In recent regulatory news, the United States Office of Government Ethics has issued a document advising employees of the U.S. executive branch to disclose their cryptocurrency holdings. In other news, Bank of Korea has rejected the notion of central bank-issued digital currencies, Crypto Finance AG has received licensing from the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority (FINMA), and France is expected to develop a framework for regulating initial coin offerings (ICOs) by 2019.
Also Read: Financial Services Provider Square Acquires New York Bitlicense
U.S. Office of Government Ethics Advises Employees of Executive Branch to Disclose Crypto Holdings
The United States Office of Government Ethics has published a legal advisory that requires all employees of the U.S. executive branch to disclose their virtual currency holdings.
The advisory states that “U.S. Office of Government Ethics (OGE) has determined that virtual currency is ‘property held . . . for investment or the production of income’ for purposes of public and confidential financial disclosure, pursuant to the Ethics in Government Act. […] Executive branch employees are therefore required to report their holdings of virtual currency on their public or confidential financial disclosure report, subject to applicable reporting thresholds for property held for investment or the production of income.”
The advisory also makes note of potential conflicts of interest that may arise through government employees owning crypto assets, stating, “Virtual currency is an investment asset and, like other property held for investment, it may create a conflict of interest for employees who own it. Furthermore, it is not subject to the conflict of interest exemptions in 5 C.F.R. part 2640. Agency ethics officials should, therefore, analyze whether their employees’ official duties would have an effect on the value of their virtual currency, just as they would any other
