The Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (the Board) recently issued a supplemental notice and request for comment to the guidelines proposed in May 2021 for use by Federal Reserve Banks (Reserve Banks) in evaluating requests to access Federal Reserve accounts and payment services, in an effort to ensure that Reserve Banks use
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,
On February 21, President Biden issued an executive order blocking property of certain persons, and prohibiting transactions regarding Russia’s invasion of the Ukraine. The following day, the U.S. Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) issued restrictions on activities with Russian individuals and entities. On February 25, these lists were updated to include political leaders
On February 25, the New York State Department of Financial Services (NYDFS) issued Guidance to all individuals and entities subject to its regulation due to the rapidly evolving situation in Ukraine, following the Russian invasion and the imposition of sanctions, in particular businesses engaged in virtual currency activity. Relatedly, on March 2, Governor Hochul announced
On February 15, Representative Warren Davidson (R-OH) announced he will be introducing the “Keep Your Coins Act,” which is intended “[t]o prohibit Federal agencies from restricting the use of convertible virtual currency by a person to purchase goods or services for the person’s own use, and for other purposes.” That same day, Congressman
On February 16, the Financial Stability Board issued an updated “Assessment of Risks to Financial Stability from Crypto-assets,” concluding that crypto-asset markets are fast evolving and could reach a point where they represent a threat to global financial stability due to their scale, structural vulnerabilities, and increasing interconnectedness with the traditional financial system.
Several recent events highlight the expanding effort by the federal government to address the growing digital currency marketplace and the government’s role in it.
According to recent reporting, the Biden administration is preparing an executive order that will outline a comprehensive strategy for cryptocurrencies and ask federal agencies to assess the potential risks and
On January 25, the Florida Office of Financial Regulation (OFR) issued an investor advisory “to raise awareness about decentralized finance (DeFi), a relatively new blockchain-based group of financial services gaining popularity[.]” The OFR defines DeFi as “financial services provided by an algorithm on a blockchain, without a traditional financial services company.” The advisory describes DeFi,
On January 25, the House Committee on Financial Services announced its hearing schedule for the month of February, which includes a full committee hearing on February 8 at 10:00 a.m. ET on “Digital Assets and the Future of Finance: The President’s Working Group on Financial Markets’ Report on Stablecoins.”
As previously discussed by our colleagues,
On November 1, the President’s Working Group on Financial Markets (PWG), along with the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, issued a “Report on Stablecoins” (Report) that provided background on stablecoins, identified regulatory gaps related to such digital assets, and offered recommendations for addressing those gaps. After outlining