On April 22, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission’s Division of Data, Division of Market Oversight and Division of Clearing and Risk (collectively, the Divisions) issued CFTC Letter No. 21-11, which (1) provides no-action relief to KalshiEX LLC (Kalshi), a designated contract market, and LedgerX, LLC (LedgerX), a derivatives clearing organization, from reporting to swap data repositories data for binary option transactions executed on or subject to the rules of Kalshi and cleared by LedgerX; and (2) exempts Kalshi and LedgerX from certain related recordkeeping requirements.
Continue Reading CFTC Issues Conditional Relief From Reporting Fully Collateralized Binary Option Data to Swap Data Repositories

On April 19, the Bank of England (BoE) and HM Treasury announced the joint creation of a Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) Taskforce to explore a potential UK CBDC. A CBDC would be a new form of digital money issued by the BoE and would exist alongside cash and bank deposits to be used by households and businesses.
Continue Reading UK Announces New Central Bank Digital Currency Taskforce

On October 21, the Division of Swap Dealer and Intermediary Oversight (DSIO) of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission issued an advisory to futures commission merchants (FCMs) regarding the holding of virtual currency in segregated accounts. The advisory, Letter No. 20-34, provides guidance to FCMs on how to hold and report certain deposited virtual currency from customers in connection with physically delivered futures contracts or swaps and how to maintain appropriate risk management programs concerning the acceptance of virtual currencies as customer funds.
Continue Reading CFTC Staff Issues Advisory on Virtual Currency for Futures Commission Merchants

Katten’s London affiliate office launched its weekly fireside chat on May 5 and each week has covered a wide range of interesting UK and EU financial services regulatory topics. We have received some fantastic feedback from clients on the podcast sessions and now present three key trends that firms should continue to consider in Q3

On July 20, HM Treasury published two separate consultation papers related to proposed reforms to the regulatory framework for the approval of financial promotions under the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (FSMA). While separate, the government recommends that they are read in conjunction with each other.
Continue Reading HM Treasury Consults on Reforms to Financial Promotion Approvals and Expanding Rules to Cover Cryptoasset Promotions

Katten hosts a weekly, 15-minute fireside chat podcast series on notable UK and European developments from the prior week’s Corporate & Financial Weekly Digest. This week, Neil Robson, Nathaniel Lalone and Carolyn Jackson explain the implications of a number of recent UK Government announcements regarding its proposals to make certain financial services regulatory

On March 24, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) issued final interpretive guidance regarding retail commodity transactions that involve digital assets. The interpretive guidance is designed to clarify the CFTC’s views on the “actual delivery” exception to Section 2(c)(2)(D) of the Commodity Exchange Act (CEA) for digital assets that serve as a medium of exchange (otherwise known as “virtual currencies”).
Continue Reading CFTC Issues Final Interpretive Guidance on Actual Delivery for Digital Assets

On March 12, the Bank of England (BoE) published a discussion paper on central bank digital currency (CBDC), focussing on its opportunities, challenges and design (the Paper). In conjunction with publishing this Paper, the BoE updated its CBDC webpage.
Continue Reading BOE Publishes Discussion Paper on Central Bank Digital Currency