The U.S. regulatory landscape for crypto and digital assets is complex, and recent high-profile federal enforcement actions and a slew of state cases are highlighting the ambiguity and sometimes overlapping nature of regulations governing the space. In just the past month, federal regulators have imposed more than $120 million in fines against crypto exchanges and other FinTechs that officials claimed were in violation of federal markets regulations and anti-money-laundering (AML) requirements.
Recent comments from SEC Chair Gary Gensler and CFTC Commissioner Dan Berkovitz indicate that more regulations and enforcement actions are on the horizon. This recent article in Politico is an excellent summary of the regulatory climate right now, and the fault lines that are developing between those who say more regulation is necessary and those who want to use existing rules to cover digital and crypto assets.
If you want to learn more about digital asset regulation in the U.S., I would also recommend reading this column in Reuters Legal, written by my colleague Donna Parisi.
Federal regulators are pursuing cryptocurrency startups in court and striking a growing number of legal settlements for rule violations, triggering complaints from the industry and sympathetic lawmakers who say it threatens a growing sector of the economy.
https://www.politico.com/news/2021/08/17/cryptocurrency-legal-crackdown-505595
