Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-AL) is reintroducing legislation that would aim to block the Department of Labor from restricting employers and investment firms from offering cryptocurrency in their 401(k) retirement plans. Rep. Byron Donalds (R-FL) is introducing the companion bill in the House. The bill is a response to DOL guidance in 2022 that suggested that retirement plan administrators investing employee funds into digital assets may be investigated.

President Biden announced that he has selected Federal Reserve Vice Chair Lael Brainard to serve as the top economic policy adviser at the White House. She will replace Brian Deese as director of the National Economic Council and will be the first woman to lead the council since 1996.

Bloomberg reported on February 13 that the Securities and Exchange Commission is planning to propose a change in regulations in order to make it harder for cryptocurrency firms to be “qualified custodians” or hold assets for managers like hedge funds, private equity firms, and pension funds.

House Financial Services Committee Chairman Patrick McHenry (R-NC), digital asset subcommittee chair French Hill (R-AR), and Rep. Bill Huizenga (R-MI) sent a letter to SEC Commissioner Gary Gensler questioning the timing of charges filed against FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried and his subsequent arrest prior to his scheduled testimony before the panel. The group is demanding records and communications between the SEC and Department of Justice related to his arrest. Separately, Ranking Member Maxine Waters (D-CA) urged that McHenry “immediately ensure the presence” of Bankman-Fried and other FTX leaders before the committee to help in the FTX investigation.

On February 9 the Securities and Exchange Commission announced that it has charged Payward Ventures, Inc. and Payward Trading Ltd., both known as Kraken, with failing to register the offer and sale of their crypto asset staking-as-a-service program, whereby investors transfer crypto assets to Kraken for staking in exchange for advertised annual investment returns of as much as 21 percent. The two entities agreed to immediately cease offering or selling securities through crypto asset staking services or staking programs and pay $30 million in disgorgement, prejudgment interest, and civil penalties. SEC Chair Gary Gensler said that this settlement should serve as an example to other cryptocurrency platforms. The Internal Revenue Service has filed a court petition to enforce a summons for information against Kraken and its subsidiaries.

On February 7 the Securities and Exchange Commission issued an investor alert warning that people should be wary of cryptocurrency in individual retirement accounts. The agency wrote that cryptocurrency investments in these accounts “may be securities that are offered without SEC registration or a valid exemption from registration, and may not be accompanied by complete or accurate information to aid investors in making informed decisions.”

On February 7 the Department of Justice announced that Russian cryptocurrency money launderer Denis Dubnikov has pled guilty in federal court to one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering.

In a February 6 blogpost, Binance announced that it has released a new tool, available initially in Canada and France, to help users calculate the tax obligations on their cryptocurrency transactions. Binance Tax is free and supports reporting of up to 100,000 transactions. Binance plans to extend the tool to other regions in the future.

FTX Group announced on February 5 that it is sending “confidential letters” to politicians and other associated groups that have benefited from political donations from former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried. The company says that it reserves the right to attempt to force repayments plus interest through court action. They request that donations be returned by the end of the Month.