A recent dispute over trademark ownership to the name of meme-fueled Dogecoin highlights the importance of trademark rights in the ever-growing world of cryptocurrencies.
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CFTC Charges Crypto Platforms for Registration and Trading Violations
In 15 recent enforcement actions, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission announced charges against various digital asset exchanges for failure to register appropriately as futures commission merchants. This series of actions is the latest in an ongoing regulatory crackdown across federal…
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OFAC Designates Virtual Currency Exchange as Malicious Cyber Actor
On September 21, 2021, the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control issued an Updated Advisory on Potential Sanctions Risks for Facilitating Ransomware Payments on the sanctions risks associated with facilitating ransomware payments. OFAC, with assistance from…
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New York AG Obtains Default Judgment Against Crypto Platform
On September 13, 2021, New York Attorney General Letitia James announced the entry of a default judgment against crypto platform Coinseed and its CEO. The default judgment includes broad injunctive relief against Coinseed’s future operations in New York state. The…
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CFTC Commissioner Summarizes Authority Over Digital Assets
On August 23, 2021, CFTC Commissioner Dawn Stump released a helpful primer on the CFTC’s regulatory authority over digital assets.…
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NCUA Seeks Information on Distributed Ledger Technology and Digital Assets
The National Credit Union Administration recently published a request for information in the Federal Register that encourages credit unions and other industry participants to provide information on the current and potential impact of digital assets and related technologies on federal…
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Regulators Continue Crackdown on Crypto Exchanges
In a settled enforcement case announced August 9, 2021, the SEC fined Poloniex, LLC, a crypto trading platform, for operating an unregistered securities exchange. Then, on August 10, 2021, the CFTC and FinCEN announced a settled enforcement case against crypto…
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New Jersey Orders DeFi Platform to Cease Offering Interest-Bearing Crypto Accounts
On July 20, 2021, New Jersey’s Acting Attorney General announced that the State’s Bureau of Securities issued a Summary Cease and Desist Order to stop BlockFi, Inc. from selling unregistered securities in the form of interest-bearing cryptocurrency accounts. While commentators…
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“Doctor Bitcoin” Pleads Guilty to Illegal Crypto Conversion Scheme
Mark Alexander Hopkins, known as “Doctor Bitcoin,” pled guilty in the Northern District of Texas on June 29, 2021, to illegally operating a cash-to-cryptocurrency conversion business. According to a press release from the Department of Justice, Hopkins pled guilty to…
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President Biden’s Proposal to Enhance Cryptocurrency Information Reporting Regime on Form 1099
On May 28, 2021, President Biden released some of the legislative items that would be added by his American Families Plan, which includes a provision that could impact tax information reporting for cryptocurrency asset exchanges and custodians. If enacted, this…
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