In today’s rapidly evolving digital landscape and expanded threat landscape, financial institutions feel at war and are under increasing pressure to balance innovation, data privacy, and regulatory demands. AI is accelerating that complexity, reshaping how organizations manage sensitive information and comply with a rapidly shifting legal environment.
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.
Federal banking regulators previewed near-term rulemaking plans that will shape the fintech landscape. The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) expects to issue a stablecoin licensing proposal “before the end of the year,” and the FDIC reiterated that “a deposit is a deposit” even when tokenized. Separately, the Federal Reserve is targeting the fourth quarter of 2026 for operational rollout of “skinny” master accounts to widen access to payment rails for eligible depository institutions.
On November 10, 2025, the IRS issued Rev. Proc. 2025-31 (the Rev Proc.), which provides a safe harbor for investment trusts and grantor trusts to stake certain digital assets without jeopardizing their status as trusts for U.S. federal income tax purposes. The Rev. Proc. comes in response to the White House’s request made in July 2025 for published guidance on this topic.[1]
Thursday, November 6 • 8:30 a.m. – 3:30 p.m. ET
Troutman Pepper Locke is proud to sponsor the Community Bankers Association of Georgia’ 2025 Tech Talk – North conference, being held on November 6 in Atlanta, Georgia. James Stevens, co-leader of Troutman Pepper Locke’s Financial Services Industry Group, will be presenting on Regulatory
James Stevens, co-leader of Troutman Pepper Locke’s Financial Services Industry Group, was quoted in the October 21, 2025 Payments Dive article, “Fiserv, Block Turn to Crypto.”
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
The digital asset landscape took a leap forward this summer when the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit confirmed[1] that nonfungible tokens (NFTs) qualify for trademark protection under the Lanham Act.[2] This decision, centered on the Bored Ape Yacht Club’s collection of 10,000 distinctive digital ape NFTs, signals a new era for both intellectual property and secured lending.
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.
Wednesday, October 8 • 8:00 a.m. – 4:15 p.m. ET
Register Here
James Stevens, co-leader of Troutman Pepper Locke’s Financial Services Industry Group, will be presenting at the Banking Beyond Boundaries: Fintech and Financial Innovation Conference, hosted by the Bank of North Dakota, on Wednesday, October 8. James will be speaking on a panel discussing