As we close out the first half of 2024, it is hard to believe how quickly it has gone and yet, how much has been accomplished in the world of digital assets. A number of important milestones are already in our rearview mirror, including spot bitcoin ETF approval (and soon-to-debut spot ether ETFs) and passage of landmark digital assets legislation in the House of Representatives. Volumes of blockchain transactions continues to grow as well – for example, Broadridge's reports of $1 trillion per month in blockchain repo transactions. Each of these milestones is a good omen for continued momentum in the second half of the year.
From the department of digital assets milestones, the Mayer Brown Digital Assets team has added one of its own to the (distributed) ledger for the year with a Tier 1 ranking by The Legal 500 in Fintech and Crypto. We're proud of the recognition, but even more excited to continue our work with the amazing clients in this space.
On our "Deals in Digital Assets" page, you'll find a selection of key insights for putting these deals together and maximizing their value from our global Digital Assets, Blockchain & Cryptocurrency team. Our latest insights cove rmanaging risk in digital assets M&A and a roadmap for expansion in the crypto asset management sector.
THE LEAD BLOCK
Perspectives and insights from Mayer Brown lawyers and other thought leaders that touch on digital assets, decentralized finance, cryptocurrencies and related fields.
HOUSE PASSES DIGITAL ASSET MARKET STRUCTURE LEGISLATION: FINANCIAL INNOVATION AND TECHNOLOGY FOR THE 21ST CENTURY ACT (FIT21)
The passage of FIT21 by the House of Representatives marked an important milestone in the development of a federal regulatory regime for digital assets in the United States, as it is the first time a chamber of Congress has passed major digital asset legislation. In addition, the strong bipartisan vote for FIT21 demonstrates significant support in Congress for digital asset legislation. Even with the strong support for FIT21 in the House, however, the bill's future remains uncertain. In this Legal Update, we provide a summary of FIT21 and its key provisions.
SEC APPROVES LISTINGS OF SPOT ETHER ETFS: WAITING IS THE HARDEST PART
On May 23, 2024, the Staff of the Securities and Exchange Commission's Division of Trading and Markets approved rule changes (so-called "19b-4 forms") permitting the listing and trading of eight separate exchange-traded funds that invest in ether, the main crypto asset supporting the Ethereum blockchain. This approval comes just a few months after spot bitcoin ETFs were approved by the SEC and began trading in the United States. However, the approval does not mean these ETFs will be immediately open to investors or traded in the United States. In this Legal Update, we look at several key questions related to these spot ether ETFs, including when they may start trading and what this means for future crypto-related investment products.
US SEC COMMISSIONER UYEDA COMMENTS ON TOKENIZATION
SEC Commissioner Mark T. Uyeda spoke at the SEC's 30th Annual Institute for Securities Market Growth and Development. Among his comments, he also touched on the role of new technologies in achieving efficiencies, like tokenization. Our sister publication,Free Writings + Perspectives, provides this update on Commissioner Uyeda's remarks.
CRYPTO EXPERTS REACT TO RECENT SDNY ETHEREUM FRAUD INDICTMENT
On May 15, 2024, the US Attorney for the Southern District of New York unsealed an indictment and arrested two brothers, Anton and James Peraire-Bueno, for wire fraud and money laundering in connection with a scheme through which they stole $25 million in cryptocurrency on the Ethereum Network ("Ethereum"). The brothers used their mathematical and computer science knowledge to exploit technological vulnerabilities in Ethereum's "validation" process. Mayer Brown partner Justin Herring joined a panel of authors from the New York University School of Law Program on Corporate Compliance and Enforcement to provide reactions to the case.
NEWS NODE
A curated selection of headlines and news from around this multiverse—including deals, developments and other disruptions in DeFi.
Chief Author Behind President Biden's Crypto EO Rejoins Administration
US SEC Ends Probe Into Consensys, Won't Sue Over Ethereum 2.0
Broadridge's Distributed Ledger Repo platform transacts $1 Trillion a Month
Ether ETFs Should Be Fully Approved by September, Says US SEC Chair Gensler
Financial Services Company Doubles Down on Crypto With $200 Million Deal for Bitstamp
Kansas City Fed Explores Cost of Stablecoin Insurance
New Documents Show US SEC's Concerns About Crypto Company Aiming for IPO
Crypto Company's Stablecoin to Benefit From EU Rule Shift, Analyst Says
Moody's Assigns 'A-bf' Rating for OpenEden's Tokenized Fund
Brazil's Tax Authority to Summon Foreign Crypto Exchanges for Information
Paradigm Raises $850 Million to Invest in Early-Stage Crypto Projects
NBCUniversal Will Continue Building on Aptos via Long-Term Agreement
Mayer Brown Receives Top Rankings in Legal 500 US 2024; Tier 1 in Fintech and Fintech: Crypto
SELECT EVENTS
Selected events for deeper dives into different parts of the digital assets and DeFi world.
Joe Castelluccio, Mayer Brown partner and co-leader of the firm's Fintech and Digital Assets groups, spoke with Fintech.TV on June 21 from the New York Stock Exchange. Joe discussed drivers of market appetite for crypto assets, a timeline for spot ether ETFs, recent SEC actions regarding ether's status, and the digital assets horizon for the second half of 2024.
US CFTC Commissioner Johnson Participates in Regulatory Workshop at IOSCO Annual Meeting
On May 27, CFTC Commissioner Kristin N. Johnson participated in a Regulatory Workshop - "Retail Investor Protection in a Digital World: Finfluencers, Gamification and the Evolving Trading Landscape" at the Annual Meeting of the International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO).
On May 29, CFTC Commissioner Caroline D. Pham spoke on a panel titled "Digital Finance, Fintech and Crypto Assets: Supervision Challenges and Experiences Including Issues Relating to Sustainability" at the Hellenic Capital Market Commission Public Conference at the IOSCO Annual Meeting.
US CFTC Commissioner Pham to Speak on Digital Money Regulation at the Point Zero Forum
On July 3, CFTC Commissioner Caroline D. Pham will participate in a panel titled "Global policymakers' dialogue on state of CBDCs and digital money regulations" at the Point Zero Forum.
LEARN THE LINGO
For those new to the digital assets and DeFi world, each edition of the Digital Assets Download will highlight a different term to help you be a part of the conversation.
LIQUIDITY POOL
Liquidity pools use automated blockchain technology to enable users to exchange digital assets without relying on centralized entities.
In a liquidity pool, liquidity providers lock an amount of one or more crypto assets in a smart contract that holds the assets. Other users who want to swap between different crypto assets that are in the liquidity pool can do so by depositing an amount of one crypto asset and receiving an equivalent amount of another crypto asset.
The users that are swapping their crypto assets pay a small fee for using the liquidity pool, and this fee is distributed among the liquidity providers to incentivize them for the service they provide. Generally, the fees earned by liquidity providers are proportional to the amount of liquidity they provide to the pool.
WRITING ON THE WALL, TRANSLATING 'CRYPTO' TERMS WITH MAYER BROWN
From Airdrop toWrapped Token, our illustrated glossary, "Writing on the Wall, Translating Securities with Mayer Brown," has been updated with additional digital assets and cryptocurrency terms. Check out our"featured" list for the crypto terms and thefull list of terms.
DIGITAL ASSETS DOWNLOAD
View previous editions and additional content in our Digital Assets Download Resource Center.
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