Tagged: us department of treasury

July 1, 2020 @ 10:41 am By JD Alois  |  

The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) completed a meeting this week calling on members to “tackle new threats and vulnerabilities posed by criminals during the COVID-19 crisis.” The FATF is an international policy-making and standard-setting body, headquartered in Paris, dedicated to combating money laundering and… Read More

May 16, 2020 @ 5:50 pm By JD Alois  |  

FinCEN Director Kenneth A. Blanco delivered a speech at virtual Consensus this past week addressing several hot topics of the day – including the “Travel Rule”; the FATF requirement that virtual asset service providers (or VASPs – think crypto exchanges) maintain information on purchasers and… Read More

April 6, 2020 @ 9:58 am By JD Alois  |  

Last week in advance of the opening up of federal subsidized programs to backstop small businesses in the US crushed by the COVID-19 pandemic, Lendio CEO Brock Blake took to Twitter to criticize the lack of coordination between the US Department of Treasury and the… Read More

March 3, 2020 @ 10:36 am By JD Alois  |  

Yesterday, the U.S. Treasury Department held a meeting with cryptocurrency industry leaders to discuss regulatory and supervisory challenges facing the digital asset industry. Secretary Steven Mnuchin issued the following statement: “The U.S. welcomes responsible innovation, including new technologies that may improve the efficiency of the… Read More

February 11, 2020 @ 11:03 am By JD Alois  |  

This week the White House, via the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), released the proposed federal budget for 2021. According to the White House, the plan seeks to balance the budget within 15 years by proposing $4.6 trillion in deficit reduction. Debt, as a… Read More

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