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Genna Garver

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Genna provides targeted, practical advice to investment advisers and their proprietary private investment funds. She represents institutional investors, funds of funds and family offices in connection with their private fund investments. Genna routinely advises clients on formation and offering matters for both domestic and offshore funds; SEC and state investment adviser, broker-dealer and private fund regulation; Investment Advisers Act compliance programs, annual reviews and ongoing compliance matters; and regulatory examinations and investigations.

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The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) has issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking aimed at clarifying the permissible activities of national trust banks. The proposal seeks to amend chartering regulations to explicitly state that national trust companies may engage in nonfiduciary activities, such as asset custody, without being required to obtain a full-service national bank charter. However, the proposed rule does not address what specific nonfiduciary activities are permissible, nor does it indicate whether a national trust company must engage in a minimum level of fiduciary activities.

On November 20, U.S. Senate Agriculture Committee Chairman John Boozman (R‑AR) and Senator Cory Booker (D‑NJ) released a new bipartisan discussion draft to create a federal spot‑market regime for “digital commodities” under the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). The proposal, which expands upon the CLARITY Act approved by the House in July, would give the CFTC exclusive jurisdiction over cash and spot trading in covered non‑security crypto tokens, establish registration frameworks for exchanges, brokers, and dealers, impose listing and public‑information standards, require qualified custody and strict segregation of customer assets, enhance retail protections, and clarify bankruptcy treatment of customer property.

Troutman Pepper Locke’s Securities Investigations + Enforcement Practice

Troutman Pepper Locke’s Securities Investigations and Enforcement team counsels and defends clients through all stages of securities enforcement proceedings. Our attorneys have served in key government agencies and regulatory bodies, and bring their insight to bear in each representation. The team includes a former branch chief of…

On September 30, 2025, the Office of the Chief Counsel of the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) Division of Investment Management (the Division) issued a no-action response (the No-Action Letter) stating that it would not recommend enforcement against registered investment advisers (RIAs) or certain regulated funds (i.e., registered investment companies and business development companies) for maintaining crypto assets and related cash and cash equivalents with certain state-chartered financial institutions (state trust companies) so long as particular conditions are met.[1] In doing so, the No-Action Letter permits regulated funds and RIAs to treat state trust companies as “banks” for purposes of the custody requirements of Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the 1940 Act), the Investment Advisers Act of 1940, as amended (the Advisers Act) and the rules thereunder.

On September 23, Acting Chairman of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) Caroline Pham announced the launch of an initiative focused on the use of tokenized collateral, including stablecoins, in derivatives markets. This initiative is part of the CFTC’s broader efforts to implement recommendations from the Report authored by the President’s Working Group on Digital Asset Markets.

On September 19, the U.S. Department of the Treasury issued an Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPRM) seeking public input on the implementation of the Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for U.S. Stablecoins (GENIUS) Act. This ANPRM builds upon the Request for Comment on Innovative Methods to Detect Illicit Activity Involving Digital Assets issued by Treasury on August 18, which remains open for comment until October 17, 2025.

On September 19, the U.S. Department of the Treasury issued an Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPRM) seeking public input on the implementation of the Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for U.S. Stablecoins (GENIUS) Act. This ANPRM builds upon the Request for Comment on Innovative Methods to Detect Illicit Activity Involving Digital Assets issued by Treasury on August 18, which remains open for comment until October 17, 2025.

On September 19, the U.S. Department of the Treasury issued an Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPRM) seeking public input on the implementation of the Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for U.S. Stablecoins (GENIUS) Act. This ANPRM builds upon the Request for Comment on Innovative Methods to Detect Illicit Activity Involving Digital Assets issued by Treasury on August 18, which remains open for comment until October 17, 2025.

The Report authored by the Presidential Working Group on Digital Assets Markets (PWG), titled “Strengthening American Leadership in Digital Financial Technology,” along with the accompanying fact sheet, outlines several key objectives aimed at positioning the U.S. as a leader in digital asset markets. Among its objectives are reinforcing the role of the U.S. dollar, modernizing Anti-Money Laundering/Countering the Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) rules for the digital assets ecosystem, and ensuring fairness and predictability by establishing clear regulatory oversight.

In this episode of The Crypto Exchange, hosts Ethan Ostroff and Genna Garver are joined by their colleague Pete Jeydel to explore the implications of the GENIUS Act on sanctions, anti-money laundering (AML), and efforts to combat the financing of terrorism within the stablecoin sector. The discussion focuses on the act’s goal to create a regulated ecosystem for payment stablecoin issuers, known as PPSIs, by transitioning offshore activities to U.S. jurisdiction. This strategic shift is anticipated to strengthen the government’s capacity to enforce AML and sanctions compliance.