Paul Hastings

As we begin the 119th Congress, the nation is also preparing for the new administration to take office in just a few weeks. While federal action on digital assets remains a key focus, this week’s Crypto Policy Tracker shifts attention to state-level developments, where legislatures are entering busy sessions that could significantly impact the regulatory landscape for digital assets.

CFPB Seeks Input on Digital Payment Privacy and Consumer Protections

Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are a large class of synthetically created organic chemical compounds that have been at the forefront of complex environmental and legal issues in recent years. While many PFAS chemicals have been found to persist in the environment and/or in human bodies for an extended period of time, there continues to be much unknown about the majority of discrete PFAS chemicals. Moreover, regulation of the class proves difficult since there is no single agreed-upon way to characterize the toxicological profile of these compounds.

As expected, the mandatory notification thresholds under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act of 1976, as amended (the HSR Act), will be increasing. The Size of Transaction threshold will jump from $119.5 million, currently, to $126.4 million. Several other associated thresholds will increase as well, as detailed below. The revised thresholds are expected to be published in the Federal Register and become effective 30 days after publication. They will apply to all transactions that close on or after that effective date.

The Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 added the Section 45V production tax credit for the production of clean hydrogen (Section 45V) to the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended. Section 45V provides a credit against federal income tax for each kilogram of clean hydrogen produced during the taxable year for the first 10 years after a qualified clean hydrogen production facility that began construction before 2033 is placed in service (the Section 45V Credit). The Section 45V Credit amount is equal to 60 cents per kilogram of hydrogen produced multiplied by the “applicable rate.” This base rate is increased to three dollars per kilogram if certain prevailing wage and apprenticeship requirements are satisfied. The “applicable rate” is based on the lifecycle greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions rate of the hydrogen produced at the qualified clean hydrogen production facility as follows:

Speech: Three Financial Crises and Lessons for the Future

Congress U.S. Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Scott Announces Banking Committee Priorities for the 119th Congress

Congress U.S. Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Nomination Hearing January 16, 2025

On January 12, 2025, California Governor Gavin Newsom signed an executive order (EO N-4-25) to suspend permitting requirements under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) and the California Coastal Act, with the goal of facilitating faster rebuilding of homes and businesses affected by the recent wildfires in Southern California.

It’s a new year, and state legislatures around the country are beginning new legislative sessions. We expect to see more of them enacting Article 12 of the Uniform Commercial Code (UCC), which is designed to facilitate transactions in cryptocurrencies, NFTs and other types of digital assets.