Lynn Johannson, Advisor, Sustainability and ESG
January 4th, 2024
Hunton Andrews Kurth LLP | Scott H. Kimpel | Oct 1, 2018
Interest in the crypto economy continues to grow in Congress. On September 25, 2018, Representative Warren Davidson (R-OH) hosted a roundtable, "Legislating Certainty for Cryptocurrencies," with more than 50 financial institutions and crypto start-ups invited to attend. Additionally, the House Financial Services Committee has scheduled a hearing on financial innovation on September 28, 2018, entitled Examining Opportunities for Financial Markets in the Digital Era.
Last week, Representative Tom Emmer (R-MN), co-chair of the Congressional Blockchain Caucus, announced his intention to introduce three separate pieces of legislation regarding distributed ledger technology. While the future of these measures in Congress is uncertain, they represent a welcome development in lawmakers' understanding of digital assets and related issues.
First, a Resolution Supporting Digital Currencies and Blockchain Technology expresses support for the industry and its development in the United States. The resolution states, among other things, that (1) the United States should prioritize accelerating the development of blockchain technology to support transparency, security and authentication; (2) the United States government should create an environment that enables the American private sector to lead on blockchain innovation; (3) and federal agencies should work toward a coordinated framework to support digital currencies and blockchain technology.
The Blockchain Regulatory Certainty Act provides that blockchain developers and blockchain service providers who, in the regular course of business do not have control over users' digital currency, do not need to register with the federal government as a money transmitter, money services business or financial institution. Perhaps attempting to address the issue of state regulation of blockchain businesses, the bill would also preempt "any other State or Federal legal designation requiring licensing or registration as a condition to acting as a blockchain developer or provider of a blockchain service, unless the developer or provider has, in the regular course of business, control over digital currency to which a user is entitled." But a subsequent provision provides, somewhat confusingly, that "[n]othing in this section shall be construed to prevent any State from enforcing any State law that is consistent with this section. No cause of action may be brought and no liability may be imposed under any State or local law that is inconsistent with this section."
Finally, the Safe Harbor for Taxpayers with Forked Assets Act attempts to provide a safe harbor for taxpayers with forked digital assets until the Treasury Department or Congress provides further guidance on the federal income tax treatment of receiving forked convertible virtual currency, including rules for calculating and allocating the basis of forked convertible virtual currency, rules for calculating the fair market value of forked convertible virtual currency, and rules for determining the holding period of forked convertible virtual currency.
The National Crowdfunding & Fintech Association (NCFA Canada) is a financial innovation ecosystem that provides education, market intelligence, industry stewardship, networking and funding opportunities and services to thousands of community members and works closely with industry, government, partners and affiliates to create a vibrant and innovative fintech and funding industry in Canada. Decentralized and distributed, NCFA is engaged with global stakeholders and helps incubate projects and investment in fintech, alternative finance, crowdfunding, peer-to-peer finance, payments, digital assets and tokens, blockchain, cryptocurrency, regtech, and insurtech sectors. Join Canada's Fintech & Funding Community today FREE! Or become a contributing member and get perks. For more information, please visit: www.ncfacanada.org
![]() | ![]() | ![]() |
January 4th, 2024
January 25th, 2023
June 1st, 2021
September 9th, 2020
July 17th, 2020
August 22nd, 2019
September 26th, 2018
July 9th, 2018
March 19th, 2018
January 3rd, 2018
September 25th, 2017
July 31st, 2017
June 20th, 2017
May 10th, 2017
May 9th, 2017
December 14th, 2016
NCFA Canada
Craig Asano
CEO and Executive Director
casano@ncfacanada.org
ncfacanada.org
Leave a Reply