The recent wave of bankruptcies in the crypto industry, culminating in the collapses of Celsius, BlockFi, and FTX, has spurred financial regulators to adopt a more aggressive tone when discussing their enforcement priorities.[1]  For instance, when announcing charges against FTX Founder Sam Bankman-Fried (“SBF”) for allegedly orchestrating a scheme to defraud FTX’s equity investors,[2] Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) Chair…

On Thursday, December 15, 2022, the New York Department of Financial Services (“DFS”) released a letter (the “Guidance”) outlining the pre-approval application and evaluation process for New York regulated banking organizations that seek to engage in new or significantly different virtual currency-related activities, including virtual currency business activity.  While conceptually similar to the approach federal banking regulators have taken in…

As we approach the end of the year, here are the Top 10 posts on the Debevoise Fintech Blog in 2022. If you are not already a Blog subscriber, click here to sign up. How Will Bankruptcy Courts Measure Customer Crypto Claims? October 10, 2022 In the wake of the industry’s significant bankruptcy filings, crypto watchers are focusing for the…

On December 14, 2022, Senators Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Roger Marshall (R-Kan.) introduced the Digital Asset Anti-Money Laundering Act of 2022 (the “Act”). According to the statement announcing the Act, the legislation is intended to mitigate the risks that digital assets pose to U.S. national security by bringing the digital asset ecosystem into greater compliance with the anti-money laundering and…

On December 8, 2022, the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (“SEC”) Division of Corporation Finance (the “Division”) released a sample comment letter (the “Letter”) regarding recent developments in crypto asset markets.  In its review of disclosure documents, the Division may issue a tailored form of the Letter to a public company or other entity with SEC filing obligations, asking it to…