Financial Services & Securities

In our recent article on the legal framework governing virtual currencies, we briefly discussed the distinction between money transmitters and virtual currency exchanges.  In short, transmitters are entities that convert fiat currency into virtual currency, whereas exchanges are entities that swap one virtual currency for another, such as Ethereum (ETH) for Dogecoin (DOGE).  The distinction is relevant since transmitters are sometimes regulated differently than exchanges.  ...
Read More

Our previous article in this series looked at the legal framework surrounding blockchain technology.  This article will look at practical uses for the technology. Blockchain technology has implications for many business owners, even those not interested in the speculative trading element in cryptocurrency which is akin to trading in the stock market.  In addition to acting as a cash replacement, cryptocurrencies have many other applications, ...
Read More

Our previous article considered the technology behind cryptocurrency. This article will focus on the legal framework governing the industry.  The cryptocurrency market is subject to a patchwork of inconsistent legislation and regulations that continue to evolve, leading to uncertainty about its future.  While the blockchain industry has grown for years, regulators have not kept pace with this growth, making the desire for regulatory clarification greater ...
Read More

Bitcoin was first introduced in a 2009 white paper, Bitcoin: A Peer-to-Peer Electronic Cash System.[1]  Since then, cryptocurrencies[2], also known as virtual or digital currencies, have exploded, with thousands of different types in circulation, achieving a $2T market cap in early 2021[3], and with the number of blockchain wallet users rising to more than 70 million as of May 2021.[4] However, the blockchain concept, which ...
Read More

Douglas M. Palais co-authored Chapter 2: Agents and Brokers of the third edition of the Virginia CLE's "Insurance Law in Virginia." For more information on this publication please visit the Virginia CLE bookstore ...
Read More