On April 6, Senator Pat Toomey (R-PA) released a draft of his proposed stablecoin legislation titled, Stablecoin Transparency of Reserves and Uniform Safe Transactions Act, or the Stablecoin TRUST Act. Toomey, the ranking member of the Senate Banking Committee, has been a vocal proponent of blockchain innovation, and his recent bill calls for a deft
On March 31, a New York federal court dismissed a proposed securities class-action lawsuit filed against Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange. The lawsuit, one of a host of similar actions brought against cryptocurrency exchanges in 2020, was filed by token buyers who purchased cryptocurrency on Binance’s platform.
The plaintiffs asserted that Binance had violated
The fiscal year 2022-2023 budget for New York, which takes effect in two months, includes requiring the New York Department of Financial Services (NYDFS) to charge a new “assessment” to all virtual currency businesses licensed in New York in order to “defray operating expenses.”
The legislation, signed by New York Governor Kathy Hochul on
On April 7, in front of American University’s Kogod School of Business Center for Innovation, Secretary of the Treasury Janet Yellen addressed the Biden administration’s forthcoming legislative approach to digital assets, as we discussed here, as well as the digitization of the American economy, which Yellen assessed through the lens of five lessons she
On March 28, Representative Stephen Lynch (D-MA), along with co-sponsors Jesús G. García (D-IL), Rashida Tlaib (D-MI), Ayanna Pressley (D-MA), and Alma Adams (D-NC), introduced H.R. 7231, the Electronic Currency and Secure Hardware Act (ECASH Act), which would direct the secretary of the U.S. Department of the Treasury (not the Federal Reserve) to develop
On March 17, Senators Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Jack Reed (D-RI), Mark Warner (D-VA), and Jon Tester (D-MT) introduced the Digital Asset Sanctions Compliance Enhancement Act (Act) in an attempt to ensure blacklisted Russian individuals and businesses do not use cryptocurrency to evade economic sanctions.
“In order for the sanctions levied by the United States and
On March 17, the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs conducted a hearing titled, “Understanding the Role of Digital Assets in Illicit Finance,” which focused extensively on whether and how Russia could use digital assets to avoid sanctions, as well as how Ukraine is using cryptocurrency to support their fight against Russia.
In
On March 11, Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, and the United States (collectively, the G7) announced more sanctions against Russia, including first-time sanctions specific to virtual assets. The White House also announced that the Department of the Treasury would issue “new guidance [that] will continue to make clear that Treasury’s expansive actions against Russia
On March 9, President Biden signed an Executive Order (the Order) to establish the first comprehensive federal digital asset strategy for the U.S., which would promote digital asset innovation while balancing benefits and associated risks. The order directs the Justice Department, U.S. Department of the Treasury, the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System,