Our comments in the new rulemaking will warn that the courts will not look favorably upon such an attempt to expand surveillance on Americans
Late last month the Treasury Department published a proposed regulation to define when a person in crypto qualifies as a “broker” under the tax code and therefore must collect personal...
New Tornado Cash indictments seem to run counter to FinCEN guidance
Our initial thoughts on a case that could potentially criminalize the publication of software code
Roman Storm and Roman Semenov have been indicted for, among other charges, conspiracy to operate an unlicensed money transmitting business. We don't have all the facts but at first blush...
Coin Center Suggestions to Address Uncertain Tax Treatment of Digital Assets
In Response to a Request for Feedback from Senate Finance Committee Chairman Ron Wyden and Finance Committee Ranking Member Mike Crapo
A direct download of this letter is available here. Dear Chairman Wyden and Ranking Member Crapo, Based in Washington, D.C., Coin Center is the leading non-profit research and advocacy center...
When does a sanction become a seizure? Lessons from the KindHearts case
Why Americans with funds locked in Tornado Cash smart contracts may have constitutional grounds to challenge in court.
While researching case law for our Tornado Cash challenge I came across a very interesting holding, KindHearts v. Geithner, that deals with the intersection of the Office of Foreign Assets...
The CANSEE Act is a messy, arbitrary, and unconstitutional approach to DeFi
It is effectively a ban on decentralized software development that cedes an innovative sector to the rest of the world
Yesterday Senators Reed, Rounds, Warner, and Romney introduced the Crypto-Asset National Security Enhancement (CANSEE) Act in the Senate. This bill comes as a surprise as it was apparently developed without...
A direct download of this comment is available here. To whom it may concern: Coin Center is an independent nonprofit research and advocacy center focused on the public policy issues...
How Congress should (and should not) approach DeFi
Prior restraint on merely publishing code is never the answer
Given that Congress is now considering cryptocurrency market structure legislation, we felt it was important to reiterate the distinction between activities by market actors that may be appropriately regulated, and...
The report misunderstands self custody, smart contracts, and other key elements relevant to AML policy
Yesterday the Treasury Department released a “DeFi Illicit Finance Risk Assessment.” While the report does not announce any new or changed policy, and correctly acknowledges the much larger illicit finance...
An overbroad attempt to ban crypto using these new powers would be open to a court challenge, but the law has worryingly narrow avenues for review
The RESTRICT Act, introduced by Senators Warner and Thune, aims to block or disrupt transactions and financial holdings involving foreign adversaries that pose risks to national security. Although the primary...
A Snapshot of the Current Questions and Unsettled Policy Related to Cryptocurrency Taxation
Tax issues range from general questions about how digital assets should be taxed to technical issues dealing with accounting practices and reporting obligations. Novel technological aspects of digital assets that...