Welcome to Shearman & Sterling’s FinTech Blog, where we provide you with insight on key trends in the FinTech ecosystem. Here you can find relevant information with the latest on digital banking, FinTech regulation, digital assets, blockchain, AI, and more.
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Three Central Banks Explore Advantages Of Wholesale Central Bank Digital Currencies
11/27/2018On November 15, 2018, the Bank of England, the Bank of Canada and the Monetary Authority of Singapore published a joint report entitled, "Cross-Border Interbank Payments and Settlements." Referring to current industry projects to address existing problems in cross-border payments affecting end-users, commercial banks and central banks, the report analyzes these issues and discusses proposed new models for processing cross-border transactions. The report sets out three models for cross-border payments and settlements and discusses the key considerations and dependencies of each model. Each model is then assessed against the existing identified challenges in cross-border payments.
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Congressman Davidson Hosts Roundtable on Digital Asset Regulation
10/01/2018At a roundtable hosted lasted week by Ohio Congressman Warren Davidson, lawmakers sought feedback from market participants on flaws and inefficiencies in the current digital asset regulatory framework. The roundtable, titled “Legislating Certainty for Cryptocurrencies,” included 48 representatives from a variety of digital asset and financial services firms, who pressed Congress for greater regulatory clarity in respect of digital assets.
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Federal Reserve Board Governor Speaks on Cryptocurrencies, Digital Currencies, and Distributed Ledger Technologies
5/18/2018On May 15, 2018, Federal Reserve Board Governor Lael Brainard delivered a speech at the Decoding Digital Currency Conference, sponsored by the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco, outlining some of her own thoughts on cryptocurrencies, digital currencies, and distributed ledger technologies.
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Government of Gibraltar Publishes Outline of Forthcoming Token Regulatory Framework
03/14/2018On March 14, 2018, the Government of Gibraltar published a white paper outlining forthcoming proposals to regulate token sales, secondary token market platforms and token investment services.
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Gemini Co-Founders Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss Propose Virtual Commodity Self-Regulatory Organization
03/13/2018On March 13, 2018, virtual currency exchange Gemini released a proposal to create the first SRO for U.S. virtual commodity exchanges. The so-called Virtual Commodity Association (VCA), as envisioned, would be a non-profit, independent regulatory organization that would operate to foster responsible virtual commodity markets by requiring members to implement specified sound practices and supervising members’ implementation of such practices. The VCA would also encourage greater cooperation with relevant regulators in an effort to assist with the maturation of the virtual commodity industry.
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Wyoming State Legislature Passes Several Measures to Foster Virtual Currency and Blockchain Innovation
03/06/2018The Wyoming state legislature recently passed the following virtual currency- and blockchain-focused bills intended to ease regulatory burdens at the state level for blockchain and digital asset ventures.
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Securities on Blockchain
Winter 2017/2018Reade Ryan contributed to an article, titled “Securities on Blockchain,” published in the Winter 2017-2018 edition of The Business Lawyer, which analyzes how blockchain securities fit within current laws covering uncertificated securities, and also provides guidance to corporate lawyers faced with providing a legal opinion related to the issuance of securities on a blockchain.
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