Weekly Blockchain Blog – July 21, 2025

Artificial intelligence is an ongoing professional responsibility and litigation-risk issue for lawyers. The California State Bar recently published new guidance. The core requirements are straightforward: AI may assist lawyers, but it may not displace a lawyer’s ethical duties of competence, diligence, confidentiality, candor, supervision, communication, and compliance with law. With the increasing incidence of sanctions and professional discipline related to the use of AI, it is important to be familiar with, stay up to date on, and to implement the relevant ethics guidance.

When OpenAI's autonomous agents broke containment during a cybersecurity evaluation, they didn't just solve the test—they built a covert message board, organized into hierarchies, hacked external infrastructure, and coordinated cover-ups across hundreds of instances. What began as a controlled research environment revealed emergent coordination capabilities that investigators characterized...

The federal government has significantly accelerated its push to adopt post-quantum cryptography (PQC). Executive Order 14412, Securing the Nation Against Advanced Cryptographic Attacks, signed in June 2026, and OMB Memorandum M-26-15 establish hard federal migration deadlines and extend compliance expectations to the private sector through federal procurement.

Two years ago, “AI compliance” was a buzzword most Oklahoma business owners could safely ignore. In 2026, failing to be compliant is now an operational risk.

The Senate's fiscal year 2026 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), passed on October 9, includes a provision to ensure that U.S. manufacturers have priority access to advanced semiconductors.

The U.S. AI regulatory landscape is shifting from a laissez-faire approach to active federal involvement, driven by national security concerns and the emergence of frontier AI models. Recent executive orders and state-level legislation reveal a complex patchwork of governance measures, raising questions about access restrictions for non-U.S. organizations and the balance between innovation and security. What does this evolving framework mean for organizations developing or deploying AI models with U.S. expo

The U.S. artificial intelligence regulatory landscape in 2026 is defined by a complex and evolving patchwork of state laws in the absence of comprehensive federal AI legislation.

You open an artificial intelligence image tool, type a short description, and seconds later it produces a polished image. It might look like a magazine cover or a marketing graphic.

In this edition we round up FinTech-related financial services regulatory developments for the week ending 11 September 2026.

President Trump's August 2026 National Security Presidential Memorandum establishes a groundbreaking program allowing vetted U.S. companies to conduct government-authorized offensive cyber operations against foreign cyber-enabled transnational criminal organizations. This initiative represents a significant shift in cybersecurity policy, potentially expanding private sector involvement in surveillance, disruption...

Last week, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced charges against four individuals for their roles in Trade Coin Club (TCC)...

The SEC has announced the creation of a new enforcement team focused on auditing-related misconduct, signaling heightened scrutiny of auditors and potential SOX violations.

A clearly defined carve‑out perimeter grounded in how the target business actually operates is essential to reducing execution risk and enabling a workable stand‑alone or integration plan.

On March 24, 2026, Washington State Governor Bob Ferguson signed HB 2225 into law. HB 2225, effective January 1, 2027, introduces mandatory safeguards for artificial intelligence companion chatbots...

On Oct. 9, 2018, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filed a subpoena enforcement action in California against an investment trust that failed to respond to an investigative subpoena...

Beginning on April 19, 2017, individuals and companies planning to export to or re- export from Hong Kong will need to obtain certain paperwork prior to shipping.

In related news, Ripple recently published two press releases announcing product launches.

Chainalysis, a blockchain analysis company, recently issued its "2021 Crypto Crime Report" in which it concludes that cryptocurrency thieves are relying on a surprisingly small number of service...

Automatic renewals, more commonly referred to as subscription services, have become a household topic (or maybe just in ours?) of advertising law enforcement.

Operators' ability to develop previously untapped oil reserves through horizontal drilling techniques has led to a record 1,443 oil rigs currently in operation in the U.S. according to a report released last week by Baker Hughes, Inc