Lewis Cohen

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Lewis Cohen

Lewis Cohen

@NYcryptolawyer

Living on reds, vitamin C and blockchain (but not animals 🌱). Speaks only for self. A tweet does not legal advice or an endorsement make. @CahillNXT

New York, NY Katılım Eylül 2017
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Lewis Cohen
Lewis Cohen@NYcryptolawyer·
1/ Yesterday’s bipartisan vote on the Clarity Act was a historic step forward. But digesting 309 pages of technical legislation – how’s that going to work!? To help everyone dig in, we developed in interactive map of Title 1: static.cahill.com/cahillnxt-clar…. Come play!
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Adam Sternbach
Adam Sternbach@adamsternbach·
Crypto industry better not miss when it comes to filling the 7 of 10 open seats at the SEC and CFTC. Call it CLARITY insurance.
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Senator Cynthia Lummis
Senator Cynthia Lummis@SenLummis·
America built the dollar-dominated financial system that has anchored global stability for a century. The Clarity Act ensures we build the next one. The time to act is now — before Beijing decides it will.
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Senator Cynthia Lummis
Senator Cynthia Lummis@SenLummis·
If the United States doesn't establish the global standard for digital asset regulation, someone else will. China is not waiting. The Clarity Act is how America leads — and how we ensure our adversaries don't write the rules of the next financial era.
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Ji Kim
Ji Kim@_jikim·
Debate is healthy, but the facts on CLARITY aren’t debatable.   1 - On rewards: Section 404 addresses banks’ purported concerns by barring any digital asset service provider or their affiliate from paying rewards in a manner that is economically or functionally equivalent to the payment of yield on a bank deposit and more (e.g., captures direct and indirect arrangements, includes strict anti-evasion language and civil penalties, etc.). Crypto gave many real concessions here.  2 - On AML/BSA:  CLARITY bolsters law enforcement’s authority / capacity to target bad actors and CIF with clear obligations for digital asset companies, coordinated info-sharing mechanisms, protections that close regulatory gaps, increased funding for FinCEN, and much more (see, e.g., sections 201-206, 301-313, 507, 508, 801, 903, etc.).  3 - On benefits to banks: CLARITY ensures banks may engage in a broad range of activities, including providing digital asset custodial services, operating a node, making loans collateralized by digital assets, providing self-custodial wallet software, and more (see § 401).  4 - On benefits to Americans: Crypto represents ~$3 trillion global market cap, but currently 88% of global trading volume occurs on non-U.S. exchanges and only 19% of crypto developers are located in the U.S. CLARITY will bring all this onshore, under U.S. regulatory oversight. CLARITY has benefits that extend far beyond any one company or constituency. This is a bill for ALL Americans, including banks. CLARITY awaits. The time is now.
Eleanor Terrett@EleanorTerrett

🚨NEW: JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon took aim at the Senate's crypto market structure bill today, arguing it "doesn't do anything for AML/BSA" and provides "almost no legal protections." When asked for comment, a spokesperson for @SenLummis told me: "The banks can’t deal with a bipartisan compromise on stablecoin yield and are making completely false claims about BSA/AML as a last ditch attempt to poke holes in a solid piece of legislation that protects consumers. Fear of competition always brings out an interesting side of people and that’s all this is.”

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miles jennings
miles jennings@milesjennings·
This is how US capital markets win—support for innovative products while ensuring investors are protected. Working with markets, rather than against them. Well done.
Mike Selig@ChairmanSelig

In my first public remarks as @CFTC Chairman, I made clear that the agency would use the tools at its disposal to onshore crypto asset perpetuals. Today, the @CFTC delivered on that commitment. This morning, the @CFTC took historic action to permit the listing of a true bitcoin perpetual contract by a CFTC-registered exchange, charting a path for one of the most liquid segments of the crypto asset markets to exist within the US regulatory framework.

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Lewis Cohen
Lewis Cohen@NYcryptolawyer·
Agreed that there are gray areas. Not sure how much of a need there will be for extensive litigation. I have confidence that the current SEC can write thoughtful guidance that addresses much of what simply doesn’t belong in a statute. When you consider the alternative – which is no rules at all and the likelihood of a huge (and completely unnecessary) rollback in the next Congress, I like where we’re sitting.
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Mohammad
Mohammad@makhavannik·
@JacobRobinsonJD @NYcryptolawyer Hoping for a black and white test or broad safe harbor is wishful (but ideal from issuer POV). There's too much nuance involved. It's obvious though there are going to be MANY edge cases where the determination can only come from a lengthy and expensive litigation.
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Jacob Robinson
Jacob Robinson@JacobRobinsonJD·
The latest version of the CLARITY Act includes a connective tissue between a non-security (think: network token) and the transaction within which its sold. @NYcryptolawyer explains why it got that right. " What the SEC is missing is a tool in its toolbox that CLARITY adds, which is, 'okay, so something that's not a security is sold in a securities transaction.'" "What happens next? The Howey case law really does not address the what happens next."
Jacob Robinson@JacobRobinsonJD

