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

June 13, 2017 @ 8:10 am By JD Alois  |  

The US Department of Treasury is out with its first report in a series addressing regulatory reform regarding the financial services industry.  Due to the enormity of the task, Treasury will divide its review of the financial system into a series of reports. While Fintech… Read More

April 6, 2016 @ 7:43 pm By JD Alois  |  

Last week Crowdfund Insider reported that the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN), an arm of the Department of Treasury, had published a proposed rule change that will impact the nascent investment crowdfunding industry. The proposed change will require funding portals to adhere to the Bank Secrecy… Read More

April 1, 2016 @ 2:38 pm By JD Alois  |  

The US Department of Treasury, via the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN), has published a proposed rule change that impacts the definition of a funding portal under Title III of the JOBS Act. This new rule-making would amend some definitions to include funding portals. Specifically,… Read More

January 28, 2016 @ 10:27 am By JD Alois  |  

  As marketplace lending grows and matures it is natural, even expected, for policy makers and regulators to stand up and take notice. While in the overall world of finance direct online lenders are still relatively small, more and more frequently amounts are measured in… Read More

October 18, 2015 @ 5:09 pm By JD Alois  |  

The US Department of Treasury, via its FinCen or Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, is ringing warning bells when it comes to rewards based crowdfunding. FinCen notes a rise in “suspicious activity reports” (SARs). In a report published this past week, FinCen spotlighted rewards based crowdfunding… Read More