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Fintech
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July 19, 2024
Evolve Bank Leaked 7.6M Customers' Private Info, Suit Says
Evolve Bank & Trust has been hit with a proposed class action in Tennessee federal court alleging it failed to adequately protect the personal information of 7.6 million individuals from a cyberattack and failed to conduct reasonable data security practices.
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July 19, 2024
Greenberg Traurig Adds Former SEC Regional Director In SF
A former regional director for the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's Salt Lake City office has left the public sector to join Greenberg Traurig LLP in San Francisco.
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July 19, 2024
Fed Fines Green Dot $44M Over Lax Compliance Program
The Federal Reserve Board on Friday fined prepaid debit card issuer Green Dot $44 million, accusing it of violating consumer protection law through several unfair and deceptive practices and maintaining a "deficient" consumer compliance risk management program.
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July 19, 2024
Galaxy's CryptoManufaktur Buy Boosts Assets To $3.3B
New York-based blockchain business Galaxy Digital Holdings Ltd. said Friday it has acquired blockchain node operator CryptoManufaktur LLC, with CryptoManufaktur's $1 billion in Ethereum assets under stake boosting Galaxy's total to $3.3 billion.
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July 19, 2024
Gemini, IRA Biz Settle Fraud Case Over $36M Crypto Hack
Cryptocurrency exchange Gemini Trust has struck a settlement deal in a suit alleging it cost customers of self-directed retirement and pension account provider IRA Financial Trust $36 million in crypto-assets in a cyberattack after misrepresenting its security capabilities, according to a filing in New York federal court.
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July 18, 2024
Bizlato Founder Avoids More Time For Illicit Crypto Deals
The founder of Bitzlato Ltd. on Thursday was spared further incarceration for using the cryptocurrency exchange to process what prosecutors say was over $700 million in criminal proceeds, the latest case among many where judges factor in the vile conditions at Brooklyn's notorious federal jail, the Metropolitan Detention Center, as a reason for leniency.
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July 18, 2024
Crypto Law Firm's SEC Challenge Met With Doubt At 9th Circ.
A Ninth Circuit panel appeared skeptical Thursday of a law firm's quest for a judgment that its use of the crypto asset ether doesn't offend securities laws, questioning whether the firm has shown it faces enough of a threat from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission to keep its case against the regulator alive.
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July 18, 2024
4 Men Cop To $2M 'Instant Deposit' Robinhood Fraud
Four men have pled guilty in New York federal court to being involved in a scheme to steal millions of dollars from trading firm Robinhood by exploiting a program that gave them access to cash advances.
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July 18, 2024
OCC's Hsu Calls For 'More Nuanced' Preemption Approach
The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency's acting chief has signaled plans for a potential shift in his agency's approach to federal preemption following a recent U.S. Supreme Court decision, calling for "more nuanced analysis" when evaluating the applicability of state laws to banks it oversees.
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July 18, 2024
Deals Rumor Mill: Google, StandardAero, Sony
Google parent Alphabet is nearing a $23 billion Wiz buy, PE firms circle StandardAero at a potential $10 billion price, and Sony backs away from Paramount after the Skydance deal. Law360 breaks down these and other notable deal rumors from the past week.
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July 18, 2024
CFPB Eyes Loan Treatment For 'Earned Wage' Cash Advances
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau moved Thursday to apply federal truth-in-lending requirements to the growing market for fintech cash advances, issuing a proposed rule that would classify many "earned wage access" products as consumer loans needing clear pricing disclosures.
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July 17, 2024
SEC's Peirce Calls For Rule Agenda Reset After Court Rulings
Hester Peirce, a member of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, called on the agency Wednesday to reconsider its rulemaking agenda given recent court rulings, saying it should "really think about hewing closely" to its statutory mandate, in comments made just weeks after the U.S. Supreme Court's decision to end Chevron deference.
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July 17, 2024
Many AI Patent Eligibility Issues Still Hazy After Guidance
The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office's new guidance on patent eligibility for inventions involving artificial intelligence provides some helpful details for patent applicants, but attorneys say it leaves unanswered questions that will likely require court decisions or legislation to sort out.
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July 17, 2024
Keep Consumer Protection Suit Against Bill Pay Co., FTC Says
Seattle-based online bill pay platform Doxo Inc. shouldn't be allowed to escape the Federal Trade Commission's claims that Doxo tricked consumers into using its services, the FTC has argued in a brief calling the company's dismissal bid a "jumble of arguments."
