Original Mayer Brown content, perspectives and insights from across our global platform that touch on digital assets, decentralized finance, cryptocurrencies and related fields.
UK Government Aims to Make the Country a Global Hub for Cryptoasset Technology
On April 4, 2022, the UK government announced various initiatives designed to make the country a global hub for cryptoasset technology. The proposals include:
- Bringing stablecoins into the ambit of UK regulation with a view to their being used as a recognised form of payment;
- Creating a “financial market infrastructure sandbox” to help firms innovate; and
- Working with the Royal Mint on proposals for issuing a non-fungible token (“NFT”).
NFTs Primer: What Buyers and Sellers Need to Know
NFTs have been around for quite some time, but they have only hit mainstream public consciousness over the past few years. Mayer Brown partners Richard Assmus and Rohith George and Tech Talks podcast host Julian Dibbell decipher these digital assets and explore a few of the legal issues surrounding them.
Senator Toomey Releases Stablecoin Regulation Legislation
On April 6, 2022, Senator Pat Toomey (R-PA), ranking member of the Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee, released a discussion draft of the Stablecoin Transparency of Reserves and Uniform Safe Transactions (“TRUST”) Act. The act comes after Senator Toomey solicited legislative proposals on stablecoin regulations in the latter half of 2021.
SEC Rule Proposal Seeks to Clarify “Dealer” Definition; Impact to Entities Engaging in Digital Asset Securities Activities
On March 28, 2022, the US Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) proposed rules that would require certain registrations from market participants, including those that trade in digital asset securities. The proposed rule would require registration as a “dealer” or “government securities dealer” with the SEC for persons whose trading activity “has the effect of providing liquidity” to other market participants. If enacted, this rule could apply to principal trading firms, private funds, registered investment advisers and other market participants, including in the digital asset securities space.