Blockchain – Page 2 – FinTech and Blockchain Law Watch

Japan’s New Crypto Regulation – 2019 Amendments to Payment Services Act and Financial Instruments and Exchange Act of Japan

Dec 02 2019

Japan will fundamentally change its crypto asset regulations effective in spring of 2020.

In May, 2019, the National Diet, the Japanese national legislature, passed an amendment bill to the Payment Services Act (the “PSA”) and the Financial Instruments and Exchange Act (the “FIEA”), which was promulgated on June 7, 2019 (the “2019 Amendment”). The 2019 Amendment will become effective within one year from promulgation, following further rulemaking by the Japan Financial Services Agency (the “JFSA”) to implement the 2019 Amendment, which is anticipated sometime soon and includes public comment process.

International FinTech Watch: China Announced Positive Stance on Blockchain Technology

Nov 26 2019

By Jim Bulling and Wendy Li

On 24 October 2019, China President Xi Jinping expressed strong support for blockchain, which was depicted as “a core technology” to promote China’s industry innovation and digital economy development. In his speech, he also noted that blockchain technology has already been applied in a number of sectors like digital finance, internet of things, intelligent manufacturing and supply chain management, and that since China has a solid foundation of blockchain technology, it should seize the opportunity to build up blockchain industrial ecology and accelerate the integration of blockchain, AI, big data and other cutting edge technologies.

Banks Invest in Developing a Digital Blockchain Settlement System

Jun 17 2019

By Jim Bulling, Felix Charlesworth and Andrew Fay

Late last month, several of the world’s largest banks invested $50 million in a digital cash settlement project with the aim of developing a more efficient clearing and settlement system. The new technology, referred to as the ‘utility settlement coin’ (USC), has been a work in progress since 2015, after Swiss bank UBS Group and London-based technology startup Clearmatics announced to the market that they had commenced working on the project.

ASX Takes First Steps in introducing its Blockchain-Based Replacement to CHESS

May 09 2019

By Jim Bulling, Felix Charlesworth and Andrew Fay

On 30 April 2019, Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) released the first of seven “drops” of software code into the “Customer Development Environment”. This marks the beginning of the introduction of the new equities clearing and settlement system, which ASX is developing to replace the existing CHESS system. The new system is based on distributed ledger technology (DLT) and promises to provide customers with access to real-time, synchronised, source-of-truth data.

Bank of Canada and Monetary Authority of Singapore jointly publish report on the use of blockchain in making cross-border payments

May 03 2019

Jim Bulling and Felix Charlesworth

Two central banks have taken steps to facilitate cross border payments through the use of blockchain. On 1 May 2019, the Bank of Canada (BOC) and Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) jointly published a report on their trials of settling tokenised digital currencies across different blockchain platforms (Report).

Italy’s legal recognition of blockchain-based timestamping

Apr 28 2019

By Claude-Étienne Armingaud and Alessandra Feller

Italian law no.12/19 dated 11 January 2019 (the “Law”) came into force on 13 February 2019 and cemented the legal enforceability of electronic timestamping performed through blockchain technologies.

As part of a national reform pertaining to the simplification of administrative formalities for companies, the Law explicitly states in its Article 8 ter, 3° that “storage of a computerized document through the use of technologies passed on distributed ledger creates the same legal effect as ‘electronic time stamp’”, as defined in the European Regulation no. 910/2014 on electronic identification and trust services for electronic transactions dated 23 July 2014 (“eIDAS”).

Cryptocurrency firms struggle to engage auditors

Apr 04 2019

By Jim Bulling and Andrew Fay

In January 2019, Canada’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, QuadrigaCX, announced that it had lost $180 million of virtual currency, prompting calls for tighter regulatory oversight of the industry.

Canada is home to 18 publicly listed cryptocurrency companies, more than any other jurisdiction in the world. This puts Canada at the heart of the issue, and has also put the Canadian Public Accountability Board (CPAB) on notice. The CPAB, which regulates auditors, has confirmed that it has been reviewing how existing Canadian audit standards apply to the cryptocurrency industry. Canada, like Australia, subscribes to the International Financial Reporting Standards.

Australian Government announces the establishment of the national blockchain roadmap

Mar 27 2019

By Jim Bulling & Felix Charlesworth

On 18 March 2019, the Federal Australian Government announced its plan to establish the national blockchain roadmap (Roadmap) which intends to focus developing regulation, skills and capacity building, innovation, investment and international competitiveness in the emerging local blockchain industry.

The Future of Digital Asset Regulation: Key Regulators Give Their Thoughts at the D.C. Blockchain Summit (Part 2)

Mar 12 2019

By Daniel S. Cohen

On March 6^th, the Chamber of Digital Commerce held its Fourth Annual D.C. Blockchain Summit. One of the first panels featured a discussion on the current and future contours of the digital asset regulatory regime with Daniel Gorfine, Director of LabCFTC; Kavita Jain, FINRA’s Director of the Office of Emerging Regulatory Issues; Jessica Renier, Senior Advisor on Domestic Finance for the Treasury Department; and Valerie Szczepanik, the SEC’s Senior Advisor for Digital Assets & Innovation.

Ms. Szczepanik explained that the SEC staff is developing guidance regarding digital assets but declined to provide a timetable for its release. She noted that whether a digital asset is a security will, as it does now, depend on whether it is an investment contract in light of its individual facts and circumstances. Ultimately, the SEC is seeking to promote financial innovation, capital formation, and wealth creation but in balance with investor protections.

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