Insights
On March 5, 2026, the Oregon legislature passed House Bill 4116 (“HB 4116”) providing for an opt-out of federal law applicable to state banks allowing them to export the interest rates and fees of their home state to other states for loans “made” in Oregon. The action follows the recent Tenth Circuit decision related to the Colorado legislature’s opt-out legislation. The law does not affect national banks. Where a loan is made remains uncertain in light of the Tenth Circuit decision.
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On February 25, 2026, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (“OCC”) issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (the “NPR”) to implement the Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for US Stablecoins Act (the “GENIUS Act”), setting out proposed regulations for the issuance of and activities related to payment stablecoins by entities under the OCC’s jurisdiction. The NPR covers areas of required rulemaking by the OCC under the GENIUS Act and seeks comments on over 200 questions during a 60-day comment window ending on May 1, 2026. Each area of the NPR warrants in-depth analysis, but we highlight key provisions and encourage submission of comments to the OCC to address areas of strategic importance.
Chapman partners Juan Arciniegas, Curtis Doty, Peter Hong, and Morrison Warren co-authored an article published by Thomson Reuters / Practical Law, providing essential guidance on the rapidly evolving landscape of cryptocurrency. As digital assets continue their march into mainstream finance, a new generation of investment products is reshaping how institutions and individuals gain exposure. Navigating this space requires understanding critical distinctions that carry real consequences for performance, costs, and compliance.
The Connecticut Property Transfer Act (CPTA) is set to sunset on March 1, 2026. It will be replaced by Release-Based Cleanup Regulations (RBCRs).
On February 17, 2026, the CFTC filed an amicus brief in North American Derivatives Exchange, Inc. et al v. The State of Nevada on relation of the Nevada Gaming Control Board et al., asserting its exclusive jurisdiction over event contract markets (a.k.a., prediction markets).
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Last week, the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) rescinded its long-standing Greenhouse Gas Endangerment Finding and subsequent federal greenhouse gas emission standards for cars and trucks. The rescission lifts existing obligations on automobile manufacturers with respect to the measurement, control, and reporting of greenhouse gas emissions. It does not explicitly change greenhouse gas emission requirements applicable to other regulated sources such as power plants and oil and gas facilities. However, the rescission establishes a basis for rescinding greenhouse gas emission standards from such sources at a future date.
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In a decision with significant implications for any non-lawyer who uses artificial intelligence tools to research or analyze legal matters, Judge Rakoff of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, in United States of America v. Heppner, 25-cr-00503-JSR, ruled on February 10, 2026 that documents generated through a public AI platform were not protected by the attorney-client privilege or the work product doctrine. Specifically, the Court granted the Government's motion to access documents that defendant Bradley Heppner created using the AI tool Claude before his arrest on federal fraud charges.
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On January 28, 2026, the SEC Staff (the “Staff”) from the Division of Corporation Finance, the Division of Investment Management, and the Division of Trading and Markets issued a joint statement on tokenized securities. The statement builds upon and expands Commissioner Peirce’s July 2025 remarks, “Enchanting, but Not Magical,” emphasizing that innovations in tokenization should be approached as a process of regulated evolution. The statement provides the Staff’s views on tokenized versions of securities that are issued as crypto-assets and recorded on a distributed ledger technology (DLT), such as a blockchain network.
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Over the past several years, out-of-court Liability Management Exercises (“LMEs”) have been utilized by struggling companies to mitigate financial distress, often by “uptiering” debt in order to gain access to augmented liquidity or to extend maturity runways. In a number of these situations, debtors have taken advantage of loose basket capacity and favorable non-pro rata and/or amendment provisions in credit agreements and indentures to subordinate older, existing credit facilities as well as a host of other disadvantages for non-participating minority lenders. This hostile dynamic has led to a number of protracted legal battles in the courtroom, including one commonly referred to as “Incora” – a contentious uptiering LME that has dominated lending headlines in recent years.
New OBBB provisions may shift how charitable deductions work in 2026 and beyond. This video explains the changes and outlines practical actions individuals can take to safeguard wealth and strengthen future charitable planning.
- Topic: Blockchain
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- Practical Law
Chapman partners Juan Arciniegas, Curtis Doty, Peter Hong, and Morrison Warren co-authored an article published by Thomson Reuters / Practical Law, providing essential guidance on the rapidly evolving landscape of cryptocurrency. As digital assets continue their march into mainstream finance, a new generation of investment products is reshaping how institutions and individuals gain exposure. Navigating this space requires understanding critical distinctions that carry real consequences for performance, costs, and compliance.
- Amid growing regulatory activity and accelerating industry adoption, Chapman hosted a cross‑industry panel exploring the growing role of tokenization in financial markets, examining how the technology is advancing, what risks and opportunities it presents, and what market participants should be preparing for next.
The Digital Chamber released a new report: "Beyond Merit: How the SEC's Division of Investment Management Blocked Permissible Investments in Digital Assets." The report seeks to provide a workable framework to turn historical Division of Investment Management actions regarding digital assets into a path forward for the increased availability of digital assets in investment company products. Chapman's Rick Coyle and Morrison Warren assisted in the preparation.
Chapman represented the Chamber of Digital Commerce in connection with its “Spot Bitcoin ETF Initiative” which set out to gain a deep understanding of the industry’s experience in pursuit of a registered Spot Bitcoin ETF and provide insight into the most realistic avenues for ultimately getting the SEC to approve this widely anticipated investment product.
