ARTICLE
27 September 2018

Employers: What FINRA's Cryptocurrency Complaint Signifies For You

O
Orrick
Contributor
Orrick logo
Orrick is a global law firm focused on serving the technology & innovation, energy & infrastructure and finance sectors. Founded over 150 years ago, Orrick has offices in 25+ markets worldwide. Financial Times selected Orrick as the Most Innovative Law Firm in North America for three years in a row.
Last week, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority ("FINRA") filed its first disciplinary action involving cryptocurrencies, conforming with its stated 2018 goal of monitoring and supervising
United States Technology
To print this article, all you need is to be registered or login on Mondaq.com.

Last week, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority ("FINRA") filed its first disciplinary action involving cryptocurrencies, conforming with its stated 2018 goal of monitoring and supervising the largely unregulated cryptocurrency market. FINRA's actions reflect a long-anticipated and increased scrutiny on entities—including employers—dealing with cryptocurrency.

In the September 11 disciplinary complaint, FINRA alleged that a former Massachusetts broker, Timothy Tilton Ayre, committed securities fraud by avoiding registration requirements and selling an unregistered, cannabis-focused cryptocurrency security called HempCoin. Ayre purchased HempCoin in June 2015 and immediately advertised as "the first minable coin backed by marketable securities." Ayre transformed the cryptocurrency into a security tied to his company, Rocky Mountain Ayre ("RMTN"), valuing each HempCoin as 0.1 shares of RMTN and trading over the counter. Investors mined over 81 million HempCoins through late 2017. However, Ayre failed to register HempCoin with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC").

FINRA's action, coupled with recent joint statements by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission ("CFTC") and the SEC addressing plans for heightened oversight of virtual currency regulation, reflect potential obstacles entities may face in dealing with cryptocurrency, or blockchain technology more broadly.

Growing start-ups or legacy companies with new industry sectors should be particularly mindful of the novel and transformative legal issues related to these emerging areas. For instance, although blockchain technology is generally expected to make data more secure, employers should continue to monitor their use of this technology for data privacy concerns related to information storage and programs for employment-related decisions. Further, employers should note that cryptocurrency is not currently recognized as legal tender in the United States.

The Federal Labor Standards Act ("FLSA") mandates "payments of the prescribed wages, including [minimum wage and] overtime compensation, in cash or negotiable instrument payable at par." 29 CFR § 531.27(a). The phrase "payable at par" allows cryptocurrencies to be a lawful method of payment under the FLSA, but employers should proceed with care if considering whether to use cryptocurrency to pay employee wages, particularly due to challenges with minimum wage and overtime calculations. Indeed, the legal designation for tax purposes is also unsettled: the SEC classifies cryptocurrency as a security; the CFTC says cryptocurrency is a commodity; and since 2014, the IRS has defined cryptocurrency as taxable property.

Given these ambiguities and emerging issues, employers dealing with cryptocurrency and incorporating blockchain technology into their practices should be aware of the potential legal implications and oversight in areas beyond the traditional employment law arena.

The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.

We operate a free-to-view policy, asking only that you register in order to read all of our content. Please login or register to view the rest of this article.

ARTICLE
27 September 2018

Employers: What FINRA's Cryptocurrency Complaint Signifies For You

United States Technology
Contributor
Orrick logo
Orrick is a global law firm focused on serving the technology & innovation, energy & infrastructure and finance sectors. Founded over 150 years ago, Orrick has offices in 25+ markets worldwide. Financial Times selected Orrick as the Most Innovative Law Firm in North America for three years in a row.
See More Popular Content From

Mondaq uses cookies on this website. By using our website you agree to our use of cookies as set out in our Privacy Policy.

Learn More