Digital currency is an exciting, dynamic and growing technology changing the financial and legal landscapes. To keep pace, corporate counsel must stay abreast of new rules, new regulations, and new applications of blockchain technology. Recognizing this need, Digital Currency + Blockchain Perspectives chronicles industry news, including regulatory developments and other issues affecting our clients and the digital currency industry.

Goodwin Insight: “Regulation by Enforcement” in the Digital Asset Industry: A Lagging Response to Stale Facts

In this Goodwin Insight, Karen Ubell, Mitzi Chang, and Adam Fovent discuss how reliance on enforcement as the principal tool for regulation is beset by fundamental limitations as a means of policymaking and setting regulatory expectations for a nascent and rapidly evolving technology and industry. To read more, click here.

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US Enforcement Agencies are Turning Up the Heat on Crypto-Related Crime (Cointelegraph Magazine)

On Jan. 7, Anatoly Legkodymov, founder of the cryptocurrency exchange Bitzlato, was arrested in Miami. The following day, the U.S. DOJ unsealed a complaint in federal court charging him with “conducting a money transmitting business that transported and transmitted illicit funds.” According to the DOJ, Bitzlato failed to meet U.S….

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National Futures Association to Expand Compliance Rulebook to Address Member Activities in Spot Digital Asset Commodities

On February 28, 2023, the National Futures Association (NFA), the self-regulatory organization for U.S. derivatives market participants, submitted to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) for approval a new Compliance Rule 2-51: Requirements for Members and Associates Engaged in Activities Involving Digital Asset Commodities. Compliance Rule 2-51 would impose compliance…

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Goodwin Shares 2022 Year in Review: Digital Currency and Blockchain Litigation and Enforcement Developments

Throughout a tumultuous 2022, the digital currency and blockchain space saw a number of significant investigation, litigation, and enforcement matters as regulators continue their laser focus on the industry. Our 2022 Year in Review, authored by members of Goodwin’s leading Digital Currency and Blockchain team, recaps the most significant litigation…

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ISDA Publishes New Digital Asset Definitions, White Paper on Navigating Bankruptcy in Digital Asset Markets

In a recent client alert, Goodwin partner John Servidio and associate Adam Fovent discuss the International Swaps and Derivatives Association’s (ISDA) Digital Asset Derivatives Definitions. As ISDA CEO Scott O’Malia observed, the Digital Asset Definitions are intended to “establish an unambiguous, standardized contractual framework for digital asset derivatives under the umbrella…

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Goodwin Partner Mitzi Chang Featured on Hsu Untied Podcast

Mitzi Chang, a partner and co-chair of the Fintech and Digital Currency & Blockchain Technology practices, was recently featured as a guest on Hsu Untied, a unique podcast with Richard Hsu. Hsu Untied is a 2-time award-winning podcast started by Richard Hsu for entrepreneurs, venture capitalists, best-selling authors, lawyers, athletes, TED speakers, and…

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CFTC Attempts To Extend Liability To DAO Participants

In a first of its kind enforcement action, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (“CFTC”) is attempting to hold participating members of a decentralized autonomous organization (“DAO”) liable for alleged violations of the Commodity Exchange Act (“CEA”) and CFTC regulations. The CFTC argued (1) that the DAO is an unincorporated association;…

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U.S. Crypto Regulation: Less Conversation, More Action (International Financial Law Review)

The plethora of public statements and draft legislation published over the past few months in the US as part of the effort to define a regulatory framework for digital assets have all but failed to bring market participants the clarity they need. Just last week, the White House published a…

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