What does it mean for a cryptocurrency trading platform to be compliant with U.S. laws? The answer is not as clear as some may expect and hinges on such questions as how tokens on the platform are legally categorized and how trading is conducted. Orrick’s Jason Somensatto, Of Counsel to our White Collar, Investigations, Securities Law and Compliance Practice, recently explored this issue in Bloomberg Law’s Securities and Regulation Report™.

What is clear from recent developments is that multiple U.S. regulators are scrutinizing whether trading platforms are complying with various regulatory schemes. Most notably, token trading platforms risk enforcement for not following law applicable to money transmission and to securities and commodities trading. Although enforcement against cryptocurrency businesses in these areas has thus far been minimal, trading platforms should expect that to change in light of the increasing attention being paid by regulators to these issues.

To view the full article, please visit Bloomberg’s website.