Skip to main content
Menu Icon
Close

InfoBytes Blog

Financial Services Law Insights and Observations

Filter

Subscribe to our InfoBytes Blog weekly newsletter and other publications for news affecting the financial services industry.

  • CFTC Extends Public Comment Period for Regulation Automated Trading (Reg AT) to May 1

    Federal Issues

    On January 23, the CFTC extended the comment period for the supplemental proposal for Regulation Automated Trading (Regulation AT) from January 24 to May 1. Acting CFTC Chairman Chris Giancarlo recently announced his intention to “allow more time for public comments on the proposal” in light of “the complexity of the supplemental notice and the well-reasoned requests from interested parties.”  Initially proposed in November 2015, the CFTC released a revised version of the rule in November 2016 in response to concerns expressed by trading firms over, among other things, the requirement that they make their source code available to the agency without a subpoena. All comments will be posted on the CFTC’s website.

    Federal Issues Digital Commerce CFTC Fintech Virtual Currency

  • Coinbase Gets NY BitLicense, Clearance For Its Operations

    State Issues

    On January 18, the New York State Department of Financial Services (NYDFS) announced that it had approved the application of Coinbase, Inc., for a virtual currency and a money transmitter license. According to NYDFS, the license was issued to Coinbase—a digital currency wallet that facilitates transactions with Bitcoin and other virtual currencies—only after “a comprehensive review of Coinbase’s applications, including the company’s anti-money laundering, capitalization, consumer protection, and cyber security policies.”  Having met the New York regulator’s standards for operations in the state, Coinbase may now operate, under supervision by NYDFS, as a service for buying, selling, sending, receiving and storing Bitcoin.

    As previously covered in InfoBytes, NYDFS’s BitLicense framework—which was finalized back in June 2015—requires virtual currency companies to submit a 31-page application providing information covering, among other things:  (i) written policies and procedures including, but not limited to BSA/AML, cybersecurity, privacy and information security, (ii) company information, (iii) biographical information on company directors and stockholders, and (iv) an explanation of the methodology used to calculate the value of virtual currency in fiat currency. In addition, the NYDFS released a set of FAQs to help clarify the BitLicense requirements. To date, NYDFS has approved five firms for virtual currency charters or licenses, while denying those applications that did not meet its standards.

    State Issues Digital Commerce Anti-Money Laundering NYDFS Bitcoin Virtual Currency

  • Illinois Regulator Seeks Comment on Proposed "Digital Currency Regulatory Guidance"

    State Issues

    The Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation (IDFPR) is requesting comment on its proposed “Digital Currency Regulatory Guidance” on decentralized digital currencies—including Bitcoin, Dogecoin, Litecoin, Ethereum, and Zcash. The proposed guidance seeks to establish the regulatory treatment of decentralized digital currencies under existing definitions of money transmission in Illinois, as defined in the Illinois Transmitters of Money Act (205 ILCS 657) (TOMA). Currently, digital currencies do not fit the statutory definitions of “money” and, therefore, do not independently trigger the licensing requirements of TOMA. However, some business activities involving decentralized digital currency that involve the receipt of “money” can trigger the licensing requirements of TOMA. Comments must be received by January 18, 2017 at 6:00pm EST and may be submitted by clicking here.

    State Issues Digital Commerce Virtual Currency Bitcoin

  • SEC Hosts First Financial Technology (FinTech) Forum

    Federal Issues

    On November 14, the SEC hosted its first Fintech Public Forum at its Washington, DC headquarters to discuss FinTech and to evaluate how the current regulatory environment can most effectively address innovation in the financial services industry. The event was divided into four panels, which covered the following topic areas: (i) the impact of recent innovation in investment advisory services; (ii) the impact of recent innovation on trading, settlement, and clearance activities; (iii) the impact of recent innovation in capital formation; and (iv) investor protection in the FinTech era. The forum was open to the public and is also available on the SEC’s website.

