The Federal Reserve’s announcement on April 24, 2025, to withdraw prior guidance and supervisory letters concerning banks’ involvement in cryptocurrency and stablecoin activities is the latest turn by US regulators under President Trump to ease cryptocurrency regulation in the United States. See our earlier posts here, here, here and here. On the campaign trail, President Trump vowed to make the U.S. the “crypto capital of the planet.” The Fed’s announcement said the Fed would work…
In late 2022, aligning with global trends for increased regulation and oversight, South Africa included crypto assets under its primary financial conduct laws. This was effected by the Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA) declaring crypto assets as ‘financial products’ under the Financial Advisory and Intermediary Services Act, 2002. Consequently, anyone providing advice or intermediary services in relation to crypto assets needs a license as a financial services provider, colloquially referred to as a Crypto Asset…
The Markets in Crypto-assets Regulation (Regulation (EU) No 2023/1114), also known as MiCAR, establishes the first comprehensive, pan-EU regulatory regime for the regulation of cryptoassets, including the regulation of cryptoasset issuance activities and cryptoasset service providers (CASPs). MiCAR entered into force on 29 June 2023, with key provisions set to apply in stages beginning in the summer of 2024. Baker McKenzie’s new MiCAR Compliance Toolkit is a series of guides that set out practical steps…
On February 29, 2024, the U.S. House of Representatives Financial Services Committee passed a resolution (H.J. Res. 109) which, if enacted, would undo the recent US Security and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) Staff Accounting Bulletin No. 121 (“SAB 121”). It acted under the Congressional Review Act (“CRA”), which allows Congress to use their oversight authority to overturn rules issued by federal agencies. SAB 121 requires reporting entities which perform custodial duties in relation to crypto assets…
Along with its update on the regulation of fiat-backed stablecoins and the failure of systemic digital settlement asset firms (see related post here), on 30 October 2023, HM Treasury issued a policy statement on its approach to the future regulation of a wider range of cryptoassets. The Treasury’s statement largely confirms that it intends to implement the proposals consulted on in February 2023 – moving to a licensing regime for crypto activities and bringing a…
After several years of intense debate, during its session on 16 May 2023, the European Council finally approved the Regulation on Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA). The EU’s first legal framework for crypto now only requires publication in the Official Journal of the European Union, which is expected to happen any time soon. MiCA brings a substantial change to the EU regulatory landscape, creating a harmonized regime in terms of issuance and the provision of services in…
On April 14, 2023, the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) reopened the comment period and provided supplemental information on proposed amendments to Rule 3b-16 under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (“Exchange Act”) which defines certain terms used in the definition of “exchange” in Section 3(a)(1) of the Exchange Act.. The reopening is primarily intended to address the significant comments received by the SEC in response to the initial proposal, many of which…
On April 17, 2023, the U.S Securities and Exchange Commission charged crypto asset trading platform Bittrex, Inc. and its co-founder and former CEO William Shihara. with operating an unregistered national securities exchange, broker, and clearing agency. It also charged Bittrex, Inc.’s foreign affiliate, Bittrex Global GmbH, with failing to register as a national securities exchange in connection with its operation of a single shared order book along with Bittrex. The complaint was filed in federal court…
In July 2022, the Law Commission published a consultation proposing certain reforms in respect of property rights and digital assets. The consultation’s primary recommendation was to create a new category of property, referred to as data objects, to ensure that cryptocurrency and other forms of digital assets could be legally recognised as property. This approach builds upon previous court rulings which held that cryptoassets could be property and be protected by injunctions, such as freezing…
On April 7, 2022, the US Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) issued a Financial Institution Letter (“FIL”) requiring that all FDIC-supervised institutions that intend to engage in, or that are engaged in, any activities involving or related to crypto assets notify the FDIC. Because the overwhelming majority of U.S. banks are insured by the FDIC, the FIL means that nearly all banks must now disclose their crypto activities to the FDIC. The definition of crypto…