National law firm Ballard Spahr has launched an innovative online application to help cryptocurrency and blockchain industry participants keep pace with quickly evolving laws, regulations, policies, and government enforcement priorities in the space.
Ballard Spahr’s Cryptocurrency and Blockchain Legislative Tracker is an interactive tool for investors, financial institutions, asset managers, digital currency exchanges, blockchain technology companies, and others doing or seeking to do business involving cryptocurrency. With user-friendly controls and displays, the tracker monitors legislative, regulatory, and compliance-related developments at the federal level and state-by-state. The Cryptocurrency and Blockchain Legislative Tracker is available free to the public on Ballard Spahr’s website, with enhanced content available on a subscription basis for firm clients.
The tracker is the latest in the Ballard360 suite of technology applications developed in-house by the firm’s Client Value and Innovation team, in close coordination with the firm’s lawyers and their clients. The CVI team worked in partnership with the firm’s Blockchain Technology and Cryptocurrency practice to create a tool that makes it easy to track important government action in the volatile digital currency space.
Because of the evolving and multidisciplinary nature of cryptocurrency transaction and regulation, the tool is designed to track developments continuously across the full scope of areas critical to those operating in the cryptocurrency market—including corporate law, securities regulation and enforcement, cybersecurity, internal investigations, anti-money laundering, tax, intellectual property, antitrust, bankruptcy and restructuring, consumer finance, and money transmitter licensing, regulation, and enforcement. The tracker covers actions by Congress, state legislatures, and the array of government agencies that play a part in digital currency regulation—the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN), U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), IRS, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), Federal Trade Commission (FTC), and state Attorney Generals and regulators nationwide.
“Federal and state governments are pushing into uncharted territory as they develop laws, policies, rules, and regulations on digital currency, blockchain technology, and NFTs, while regulators bring enforcement actions, frequently in the absence of clear guidance,” said Marjorie J. Peerce, a white collar and securities litigation attorney, who is Co-Leader of Ballard Spahr’s Blockchain Technology and Cryptocurrency practice. “A shifting regulatory environment can make it difficult for industry participants to stay current, and that’s why we created the cryptocurrency legislative tracker. Our easy-to-use tool is an invaluable resource for navigating the opportunities and challenges that abound in business involving cryptocurrency and blockchain technology.”
Ballard Spahr was one of the first law firms to establish a dedicated, cross-disciplinary cryptocurrency and blockchain technology practice. The firm created the legislative tracker to assist those with an interest in the digital currency space to assess risks and recognize opportunities. Lawyers on the firm’s Blockchain Technology and Cryptocurrency Team understand emerging technologies in the space and help clients develop and implement new products or invest in them while navigating the labyrinth of government regulation and enforcement.
The team also advises on safeguarding data, represents clients in matters related to scams or thefts involving crypto wallets, and provides comprehensive support to clients at all stages of development and cryptocurrency transactions. Blockchain Technology and Cryptocurrency Team members include lawyers from the firm’s national Bankruptcy and Restructuring practice. They are actively engaged in matters resulting from the current distress in the cryptocurrency industry and represent creditors in several of the bankruptcy cases recently filed by cryptocurrency lenders and exchanges.
“We start by listening to lawyers and clients, and work with them to create and refine solutions to address their specific needs,” said Melissa Prince, Ballard Spahr’s Chief Client Value and Innovation Officer, who leads the CVI Team. “Blockchain technology and digital currency are areas where there was a need for an application to track fast-changing legislative and regulatory conditions.
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