What is the CLARITY Act? How does it protect the 70 million Americans who hold crypto? What does it change about how projects operate? This @LawofCodeFM podcast explains the history of U.S. digital asset regulation, why regulation-by-enforcement failed and what CLARITY solves, plus remaining steps for this to become law. Featured: @NYcryptolawyer, @milesjennings, @SH_Brennan, @KyleBligen, @millercwl, Dugan Bliss and snippets from @BillHughesDC, @thatgerald. By the end of this episode, I promise you'll be in the 99th percentile for understanding the CLARITY Act, regardless of whether you're a lawyer, builder or operator. Timestamps: 0:00 Intro 4:46 Explaining market structure 6:05 @milesjennings on regulatory distortion 10:43 Predecessor bills (RFIA, FIT21) 13:35 Senate Banking markup takeaways @millercwl 15:46 SEC & CFTC 20:37 The Securities Act of 1933 23:07 The Howey Test 25:26 @NYcryptolawyer's Ineluctable Modality of Securities Law 28:51 SEC enforcement 32:32 Why SEC rulemaking isn't enough 37:36 Titles of CLARITY 40:00 Digital commodities 47:29 Howey principles @NYcryptolawyer 54:10 Promoters: originators 58:18 Promoters: related persons 1:04:13 Token taxonomy @milesjennings 1:11:02 Ancillary asset requirements 1:19:34 The certification process 1:28:32 Remaining hurdles for CLARITY 1:34:50 Stablecoin yield 1:38:45 Ethics @KyleBligen 1:45:50 Tax consequences @CryptoTaxGuyETH 1:48:54 Thanking people working on the bill, such as @SenLummis, @gillibrandny, @SenatorTimScott, @SenatorHagerty, @SenThomTillis, @MarkWarner, @SenRubenGallego, f , their staffs & many, many others. Nothing in this podcast is legal or investment advice.

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Patrick Witt
Patrick Witt@patrickjwitt·
This is an odd clip. I find it hard to believe that the CEO of a major BBB could be this uninformed about a major piece of financial legislation. The Clarity Act “doesn’t do anything for AML/BSA.” Really? Have you read Titles II or III? “It allows them to effectively pay interest on deposits.” False. Section 404 explicitly prohibits digital asset companies from paying any form of interest or yield on a stablecoin balance in a manner that is “economically or functionally equivalent to the payment of interest or yield on an interest-bearing bank deposit.” It is becoming increasingly clear that bank opposition to the Clarity Act is more about personality than policy.
Bitcoin.com News@BitcoinNews

🏦 JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon warns stablecoins could become a "huge problem" and says he is not happy with the Clarity Act. 🎙️ When asked about Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong representing the industry, Dimon said, "He's full of sh!t."

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Lewis Cohen
Lewis Cohen@NYcryptolawyer·
@makhavannik @JacobRobinsonJD This is a fair point! It’s actually not that complicated when the framework is explained, but there is a learning curve, no question. More to come on that.
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Mohammad
Mohammad@makhavannik·
@JacobRobinsonJD @NYcryptolawyer I was kinda hoping that with the new admin we would have an entirely new AND simpler way to think about tokens. The flowchart is getting more and more complicated though.
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Lewis Cohen
Lewis Cohen@NYcryptolawyer·
💯💯💯
Eleanor Terrett@EleanorTerrett

🚨NEW: JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon took aim at the Senate's crypto market structure bill today, arguing it "doesn't do anything for AML/BSA" and provides "almost no legal protections." When asked for comment, a spokesperson for @SenLummis told me: "The banks can’t deal with a bipartisan compromise on stablecoin yield and are making completely false claims about BSA/AML as a last ditch attempt to poke holes in a solid piece of legislation that protects consumers. Fear of competition always brings out an interesting side of people and that’s all this is.”

