August 21, 2019 @ 10:23 pm By Cali Haan  |  

The U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) and Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) have named several Chinese nationals, “as significant foreign narcotics traffickers pursuant to the Foreign Narcotics Kingpin Designation Act (Kingpin Act).” OFAC is also, “identifying Bitcoin addresses associated with these… Read More

July 16, 2019 @ 9:48 am By JD Alois  |  

US Secretary of Treasury Steven Mnuchin held a press conference yesterday in advance of Capitol Hill hearings this week addressing concerns surrounding Facebook’s stablecoin Lira. Mnuchin cautioned the audience that Facebook, and any other crypto creator, must adhere to the high standards of KYC and… Read More

July 15, 2019 @ 7:26 pm By Cali Haan  |  

US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin called a surprise press conference this afternoon in Washington DC to state that Facebook and all other providers of “digital financial services” must observe the same financial integrity regimes as banks. Mnuchin called illicit use of cryptocurrencies “a national security issue”… Read More

May 15, 2019 @ 1:17 am By Cali Haan  |  

The U.S. Treasury Department’s Under Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence, Sigal Mandelker, told crypto-interested attendees at the Consensus conference in New York this week that exchanges must do their “duty” and prevent terrorist and illicit use of cryptocurrencies. She began by stating that she,… Read More

May 9, 2019 @ 9:40 pm By JD Alois  |  

The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) today issued guidance entitled, Application of FinCEN’s Regulations to Certain Business Models Involving Convertible Virtual Currencies (CVC). FinCEN is the enforcement branch of the US Department of Treasury. The guidance issued today does not establish any new regulatory expectations…. Read More

April 20, 2019 @ 10:08 am By Cali Haan  |  

The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN), part of the US Department of Treasury, has fined the operator of a peer-to-peer cryptocurrency trading service $35,350 USD and barred him from money-transmitting, “for willfully violating the Bank Secrecy Act’s (BSA) registration, program, and reporting requirements.” In a release… Read More

March 13, 2019 @ 8:06 pm By Cali Haan  |  

As part of its ongoing measures against the “illegitimate regime” of Nicolas Maduro in Venezuela, the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) has sanctioned Evrofinance Mosnarbank, “a Moscow-based bank that is jointly owned by Russian and Venezuelan state-owned companies.” According… Read More

March 12, 2019 @ 9:00 pm By JD Alois  |  

Last week, the North American Securities Administrators Association (NASAA) issued their legislative agenda for the 116th Congress. Buried within their priorities were the Association’s concerns pertaining to emerging Fintech services. Fintech has the capacity to provide better services for both consumers and businesses – typically… Read More

December 5, 2018 @ 7:00 pm By Cali Haan  |  

US Department of the Treasury Under Secretary, Sigal Mandelker, told attendees of the Financial Crimes Enforcement Conference this week that she expects to cooperate with financial institutions to enhance their illicit finance countermeasures: “We encourage the private sector…to stay proactive and to innovate with new… Read More

August 10, 2018 @ 6:55 pm By JD Alois  |  

This week, at an event in Chicago that focused on legal questions swirling around the emerging cryptocurrency industry, FinCEN Director Kenneth Blanco delivered a much anticipated speech regarding his agency’s thoughts on digital assets and virtual currencies. FinCEN is part of the US Department of… Read More

July 31, 2018 @ 12:26 pm By JD Alois  |  

The US Department of the Treasury has published its long anticipated report on Fintech. This is the fourth in a series of reports emanating from Treasury that address emerging innovations in finance. Secretary Steven T. Mnuchin commented on the reports release stating “American innovation is… Read More

July 22, 2018 @ 4:18 pm By JD Alois  |  

  A report in Ibena from last week indicates that the US government is confiscating Bitcoins held by Iranians and the confiscation is ongoing. According to Sepehr Mohammadi from the Iranian Blockchain Community, the US has seized 500 bitcoins or more. In May of this year,… Read More

April 11, 2018 @ 3:53 pm By JD Alois  |  

Securities and Exchange Commission Chair Jay Clayton re-affirmed his commitment to bolster the environment for smaller companies to more easily raise the growth capital they need and to help foster a more conducive IPO market for SMEs. Speaking at an Equity Market Structure Symposium in… Read More

April 9, 2018 @ 10:41 am By JD Alois  |  

In the Fall of 2017, the US Department of Treasury published a document entitled, “A Financial System That Creates Economic Opportunities – Capital Markets.” This comprehensive overview of the current regulatory environment regarding capital formation is probably the best publication I have ever seen produced… Read More

March 22, 2018 @ 12:02 am By JD Alois  |  

This week, the White House issued an executive order that banned any US citizens or entities from participating in the Venezuelan Petro Coin. The creation of the cryptocurrency based off of Venezuelan oil was a response to the economic crises that has been brought upon… Read More

March 11, 2018 @ 10:56 am By JD Alois  |  

The US Department of Treasury, Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN), recently sent a letter to US Senator Ron Wyden clarifying its stance on cryptocurrency exchanges that these entities must register as Money Services Businesses (MSBs). While the letter from FinCEN signed by Assistant Secretary for… Read More

February 22, 2018 @ 4:58 pm By JD Alois  |  

The Financial Stability Oversight Council (FSOC) includes every top financial regulator in the US government representing various agencies and a handful of state regulators. Chaired by the Secretary of the Treasury, Steve Mnuchin, FSOC has statutory mandate that creates for identifying risks and responding to… Read More

January 23, 2018 @ 10:36 pm By JD Alois  |  

Several days ago, Senator Marco Rubio and Senator Robert Menendez published a letter directed to the US Secretary of the Treasury Steven Mnuchin demanding to know what the US government was doing to foil attempts by rogue nations in leveraging cryptocurrencies to skirt imposed sanctions…. Read More

January 17, 2018 @ 1:52 pm By JD Alois  |  

This should come as no surprise but the US Department of Treasury, Financial Stability Oversight Council (FSOC), has established a working group to address the emergence of cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin, Ethereum, Ripple and more. The announcement came on the heels of a meeting of… Read More

October 8, 2017 @ 6:35 am By JD Alois  |  

The US Department of Treasury has published a report on ways the government may streamline and reduce burdens of capital markets regulation. The report is an interesting compendium of the pressing need to reduce regulatory hurdles while pointing to policy initiatives that can improve access… Read More