Amanda Tuminelli

@atuminelli

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400 Followers

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Daniel Barabander

I’m biased but this is an excellent read, in tune to tech and law. My favorite :).

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Daniel Barabander

There is no law more existential for crypto projects than § 1960, which makes it a crime to operate an “unlicensed money transmitting business.” § 1960 is front and center in the Tornado Cash case, where a court held in September that Roman Storm could violate the statute even without control over user funds. Today, @atuminelli, @jchervinsky, and I published the most detailed analysis I’m aware of on how to interpret the statute in The International Academy of Financial Crime Litigators. Our core finding: § 1960 requires control, so the Tornado Cash court got it wrong. Check out the article here: https://edit.financialcrimelitigators.org/api/assets/cd682a1c-1cb0-4c99-a491-ac6155f4bdc2.pdf.

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Amanda Tuminelli

5/ This paper is just the beginning. We plan to work with others who care deeply about this issue to move Congress to amend Section 1960 so that it cannot be misused to target digital asset industry participants who were never meant to be defined as “money transmitting businesses.” If you care about this issue, we hope you will work with us and support our efforts. I am grateful to work with brilliant lawyers in this space. Thank you to my co-authors, @millercwl, and our friends at Arktouros for their intelligent contributions, patience with many rants, and sharing passion about this subject.

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Amanda Tuminelli

4/ Section 1960 is at the heart of the criminal prosecutions against the devs of Tornado Cash and Samurai Wallet, and an untold number of developers subject to confidential DOJ investigations. We use the Roman Storm case as a study throughout this paper to explain how a self-custodial protocol that never takes control over user funds is not a “money transmitting business.” So why does this matter? Because a badly-written statute = far too much room for the DOJ to use “prosecutorial discretion” to interpret the law ad hoc and go after projects that Congress never intended to include in the statute’s reach. The DOJ has many tools available to go after money laundering - Section 1956 is written expressly for that purpose - and it should rely on them to go after bad actors who are on notice that they are violating the law.

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Amanda Tuminelli

3/ Next, though it is often overlooked as a requirement, the government must also prove a defendant runs a “business” for the purpose of Section 1960. We argue that a “business” is characterized by three elements: 1) operation of a commercial enterprise established specifically for money transmission; 2) completion of multiple transmissions of money; and 3) receipt of a fee paid by a customer specifically for the service of money transmission. We also explore Section 1960’s mens rea requirement - “knowingly” - and argue that Supreme Court precedent dictates that the longstanding common law presumption of mens rea should apply and the government must prove that a defendant knew of the applicable obligations with which his business failed to comply in order to sustain a conviction under Section 1960(b)(1)(B).

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Amanda Tuminelli

2/ After reading every circuit course case interpreting the statute, we provide compelling legal support for the central thesis of our paper: an entity falls within the scope of Section 1960 only if it operates a business that engages in “money transmitting,” defined as “transferring funds on behalf of the public,” which *requires that the entity has control over the funds at issue.* We also explain the interplay between Section 1960 and the definition of “money transmitting business” found in the BSA, 31 U.S.C. § 5330. We conclude that although Section 1960 does not adopt the BSA definition, Section 5330’s definition is substantively similar and confirms that the plain language of “money transmitting” means the act of both obtaining control and relinquishing control of funds.

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Amanda Tuminelli

The most important issue currently facing the digital asset industry: the DOJ’s interpretation of Section 1960 - the criminal code provision punishing unlicensed “money transmitting businesses.” That is why I wrote this paper with @dbarabander and @jchervinsky explaining the issues inherent to Section 1960 and providing legal support for the *correct* interpretation: in order to be a “money transmitting business,” the business must have independent control over user funds. https://edit.financialcrimelitigators.org/api/assets/cd682a1c-1cb0-4c99-a491-ac6155f4bdc2.pdf

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DeFi Education Fund

In a paper published today in The International Academy of Financial Crime Litigators, DEF’s @atuminelli along with @jchervinsky & @dbarabander from @variant take a deep dive into the law on unlicensed money transmitting businesses, 8 U.S.C. § 1960, and argue that, based on an extensive review of the case law and statutory history, control over customer funds is necessary to define an entity as a “money transmitting business” - a business that “transfers funds on behalf of the public.” 🧵👇 https://www.defieducationfund.org/post/def-publishes-new-paper-in-in-the-international-academy-of-financial-crime-litigators

