This was previously posted in the Columbia Law School Blue Sky Blog | Though a bit provocative, this headline raises a liminal question on the various projects of Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDBs): Which  governance will apply to them? Or as Juvenal, the poet in ancient Rome, famously asked, “Who will guard the guards themselves?” What Is a Central Bank Digital Currency? A CBDC is the digital form of a country’s fiat currency and, like traditional currency, represents a claim on that...

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On May 12, 2021, President Biden signed a landmark Executive Order to improve and modernize the federal government’s cybersecurity infrastructure. The Executive Order comes in the wake of numerous cyber incidents targeting the United States, including the so-called SolarWinds, Microsoft Exchange, and Colonial Pipeline incidents. The Executive Order will directly affect government contractors, including companies that sell software to the government or provide IT services. More broadly, but less directly, the Executive Order is likely to influence the informal, and eventually...

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Disruptionware is an emerging type of cyberattack calculated not only to disrupt the availability, integrity and confidentiality of victims’ data, systems and networks, but also to interrupt or shut down the essential business operations functions of its victims. More destructive than traditional malware and ransomware attacks which typically only target a victim’s systems and networks, disruptionware attacks target both the “information technology” (IT) and “operational technology” (OT) networks of its victims. In other words, disruptionware attacks target victims’ physical...

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Over the past year, employers have had to grapple with seismic social, cultural, and political developments impacting profoundly how they do business. From a worldwide pandemic severely affecting global communities, markets and workplaces, to the murder of George Floyd catapulting racial and social justice issues to international prominence, to a tumultuous presidential election and its resulting fallout, to the brutal attacks on the Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) community, there has been a fundamental shift in how employers...

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The EIB spearheads market developments in the digitalisation of capital markets The EUR 100m 2-year bond, placed with key market investors, represents the market’s first multi‑dealer led, primary issuance of digitally native tokens using public blockchain technology Project selected by Banque de France as part of its Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) sphere Similar to the EIB’s role in green bonds or risk free rates, the new digital bond issuance may pave the way for market players to...

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On May 12, the SEC Division of Investment Management staff (IM staff) issued a statement regarding registered funds’ investments in Bitcoin futures (Statement). The Statement acknowledges the development of the Bitcoin futures market since the IM staff began to consider issues surrounding potential cryptocurrency-related investments by registered funds in 2018. In the Statement, the IM staff referred to its January 2018  letter to the registered fund industry in which it identified several areas of concern about cryptocurrency-related investments, including valuation, liquidity, custody,...

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Real estate investment deserves its reputation as a lucrative source of income, but investors must always be aware of the constant changes to the laws on taxes related to real estate properties, since these rules change frequently, with the numbers and percentages changing from one year to the next. No two years are alike as far as real estate investing goes, but this year, the Biden administration has proposed major changes to sections of the Internal Revenue Code that...

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The traditional model of a family office setting up in a bricks and mortar space and hiring the right professionals to work and subsequently assemble with family members several times of year, where they would plan and talk strategy, are but a distant memory.  For many this movement to an online world has been uncomfortable, but others, especially the newest generation of family members, have embraced it whole heartedly. Change is never easy and moving rapidly to an online world meant that...

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As the European Commission prepares to adopt its landmark “Fit for 55” climate and energy package in July, carbon permits under the EU’s Emissions Trading System have, this week, reached the highest level since their introduction in 2005.  Since 2005, the Emissions Trading System (ETS) has been the cornerstone of the EU’s fight against climate change inducing greenhouse gas emissions. According to the European Commission, the ETS is the “world’s first major carbon market and remains the biggest one” to...

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