Pursuant to its LabCFTC initiative, the regulator issued a FinTech Primer on virtual currencies, including addressing the jurisdictional reach of the CFTC and the SEC (and potential overlap). Several questions remain regarding the already uncertain status of ICOs under the federal securities and commodities laws and regulations. WHAT HAPPENED? On…
Recently, the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (“CFTC”) granted LedgerX, LLC, registration as a derivatives clearing organization (“DCO”) under the Commodity Exchange Act, and with it, the right to clear fully collateralized digital currency swaps, subject to applicable law. It became the “first federally regulated Bitcoin options exchange and clearinghouse to list…
Various news sources, including Reuters, are reporting that the People’s Bank of China has issued a joint statement with other Chinese regulators proclaiming that ICOs in China are illegal. See the Reuters article here: China hits booming cryptocurrency market with coin fundraising ban. The statement further directs Individuals and organizations…
A recent Delaware bill is poised to allow private Delaware corporations “use networks of electronic databases (examples of which are described currently as “distributed ledgers” or a “blockchain”) for the creation and maintenance of corporate records, including the corporation’s stock ledger.” The bill is a significant step towards the mainstream…
While the federal government has taken a variety of different positions in regulating distributed ledger technology, there are several important trends that are emerging in states’ regulation of such technology: 1) States are increasingly scrutinizing digital currencies. States are moving forward with regulating digital currencies, especially with respect…
For the last 3 1/2 years, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has been considering whether to approve placement of the Winklevoss Bitcoin Trust ETF (Nasdaq: COIN) on the Bats exchange. The Bats exchange is currently the largest U.S. equities market operator, and placement of COIN on the exchange would essentially…
Distributed ledger technology (DLT) is starting to play a larger role in business operations around the world. IBM has partnered with both Walmart and Maersk to use DLT to track shipments of goods. In fact, IBM has nearly 400 clients testing out the technology and has dedicated approximately 650 employees…
For the last three and a half years, the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) has been considering whether to approve placement of the Winklevoss bitcoin ETF (“COIN”) on the Bats exchange. However, the SEC’s inaction will end by March 11th, which is the SEC’s deadline to either reject COIN, or have it be automatically approved due to the…
Grant Fondo, Co-Chair of Goodwin’s Digital Currency + Blockchain Technology practice, recently spoke with The Recorder on the changing roles of lawyers in the blockchain space. The article addresses the challenges blockchain lawyers face due to the highly specialized, technical and constantly changing nature of the industry. As the industry evolves, blockchain lawyers not…
Last month, Senegal announced its intention to introduce a national digital currency based on block chain technology, and become only the second country in the world following Tunisia to do so. Senegal’s new digital currency – called “eCFA” – will co-exist as legal tender alongside Senegal’s fiat currency, the CFA…