Perkins Coie attorneys Anna Smith-Sandy and Ernest Simons contributed to the recent update to the American Bar Association (ABA) Derivatives and Futures Law Committee “Digital and Digitized Assets: Federal and State Jurisdictional Issues” white paper which was the result of a significant collaborative effort and provides a comprehensive updated legal analysis of the jurisdictional issues concerning digital products. Topics covered include the following:
- Background on digital assets and blockchain technologies and characteristics of digital assets and virtual currencies;
- Regulation by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) and the CFTC’s approach to classifying and regulating virtual currencies and related derivatives;
- Regulation by the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) under securities laws, including the SEC’s approach to classifying a digital asset as a “security”;
- The interplay between SEC and CFTC regulations;
- Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) regulation of digital assets, including in relation to anti-money laundering and know-your-customer requirements;
- International regulation of digital assets and blockchain technology throughout Europe, Asia, and Australia; and
- State law considerations with respect to digital assets and blockchain technologies, including state law licensing requirements and state-specific regulations.