FINRA Is Conducting a Targeted Exam of “Crypto Assets”

Riding the coattails of recent news, FINRA announced on November 14^th that it is conducting a targeted exam of firm practices regarding retail communications concerning “Crypto Asset” products and services.

For the purposes of this exam, FINRA defines “Crypto Asset” as an “asset that is issued or transferred using distributed ledger or blockchain technology, including, but not limited to, so-called ‘virtual currencies,’ ‘coins,’ and ‘tokens.’” FINRA expressly states that a Crypto Asset “may or may not meet the definition of a ‘security’ under the federal securities laws,” although it does exclude securities registered under the Securities Act and transferred through the system of a registered clearing agency.

The exam has a broad range of requests for the period between July 1 through September 30, 2022. The requests include: