(ii) The Working Group shall evaluate the potential creation and maintenance of a national digital asset stockpile and propose criteria for establishing such a stockpile, potentially derived from cryptocurrencies lawfully seized by the Federal Government through its law enforcement efforts. Within 60 days of the date of this order, each agency shall submit to the Chair recommendations with respect to whether each identified regulation, guidance document, order, or other item should be rescinded or modified, or, for items other than regulations, adopted in a regulation. (a) For the purpose of this order, the term “digital asset” refers to any digital representation of value that is recorded on a distributed ledger, including cryptocurrencies, digital tokens, and stablecoins. California Court of Appeal rejects suit against Curve founder Michael Egorov. On January 15, in a published opinion, the California Court of Appeal held that California courts lacked personal jurisdiction to resolve a case three crypto-focused investment firms brought against Michael Egorov, the founder of decentralized exchange Curve. The plaintiffs, ParaFi Opportunities LP, Framework Ventures, L.P, and 1kx LP, alleged that, in 2020, Egorov had solicited a combined investment of less than $1 million from the three firms, and “defrauded” them when he cancelled a fundraising round under the conditions of the investment documents.
At the same time, using that data could contravene privacy and undermine trust in CBDC. This trade-off differs by country depending on norms, legal and regulatory frameworks, and preferences. CBDC offers an opportunity to improve this trade-off in comparison to private digital payment systems, including through robust institutional arrangements and technological solutions. Due to the popularity of blockchain-based cryptocurrencies, the increasing digitalization of payments, and the constantly reducing role of cash in society, central banks have shown an increased interest in deploying central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) that could serve as a digital cash-equivalent. While most recent research on CBDCs focuses on blockchain technology, it is not clear that this choice of technology provides the optimal solution. In particular, the centralized trust model of a CBDC offers opportunities for different designs.
According to the press release, Ford solicited his investors through his website and social media promising annual returns of approximately 547 percent. In reality, Ford spent investor funds on himself and paying out earlier investors. (b) Except to the extent required by law, any ongoing plans or initiatives at any agency related to the creation of a CBDC within the jurisdiction of the United States shall be immediately terminated, and no further actions may be taken to develop or implement such plans or initiatives. (a) Except to the extent required by law, agencies are hereby prohibited from undertaking any action to establish, issue, or promote CBDCs within the jurisdiction of the United States or abroad. (d) The Secretary of the Treasury shall take all appropriate measures to ensure compliance with the policies set forth in this order. (b) The Secretary of the Treasury is directed to immediately revoke the Department of the Treasury’s “Framework for International Engagement on Digital Assets,” issued on July 7, 2022.
Further, Tai Mo Shan allegedly purchased large quantities of Terraform’s algorithmic stablecoin, UST, through an agreement with Terraform to artificially support UST’s “peg” to the value of a US dollar. Under the order, Tai Mo Shan agreed to pay $123 million in financial remedies, including more than $73 million in disgorgement and $36 million in civil penalties. President Donald Trump launches Solana-based “meme coin” on the Friday before inauguration.
It is possible to envisage the coexistence of fast payment systems, e-money, and CBDC in many payment landscapes across the world. In Coinbase v. Securities and Exchange Commission, the Third Circuit ordered the SEC on January 13, 2025, “to provide a more complete explanation” as to why it was denying Coinbase’s petition for rulemaking, clarifying how and when the federal securities laws apply to digital assets like cryptocurrencies and tokens. While most consumer payments are transacted using accounts connected to banks and credit unions, new payment mechanisms have emerged for consumer use. For example, the CFPB has previously published research on new forms of digital payments used in video gaming platforms. Some video game platforms have proprietary currencies that players can use to purchase and sell items and services. The CFPB has also conducted extensive research into the digital payment offerings of Big Tech companies and popular person-to-person payment apps.
(xii) As appropriate and consistent with applicable law, the Chair may invite the heads of other executive departments and agencies (agencies), or other senior officials within the Executive Office of the President, to attend meetings of the Working Group, based on the relevance of their expertise and responsibilities. DLA Piper is a global law firm operating through various separate and distinct legal entities. For further information about these entities and DLA Piper’s structure, please refer to the Legal Notices page of this website. In this alert we analyze the key elements of the regime, assessing its impact for the market and highlight the opportunities they will bring. On January 10, the DOJ announced that Travis Ford, CEO of Wolf Capital Crypto Trading LLC, had pleaded guilty to a Ponzi scheme through which he raised $9.4 million from approximately 2,800 investors.
On January 15, the US Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York announced that a US federal judge in New York ordered offshore crypto exchange BitMEX to pay a $100 million fine. According to recently unsealed charging documents, HDR Global Trading Limited (doing business as BitMEX) violated the Bank Secrecy Act (BSA) by failing to implement anti-money laundering (AML) and know-your-customer (KYC) programs for more than five years, despite soliciting orders from US customers. According to the judge’s order, BitMEX had claimed that it had withdrawn from the US in 2015 to avoid US regulations, but went on to service US customers as its “largest source” of business. BitMEX thus became a destination for individuals seeking to launder money and evade sanctions. The order follows a prior consent order in a civil enforcement action brought by CFTC and FinCEN.
On January 17, official social media accounts for then-President-elect Donald Trump announced that he was launching a “meme coin” on the Solana blockchain called $TRUMP. Less than 48 hours later, official social media accounts for First Lady Melania Trump announced a second meme coin $MELANIA. According to public reporting, the market capitalization of the $TRUMP meme coin exceeded $10 billion as of January 20.
