The staff of the SEC’s Division of Trading and Markets has issued a no-action letter that permits Paxos Trust Company, LLC (“Paxos”) to operate a limited type of blockchain-based clearing agency.  Although the no-action letter places tight limits on who and what can clear and settle securities transactions through the Paxos system, and how that settlement has to occur, this is the first time the SEC has allowed market participants to operate in regulatory sandbox.

Jay Clayton, Kenneth Blanco and Heath Tarbert, the leaders of the SEC, FinCEN and the CFTC, released a joint statement highlighting compliance issues relating to digital assets and anti-money laundering requirements.

New York’s Department of Financial Services approves the issuance and offering of the first digital asset backed by physical gold.

The staffs of the SEC's Division of Trading and Markets and FINRA issued their first public statement on broker-dealer custody of digital securities on July 8, 2019.  Among other things, the staffs discuss potential approaches for broker-dealers to carry digital securities in compliance with Rule 15c3-3 under the Exchange Act.

The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network released comprehensive guidance discussing money transmission regulations and how they apply to complex business models involving cryptocurrency and various cryptocurrency platforms and exchanges.

On Monday, the SEC entered an Order Instituting Cease and Desist Proceedings against a blockchain investment firm and its CEO for making material misrepresentations to its investors. 

Eric Powers of Kern County, California, entered into a consent order today, April 18, 2019, with the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network for acting as an unregistered money transmitter.  FinCEN determined that Powers’ purchase and sale of Bitcoin for U.S. Dollars in over 1,700 “peer-to-peer” transactions from 2012 through 2014 made him an “exchanger” of convertible virtual currency.