TRM Talks: What Does the 2021 NDAA Mean for Crypto

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 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.