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July 17, 2024
CFTC Says Its Sanctions Spat Not Relevant To Gemini Case
The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission has pushed back against Gemini Trust Co.'s efforts to paint the regulator's defense of misconduct claims in one case as contradictory to its arguments in its enforcement action against the Winklevoss-owned crypto exchange, telling a federal court that the two matters have "no legal or factual bearing" on each other.
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July 17, 2024
Warburg Pincus Pours $100M Into Brazilian Fintech Biz
Brazilian banking software provider Matera on Wednesday revealed that it received a $100 million investment from private equity giant Warburg Pincus, which will be used to fund the fintech company's expansion into the North American market with a focus on growing its product development.
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July 17, 2024
Co. Seeks $17M Refund Of Celsius' Payments For Mining Site
The successor to Celsius' bitcoin mining operation alleged in a New York bankruptcy court it is owed over $17 million in refunds for payments that the cryptocurrency platform company made to another firm that promised to build a crypto farm in Texas and failed to satisfy the agreement.
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July 17, 2024
Grayscale Rival's False Ad Suit Won't Move To New Court
A Connecticut state judge on Wednesday denied Grayscale Investments LLC's request to transfer a competitor's unfair trade practices lawsuit from Bridgeport to the state court system's complex litigation docket, sustaining the plaintiff's objection that said the move would unduly delay a July 2025 trial without a valid reason.
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July 17, 2024
Judge Trims Sentence For Crypto Expert Who Aided N. Korea
A New York federal judge has cut seven months from the sentence of a computer expert convicted of furthering North Korean blockchain development in light of recently revised U.S. sentencing guidelines.
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July 17, 2024
'Curious' CFPB Agenda Item Sparks Buzz Over Contract Rules
A mystery item tucked into the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's latest regulatory agenda is fueling speculation among attorneys that the agency may soon try to clamp down on some terms and conditions included in lenders' contractual agreements with consumer borrowers.
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July 17, 2024
Bruised SPAC Market Pins Revival Hopes On Veteran Backers
More special-purpose acquisition companies are conducting initial public offerings, mostly backed by dealmakers who have completed prior mergers, bringing life to a listings market that was largely barren over the past year.
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July 17, 2024
Robinhood's $9M Promo Text Suit Settlement Gets Final Nod
A Washington federal judge has awarded $2.2 million in attorney fees and granted final approval to a $9 million settlement resolving claims that stock-trading app Robinhood's referral program caused nonusers to receive unsolicited promotional texts, in violation of Evergreen State law.
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July 16, 2024
Green Dot Brass Hid Declining Biz And Fed Action, Suit Says
The top brass at prepaid debit card company Green Dot Corp. has been hit with a derivative shareholder suit, alleging they concealed the company's faltering core business and a proposed consent order from the Federal Reserve Board over internal controls while board members sold millions of dollars worth of shares at inflated prices.
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July 16, 2024
Banks Say 'Ambiguity' Hampers FDIC's Digital Signage Rules
Major banking trade groups have urged the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. to clarify its new rule on how banks should display digital branding about deposit insurance to online customers, saying their compliance efforts have been hampered by "significant ambiguity" in the rule.
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July 16, 2024
6th Circ. Says Credit Union Can't Sue T-Mobile Over Cell Scam
The Sixth Circuit on Tuesday ruled that a lower court was correct in tossing a lawsuit in which Michigan First Credit Union sued T-Mobile to recover the reimbursement fees the credit union paid to customers after they suffered unauthorized electronic transfers of money from their accounts due to cellphone scams.
Expert Analysis
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Series
Serving As A Sheriff's Deputy Made Me A Better Lawyer
Skills developed during my work as a reserve deputy — where there was a need to always be prepared, decisive and articulate — transferred to my practice as an intellectual property litigator, and my experience taught me that clients often appreciate and relate to the desire to participate in extracurricular activities, says Michael Friedland at Friedland Cianfrani.
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Opinion
The SEC Is Engaging In Regulation By Destruction
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's recent use of regulation by enforcement against digital assets indicates it's more interested in causing harm to crypto companies than providing guidance to the markets or protecting investors, says J.W. Verret at George Mason University.
