22 May 2014
"Japanese Politicians Take Interest in Growing Bitcoin Ecosystem”
Coindesk
Payward/Kraken founder and CEO Jesse Powell, General Counsel Constance Choi and VP of Japan Operations Ayako Miyaguchi were featured in an article on CoinDesk about the growing interest in Bitcoin among Japanese politicians. Parliament member Mineyuki Fukuda met with the Kraken team to get a perspective on appropriate Bitcoin policy from industry leaders.
Select Press Quotes
10 April 2014
Digital Asset Transfer Authority “DATA” Inaugural Meeting
Money & Tech
Constance Choi was the original founder of DATA, which is a self-regulatory organization for digital assets such as Bitcoin. The meeting brought together regulators at the federal and state level, digital asset businesses and investors, and policy experts for a discussion of the best way to regulate the digital asset space while allowing for innovation.
• Money & Tech (4/14)
• PRWeb (3/28)
• PRWeb (4/1)
• Market Wired (4/9)
25 March 2014
"Bitcoin regulatory and legal challenges"
CoinSummit
Constance Choi was a featured panelist in a discussion at CoinSummit of the regulatory and legal challenges facing Bitcoin ("Bitcoin regulatory and legal challenges"). Constance and the other panelists primarily focused on the regulatory situation at the state and federal level in the US.
8 March 2014
"Bitcoin & Math Based Currencies: Road to $100 BN" - SXSW 2014
Salon
Constance Choi was a featured panelist in a discussion at SXSW of what will drive Bitcoin to a $100 billion market cap ("Bitcoin & Math Based Currencies: Road to $100 BN"). Constance emphasized the role that regulatory compliance will play in Bitcoin's next wave of expansion and discussed some the measures taken by Kraken to meet regulatory requirements. The panel discussion was covered in an article on Salon.
• SXSW Schedule (3/8)
• Salon (3/26)
21 January 2014
“‘Self-Regulation in Bitcoin’ Says Kraken General Counsel”
Nikkei Newspaper
Constance Choi was featured in an article in Nikkei Newspaper, Japan’s one and only business paper (Japan’s Wall Street Journal) regarding Bitcoin, regulations, and DATA, which made it out to both on the paper and online versions of the publication.
7 October 2013
"Bitcoin sets the agenda on day one of Money2020 conference"
Finextra
Constance Choi was featured in an article about the popularity of Bitcoin as a topic on the opening day of the Money 2020 Conference in Las Vegas ("Bitcoin sets the agenda on day one of Money2020 conference" on Finextra). Constance addressed the arrest of Silk Road's founder, Ross Ulbricht. Constance argued that the incident is positive for Bitcoin. The arrest "removes the red herring of Silk Road from Bitcoin," and shows that Bitcoin is actually a "terrible tool for criminals" because the transactions are easily traced.
• Mobile Financial Reprint
4 September 2013
"StrongCoin launches distributed exchange"
CoinDesk
Constance Choi was featured in an article about StrongCoin's plan to create a distributed bitcoin exchange ("StrongCoin launches distributed exchange" on CoinDesk). Constance addressed the question as to whether individual users trading bitcoin are classified as money services businesses under FinCEN guidance, and thus subject to BSA requirements. Constance argues that individual bitcoin traders are probably not classified as money services businesses, but businesses that facilitate individual trading might be.
25 August 2013
"Bitcoin aims to counter regulatory pressure"
The Financial Times
Constance Choi was featured in an article about the efforts of bitcoin businesses to promote bitcoin in Washington. ("Bitcoin aims to counter regulatory pressure" on The Financial Times). Constance said that the federal seizure of Liberty Reserve earlier this year has complicated efforts to promote bitcoin since it may suffer a "guilt-by-association" effect with regulators.
20 August 2013
"Government Seized $2.9 Million from bitcoin exchange Mt. Gox"
CoinDesk
Constance Choi was featured in an article covering the US government seizure of over $2.9 million from a subsidiary of bitcoin exchange Mt. Gox ("Government Seized $2.9 Million from bitcoin exchange Mt. Gox" on CoinDesk). Constance said events like this highlight the need for more dialogue between regulators and the emerging payments industry, which many in the industry have been open to "without sensationalized enforcement actions, which create a chilling effect on innovations for consumers."
18 August 2013
"5 ways Bitcoin needs to improve before it can enable emerging markets"
Wambda
Constance Choi was featured in the article "5 ways Bitcoin needs to improve before it can enable emerging markets" on Wambda. Constance was quoted for her point made at the Bitcoin London 2013 conference about how Bitcoin could become "not just a unit of exchange but a secure global network for information exchange."
