On Thursday, March 11, a piece of digital art – a JPG file – sold for $69 million. Why would a purely digital work of art ever sell for that much? Scarcity and proof of ownership. That’s right, the underpinning
Blockchain Report
Blockchain Report, published by Venable LLP, focuses on legal developments and regulatory issues surrounding blockchain technology, cryptocurrencies, NFTs, and digital currencies. The blog covers topics such as government regulation and enforcement actions in the crypto space, compliance challenges for virtual currencies and digital assets, intellectual property concerns related to blockchain applications, and innovations like blockchain-based anti-piracy systems. It also addresses emerging trends including central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) and the intersection of blockchain with financial services and advertising law. The content is aimed at helping legal professionals and industry participants navigate the evolving legal landscape of blockchain and digital assets.
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Venable Brings Trademark Law Intelligence to Its New Naming Service
Venable’s elite Trademark Prosecution and Counseling Group recently announced the launch of its Wellbrand service, an innovative naming solution that leverages the firm’s trademark-law intelligence to accelerate the process of finding effective brand names. Currently available only to established clients…
BSA Alchemy: While Lowering the Recordkeeping and Travel Threshold, FinCEN and the Fed Turn Virtual Currency into Real Money
Technology facilitates legal and illicit transactions alike. Advances in payments technologies and cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin, Monero, and Zcash allow criminal enterprises to dissect, route, and reaggregate small transactions to evade detection by regulatory and enforcement agencies. This is particularly…
Crypto Custody: OCC Confirms That National Banks Can Provide Custody Services for Cryptocurrency
On July 23, 2020, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) released Interpretive Letter #1170 (Letter) confirming that safekeeping and custody of cryptocurrency and crypto-assets (collectively, cryptocurrency) are traditional banking services and, therefore, are permissible activities for national…
Improving upon the SEC’s Blockchain “Framework”: Toward a Reasonable Regulation of Digital Tokens
Introduction
Are digital tokens issued by blockchain companies securities under U.S. law? Much of the industry, including several prominent law firms, has taken the position that they are not. The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has consistently stated that many…
SEC Clarifies Application of Securities Regulation to Blockchain Tokens, ICOs
Last week the SEC offered its clearest guidance yet on when blockchain tokens and other digital assets would be classified as “securities” under U.S. securities law and subject to SEC regulation.
Specifically, the SEC’s Strategic Hub for Innovation and Financial…
Texas-Sized Initial Coin Offering Faces Multiple Allegations in SEC Lawsuit
As they say, everything’s bigger in Texas, including initial coin offerings. A Texas federal court recently unsealed a complaint filed by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) against a Texas-based company (the “Company”) that presents itself as the “world’s first…
IBM Partners with Credit Unions to Build Blockchain Solutions
CU Ledger, a consortium of U.S. credit unions, announced on Monday, March 11, that it will work with IBM to develop blockchain solutions to improve services such as identity authentication and know-your-customer (KYC) compliance. CU Ledger also indicated it is…
How to Conduct A Blockchain IP Audit
On August 30, 2018, Andrew MacArthur and Ralph Dengler published “How to conduct a blockchain IP audit” in World Intellectual Property Review. Here is an excerpt:
The rise of blockchain technology and its many applications, including banking and supply chain,…
Is the FTC the Federal Fintech Regulator to Watch?
While industry watchers in Washington, DC eagerly await the next fintech charter pronouncement from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has quietly established itself as one of the main federal fintech regulators.…