The Biden Administration has recently stressed the importance of cybersecurity through certain requirements on companies that are critical to national interests. (Alan Suderman and Eric Tucker, Associated Press). For example, on March 15, 2022, President Biden signed into law the Cyber Incident Reporting for Critical Infrastructure Act, which aims to combat against a recent breach on U.S. fuel pipeline and to alleviate the concern that Russia’s invasion into Ukraine may increase risk to U.S. infrastructure. (Gibson Dunn). However, this Administration is not alone in its focus on cybersecurity issues. Given the security risks that have arisen from a heavy shift to working from home, these concerns have become more widespread. (Perkins Coie). These feelings likely stem from the evolving technology that allow “cyberpunks” and hackers to breach company infrastructure. Id Following the trend toward more security, the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) has proposed new cybersecurity rules on a number of different types of investment companies (“Funds”) and investment advisers in an attempt to address and the fight against these types of cyber threats. (Id.; Rachael Schwartz, JD Supra; Federal Registrar)….
Read MoreThe year 2021 proved to be a significant year for cryptocurrency (“crypto”). (Nikita Prasad, NDTV). With El Salvador becoming the first country to use Bitcoin as their legal currency and Tesla, Inc.––one of the world’s most valuable companies––accepting Bitcoin as payment, public interest and the potential for general mainstream acceptance have grown exponentially. Id. This increase in popularity has unsurprisingly exposed crypto to the focus of the Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) because of the present need for tax dollars and governmental spending. (Alex Gailey & Kendall Little, Time; Robert W. Wood, Forbes). . .
Read MoreDue to the growing obsession with decentralized finance (“DeFi”) and tighter governmental regulation over cryptocurrency products, Decentralized Autonomous Organizations (“DAOs”) have emerged as a novel attraction. (Joon Kim & Daniel Forester, Bloomberg Law; Cathy Hackl, Forbes). DAOs are run autonomously and give individuals a safe and effective way to work with like-minded people around the world. (Cathy Hackl, Forbes; Ethereum). A DAO’s control and governance functions are distributed horizontally across its members, which eliminates the need for a central authority and thus makes them attractive to DeFi enthusiasts. . .
Read More