In Part 1 of this series, Fastest Route to Market: Money Transmission Licensing Roadmaps for FinTechs, we explained why many early-stage FinTechs begin by assessing federal Money Services Business registration and state
Nicole Meisner, Zachery Heck, Jason Covert, and Matthew Abese contributed a chapter for the American Bar Association’s book Banking [on] Blockchain, Second Edition.
Meisner authored a chapter on blockchain technology in payments, while Heck, Covert, and Abes co-authored a chapter on future application of
Richard B. Levin, Chair of Taft’s FinTech Practice, spoke on a panel at the European Blockchain Convention (EBC12) in Barcelona. The two-day conference featured panels on sessions focused on institutional digital assets, tokenisation, MiCA regulation, and stablecoins. Levin spoke on the panel EU, UK, US
On June 5, the U.S. Tax Court issued a memorandum opinion in a closely watched case about the taxation of rewards from staked cryptocurrency tokens. In Paschall v. Commissioner, T.C. Memo. 2026-46, the Tax Court held that these rewards are includable in gross income
Richard B. Levin, the Chair of Taft’s FinTech Practice, was recently quoted in a Reuters article titled “Crypto giant Kraken’s Fed payment account sparks concerns about risk.” The article recognizes Kraken’s approval as a milestone that could reshape the financial system and discusses whether crypto
Blockchain has made enormous promises to transform finance, but regulatory challenges keep legacy frictions alive. When the SEC and FINRA first attempted to apply old custody and customer protection rules to digital assets, they were left wrestling with questions never envisioned by 20th-century lawmakers. Now
Stablecoins have evolved from simple trading tools into a major pillar of the digital asset economy – and regulators are taking notice. Defined as digital assets pegged to a reference value (like the U.S. dollar), stablecoins can be collateralized or algorithmic, each carrying different risks.
Digital asset custody is one of the thorniest regulatory challenges in U.S. financial law. Investment advisers and broker-dealers must follow strict custody and client-asset protection rules – but these rules were built around physical certificates, banks, and transfer agents, not cryptographic keys and distributed ledgers.
Blockchain may be new, but the financial system problems it aims to solve aren’t. The 1960s “Paperwork Crisis” pushed regulators to modernize markets through electronic trading and coordinated clearing systems. Today, blockchain is positioned as the next major upgrade – offering a shared, tamper-resistant ledger