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Ontario’s Working for Workers Five Act receives royal assent
On October 28, Bill 190, Working for Workers Five Act, 2024 received royal assent.
United States | Publication | March 2022
President Biden signed an "Executive Order on Ensuring Responsible Development of Digital Assets" on March 9, 2022, that tasked federal agencies with conducting a broad review of digital assets, including cryptocurrencies. The Order lays out a national policy for digital assets focused on six key priorities: (1) consumer and investor protection; (2) financial stability; (3) illicit finance; (4) US leadership in the global financial system and economic competitiveness; (5) financial inclusion; and (6) responsible innovation.
This Executive Order is the first truly coordinated approach that the federal government has sought to take to evaluate and regulate digital assets. It signals the executive branch's understanding that digital assets are here to stay in the financial system and that regulation must balance their utility and potential for innovation against the important and legitimate regulatory needs to protect the public, the financial system, and national security. Until now, federal agencies who have regulated the asset class have largely operated in silos, working independently of one another based on their respective legislative mandates. Some agencies have exercised authority over digital assets using existing regulatory frameworks, while others have left the asset class largely unregulated. Under the Executive Order, the Treasury, Commerce, State, and Justice departments, among other agencies, will be tasked with studying cryptocurrency markets and will have several months to conduct a review and prepare a public report with recommendations.
The Treasury and other agency partners will assess and develop policy recommendations to address the implications for consumers, investors, businesses, and equitable economic growth. Regulators are asked to ensure sufficient oversight and safeguard against any systemic financial risks.
The Financial Stability Oversight Council is asked to develop policy recommendations and address any regulatory gaps.
The Executive Order directs an unprecedented focus of coordinated action across all relevant US Government agencies and directs those agencies to work with our international allies and partners to ensure that frameworks and capabilities are aligned and responsive to risks. This is especially important for digital assets because of the ease and speed with which they cross borders.
The Department of Commerce will work with other agencies to establish a framework to drive US competitiveness, leadership in, and leverage of digital assets. As the US Dollar is viewed as the leading reserve currency around the world, this framework seeks to maintain that leadership.
This measure affirms the critical need for safe, affordable, and accessible financial services. The Secretary of the Treasury will work with relevant agencies to produce a report on the future of money and payment systems, which will include the extent to which technological innovation may influence the future of economic growth, financial growth and inclusion, and national security.
Agencies are asked to study and support technological advances of responsible digital asset systems that prioritize privacy, security, protect against and combat illicit exploitation and reduce negative climate impacts.
A CBDC is a digital form of a country's sovereign currency. The Federal Reserve is asked to continue its research, development, and assessment of a US CBDC and it prioritizes international experimentation while also assessing technological infrastructure and capacity needs. Working with international partners is also viewed as a crucial part of the development of systems and policies that are aligned around the globe.
Overall, while the Executive Order signals an acceptance of digital currency and appears to foster innovation, at the same time clients need to be extra diligent regarding compliance and controls in this area as US enforcement agencies will be watching closely.
Thanks to Paul Guirguis, a law clerk in the corporate group of the firm's New York office, for his assistance in drafting this post.
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Publication
On October 28, Bill 190, Working for Workers Five Act, 2024 received royal assent.
Publication
The Federal Court of Appeal’s 2023 decision in Canada (Attorney General) v Benjamin Moore & Co [Benjamin Moore FCA] overturned the Federal Court’s decision in Benjamin Moore & Co. v. Canada (Attorney General) [Benjamin Moore FC] that had previously established a new test for patentable subject matter in computer-implemented inventions.
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