The SEC Division of Trading and Markets issued no-action relief from Rule 602 of Regulation NMS ("Dissemination of Quotations in NMS Securities" or the "Quote Rule") to NYSE Arca, Inc. with respect to certain activity contemplated by the operation of a proposed Retail Liquidity Program. According to the letter, the Retail Liquidity Program would establish an alternative venue for the execution of retail orders, creating two new classes of market participants (Retail Member Organizations and Retail Liquidity Providers) and two new order types (Retail Orders and Retail Price Improvement Orders)

The National Futures Association ("NFA") filed with the CFTC its proposed amendments to the NFA Articles of Incorporation regarding its governance structure. The number of elected representatives of Futures Commission Merchant Members and registered Leverage Transaction Merchant Members in the governance structure is proposed to be amended from ten to nine. Additionally, one NFA representative will be eligible to represent both Swap Dealers ("SDs") and registered Retail Foreign Exchange Dealers ("RFEDs"). Furthermore, starting in 2016, the proposed rule will state that individuals who are

The IRS has announced that it will treat Bitcoin and other virtual currency that has an equivalent value in real currency or that acts as a substitute for real currency, as property for tax purposes and not foreign currency. As a result, the general principals applying to property transactions apply to virtual currency. Thus, taxpayers could claim capital gains and losses on Bitcoin that the taxpayer uses to acquire other property or to pay for services. In Notice 2014-21 (linked below) the IRS addressed 16 "frequently asked questions" on the taxation of virtual currency. For example, a

House Agriculture Committee Chairman Frank Lucas (R-OK) and Rep. Doug LaMalfa (R-CA) issued statements in response to the recent CFTC No-Action Letter (14-34) which exempts producers, utility companies and other non-financial entities from being required to register as swap dealers when they enter into energy contracts with government-owned utilities. Chairman Lucas stated that he is pleased the CFTC has reconsidered its regulatory treatment of public utilities under Dodd-Frank, but also objected to the use of no-action letters as a replacement for law, noting that "this approach means [the]

FATCA is scheduled to take effect on July 1 and IRS Commissioner John Koskinen reiterated earlier this week that there will be no further extension of the deadline. Generally, foreign banks and other foreign financial institutions ("FFIs"), including most foreign hedge funds, trusts, trustees and investment managers, must register with the IRS by April 25 to assure that they will receive a Global Intermediary Identification Number ("GIIN") by July 1 and be on the Treasury's initial list of FATCA-compliant foreign financial institutions that will be published on June 2. The GIIN will be used by