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Finance Posts
Is My Crypto Safe if My Exchange Declares Bankruptcy?
Jul 14, 2022
Is My Crypto Safe if My Exchange Declares Bankruptcy?
Celsius Network LLC, one of the largest cryptocurrency lenders in the industry, filed for bankruptcy protection on Wednesday, July 13th. The filing comes just a month after the company halted customer withdrawals, swaps, and transfers “to stabilize liquidity” on account of extreme market conditions caused by a dive in cryptocurrency prices. As such, many crypto-investors…
Responsible Financial Innovation Act Proposal To Bolster CFTC Authority Over Crypto-Industry
Jul 8, 2022
Responsible Financial Innovation Act Proposal To Bolster CFTC Authority Over Crypto-Industry
Bipartisan legislation introduced in the Senate last month would mark the federal government’s first foray into cryptocurrency regulation, and it could be a welcome development as the industry navigates a period of regulatory and commercial uncertainty. On June 7, 2022, Senators Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) and Cynthia Lummis (R-WY) introduced the Responsible Financial Innovation Act (“RFIA”)…
Deposit Method Standards and Cryptocurrency in Regulated iGaming and Sports Betting Industries
Jun 13, 2022
Deposit Method Standards and Cryptocurrency in Regulated iGaming and Sports Betting Industries
Despite being the most widespread form of non-fiat money, cryptocurrency has struggled to gain traction as a broader means of exchange and payment, including in the internet gaming (“iGaming”) and sports betting industries. While there are no industry-wide standards for acceptable deposit methods, gaming regulators have tended toward two approaches, neither of which explicitly permits…
Ifrah on NFTs: New iGaming Tokens Raise Novel Securities Questions
Feb 25, 2022
Ifrah on NFTs: New iGaming Tokens Raise Novel Securities Questions
Non-fungible tokens (“NFTs”) are becoming increasingly prominent in the broader blockchain and cryptocurrency market, as new projects rush to incentivize buyers with offerings of “unmatched benefits.” These utilities, however, do not come without potential legal drawbacks. In the first article of this series, we covered the basics of NFTs—unique virtual items recorded with immutable characteristics…
Ifrah Law on NFTs: What is an NFT?
Feb 7, 2022
Ifrah Law on NFTs: What is an NFT?
It would be hard to over-exaggerate the hype that has grown around non-fungible tokens (“NFTs”) over the past year as a result of the meteoric rise of Bitcoin, cryptocurrencies, and other blockchain-based technologies. NFT sales skyrocketed in 2021 to $25 billion, a colossal increase from $94.9 million in 2020. [1] And the number of unique…
For Payment Processors: A Compliance Plan That Even Banks and Credit-Card Networks Will Love
Jul 24, 2020
For Payment Processors: A Compliance Plan That Even Banks and Credit-Card Networks Will Love
A little more than two years ago, the U.S. Supreme Court issued its decision in Murphy v. National Collegiate Athletic Association, striking down federal limits on the expansion of sports betting. Since then, a number of states have legalized sports betting—Colorado, Illinois, Indiana, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, and West Virginia, to name a few. Indeed,…
What About Gaming? The House Passes the SAFE Banking Act, Putting Cannabis Ahead of Regulated Gambling
Sep 26, 2019
What About Gaming? The House Passes the SAFE Banking Act, Putting Cannabis Ahead of Regulated Gambling
The inability to secure banking services has created enormous difficulties for state level, legal cannabis industries. Eleven states and the District of Columbia have legalized the recreational use of marijuana, and a majority of states also have legal medical marijuana programs. Nonetheless, “marihuana” remains a Schedule I controlled substance under the Controlled Substances Act and its…
A Bank is a Bank
Aug 15, 2016
A Bank is a Bank
Do you remember when I wrote about how a federal district court had ruled that an online poker account was akin to a bank account and should therefore be subject to FBAR reporting? It seemed nonsense to me at the time—and I also worried about whether the court’s expanded definition of a “financial institution” would…
Why Virtual Gold Can’t Buy Plaintiffs Happiness
Nov 10, 2015
Why Virtual Gold Can’t Buy Plaintiffs Happiness
A federal court has soundly rejected a plaintiff’s contention that she suffered any real-world harm based on in-game losses of virtual currency. In Mason v. Machine Zone, Inc., plaintiff Mia Mason alleged that she was a regular player of a free-to-play mobile game called Game of War (GoW): Fire Age. GoW is a multiplayer online…