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DeFi Education Fund

🚨DEF Job Alert 🚨 DEF is looking to hire a Chief of Staff to provide strategic advice and support directly to our CEO, as well as serve as a resource and unifying force across the organization. If you are a seasoned professional, interested in getting involved in DeFi & DeFi policy, and want to work with an incredibly dedicated and talented group of individuals, then this is the opportunity for you. For more information on the role and instructions on how to apply, check out the job description at the link below. https://defieducationfund.org/_files/ugd/84ba66_62bc1043056049958e5407b2c57b08de.pdf

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Jake Chervinsky

The SEC spent years saying "tokens are securities." Then last month they took it back, pretended they didn't say it at all, and fake apologized for the confusion it caused. Sorry, but @atuminelli and I aren't buying it, so we told the truth 👇 https://blockworks.co/news/sec-wrong-about-crypto-asset-securities

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Amanda Tuminelli

It was an honor to advocate on behalf of DeFi developers and users in front of the House Financial Services Subcommittee on Digital Assets today. I was grateful to sit next to the extremely talented experts @rebecca-r, @valkenburgh and Brian Avello.

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Amanda Tuminelli

Today @fund-defi and @blockchainassn filed an amicus brief in support of a challenge to the SEC’s Consolidated Audit Trail (CAT), arguing that the CAT, especially when it pertains to the digital asset sector, “unacceptably undermines privacy and personal freedom.” ICYMI, the CAT is the largest database of securities txs ever created and will include personally identifiable information on every retail brokerage customer in the U.S. Given the SEC’s position that digital asset market participants are exchanges, brokers, and/or dealers, the SEC may force them to comply with CAT reporting requirements. The result, which we warn the court about, is that the CAT could connect personally identifiable user info with wallet addresses, providing the government with more tools to track user financial activity for all time. This info would then be at the disposal of the government, creating unprecedented privacy concerns. https://www.defieducationfund.org/_files/ugd/84ba66_38222aa7b44f4e7392f0b9b22bf82039.pdf

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Daniel Barabander

I’ve just posted my first quick reactions on the SEC’s lawsuit against Consensys: https://paragraph.xyz/@proofs-and-protocols/examining-sec-v-consensys. I go through the SEC’s allegations that Consensys, through MetaMask Swaps, acted as a broker and stack it up against the tech. I hope you enjoy.

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Amanda Tuminelli

Hope you all will join and bring questions related to all things policy and law.

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DeFi Education Fund

In a new opinion piece in @coindesk DEF's @atuminelli and @blockchainassn's @mtcoppel explore why the SEC's newly launched Consolidated Audit Trail represents another step toward making "massive unchecked government surveillance a reality." https://www.coindesk.com/opinion/2024/06/05/cryptos-latest-privacy-battle/

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Amanda Tuminelli

The SEC Consolidated Audit Trail will be the largest database of tx and user info in existence. It is particularly problematic for digital asset users. @mtcoppel and I wrote an op ed about why more people in crypto should be talking about it: https://www.coindesk.com/opinion/2024/06/05/cryptos-latest-privacy-battle/

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DeFi Education Fund

DEF's "State of the Union" has OFFICIALLY been rescheduled for June 11 at 2:30pm EST. We look forward to you joining us 🚀 https://x.com/i/spaces/1lDxLPpWayZxm

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Amanda Tuminelli

https://x.com/amandatums/status/1784293194684911650?s=46&t=YO0b1U63huDV__W5NJ3LQw

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Amanda Tuminelli

The DOJ's opposition to Roman Storm's motions to dismiss and suppress evidence in the Tornado Cash case is filled with technical inaccuracies, obvious disdain for privacy and emerging technology, and misapplication of the law. A few of the egregious statements in the 111-page brief in this thread 👇

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Jake Chervinsky

Huge credit to @iampaulgrewal and the @coinbase team for pioneering the strategy of a day one media blitz against the SEC upon receiving a Wells notice. This went against the conventional wisdom at the time, but now it's the playbook. If you get a Wells notice, light 'em up.

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