innovation

According to Hester Peirce, a commissioner of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, in a post on the X platform, there is an overinterpretation of the proposed "innovation exemption" for on-chain trading of tokenized national market system stocks. Peirce stated that she has always expected the scope of this exemption to be limited, restricted to the trading of digital representations of the same underlying equity securities that investors can currently purchase in the secondary market, rather than trading of synthetic securities.Bloomberg ETF analyst Eric Balchunas commented that he is not surprised by the expectations surrounding tokenization and maintains his view: what tokenization can achieve (at least in the short term) is merely the distribution of stocks and ETFs to on-chain users, serving more as a distribution channel for ETFs rather than a disruptive force.

According to official news, the online presentation "Build the Next Era: How HTX Genesis Empowers Web3 and AI Innovators," hosted by HTX DAO and B.AI, and co-hosted by TinTinLand and OpenCity, will be held on May 21 at 20:00 UTC+8.At that time, HTX DAO ambassador Molly, HTX DAO Core Builder Helium, independent developer Fengda, 0G Asia-Pacific head JT, TinTinLand co-founder Zhiyuan, HTX DAO governance committee member DaDa, and HTX Ventures senior investment analyst Jenny will be invited to attend, focusing on the integration trends of Web3 and AI, and discussing how to utilize ecological resources, financial support, and more to build a growth bridge for the new generation of Web3 and AI builders, seizing innovative opportunities in the new cycle.

According to BBX data, yesterday the global digital asset compliance process welcomed a historic policy dividend, as the U.S. federal government and the top securities regulatory agency are jointly breaking down the payment and securities boundaries between the crypto ecosystem and traditional finance. The core dynamics are as follows:Trump signs digital asset executive order: U.S. President Trump officially signed an executive order on Tuesday local time, requiring U.S. financial regulatory agencies to review existing rules within the next three months, identify and dismantle regulations that hinder fintech companies from collaborating with federally regulated financial institutions. The order specifically requires the Federal Reserve to take measures to encourage innovation within six months, reassess the eligibility of non-bank financial companies to access Federal Reserve payment accounts and services, and appoint 12 regional Federal Reserve banks to study the feasibility of independent open payment accounts.SEC poised to release "innovation exemption" framework: According to Bloomberg Law, the "Project Crypto" plan led by SEC Chairman Paul Atkins is expected to officially launch the tokenized stock "innovation exemption" framework as early as this week. This framework will allow crypto-native platforms to provide trading and clearing services for tokenized U.S. stocks to the market during the experimental period without undergoing full broker registration.Traditional exchange giants race to tokenize: Regulatory easing has already sparked competition for existing market share on Wall Street. Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ: $NDAQ) has officially received SEC approval to launch trading of DTC-compliant security token versions by March 2026; meanwhile, the NYSE parent company Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. (NYSE: $ICE) has also submitted its independently developed 24/7 tokenized securities platform for final approval, which is currently pending.

According to CoinDesk, Cardano founder Charles Hoskinson stated that the removal of Section 604 of the CLARITY Act could lead to open-source developers facing long-term legal liability for others' use of their code.He pointed out that after developers release open-source software, even if someone later abuses the code without consent, the developers could still be permanently held accountable, and he claimed this would pose a serious threat to the open-source innovation environment.

U.S. Senator Cynthia Lummis stated that after nearly a year of bipartisan cooperation, the U.S. Digital Asset Market Structure Act (CLARITY Act) is set to enter the committee review stage this week, bringing the U.S. closer to "consolidating its global leadership in financial innovation." Lummis said, "Wyoming has been a pioneer in exploration, and now Washington is following suit."Previously, Republican members of the U.S. Senate Banking Committee announced that Committee Chairman Tim Scott, Lummis, and Thom Tillis have jointly released the text of the market structure bill. According to the statement, the bill aims to establish a clear regulatory framework for the digital asset industry, protect investors, combat illegal financial activities, and encourage innovation to remain in the U.S.

"Cathie Wood" posted on the X platform, stating that despite the rise in oil prices over the past three months, the yield curve remains flat, and the Federal Reserve has not monetized this energy shock. The bond market may begin to digest the deflationary effects brought about by AI and technology-driven productivity improvements. Currently, the costs of AI model training and inference have significantly decreased, productivity growth is accelerating, while unit labor costs remain subdued.Although the current market narrative focuses on tariffs, deficits, and structurally high inflation, underlying signals indicate that deflationary forces related to innovation are accumulating. It is expected that inflation may be below expectations in the next 6 to 9 months, which will have profound effects on interest rates and long-term stocks.

