What are your thoughts about the new Washington
money transmitter laws that affect virtual currency operators?
House Bill 0019 would exempt cryptocurrencies from the state's
money transmitter laws, which proved troublesome when Coinbase abandoned the state — much to the chagrin of many voters.
On the other hand, Bill 19 is entitled «Wyoming Money Transmitter Act - virtual currency exemption,» and it exempts cryptocurrencies from the state's
money transmitter laws.
New regulations that apply
money transmitter laws to cryptocurrency exchanges have gone into effect in the U.S. state of Washington.
In mid-2017, Washington passed a bill that applied
money transmitter laws to bitcoin exchanges.
By then, awareness of
money transmitter laws was growing within the Bitcoin community and a new attitude of caution was taking hold.
Brian's regulatory advisory work extends to insurance, banking and
money transmitter laws, the Dodd - Frank Act, the National Bank Act, the Bank Holding Company Act, the FDIA, the Insurance Holding Company System Regulatory Act, U.S. securities laws, the Basel 3 risk - based and leverage capital rules, NAIC's RBC rules, the Insurers Rehabilitation and Liquidation Act, BSA / AML and OFAC rules, federal and state privacy rules (including GLB restrictions), FCRA, EFTA and Regulation E, and Durbin / Regulation II.
For example, the U.S. Treasury Department's FInancial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN), as well as various states, issued guidance to help those aiming to convert U.S. dollars into virtual currency navigate
money transmitter laws.
Other states have sought to regulate virtual currency businesses through
their money transmitter laws.
New York State's DFS has rapidly responded to innovations by licensing technology based money transmitters under New York's
money transmitter law and virtual currency exchanges under New York's financial services law.
Not exact matches
The creators of the SAFT model argue that the SAFT approach is very beneficial for alleviating many securities, investor protection, consumer protection,
money transmitter, and tax
law and policy concerns.
The acquisition is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2015, subject to customary closing conditions, including Xoom stockholder approval, the expiration or early termination of the applicable pre-merger waiting period under US anti-trust
laws, and the receipt of certain consents relating to Xoom's
money transmitter licenses both in the US and overseas.
Be aware that «
money transmitters» are also highly regulated under each state's
laws, many of which require advance licensure; however, because state
money transmitting
laws are typically aimed at consumer protection rather than anti-
money laundering, we do not address the issue of state regulation here other than to note that there is no uniform licensing scheme across the 50 states.
«It just underscores that if you're building a company in this space, you need to take the Bank Secrecy Act and
money -
transmitter laws very seriously.»
As reported by CoinDesk last month, New Hampshire's HB 436 seeks to create a regulatory exception for persons «using transactions conducted in whole or in part in virtual currency» who may otherwise be considered
money transmitters under current
laws.
ACT / bill / Bitcoin / BTC / Clearing Banks / coinbase / Exchanges / Hawaii / Hawaiian lawmakers /
Law / medium of exchange / monetary instruments /
money transmission / Money Transmitter Act / N - Featured / Regulation / Regulations / reserves / SB3082 / Virtual Curre
money transmission /
Money Transmitter Act / N - Featured / Regulation / Regulations / reserves / SB3082 / Virtual Curre
Money Transmitter Act / N - Featured / Regulation / Regulations / reserves / SB3082 / Virtual Currencies
Two other bills that we reported on before made utility tokens exempt from securities
laws and made cryptocurrency exchanges exempt from the
Money Transmitter Act.
Federal and state
laws require people to be licensed as
money transmitters if they transmit funds from one person to another.
Because he was not licensed as a
money transmitter in his state or with the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, each transaction violated state and federal
law.
US lawmakers continue to wrestle with how to approach cryptocurrencies, as a federal judge says the likes of bitcoin can be treated as commodities by the CFTC, FinCEN says
money transmitter rules apply to ICOs, and Wyoming's state legislature clears a bill exempting some crypto assets from securities
laws.
The current Governor, Roy Cooper, signed HB 229 into
law July 12, 2017 which defines virtual currency traders as
money transmitters required to obtain a license and imposes additional insurance requirements on virtual currency
transmitters.
The organizers of Initial Coin Offerings in the United States may be required to comply with the
law on
money transmitters and report suspicious investor actions.
Back in the United States, the State of Wyoming, long a pro business state is becoming proactive in attracting crypto companies by passing a series of bills that not only exempt firms from property taxes (mining operations) but make utility tokens exempt from securities
laws and exchanges exempt from the Wyoming
Money Transmitter Act.
Naturally, the blockchain sector is particularly thrilled about bill H.B. 0070, insofar as it is positioned exempt all tokens issued on an open blockchain through the existing
money transmitter and securities
laws.
According to State Representative Tyler Lindholm, Bill 70 «exempts initial coin offering [ICO] tokens issued on an open blockchain from Wyoming's
money transmitter and securities
laws, as long as the token has not been marketed as an investment and is exchangeable for goods or services.»
Bitcoin exchanges could also be considered
money transmitters and be required to follow additional regulations under state
law.
This week a federal judge ruled that cryptocurrencies can be treated as commodities by the CFTC (Commodity Futures Trading Commission); Wyoming's state legislature cleared a bill exempting some crypto assets from securities
laws and FinCEN (the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network) said
money transmitter rules apply to ICOs.
Wyoming has been the most aggressive in passing blockchain - friendly legislation, passing five
laws: declaring that «utility tokens» would not be regulated under state securities
laws, exempting cryptocurrencies from property taxes, adjusting its
money transmitter regulation to accommodate cryptocurrency exchanges, allowing LLCs to register on a blockchain, and enabling the secretary of state to register companies on a blockchain.