Posted in FinTech Trends, Regulatory ComplianceOn April 3, 2019, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) took a first step toward providing greater clarity on the key question of how to evaluate whether transactions involving issuance or sales of digital tokens are sales of securities subject to U.S. securities laws and regulations.
To read the full client alert, please visit reedsmith.com.
Posted in FinTech Trends, Regulatory Compliance
Posted in FinTech Trends, Regulatory ComplianceThe Commodity Futures Trading Commission (“CFTC”) held a public meeting of the Technology Advisory Committee (“TAC”) on March 27, 2019. The TAC is sponsored by CFTC Commissioner Brian Quintenz and Daniel Gorfine, Director of LabCFTC, is the Designated Federal Officer. The TAC, comprised of industry business, technology, and legal minds, meets periodically to discuss pressing technology-related issues affecting the commodity and derivative markets and regulation.
This meeting of the TAC consisted of four panels focusing on the following core areas: Automated Trading, Cryptocurrency, Cybersecurity, and Blockchain Technology.
Posted in FinTech Trends, Regulatory ComplianceAs detailed in a prior post on this blog, the United States District Court for the Southern District of California previously denied the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) request for a preliminary injunction against Blockvest, LLC and its founder and chairman Reginald Buddy Ringgold, III (Ringgold). Recently, upon reconsideration, the court changed course, finding that the SEC presented enough facts for the court to preliminarily enjoin Blockvest and Ringgold from further violating Section 17(a) of the Securities Act.[1]
In its prior order, the court held that the SEC failed to establish the two elements needed to preliminarily enjoin Blockvest from committing future statutory violations: (1) a prima facie case of previous securities law violations; and (2) a reasonable likelihood that the wrong would be repeated. On reconsideration, the SEC successfully challenged the court’s holding on both of these elements, and persuaded the court to issue a preliminary injunction.
Posted in FinTech Trends, Privacy, Regulatory ComplianceQuadriga “Loses” Keys to Stored Digital Assets
Quadriga, Canada’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, is unable to gain access to about $145 million (USD) of bitcoin and other digital assets following the sudden death of Gerald Cotten, its co-founder and CEO, in December 2018. According to Quadriga, Cotten stored those digital assets in a “cold wallet” on his encrypted laptop and repeated attempts by his widow to gain access to the laptop have proved unsuccessful. Additionally, details of how to access the encrypted laptop appear to not have been recorded or are nowhere to be found.
Posted in FinTech Trends, Regulatory ComplianceThe UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has announced the launch of the Global Financial Innovation Network (GFIN), an association of 29 regulatory bodies (Members) which will cooperate to promote innovation and share experiences and approaches to supervising new technologies in the financial services sector.
The proposal to launch the GFIN was set out in a consultation paper in August 2018, and has received strong industry support. A key GFIN initiative is a pilot scheme allowing firms to test innovative products, services or business models across more than one jurisdiction – referred to by the FCA as a “global sandbox”.
We summarise below some of the key elements of the GFIN and the practical opportunities for firms under this initiative.
Posted in FinTech TrendsAfter several successful trials over the last year, Israel’s largest cargo shipping company, Zim, has implemented a blockchain platform for electronic bills of lading. According to Zim, this technology could replace paper bills of lading and further improve other activities which rely on physical means of transfer.
Zim recently conducted several transactions in which bills of lading were transferred to the receiver less than two hours from the vessel’s departure, a process that typically takes days or can take weeks. Following these successful trials and initial transactions, Zim will soon be entering the next phase, providing an opportunity for all of its customers to take advantage of electronic bills of lading utilizing blockchain technology.
Posted in FinTech Trends, Regulatory ComplianceAt the end of 2018 the UK Treasury Committee announced that it would launch an inquiry into information technology (IT) failures in the financial services sector. The Treasury Committee has stated that it will appoint a specialist advisor to help provide analysis and aid the inquiry.
The past 18 months have seen numerous IT failures in the financial services sector. Equifax, Barclays and TSB have all suffered incidents, to name a few. TSB is arguably the highest profile case, when 1.9 million customers were logged out of their online banking accounts for up to a month and with some customers also claiming to have been able to view other customers’ bank details. This occurred after the bank attempted to migrate customer information from its former owner to current owner Banco Sabadell.
Read the full report on our sister site the Technology Law Dispatch.
Posted in FinTech TrendsAs much as there can be tradition in something that is less than five years old, London has ‘traditionally’ been considered to be the capital of financial technology (FinTech).
London provides a haven in which FinTechs have been able to grow operational expertise, supported by the combination of significant and sophisticated investment, tech-skilled talent, tech-minded people, a pragmatic and forward-thinking regulator, and a supportive government with its own strategy on FinTech. These have been the key ingredients in establishing the success of this new sub-sector This recipe has resulted in London becoming an echo chamber of its own FinTech success, which has now perpetuated the growth of the greatest number of unicorn FinTech companies in Europe. With 99 days to go until the UK is scheduled to leave the EU, it is more important now than ever for Britain to consider how to best retain its FinTechs.
Posted in FinTech Trends, UncategorizedEvery month is probably a busy month for the Governor of the Bank of England, Mark Carney, but September and October seemed especially so. The quiet Remainer was asked in September by the Chancellor, Philip Hammond, to extend his tenure for a further seven months, which Mr Carney responded positively to. From Mr Hammond’s perspective, it is one way of ensuring some form of stability somewhere.
Mr Carney has so far managed to hold back from anything too outspoken, only pitching in on the odd occasion when he can’t help himself. It now seems that he has waited to feel secure in the job before really letting loose.
No sooner had news of the extension broken and the Governor was speaking out with a warning that a no-deal Brexit could be equal in severity to the 2008 financial crash.[1] By November, however, the whips had got to him as he provided some surprisingly quick and positive support for Theresa May’s draft withdrawal agreement and was even the one who suggested a possible extension to the transition period.
Whatever his reasons for the support, Mr Carney must have also come to the conclusion that adding to the backbiting cannot possibly be the strategy for which he should be remembered.
Stewarding a steady recovery from the recession and a “smooth and successful Brexit”[2] – now that’s more like it. But surely that can’t involve armchair commentary every now and again during the lead up to the UK’s departure?
