As fintech and blockchain transactions continue to grow in popularity, they are receiving increased attention at the state level, whether through fintech sandboxes, crypto-friendly legislation, or other initiatives aimed to encourage fintech innovation and economic development. Below is a roundup of just some of the recent fintech activity at the state level:
- This week, New York entered into a Memorandum of Understanding with Israel on fintech cooperation. The agreement is intended to encourage fintech innovation in both New York and Israel by providing support to fintech ...
On May 9, 2019, the House Financial Services Committee voted to establish two task forces dedicated to studying technological innovations that impact the financial services arena: a FinTech Task Force and an Artificial Intelligence Task Force. The FinTech Task Force is initially set to study various issues, including fintech regulation in the domestic and international spheres, alternative data for loan underwriting, and data privacy. The Task Force on Artificial Intelligence will study how artificial intelligence affects how consumers interact with and use financial ...
This term, Congress is set to consider several bills—each with bipartisan sponsorship—targeting the fields of blockchain, cryptocurrency, and fintech. This spurt of legislative activity indicates an increased awareness by lawmakers of both the opportunities for innovation in these fields and the potential pitfalls and risks for illicit use posed by these new technologies. The following are several of the bills that have been introduced this term to date which aim to promote blockchain and cryptocurrency:
- The Blockchain Regulatory Certainty Act (H.R. 528), introduced in ...
London is considered the European capital for fintech, and the third global tech start-up ecosystem, behind only Silicon Valley and New York. In the past two and a half years, fintech companies have brought more than $5 billion of investment to the city. Given that a third of London's tech company customers are based outside the UK and an estimated 54% of the city's fintech workforce comes from abroad, uncertainty over how Brexit will affect the ability of British companies to transact business and recruit talent internationally poses a threat to London's fintech prominence.
On March ...
On October 25, 2018, the Conference of State Bank Supervisors (CSBS) filed suit in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia challenging the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency's (OCC) creation of a new national bank charter for nonbank companies, which would include FinTech companies (the Nonbank Charter Program). See Conference of State Bank Supervisors v. Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, Case 1:18-cv-02449-DLF (D.D.C. Oct. 25, 2018).
In the complaint, the CSBS alleges that nonbank institutions-including FinTech companies-have been subject to ...
Last month, the Treasury Department issued a 222-page report to President Trump on Nonbank Financials, Fintech, and Innovation in which it recommends large-scale regulatory changes to promote innovation in the realm of fintech. The report makes clear the view of the Treasury Department that "innovation is critical to the success of the U.S. economy, particularly in the financial sector." To that end, the Treasury Department's report seeks to identify opportunities to "modernize regulation to embrace the use of data, encourage the adoption of advanced data processing and other ...
Mick Mulvaney's tenure as acting director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau ("CFPB" or "the Bureau"), a position he has held since November of 2017, is coming to an end. It is anticipated that President Trump's nominee, Kathleen Kraninger, will take over as the Bureau's director once confirmed by the Senate. In a speech to the Women in Housing and Finance group on May 29, 2018, Mulvaney announced that the Bureau is working closely with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission to implement a "regulatory sandbox" that will enable financial technology ("FinTech") firms to ...
Back in August 2014, the CFPB published a Consumer Advisory entitled, "Risks to consumers posed by virtual currencies." In the Advisory, the CFPB informs consumers of the risks associated with blockchain currency, including scams, cost as compared with credit cards, fewer protections when something goes awry, and the potential for hackers.
In the Advisory, the CFPB warns consumers about bitcoin and other blockchain currency. Risks include the threat of hackers and scammers that pose serious security threats. Because bitcoin and other blockchain currencies are virtual, fraud ...