According to The Block, Consensys CEO and Ethereum co-founder Joseph Lubin stated at Consensus 2026 that projects like Strategy, SharpLink, and BitMine, which are part of the Ethereum Digital Asset Treasury (DAT), are positive examples of building "long-term permanent capital" for the Ethereum ecosystem without leverage, and warned that weak assets and copycat DATs could harm the ecosystem.Lubin mentioned that Consensys and he himself have contributed 30,000 ETH to the DeFi United initiative to promote multi-party collaboration in recovering funds after the Kelp DAO vulnerability incident. He also pointed out that Ethereum has embedded a path to quantum safety in its scaling roadmap, while Bitcoin will face more complex property issues in migrating quantum-vulnerable addresses.

According to Bloomberg, the UK Treasury and the Bank of England are discussing slowing down the progress of the "Britcoin" digital pound project, with the "advance or halt" decision originally scheduled for this summer possibly being changed to a temporary pause.Sources say that regulators want to first observe the progress of banks in areas such as tokenized deposits, as these private innovations may achieve some similar rapid low-cost payment functions to CBDCs or stablecoins within the existing regulatory framework. The digital pound is currently nearing the end of its design phase, but it faces public, parliamentary, and some officials' doubts regarding privacy, necessity, and its impact on the commercial banking system. Internal research from the Bank of England also shows that as digital payment methods improve, the marginal benefits of launching a retail CBDC are declining.

According to official news, the UK's Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has officially released new industry guidelines, clarifying the standards and requirements for companies to comply with the current regulatory framework when using Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT).The new regulations also optimize the fund trading mechanism, introducing an optional direct-to-fund (D2F) model that allows investors to directly connect traditional funds with tokenized funds for transactions, significantly improving circulation efficiency. These rules were jointly formulated by the FCA and the industry, maintaining strict regulatory standards while accommodating financial innovation, helping the asset management industry reduce costs and increase efficiency, and accelerating the implementation of traditional asset tokenization.

Recently, during the Hong Kong Web3 Festival, at the "CypherAsia Smart Crypto Finance Forum" hosted by institutions such as Fosun Wealth Holdings, FinChain, and exSat, guests including ME Group President Vito Luo, FinChain CTO Lance Liu, SBVA Executive Director Wang Yinzhen, Solana Foundation Solutions Architect Mike Ma, Copilot Venture Studio Co-founder Yang Linyuan, and NeoSoul Co-founder Kaelan discussed the development trends of AI and crypto finance.During the forum, NeoSoul Co-founder Kaelan stated that the AI industry is still in the early stages of rapid evolution. When evaluating AI projects, it is important to look not only at the current products but also at whether the team can continuously keep up with the changes in the underlying model capabilities.Kaelan pointed out that AI entrepreneurship requires both groundedness and vision. Groundedness means that the team must have the ability to implement engineering, design products, and understand the market to create perceivable products; vision means that the team should build in line with the evolution of large models.He believes that some early AI products may seem like toys, but in emerging industries, the existence of toy-like forms should be allowed. Many truly new paradigms often first appear as experimental products.

Paul Atkins, the Chairman of the SEC, delivered a speech on the first anniversary of his inauguration at the Washington Economic Club, stating that the SEC is advancing reforms to the regulatory framework for digital assets and incorporating it into the "A - C - T" strategy, which aims to modernize regulation, clarify regulatory boundaries, and reshape the rule system.Regarding crypto assets, the SEC has released a classification system for crypto tokens, dividing digital assets into five categories, four of which do not fall under securities. It indicated that the SEC is about to launch an "innovation exemption" mechanism to provide a limited framework for market participants to conduct tokenized securities trading on-chain in a compliant manner, and has initiated Project Crypto to adapt securities rules and regulatory systems to the trend of capital markets moving on-chain.Additionally, the SEC signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the CFTC last month to unify key definitions, clarify regulatory jurisdictions, and coordinate joint regulatory matters, including digital assets. Paul Atkins also stated that the previous regulatory approach to crypto assets in the U.S. had led to innovation activities flowing overseas.

