Blog
Schwartz Associates Blog
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Tracing Billions: How Blockchain Analytics Uncover Crypto Scams
In November 2024 we traced $1.8 million in scammed BTC. As of today, we have traced a total of $1.7 billion of cryptocurrency scammed over several years. Because of the immutable nature of blockchains, they provide visible, permanent, tamper-proof records that can be analyzed years later. Reactor, the software we use to trace cryptocurrency and…
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OCC Conditionally Approves National Trust Bank Charters for Major Digital Asset Firms
On December 12, 2025, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) announced that “[t]he OCC conditionally approved applications for de novo national trust bank charters for First National Digital Currency Bank and Ripple National Trust Bank. The OCC also conditionally approved applications to convert from a state trust company to a national trust…
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Bank of America Approves Limited Digital Asset Allocations for Client Portfolios
Yesterday, Investment News, reported that Bank of America approved an advisor-endorsed allocation of from 1% to 4% of digital assets in portfolios owned by clients of Merrill, Bank of America Private Bank, and Merrill Edge platforms. Two years I attended a speech given by Ric Edleman, a major investment advisor, where he stated he had…
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Why BlackRock’s Larry Fink Is Bullish on Bitcoin
Because of an article in Cryptopolitan today, I asked AI for a little research on why Larry Fink, CEO of BlackRock, is strong on BitCoin. Although I still have my doubts about its long term value proposition, the resulting research does deserve careful consideration, especially since the thoughts of BlackRock’s CEO carry some weight. Here…
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OCC Chief Urges Banks to View Stablecoins as Opportunity, Not Threat
As reported by CoinDesk writer Jesse Hamilton, OCC chief Jonathan Gould, speaking at the American Bankers Association Annual Convention on Monday, downplayed fears that stablecoins could trigger a sudden deposit crisis, urging community banks to see them as competitive tools rather than threats. While banks push Congress to tighten the GENIUS Act amid projections of…
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The Rising Threat of Romance Scams Targeting the Elderly
In our business we see a lot of different scams including many involving cryptocurrency and blockchains. Recently we have seen a pickup in “romance” scams that do not involve cryptocurrency or even computers. Simply put, these cases involve scumbags that prey on the elderly, often taking most if not all of their retirement funds. The…
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Western Union Pilots Stablecoin-Based Settlement for Global Remittances
Amin Ayan, Cryptonews.com Mon, October 27, 2025 Global payments giant Western Union will pilot a stablecoin-based settlement system to modernize its global remittance operations.
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Obook Holdings Expands Global Stablecoin Licensing as Adoption Accelerates
Blockchain technology company Obook Holdings Inc. announced its successful listing on the NASDAQ and that it had secured three new Money Transmitter Licenses, bringing its funding operations to forty U.S. states. In the EU, it is upgrading its VASP license in Poland to a Crypto Asset Service Provider (CASP) license under the MiCA framework and…
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Accounting Firm Data Breaches: A Growing Risk for CPA Firms and Their Clients
The October issue of the Journal of Accountancy includes an article written by Sarah Beckett Ference, CPA on accounting firm data breaches. Examples were drawn from the AICPA Professional Liability Insurance Program and include: In addition to obtaining satisfaction that the CPA has the training and experience to service your tax needs, you need to…
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Core Skills Shared by Federal and Non-Federal Equity Receiverships
At this year’s NAFER (National Association of Federal Equity Receivers) conference I moderated a panel that discussed types of engagements that require the same skills as are required by federal equity receiverships. The panel consisted of four professionals who are all very experienced non-federal equity receiverships. It was a robustdiscussion but all four agreed that…