The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (F.D.I.C.) has requested that all banks engaging in cryptocurrency-related activities notify the agency of those activities. The request came in the form of an April 7, 2022 letter, FIL-16-2022, to F.D.I.C.-supervised banks. In that letter, the F.D.I.C. summarizes its concerns regarding banks’ participation in cryptocurrency-related activities. Those concerns include the potentials for consumer confusion, risks to banks’ information technology and cybersecurity systems and money laundering. The F.D.I.C. also wrote that certain inherent characteristics of cryptocurrencies, including practical challenges with identifying digital assets’ ownership, raise unique questions about banks’ ability to ensure safety and soundness. Read More
Nearly one year after they became a household term, non-fungible tokens (NFTs) have begun to make their first appearances in American court decisions. These early cases involve two of America’s best-known names in media: recording artist Jay-Z and Playboy. While many legal questions about NFTs remain, these first decisions suggest that courts will apply traditional legal principles to at least some of the issues these tokens raise. Read More