On October 6, 2021, Deputy Attorney General Lisa O. Monaco announced the creation of a National Cryptocurrency Enforcement Team (“NCET”) within the Criminal Division of the Department of Justice (“DOJ”).

On September 7, 2021, El Salvador became "the world's first crypto-nation.

The SEC sued a crypto lending platform and its top executives alleging they were involved in a global $2 billion fraud, confirming the SEC’s recent commitment to enforcement actions relating to digital asset and crypto investment misconduct.

The SEC recently settled an enforcement action against Poloniex, LLC for operating as an unregistered national securities exchange.  Poloniex operated a digital asset trading platform.

INVEST in America Act (the “Infrastructure Bill”), a major bipartisan infrastructure proposal, includes provisions requiring enhanced cryptocurrency transaction reporting to the IRS. The enhanced reporting is intended to generate increased tax revenue to help pay for infrastructure projects. The reporting requirement would apply to a “broker” involved in cryptocurrency transactions. The latest draft has a new definition of "broker" that is a step in the right direction, but not as far as we wish. Clarity in the defintion will be crucial for effective enforcement. 

Senator Elizabeth Warren sent a letter to SEC Chair Gary Gensler expressing concern that cryptocurrency exchanges pose risks to investors and consumers that are not being appropriately addressed by federal regulation.  The letter suggests potential deeper regulation of the digital asset markets by the SEC, including with respet to decentralized finance.