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Lewis Cohen
Lewis Cohen@NYcryptolawyer·
@SenLummis could not make things more clear: If we want to ensure a future for demonstrably neutral distributed ledger-based systems in the US, the Clarity Act needs to pass … now. This summer. Not this fall, not next spring and most certainly not in 2030.
Senator Cynthia Lummis@SenLummis

The next window for digital asset legislation after this Congress is likely 2030. Until then, developers remain exposed with no legal protections, and law enforcement remains without the tools to hold bad actors accountable. The Clarity Act solves both.

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Amanda Tuminelli
Amanda Tuminelli@amandatums·
Hard to pick only a few favorite lines from this speech on privacy and technology by @HesterPeirce but these feel particularly relevant: “Too often, though, the discourse in [D.C.] about privacy casts anyone who demands it in a negative light. I have watched in troubled amazement as the goal of facilitating government surveillance drives regulatory decisions and expectations about how products and services should be built. The legitimate needs of people for products that protect their privacy take a backseat. Empowering government to be able to identify, pursue, and punish the bad guys is important to the security of the nation and its people, but so too is empowering people to protect information about their lives, including their financial lives... I urge us as a society to view technologies as an opportunity to increase people’s ability to protect themselves from bad actors, not as an opportunity for the government to watch more of what its citizens do. These new technologies should be an opportunity for us to refocus government surveillance on bad actors and activities that are most likely to be nefarious and away from the everyday actions of innocent people.” sec.gov/newsroom/speec…
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Financial Services GOP
Financial Services GOP@FinancialCmte·
The House passed the CLARITY Act because America cannot afford to lead the world in innovation while lagging behind in rules. It delivers clear market structure, stronger consumer protections, and certainty for innovators — all while keeping jobs and investment here at home. Now it’s time to finish the job.
Paul Atkins@SECPaulSAtkins

For too long, the SEC was at odds with new technology and innovation, pushing entrepreneurs offshore. That era is over. Under President Trump’s leadership, and alongside colleagues across the Admin and Congress, we are delivering much needed clarity to digital asset markets.

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Taylor Barr
Taylor Barr@taylorjbarr·
The road to 60 votes is never easy. But it gets easier when Senators hear directly from the people they represent. Take three minutes to use @DigitalChamber’s simple advocacy tool and make your voice heard: tell your Senator to support clear rules for digital assets and keep innovation in America🇺🇸
The Digital Chamber@DigitalChamber

Congress is finally close to setting clear, common-sense rules for digital assets. The Clarity Act protects everyday users and ensures American innovation doesn't get pushed overseas. Don't let red tape crush innovation. Tell your Senator to vote YES: digitalchamber.org/clarity-act

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Senator Cynthia Lummis
Without the Clarity Act, if a digital asset exchange goes bankrupt, customers have no guaranteed right to their own assets. They join a creditor line w/ other Wall Street firms and expensive lawyers and hope for the best. This is a consumer protection failure Congress must fix.
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Lewis Cohen
Lewis Cohen@NYcryptolawyer·
Very important thread on privacy in our financial markets from @BillHughesDC. ⬇️⬇️⬇️
Bill Hughes 🦊@BillHughesDC

SEC Commissioner @HesterPeirce gave a short but pointed speech yesterday at a Georgetown Law conference on privacy-enhancing technologies. In short, she said the quiet part out loud (thankfully): regulators have spent too long treating privacy demands as suspicious, when in fact privacy-preserving financial technology protects people from bad actors at least as much as it shields them from shoulder-peering regulators. Privacy and investor protection, she argues, are not in conflict. The most interesting idea in the speech was that transfer agents currently must record the name and physical address of securities holders. She suggested giving transfer agents the flexibility to record instead that securities reside at a public blockchain address, which by design carries no personally identifiable information. That would eliminate a whole category of PII honeypots and reduce the data exposure risk that comes with holding tokenized securities today. And the idea certainly makes the MOAR REPORTING types shudder with disgust. For self-custody wallets, the implication is significant. It would remove one of the structural barriers to holding tokenized securities outside a custodial intermediary. It could give them another meaningful feature. For DeFi interfaces, the more directly relevant part of the speech was the invitation Peirce extended to builders: if you have technologies that can accomplish KYC and AML compliance objectives while minimizing PII collection and storage, she wants to hear from you through the Crypto Task Force. That is a real opening for the kind of portable, on-chain KYC attestation model that makes the most sense for non-custodial interfaces at scale, where collecting and warehousing underlying customer data is architecturally awkward and creates liability exposure the interface should not have. It is one commissioner's speech, and that commissioner is leaving (😢), but it is notable that a sitting SEC commissioner is actively reframing privacy-preserving wallet and interface design as a feature worth accommodating rather than a compliance gap worth closing. sec.gov/newsroom/speec…

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