14 August 2013
NMTA First Virtual Currencies Compliance Conference (VC3)
Lightspeed Venture Partners
Constance Choi was a panel speaker on "Industry Representatives Discussion Panel: The Impact of Regulation on Virtual Currency Companies" at the first Virtual Currencies Compliance Conference (VC3). A comment made by Constance was featured in the article "Tips from regulation conference on Bitcoin compliance" on Lightspeed Venture Partners. In the comment, Constance suggests that perhaps some virtual currency companies should have even stricter AML/KYC policies than a typical bank. Constance also chaired a discussion of lobbying and self-regulatory strategies.
• PRWeb (8/5)
• WatchListNews (8/5)
• MSB Talk (8/12)
7 August 2013
"US judge rules bitcoin 'is a currency or form of money'"
CoinDesk
Constance Choi was featured in an article covering the ruling by a judge in Texas that bitcoin is a currency or form of money ("US judge rules bitcoin 'is a currency or form of money'" on CoinDesk). Constance said that the ruling is by no means definitive. As a lower court ruling, it has limited scope (the state of Texas), and could be overturned by a higher court on appeal. Constance also pointed out that the ruling "is in direct contradiction of the FinCEN guidance, which expressly stated that virtual currencies like bitcoin are not 'currency', such as legal tender or fiat currencies."
30 July 2013
Virtual Currency Leaders Form Committee to Establish Self-Regulatory Body
Wall Street Journal
Constance Choi was behind the first industry-wide initiative in which leaders in the virtual currency and emerging payments industry formed the Digital Asset Transfer Authority (DATA), which aims to promote prudent, responsible adoption of new payment technologies, help protect customers, and serve as a liaison between businesses, customers and regulators. DATA will provide its members with best practice standards to prevent money laundering or comply with applicable laws, and will develop programs to oversee member adherence to these standards. DATA will also help adapt the requirements of regulators and policymakers to the unique technologies and business models of the emerging payments industry.
• WSJ (7/29)
• Huffington Post (7/29)
• Forex Magnates (7/30)
• Yahoo Finance (7/30)
• CoinDesk (7/30)
• Bobsguide (7/30)
• Finextra (7/30)
• PaymentsSource (7/30)
• American Banker (7/30)
• Washington Post (7/30)
• Money News (8/1)
• CoinDesk (8/2)
• Law360 (8/12)
2 July 2013
"Regulatory and Legal Challenges" Panel Session - Bitcoin London 2013 Conference
TechCrunch
Featured panelist in the "Regulatory and Legal Challenges" panel session at Bitcoin London 2013.
Legal and regulatory issues were clearly a hot topic at the conference, as the panel discussion and Constance's comments received major coverage in the press. The panel agreed that Europe has a more reasoned stance than the US toward innovative payment technologies like Bitcoin, and is a friendlier environment for Bitcoin startups. Constance emphasized, however, that US regulation is something the Bitcoin industry will have to work with.
• CoinDesk (7/2)
• Genesis Block (7/2)
• Valuewalk (7/2)
• Techcrunch (7/2)
• Tech Week Europe (7/2)
• BBC (7/2) Constance mentioned as "a lawyer who worked in this field"
• Webrazzi (Turkey's leading Tech Blog - 7/2)
• Airing News (7/3)
• Calvin Ayre (7/3)
• miiCard (7/3)
• ZDNet (7/3) German
• Finextra (7/4)
• CoinDesk (7/8)
11 June 2013
"Bitcoin: What it is, how it works, and why it's the most important invention of the 20th century"
Royse University Webinar
Payward General Counsel Constance Choi participated in Royse University webinar "Bitcoin: What it is, how it works, and why it's the most important invention of the 20th century." Constance discussed Bitcoin regulatory issues. Her talk starts and 45:00.
4 June 2013
"Legalities of Bitcoin & Virtual Currency"
Techendo, Episode 8
Constance Choi and Community Manager Ruby Kalson-Bremer were interviewed by Dan Gailey onTechendo Epidode 8 ("Legalities of Bitcoin & Virtual Currency"). They discussed legal issues surrounding virtual currencies and the importance of proactive community involvement for the survival of Bitcoin.
6 June 2013
"In Search of Goldilocks"
Let's Talk Bitcoin Episode 14
Constance Choi was interviewed by Adam B. Levine on Episode 14 of Let's Talk Bitcoin ("In Search of Goldilocks"). Constance discussed the current and future legal landscape of Bitcoin, including the recent FINCEN guidance and her impressions from a meeting in Washington with the US Treasury.
• Let's Talk Bitcoin Interview starts at 12:20
6 July 2014
“CoinSummit London 2014: Shortlist of Interesting People”
Cryptoarticles
In response to dedicated readers’ requests, Cryptoarticles Editor Serge Schouterden published a shortlist of the six speakers “who we look forward to see and hear and why these people” at CoinSummit London 2014, naming Constance Choi as number three.