Crypto business
Financial institution
Home
/
Resources
/
TRM Talks
/
TRM Talks: What Does the 2021 NDAA Mean for Crypto

Dec 23, 2020 - 42min

EPISODE 4

TRM Talks: What Does the 2021 NDAA Mean for Crypto

With Andrew Eck,  and Carol Van Cleef,  and  and

The 2021 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) contains the most significant anti-money laundering legislation in decades and signals a seismic shift in the relationship between law enforcement, financial institutions and regulators. Not only does the NDAA require businesses to provide critical beneficial ownership information to regulators, but the legislation redefines currency to include crypto for purposes of its anti-money laundering regime.

What does the NDAA mean for the cryptocurrency space and for your business?  TRM Talks to Former Treasury Deputy Assistant Secretary for Legislative Affairs Andrew Eck and crypto legal legend Carol Van Cleef about what the NDAA means for crypto.

About the guests

Andrew Eck
U.S. Treasury Department

Andrew Eck co-founded DiRoma Eck & Co. LLP | A Washington Advisory after having served as Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Treasury for Legislative Affairs.  In this role, Mr. Eck served as the principal liaison between the Department of the Treasury, Congress, and other executive branch departments on all issues relating to economic sanctions, illicit finance threats, anti-money laundering and financial crimes, counter-terrorist financing, beneficial ownership, exploitation of digital currencies and financial technology, and all matters relating to the Bank Secrecy Act.  He represented approximately 900 Terrorism and Financial Intelligence officials, including OFAC and FinCEN, on Capitol Hill and served as the legislative director for the Department of the Treasury to the Intelligence Community.

Prior to joining Treasury, Mr. Eck served as staff director of the House Financial Services Committee’s Subcommittee on Terrorism and Illicit Finance.  He was the inaugural head of the subcommittee where he designed its overall strategy and worked with Members and their senior staffs to implement legislative, regulatory, and oversight priorities.  He was also senior policy advisor to Chairman Jeb Hensarling of Texas.

Mr. Eck also served as legislative assistant to Senator Pat Roberts, of his home state of Kansas, where he was responsible for economic and financial services issues relating to the Senator’s seat on the Finance and HELP Committees.  He also worked as a management consultant at KPMG LLP, the New York accounting firm.  Mr. Eck holds a BSBA in Finance and Economics from Rockhurst University in Kansas City and a Master’s in Government from the Johns Hopkins University, and he is a certified anti-money laundering specialist (CAMS) and a certified fraud examiner (CFE).

Carol Van Cleef
Bradley Law’s Blockchain

Carol Van Cleef is an internationally recognized authority and pioneer in legal issues involving cryptocurrencies and blockchain technology. As chair of the firm’s Blockchain and Digital Assets practice, Carol leads the firm’s virtual currencies and blockchain work to help clients navigate the complex, dynamic and rapidly evolving issues in these areas.With a focus on regulatory, compliance, and enforcement matters, Carol has built a global reputation as a leading attorney, counselor and problem solver working with fintech companies, blockchain developers, virtual currency exchanges and wallets, payment processors, prepaid access programs, and other business ventures. Her clients also include banks, securities firms, insurance companies, and money services businesses.As a certified anti-money laundering (AML) specialist, Carol created a series of AML compliance training programs in partnership with the Conference of State Bank Supervisors and attended by state regulators, executives from domestic and foreign banks, securities firms, money services businesses, and other entities.Carol also developed an AML Compliance Bootcamp for virtual currency and blockchain businesses. She participated in the Uniform Law Commission's efforts to draft a model legal code for virtual currencies.

Carol is a founding member of Collective Future, which fosters global diversity in blockchain and cryptoassets, and is a frequent speaker on cryptocurrencies, blockchain technology, virtual currencies, payment systems, and business ventures.

More TRM Talks

EP. 81  |  Apr 23, 2025 - 27min

TRM Talks: Covering Crypto in America — From Stablecoins to the SEC, Eleanor Terrett Tracks a Shifting Policy Landscape
PLAY EPISODE

EP. 80  |  Apr 9, 2025 - 35min

TRM Talks: How the FBI Tracks and Seizes Illicit Crypto with the Virtual Assets Unit Chief Patrick Wyman
PLAY EPISODE

EP. 79  |  Mar 26, 2025 - 32min

TRM Talks: North Korea’s Cyber Army: How Hackers Stole $1.5B and What Comes Next with Jean Lee and Nick Carlsen
PLAY EPISODE

EP. 78  |  Mar 12, 2025 - 30min

TRM Talks: A Big Week on the Road to Legal Clarity with Uniswap Chief Legal Officer Katherine Minarik
PLAY EPISODE

EP. 77  |  Feb 26, 2025 - 52min

TRM Talks: Deepfakes and the Rise of AI-Enabled Crime with Hany Farid
PLAY EPISODE

EP. 76  |  Feb 12, 2025 - 33min

TRM Talks: New Frontiers in Finance — A Journey from State Banking Supervisor to Compliance Leader with Two Ocean Trust's Albert Forkner
PLAY EPISODE

EP. 75  |  Jan 29, 2025 - 40min

TRM Talks: Former Treasury Official and Circle's Caroline Hill Talks Stablecoin Compliance, Policy, and Regulation
PLAY EPISODE

EP. 74  |  Jan 15, 2025 - 31min

TRM Talks: Future Money: How Crypto, AI, and the Technology Revolution are Changing Finance with Citi Institute's Ronit Ghose
PLAY EPISODE

EP. 73  |  Jan 1, 2025 - 33min

TRM Talks: How the US Treasury Combats Illicit Finance in the Cryptoverse with Caroline Horres
PLAY EPISODE

EP. 72  |  Dec 18, 2024 - 33min

TRM Talks: TradFi to DeFi — How Standard Chartered is Building the Bridge to the Future of Finance with René Michau and Esme Hodson
PLAY EPISODE

Subscribe to TRM Talks

Subscribe to be the first to hear about new episodes, and to stay in the know about all things blockchain technology and crypto policy.