Baker & Hostetler LLP (LexBlog Australia)

In this issue: • Reserve Bank of Australia and BIS Commence Efforts to Advance CBDCs• Acting Comptroller of the Currency and PCAOB Address Crypto Risks• Binance and Binance.US Face Inquiry from U.S. Senators• SEC and DOJ Continue Enforcement Actions Targeting Crypto Fraud Schemes• Bitcoin ATM Operators Arrested, Charged with Criminal Violations Reserve Bank of Australia...

In this issue:• DeFi, Stablecoin Products Launch; Bitcoin Network Spikes Due to NFTs• Major Global Stablecoin Issuer Tether Obtains Assurance Opinion• FASB Proposal Would Allow Fair-Value Accounting for Many Digital Assets• SEC Addresses Crypto IRAs; Australia Initiates Token-Mapping Project• BTC Ransomware Defendant Pleads; Report Details North Korea Crypto Activities DeFi, Stablecoin Products...

In this issue:• Firms Announce New Crypto Initiatives; Data Published on Crypto and NFT Use• Nonprofit Coin Center Files Lawsuit Challenging Crypto Provision of Tax Code• OpenSea and Chainlink Announce Network Transitions• SEC Investigates Stablecoins, Crypto Exchanges; DOJ Seizes Dark Market• Report Analyzes UST Collapse, Australia Reports Losses to Crypto Scams Firms Announce New Crypto...

In this issue: • Banks Expand Digital Asset Offerings, BIS Report Addresses CBDCs• Cryptocurrency Market Actors Publish Critiques of Recent SEC Proposal• OFAC Sanctions North Korean Crypto Hackers and Russian Crypto Miner• Law Enforcement in US, Australia Issue Warnings as DeFi Hacks Continue Banks Expand Digital Asset Offerings, BIS Report Addresses CBDCs By Keith R....

In this issue: • Banks Expand Digital Asset Offerings, BIS Report Addresses CBDCs• Cryptocurrency Market Actors Publish Critiques of Recent SEC Proposal• OFAC Sanctions North Korean Crypto Hackers and Russian Crypto Miner• Law Enforcement in US, Australia Issue Warnings as DeFi Hacks Continue Banks Expand Digital Asset Offerings, BIS Report Addresses CBDCs By Keith R....

In this issue: Investment Bank and Cryptocurrency Exchanges Expand Crypto Services From Australia to Africa, Cryptocurrency Sees Continued International Adoption ApeCoin Drops; Juno Holders Confiscate Funds; Polygon Integrates Simba Chain Congressmen Question SEC on Crypto; OECD and IRS Address Crypto Taxation Investment Bank and Cryptocurrency Exchanges Expand Crypto Services By Robert A....

• Traditional Financial Firms Integrate Crypto Services, CBDC Reports Published • Congressmen Advocate for Bitcoin Spot ETFs, Australia Issues Crypto ETP Regs • Sports Franchises and Music Platforms Continue to Embrace NFTs • Government Agencies Argue for Increased Oversight of Cryptocurrency Markets • DOJ Charges Cryptocurrency Hacker, Decentralized Exchange Hacked for $139M Traditional...

In this issue: • U.S. and Australia Explore Blockchain Solutions, Global Blockchain Survey Published • U.S. Cryptocurrency Debit Card Launches, Gaming Firm Announces Token Initiative • SEC and Industry Promote Regulatory Compliance Solutions for Blockchain Market • OSC Issues Report Finding QuadrigaCX Operated Like a Ponzi Scheme U.S. and Australia Explore Blockchain Solutions, Global Blockchain..

In this issue: • Blockchain Enterprise Applications Continue to Emerge Across Industries • Crypto Loyalty Rewards, Custody and Stablecoin Initiatives; Equity Swap on Blockchain • Anti-Money Laundering a Global Concern; Australia Releases Blockchain Road Map • Enforcement Agencies Prosecute Crypto Fraud Schemes and Dark Market Actors Blockchain Enterprise Applications Continue to Emerge Across...

Last week, Australia’s parliament passed a controversial act that will enable law enforcement and intelligence agencies to compel access to encrypted communications. In an explanatory memorandum, the Australian Parliament stated that the new act, the Telecommunications and Other Legislation Amendment (Assistance and Access) Act 2018, is intended to combat “the challenges posed by ubiquitous...

Australia Global Shipping Company Svitzer Announces First Data Breach Under Australian Data Breach Notification Laws • Global shipping company Svitzer has the dubious distinction of being the first company to provide notice under Australia’s new data breach notification law, notifying the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (the OAIC) and almost 500 Australian employees of...

On February 13, 2017, the Australian Senate passed a bill establishing a mandatory requirement to notify the Privacy Commissioner and affected individuals of “eligible” data breaches. The Privacy Amendment (Notifiable Data Breaches) Act 2016, which was passed by the House of Representatives the previous week, amends Australia’s Privacy Act 1988 and is slated to take...

Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO), a national research organization of Australia, recently filed a petition for certiorari with the Supreme Court. CSIRO presents the following question: Is the Federal Circuit’s promulgation of rigid legal rules to control the weight to be given by the trier of fact to evidence of patent infringement damages...

In 2015, several countries introduced new data privacy regulations and approved new data protection regulators. As the year draws to a close, Australia joins the list of countries advancing new data privacy legislation with the Australian government’s recent release of a draft bill amending its Privacy Act to implement a new security incident notification framework....

More than 50 years after the morning sickness drug Thalidomide was first released to the market, the drug’s British distributor announced on Monday, December 2nd that it has agreed to settle an Australian class action in the Victorian Supreme Court over birth defects linked to the drug.  The legal team representing the class claimed that Australia...