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Series
NJ Banking Brief: All The Notable Legal Updates In Q1
Early 2024 developments in New Jersey financial regulations include new bills that propose regulating some cryptocurrency as securities and protecting banks that serve the cannabis industry, as well as the signing of a data privacy law that could change banks’ responsibility to vet vendors and borrowers, say attorneys at Chiesa Shahinian.
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Former Minn. Chief Justice Instructs On Writing Better Briefs
Former Minnesota Supreme Court Chief Justice Lorie Gildea, now at Greenberg Traurig, offers strategies on writing more effective appellate briefs from her time on the bench.
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ShapeShift Fine Epitomizes SEC's Crypto Policy, And Its Flaws
A recent U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission order imposing a fine on former cryptocurrency exchange ShapeShift for failing to register as a securities dealer showcases the SEC's regulation-by-enforcement approach, but the dissent by two commissioners raises valid concerns that the agency's embrace of ambiguity over clarity risks hampering the growth of the crypto economy, says Keith Blackman at Bracewell.
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Stay Interviews Are Key To Retaining Legal Talent
Even as the economy shifts and layoffs continue, law firms still want to retain their top attorneys, and so-called stay interviews — informal conversations with employees to identify potential issues before they lead to turnover — can be a crucial tool for improving retention and morale, say Tina Cohen Nicol and Kate Reder Sheikh at Major Lindsey.
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Overdraft Opt-In Practices Hold Risks For Banks
A recent Consumer Financial Protection Bureau action against Atlantic Union Bank regarding overdraft opt-in sales practices highlights compliance risks that financial institutions must be aware of, especially when enrolling customers by phone, says Kristen Larson at Ballard Spahr.
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How Experian, Apple Aid CFPB's 'Buy Now, Pay Later' Goals
Experian’s recent voluntary addition of Apple's “buy now, pay later” loans to consumer credit reports makes now a useful occasion to reflect on past Consumer Financial Protection Bureau calls for wider transparency around these products, and to analyze how its stated priorities for regulating them may shape coming bureau guidance and rules, says Tom Witherspoon at Stinson.
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Ready Or Not, Big Tech Should Expect CFPB Surveillance
In light of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's proposed plan to supervise large companies providing the vast majority of digital money transfers, not only will Big Tech have to prepare for regulation previously reserved for traditional banks, but the CFPB will also likely face some difficult decisions and obstacles, says Meredith Osborn at Arnold & Porter.
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Series
Spray Painting Makes Me A Better Lawyer
My experiences as an abstract spray paint artist have made me a better litigator, demonstrating — in more ways than one — how fluidity and flexibility are necessary parts of a successful legal practice, says Erick Sandlin at Bracewell.
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How New SEC Rule May Turn DeFi Participants Into 'Dealers'
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission recently announced a new rule to amend its definition of a securities "dealer," but the change could have concerning implications for decentralized finance and blockchain, as the SEC has suggested it may subject DeFi participants to registration requirements and other regulations, say attorneys at DLA Piper.
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Opinion
Judicial Independence Is Imperative This Election Year
As the next election nears, the judges involved in the upcoming trials against former President Donald Trump increasingly face political pressures and threats of violence — revealing the urgent need to safeguard judicial independence and uphold the rule of law, says Benes Aldana at the National Judicial College.
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How Harsher Penalties For AI Crimes May Work In Practice
With recent pronouncements from the U.S. Department of Justice that prosecutors may seek sentencing enhancements for crimes committed using artificial intelligence, defense counsel should understand how the sentencing guidelines and statutory factors will come into play, says Jennie VonCannon at Crowell & Moring.
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2nd Circ.'s Binance Locus Test Adds Risk For Blockchain Cos.
The Second Circuit’s recent use of the irrevocable liability test to rule a class action may proceed against decentralized crypto exchange Binance heightens the possibility that other blockchain-based businesses with domestic customers and digital infrastructure will find themselves subject to U.S. securities laws, say attorneys at Holland & Knight.
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Protested CFPB Supervisory Order Reveals Process, Priorities
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s order announcing its first use of special oversight power to place installment lender World Acceptance Corp. under supervision despite resistance from the company provides valuable insight into which products and practices may draw bureau scrutiny, and illuminates important nuances of the risk assessment procedures, say Josh Kotin and Michelle Rogers at Cooley.