Digital currencies like Bitcoin seem tailor made for social peer-to-peer payment applications. Transactions denominated in or convertible to digital currency could be withdrawn and transmitted by users at virtually no cost—only a small transaction fee. Digital currency can then be converted using a myriad of exchanges, which navigate banking regimes….
On February 26, 2016, Logos Capital Fund, LLP (“Logos”) filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) a Form D Notice of Exempt Offering of Securities. As its Form D indicates, Logos is soliciting investments of at least $25,000 for its pooled investment fund. Logos claims an exemption from publicly…
Many of the world’s leading financial services providers have started developing their own blockchains, either to facilitate the potential for creating their own cryptocurrency, to add an additional layer of security to encrypted transactions in fiat currency, or to provide their customers services more cost-effectively than ever before. Companies that…
In a span of two years, India has done a 180-degree turn on virtual currencies. In December 2013, the Reserve Bank of India issued a press release “caution[ing] users of Virtual Currencies against Risks.” The release highlighted the danger of hacking, the absence of “an authorised central agency which regulates…
On Thursday, Sept. 17, 2015, the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) issued an Order against San Francisco-based Coinflip and its chief executive officer, Francisco Riordan, to resolve allegations that Coinflip conducted activity related to commodity options transactions without complying with the Commodity Exchange Act (CEA) and CFTC Regulations. Specifically, the CFTC…
In this era of regulatory uncertainty, it is worth considering how privacy laws may affect digital currency businesses. Privacy law consists of a web of federal and state law – this first installment in a two-part series will discuss major threads in that web, the Privacy and Safeguards Rules of…
Last week, former Drug Enforcement Agency (“DEA”) agent, Carl Force, pleaded guilty to charges of money laundering, obstruction of justice, and extortion while investigating Silk Road’s illicit activities. Force’s plea follows the guilty plea of Shaun Bridges, former Secret Service agent, who also used his insider role to pilfer hundreds of…
It’s official. New York published the final BitLicense in its state register, which launched a 45-day period for businesses to submit a completed application for a License to Engage in Virtual Currency Business Activity. As the August 8th deadline approaches, employees might find themselves scratching their heads at how to…
On June 12, global insurance giant Lloyd’s of London released a report titled Bitcoin: Risk Factors for Insurance. Lloyd’s knows a thing or two about risk—it has been underwriting for more than 300 years and has insured everything from the Titanic to Keith Richards’ hands—so what does Lloyd’s think about…
At first blush, one might not expect the digital currency and firearm industries to have much in common – when was the last time you heard someone utter Bitcoin and guns in the same breath? Recently, however, the two industries’ interests have aligned, and the pro-Second Amendment lobby’s efforts might yield…