Blockchain Blawg

I almost titled this post, "An Open Love Letter to Rep. Darren Soto" but I thought that might be weird. I landed on [whatever it is] because it has recently occurred to me that there may be significant legislation around blockchain coming out of Congress this session. Rep. Soto (FL-09) has been one of blockchain's biggest champions on Capitol Hill and I expect that will continue to be the case. In anticipation of "big things blockin," I thought I'd revisit two blockchain bills that made it out of the House of Representatives during the last congressional session. Given the change in the make-up of the Senate, maybe we'll see them again. But maybe we won't need to see them again....? Stay tuned. The first of the two bills was the Blockchain Innovation Act. This legislation sought to have the Department of Commerce and Federal Trade Commission study the use of blockchain technology in commerce and assess its fraud and security risks and benefits. This ...

Happy New Year from the most consistently inconsistent blogger to ever have blogged! I've finally accepted myself for who and what I am in hope that I'll surprise myself by becoming inconsistently consistent. I'm trying to make 2021 "The year of execution" so *fingers crossed* we shall see. On to the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC)... Yesterday, the OCC announced (well, clarified) that banks are able to use distributed ledger technology (e.g., blockchain) to verify and store transactions and they are also able to transact stablecoins. Banks must continue to comply with the applicable laws and other sound banking practices, such as "Know Your Customer," anti-money laundering controls, and Office of Foreign Assets Control sanctions. However, the OCC recognizes the efficiency and security benefits associated with blockchain technology in banking. The regulator also recognizes the banking industry's track record of competently (mostly) de...