Cryptocurrencies
Course Description
The cryptocurrency market has grown from its commencement in 2008 to what is now a one-trillion-dollar worldwide market. While there is widespread (and, indeed, bipartisan) recognition that a federal statutory regulatory scheme must be passed by Congress to address the peculiarities of this market for enforcement purposes, not unexpectedly, no meaningful progress has been made on that front; nor is there likely to be progress for many years to come. In result, the market is being simultaneously—and often inconsistently—regulated by the SEC, treating crypto as a security; by the CFTC, treating crypto as a commodity; or both agencies, simultaneously attempting to take jurisdiction. In the absence of an accepted regulatory format, the Justice Department is subjecting the market to traditional federal statutory criminal law, e.g., seeking indictments and convictions under theories of fraud, market manipulation, and money laundering or conspiracies to commit such crimes. States are applying their own various enforcement approaches. International securities regulators have successfully promulgated regulatory guidance in the form of recommended statutory doctrines. Besides reviewing the intricate computer technology underpinning the cryptocurrency market, the student will be exposed to all pertinent regulatory approaches referenced above, as well as the manner in which the Justice Department has pursued market enforcement through traditional criminal prohibitions. Examination of state enforcement schemes and the EU’s regulatory regime will also be studied.
Current and Previous Instructors
Key to Codes in Course Descriptions
P: Prerequisite
C: Prerequisite or Concurrent Requirement
R: Recommended Prior or Concurrent Course
Currently Scheduled Sections
CRN: 23238
- Spring '25
- 3
- 108
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Tues: 12:00-1:25
Thurs: 12:00-1:25Day
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Michael Greenberger
- 11 openings. (Limit 25).
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509v
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Materials to be posted on Blackboard or distributed in class