Former NYDFS Counsel Joins Perkins Coie Blockchain Practice
A former attorney for the New York State Department of Financial Services (NYDFS) involved with the development of the state’s BitLicense regulatory regime has been hired by international law firm Perkins Coie. Dana Syracuse, who joined the firm last week, is now senior counsel for Perkins Coie’s Technology Transactions and Privacy practice, based in New York. There, according to the firm, he will help spearhead its work in the blockchain and digital currency space. Syracuse will be working on both legal issues related to blockchain as well broader fintech, describing it to CoinDesk as an....
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Cryptocurrency and blockchain technology-based leading software company Ciphrex had added Bitcoin law expert Peter Townshend to its Board of Advisors, the company announced via a press release today. The addition of Peter Townshend, who is also a partner at the leading law firm Perkins Coie LLP, will immensely boost the software company's position as it sets up for the Series B round of financing. Ciphrex's co-founder and Chief Operations Officer Enrique Lombrozo said, "We are delighted to have Peter Townshend join the Ciphrex team as our legal advisor. He is an outstanding attorney who....
Former New York State Department of Financial Services (NYDFS) Regulator Dana Syracuse and Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Crypto-Currency Expert Vincent D'Agostino will be joining the regulatory compliance team of K2 Intelligence, a leading compliance and cyber defense company. These two senior executives have served at the forefront of banking law, virtual currency and cybersecurity regulation, and criminal cryptocurrency investigations. Syracuse served as the former Associate General Counsel of NYDFS and was appointed as the Managing Director and a member of K2 Intelligence's....
Editor’s Note: This article has been modified to correct some factual inaccuracies. ItBit is not governed by BitLicense, it operates in the state of New York under a trust charter. Following the path of his colleague Benjamin Lawsky, former New York Department of Financial Services general counsel Daniel Alter has moved into the private sector, joining itBit as the Bitcoin exchange’s general counsel. This former NYDFS regulator will also work as itBit’s Chief Compliance Officer. In these new positions, Alter will play an ‘active role’ in working with regulators as they seek to inform their....
In this article, George K Fogg at law firm Perkins Coie examines why bitcoins might be subject to security interests that reduce their value for owners, and if this can be resolved. Would you purchase a house if you had no information on its mortgages? That's comparable to what buyers of bitcoin do everyday: purchase bitcoin without any information about liens on their bitcoins. A lien is an interest in a borrower's property that serves as collateral to be used to pay off a lender, should the borrower default. If there are liens on bitcoins, the blockchain wouldn't provide that....
On Wednesday, August 14th, the first Virtual Currencies Compliance Conference will take place at the New York City Bar Association, hosted by the National Money Transmitters Association. The meeting will be chaired by Constance Choi, General Counsel of Payward Inc and a founding member of the Digital Asset Transfer Authority ("DATA"), a new self-regulatory body created by a number of major Bitcoin and digital asset-related businesses both in the United States and abroad. The meeting will have nine compliance experts speak in interactive sessions: former American Express Travelers Cheque....