On July 25, 2017, the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC“) released a report indicating that many offerings of “digital assets[,]” such as those using “distributed ledger or blockchain technology,” could be subject to federal securities laws. In this specific instance, the SEC chose not to bring charges or find violations but to go further into the SEC’s positions on this emerging sector. Press Release.
On July 21, 2017, the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, the Office of Comptroller of the Currency and the Securities and Exchange Commission announced they would work together as they reviewed the impact of the Volcker Rule on specific types of foreign funds. Federal Reserve Press Release. FDIC Press Release. OCC Press Release. SEC Press Release.
