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ARTICLE · 22 SEPTEMBER 2022

California Moves To Regulate Digital Asset Exchanges And Cryptocurrency Companies

Jones Day
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On August 30, 2022, the California State Legislature passed (and Governor Newsom is expected to sign into law) a "Digital Financial Assets Law," which will impose licensing requirements on digital asset companies and cryptocurrency exchanges beginning January 1, 2025.

United StatesTechnology
Nathan Brownback
Nathan Brownback
Dorothy Giobbe
Dorothy Giobbe
Abradat Kamalpour
Abradat Kamalpour
Laura S. Pruitt
Laura S. Pruitt
Mark W. Rasmussen
Mark W. Rasmussen
Schuyler J. Schouten
Schuyler J. Schouten
Joshua B. Sterling
Joshua B. Sterling
Samuel (Sam) Walling
Samuel (Sam) Walling
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On August 30, 2022, the California State Legislature passed (and Governor Newsom is expected to sign into law) a "Digital Financial Assets Law," which will impose licensing requirements on digital asset companies and cryptocurrency exchanges beginning January 1, 2025.

California's new Digital Financial Asset Law ("DFAL") will impose a variety of regulatory requirements on digital asset companies and cryptocurrency exchanges. Governor Newsom is expected to sign the DFAL into law, and new licensing requirements will spring into effect on January 1, 2025. The DFAL will prohibit a person from engaging in digital financial asset business activity without a license from the California Department of Financial Protection and Innovation ("Department"). Under the proposed law, "digital financial asset activity" will include exchanging, transferring or storing a digital financial asset, or engaging in digital financial asset administration both directly or through a vendor.

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