Crypto, Anti-Money Laundering & Compliance Issues

Cryptocurrencies are tearing up the financial and technological playbook with new projects breaking ground every day.  Despite recent fluctuations, the popularity of all things crypto continues to grow in leaps and bounds. Parallel to this astronomic growth is the mounting interest in a cryptocurrency regulatory framework to curb the potential for money-laundering and other crimes in this here-to-stay financial system. This week, Law, disrupted is tackling these very issues.  

In this episode of Law, disrupted, John Quinn is joined by Katie Lemire, Partner at Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan’s New York City office, and Ellen Zimiles, partner at Guidehouse, where she heads the Financial Services Advisory and Compliance practice.

Together they discuss issues surrounding the crypto industry’s legal and regulatory frameworks, diving into the role of financial regulators and institutions in the crypto realm. They speak to the historically mandated role of banks in preventing money-laundering and terrorist funding, and how crypto will operate successfully if required to do the same. They analyze compliance at both federal and state levels, with the New York state regulatory framework for cryptocurrency being a leading example for the other 49 states. 

They chew over the legal risks from a regulatory and compliance standpoint and finish by noting how regulators can keep up with crypto’s explosive growth, as well as highlighting the future of anti-money-laundering compliance tools.