am By Omar Faridi  |  

Peter Van Valkenburgh, the Director of Research at Coin Center, a leading non-profit entity focused on the latest policy issues facing digital currencies, notes that his organization will be using the additional time provided by FinCEN to submit another comment in “ongoing surveillance rulemaking.” Coin… Read More

March 12, 2021 @ 10:57 am By JD Alois  |  

While there is a good amount of discourse regarding the risk of digital assets and the ability for bad actors to use crypto to launder money or perhaps finance illicit activities FinCEN recently indicated their attention in a more tactile direction. Earlier this week, FinCEN… Read More

February 4, 2021 @ 5:34 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Digital asset exchange Coinbase recently published its Around the Block #11: “A snapshot of decentralized finance (DeFi) and two sides of the crypto regulatory spectrum” (report), which aims to cover important issues in the crypto and blockchain industry. In this latest edition, released on February… Read More

January 26, 2021 @ 8:00 pm By JD Alois  |  

FinCEN has submitted for publication in the Federal Register an Extension Notice, which will extend the comment period on its Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) regarding certain transactions involving virtual currency or digital assets. FinCEN, part of the US Department of Treasury, came under criticism… Read More

January 26, 2021 @ 7:47 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

San Francisco-based crypto exchange Coinbase has requested a rulemaking pause from the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) following the Biden White House guidance to agencies. Coinbase writes in a letter that was reportedly shared with Kenneth Blanco, Director, FinCEN on January 25, 2021, that after… Read More

January 25, 2021 @ 1:53 pm By JD Alois  |  

The [William M. (Mac) Thornberry] National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2021 (HR 6395) was signed into law at the beginning of this month. While the title of the law is pretty accurate as the bulk of the legislation addresses defense issues, buried within… Read More

January 25, 2021 @ 10:16 am By JD Alois  |  

Grayscale, the creators of multiple publicly traded crypto funds, has committed $1 million to Coin Center – the well-known crypto non-profit and advocacy group. Additionally, Grayscale said it would top up this amount with another $1 million in matching funds through February 2021. The matching… Read More

January 22, 2021 @ 2:48 pm By JD Alois  |  

Earlier this week, Dr. Janet Yellen, former Chair of the US Federal Reserve and soon to be the Secretary of the Treasury, testified at a hearing before the Senate Finance Committee in regards to her nomination. In advance of the hearing, Dr. Yellen submitted an… Read More

January 7, 2021 @ 10:15 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Payments company Square‘s (NYSE:SQ) Jack Dorsey has expressed concerns regarding recently proposed Bitcoin (BTC) related regulations. The bitcoin regulations proposed by FinCEN give few useful powers to regulators, greatly roll back economic freedoms while pointlessly surveilling law-abiding people, and create databases of info about who… Read More

January 5, 2021 @ 10:05 am By JD Alois  |  

FinCEN, part of the US Department of Treasury, is in the process of creating rules that will impact the digital asset ecosystem. FinCEN is seeking to address the illicit activity in the “convertible virtual currency” (CVC) sector and the “anticipated growth” of “legal tender digital… Read More

January 3, 2021 @ 2:13 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Robin Mahler Weisman, Senior Policy Counsel at Coin Center, a leading non-profit entity focused on the latest policy issues facing digital currencies, notes that the US Congress had warned the Treasury regarding its “unusually short” timeline for feedback regarding its new cryptocurrency rulemaking proposal. Weisman… Read More

December 27, 2020 @ 2:31 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Kraken recently announced that crypto exchange pioneer Miha Grčar has joined the US-based digital assets exchange as its Head of Business Development. Kraken’s management confirmed that they’re looking forward to working with Miha Grčar, a pioneer of the digital currency exchange sector. As mentioned in… Read More

December 24, 2020 @ 4:08 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

This past Friday, the US Department of the Treasury published a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) to the Federal Register that may require financial institutions and cryptocurrency-related firms to submit updated reports, maintain records, and accurately verify the identity of customers in relation to transfers… Read More

December 22, 2020 @ 8:24 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

On December 19, 2020, the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) published a 72-page notice of proposed or suggested rulemaking, titled “Requirements for Certain Transactions Involving Convertible Virtual Currency or Digital Assets,” which could impose new and “onerous” reporting and recordkeeping requirements for virtual currency transactions,… Read More

December 21, 2020 @ 10:10 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Peter Van Valkenburgh, the Director of Research at Coin Center, a leading non-profit entity focused on the latest policy issues facing digital currencies, notes that during the past few years we’ve seen countries like Switzerland, Singapore, and the Netherlands adopt a technology-focused approach to regulating… Read More

December 19, 2020 @ 12:29 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

On December 18, 2020, the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) published a proposed rule change for digital currency transactions with “unhosted” wallets. Under the newly proposed change, banking institutions, and money services businesses (MSBs) may be required to verify customers’ identities and turn in reports… Read More

December 12, 2020 @ 12:05 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Blockchain security firm CipherTrace reports that only 22% of banking industry professionals and financial investigators “feel confident” in their ability to accurately identify cryptocurrency -related payments. In a December 9, 2020, CipherTrace-ACFCS Webinar on “How Cryptocurrency Intelligence Tipped the Scales in 2020 Sanctions Evasion,” more… Read More

November 20, 2020 @ 3:00 pm By JD Alois  |  

  Phil Liu is Chief Legal Officer and co-founder of Arca – a regulatory compliant digital asset investment platform that is building financial products utilizing blockchain. Arca is the first firm to offer a registered fund with shares issued as a digital security. The Fund… Read More