    SEC Chair Mary Jo White opened the forum with introductory remarks. After explaining that “Fintech innovations have the potential to transform key parts of the securities industry,” Chair White highlighted several developments that are particularly important to the SEC, including: (i) automated investing advice; (ii) distributed ledger technology; and (iii) online marketplace lenders and crowdfunding portals. In describing the SEC’s role with respect to such innovations, Chair White noted that the Commission “must ensure new developments are not rushed to market or implemented in a way that facilitates a risk of fraud or harm to investors.” Ms. White explained that she had “directed the creation of a Fintech working group at the SEC earlier this year . . . to evaluate the emerging technologies,” and tasked the group to provide “specific, tailored recommendations . . . about what the SEC should do to provide clarity on existing regulatory requirements and help foster responsible innovation.” Chair White also clarified that the SEC was at an early stage in its outreach to investors, innovators and other stakeholders in new technologies, with the forum being an important part of SEC’s outreach.

    SEC Commissioner Michael Piwowar, who championed the idea of the Commission hosting a Fintech public forum, also spoke to attendees. “I believe the commission should take the lead regulatory role in the Fintech space,” Piwowar said in prepared remarks. “Many of the firms pursuing Fintech are already SEC registrants, and others are providing services that are squarely within the commission’s oversight, such as investment advice and trading and settlement functionalities.” Piwowar emphasized the need for clarity in the sector, but added that the SEC is “uniquely situated to determine whether and how Fintech currently fits, and ultimately should fit, within a financial regulatory structure.”

    Federal Issues Consumer Finance Digital Commerce SEC Financial Technology Fintech Virtual Currency Distributed Ledger

  • IG Report Concludes that IRS Lacks Compliance Strategy For Virtual Currencies

    Fintech

    On November 8, the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA) released a report evaluating the IRS’s strategy for addressing income produced via virtual currencies. The report which was completed on Sept. 21, but released Tuesday, observed that none of the agency’s divisions have yet developed any type of compliance initiatives or guidelines for conducting examinations or investigations specific to tax noncompliance related to virtual currencies. Accordingly, the TIGTA recommended that the IRS develop a comprehensive strategy for virtual currencies such as Bitcoin to help ensure compliance with tax law. The report also recommended that the IRS provide updated guidance to reflect the necessary documentation requirements and tax treatments necessary for the various uses of virtual currency and that the agency revise third-party reporting documents so that they identify how much virtual currency was used in taxable transactions. The IRS agreed with each of these three recommendations.

    Digital Commerce IRS Compliance Department of Treasury Virtual Currency Miscellany

  • Comptroller Curry Announces OCC Will Issue a Paper Soon Describing OCC's Thoughts on National FinTech Charters

    Federal Issues

    In prepared remarks delivered November 3 at the Chatham House “City Series” Conference in London, Comptroller of the Currency Thomas J. Curry discussed the OCC’s approach to regulating FinTech innovation. In his speech, entitled “The Banking Revolution: Innovation, Regulation and Consumer Choice,” Mr. Curry discussed the rapid growth of worldwide investment in FinTech over the past five years and walked through various regulatory responses to those developments–including the OCC’s guiding principles for its regulatory approach to innovation and its decision to establish a team dedicated to implementing those principles. The Comptroller emphasized that the OCC is still deciding whether to grant national charters to FinTech companies that conduct banking activities, but added that the agency would issue a paper “soon” describing the agency’s thoughts on the subject and inviting public comment.

    Federal Issues Consumer Finance Digital Commerce OCC Fintech Virtual Currency

  • Congressman Responds to Comptroller on Fintech

    Fintech

    On September 20, U.S. Representative David Schweikert (R-AZ) sent a letter to Comptroller of the Currency Thomas Curry, asking the OCC to consider a more flexible and uniform approach for regulating digital currencies and the use of blockchain technology. Specifically, the letter notes that much of the development of digital currencies does not originate within institutions that are already federally chartered. Representative Schweikert further argues that most institutions active in this area do not wish to engage in traditional lending or deposit-taking activity, and instead seek a more limited scope of regulation. Thus, the letter asks Comptroller Curry to consider the following questions as the OCC continues to formulate its policy on digital currencies: (i) can the OCC create a limited purpose charter for non-bank financial service firms operating in this area? (ii) can the OCC take steps to coordinate with AML/CTF authorities, and state regulators, to develop flexible approaches that would allow U.S. digital currency firms to be competitive in light of various foreign regulatory frameworks? and (iii) how can the OCC help to facilitate relationships between digital currency firms and national banks?

