2022 is here, and hopefully, it will be remembered as the year we put an end to Covid-19. Several industries are poised to complete the economic rebound or even boom. These are sectors that we at Cea Legal will be following closely: Blockchain, blockchain, blockchain! 2021 was an amazing year for the blockchain industry, as the business world better understood that the magnitude of this technology is much bigger than the pioneer, Bitcoin. Since the iconic sale of Beeple digital art...

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On Thursday the Russian Central Bank proposed a ban on the use and mining of cryptocurrencies in a bid to stave off increasing financial instability and safeguard monetary policy dominance. This comes just days after the Financial Conduct Authority in the UK announced it will be cracking down on the use of promotional ads and marketing strategies by cryptocurrency traders, fearing that consumers are being misled into undertaking risky investments they do not understand. This follows a move in December 2021...

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In December 2021, the White House issued the United States Strategy on Countering Corruption (the Strategy). The Strategy was issued pursuant to a June 3, 2021 National Security Study Memorandum on Establishing the Fight Against Corruption as a Core United States National Security Interest (the NSSM). Although the issue of corruption has been linked to national security in the past, the NSSM's pronouncement that the fight against corruption represents a "core" national security interest, and the investing of responsibility for...

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There was no respite in privacy and cyber law in December 2021, despite the holidays and COVID-19 case surge. Domestically, U.S. regulators stepped up their efforts, signaling their focus on privacy policies (FTC) and security incident notification (federal banking agencies); meanwhile Democratic senators urged the CFPB to take a more proactive stance with consumer reporting agencies. In U.S. litigation, Illinois' biometric statute (BIPA) continued to take center stage, as did FTC settlements with companies accused of deceptive practices related...

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On January 1, 2022, new EU rules on digital content and on the sale of goods entered into force. Two European directives, , Directive (EU) 2019/770 on certain aspects concerning contracts for the supply of digital content and digital services (L_2019136EN.01000101.xml (europa.eu)) and Directive (EU) 2019/771 on certain aspects concerning contracts for the sale of goods (L_2019136EN.01002801.xml (europa.eu)), are intended to harmonize key consumer contract law rules across the EU. Following a two-year transposition period during which the Member States had to implement the...

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In the course of 2021 there were several developments in EU tax law. This annual edition of EU Tax Alert provides an overview of those developments on both direct and indirect taxation. This annual edition of EU Tax Alert provides an overview of those developments, in which we highlight: Brexit & State Aid: The EU-UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement Brexit & Direct Taxation: The EU-UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement Council of the EU adopts new rules to strengthen administrative cooperation...

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Electrified cars are the same as the others in their appearance but in fact have very different characteristics. This is why you need specially dedicated tyres Are all tyres the same? Of course not. A sports car has different requirements from those of a city car; the former, for example, will need maximum grip during acceleration and braking, whereas the latter will need a greater level of comfort and a lower rolling resistance in order to reduce fuel consumption. And...

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Key insights Outsourced finance and accounting professionals help direct the financial processes that would typically be done by your own employees. One of the biggest advantages of outsourced support is customizing a high functioning team with additional knowledge and resources. A team with multiple layers and several sets of eyes looking at the numbers can enhance internal controls and reduce risk. Bringing in additional resources can help you transition through times of peak workload. It was a moment many business...

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Over the last fortnight, the European Commission has come under significant fire over its draft plans on classifying some nuclear and natural gas energy under its sustainable finance taxonomy. According to the draft proposal, which was shared with EU Member States in the dying hours of the last year, the Commission plans to classify both “transitional” green sources. The EU’s sustainable finance taxonomy sets out which products or industrial processes can be classified as sustainable, thus encouraging institutional and retail...

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