    OCC Digital Assets Anti-Money Laundering U.S. House Blockchain Fintech Distributed Ledger Virtual Currency

  • Florida Judge: "Bitcoin Has a Long Way to Go Before it is the Equivalent of Money"

    Fintech

    On July 25, a Florida judge for the Eleventh Judicial Circuit dismissed criminal charges against an individual engaged in the business of selling bitcoin. Florida v. Espinoza, No. F14-2923 (Fl. Cir. Ct. July 26, 2016). The defendant conducted various bitcoin transactions with an undercover detective. The State of Florida had charged the individual with one count of unlawfully engaging in business as a money services business in violation of § 560.125(5)(a), Fla. Stat. and two counts of money laundering, in violation of § 896.101(5)(a) and (5)(b), Fla. Stat. The State later amended its filing to include charges of unlawfully operating as a “payment instrument seller” in violation of § 560.103(29), Fla. Stat. The judge dismissed the money-transmission-related charges, reasoning that (i) under the plain meaning of § 560.125(5)(a), a “money transmitter” would operate in a similar manner as a middleman in a financial transaction; and (ii) case law “requires that a fee must be charged to meet all the elements of being a money transmitter business.” The defendant, according to the judge, was not a middleman, but rather a seller. The judge further noted that the “difference in the price he purchased the Bitcoin for and what he sold it for is the difference between cost and expenses, the widely accepted definition of profit.” The judge also found that the defendant was not a “payment instrument seller” because bitcoin is not a payment instrument. The judge stated that “[b]itcoin has a long way to go before it is the equivalent of money,” and that “attempting to fit the sale of Bitcoin into a statutory scheme regulating money services businesses is like fitting a square peg in a round hole.” The judge further dismissed the counts of money laundering, ultimately concluding that “[w]ithout legislative action geared towards a much needed updated to the particular language within [the relevant statutes], this Court finds that there is insufficient evidence as a matter of law that this Defendant committed any of the crimes as charged, and is, therefore, compelled to grant Defendant’s Motion to Dismiss as to Counts II and III.”

    Money Service / Money Transmitters Virtual Currency

  • North Carolina Passes House Bill 289, Enacts the Money Transmitters Act

    Fintech

    On June 30, North Carolina Governor Pat McCrory signed into law House Bill 289, submitted at the request of the Office of the North Carolina Commissioner of Banks (Commissioner).The Act, which enacts the newly revised North Carolina Money Transmitters Act, subjects certain virtual currency activities to licensure, as well as clarifies that the Act applies to activities that are for personal, family, or household purposes. Applicants seeking licensure must do so via the Nationwide Multistate Licensing System (NMLS) and in accordance with requirements set forth by the Commissioner. Regarding licensure, the “Commissioner has the discretion to require the applicant obtain additional insurance coverage to address related cybersecurity risks inherent in the applicant’s business model as it relates to virtual currency transmission and to the extent such risks are not within the scope of the required surety bond.” The Act purports to be effective as of October 1, 2015.

    Money Service / Money Transmitters Virtual Currency

  • NYDFS Issues Virtual Currency License to XRP II, LLC

    Fintech

    On June 13, the NYDFS announced that it approved XRP II, LLC’s application for a virtual currency license. Before approving the company’s August 2015 application, NYDFS conducted a “rigorous review” of the company’s anti-money laundering, capitalization, consumer protection, and cybersecurity standards. To date, NYDFS has received 26 BitLicense applications; two companies, including this one, have been approved for BitLicenses and two have received state trust charters. NYDFS further noted that it recently denied two applications for a virtual currency license; the companies in receipt of the denial letters were ordered to stop any New York operations.

    Anti-Money Laundering Virtual Currency Licensing NYDFS Privacy/Cyber Risk & Data Security

Pages

Upcoming Events