South Korean crypto venture capital firm Hashed Ventures announced that it has secured an investment of 3 billion KRW (2.2 million USD), with participation from Hecto Innovation and Hecto Financial under the Hecto Group. The new funds will be injected into Hashed Ventures' "Hashed Venture Investment Fund No. 3," focusing on supporting new businesses such as digital asset wallets and stablecoin payment settlements.

ChainCatcher reported live that Li Guoquan, Dean of the Global Fintech Academy, Hong Kong Legislative Council member (Technology and Innovation Sector) Kenneth Lau, Chief Public Mission Officer of Hong Kong Cyberport, Chan Sze Yuen, and Executive Director of the Japan Virtual Currency Exchange Association (JVCEA) & Japan Crypto Asset Business Association, Koji Takeda, attended the HK Web3 Feastival roundtable discussion, focusing on "Balancing Regulation and Innovation to Co-build a Sustainable Asian Digital Financial Ecosystem."Kenneth Lau stated that the legislative process has been significantly advanced, and he hopes to see innovation-driven developments next, exploring how to leave space for new products and business models while improving the regulatory framework. He cited the startup exemption mechanism in U.S. legislation as an example, emphasizing the importance of a nurturing environment for innovation. He also pointed out that the Hong Kong stock market currently does not allow for a market maker system, and the liquidity provision rules in virtual asset trading will be addressed in legislative discussions within the year. Regarding prediction markets, he personally believes that Hong Kong currently does not have the conditions to open them.Chan Sze Yuen introduced that Cyberport launched a pilot subsidy program for blockchain and digital assets last year, with nine projects participating, more than half of which involve RWA tokenization, aiming to promote projects from proof of concept to commercialization. He stated that Cyberport has gathered over 300 Web3 companies from 19 countries and regions, emphasizing that trusted digital identity (KYC/AML compliance) is the foundation for scaling RWA and payment projects, while secondary market liquidity determines whether tokenized assets can become real market products.Koji Takeda revealed that the Financial Services Agency (FSA) of Japan submitted a new bill to the Diet on April 10, proposing to move the regulation of crypto assets from the Financial Services Act to the Financial Instruments and Exchange Act, which means the government officially recognizes the investment attributes of crypto assets, marking a significant shift. He also pointed out that Japan had previously seen over 200 companies relocate to places like Singapore due to strict regulations, but recently, through adjustments to corporate tax systems and discussions on personal crypto tax reforms, companies are gradually returning.Host Li Guoquan summarized that the various jurisdictions in Asia are not in competition but are part of the same ecosystem. Excessive compliance costs may push quality institutions into gray areas, and how to lower compliance thresholds in regulatory dialogues and promote responsible innovation is a common challenge facing the Asian digital financial ecosystem.

ChainCatcher reported live that the Deputy Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury of Hong Kong, Chan Ho Lam, delivered a keynote speech at the 2026 Hong Kong Web3 Carnival. He pointed out that Hong Kong has developed into the third global financial center index and the first international financial center in Asia, providing a solid foundation for Web3 innovation.He stated that the digital asset development policy declaration 2.0 released last year proposed the LEAP framework, which covers four pillars: optimizing legal regulation (L), expanding the variety of tokenized products (E), promoting application scenarios and cross-border cooperation (A), and developing talent and partnerships (P).He revealed that there are currently over 10 licensed trading platforms in Hong Kong, and the Monetary Authority has issued the first two stablecoin issuer licenses this month. The SAR government issued the third batch of tokenized green bonds last year, which is the largest scale globally, and is actively formulating regulatory systems for digital asset trading service providers and custodial service providers.

Crypto Council for Innovation announced the acquisition of Digital Energy Council, marking its first expansion into the energy policy sector.Crypto Council for Innovation (CCI) is a global industry advocacy organization, with members including several cryptocurrency and fintech companies, primarily promoting digital asset regulation, technological innovation, and policy communication, dedicated to building bridges between government and industry. Previously, the organization played an important role in U.S. policy lobbying. Digital Energy Council focuses on energy issues related to the digital economy, particularly the impact of cryptocurrency mining, data centers, and high-performance computing (HPC) on power systems, with core concerns about energy supply, grid stability, and national security. Following this integration, the energy sector will focus on promoting policy directions, including energy development, grid resilience, U.S. competitiveness, and critical infrastructure security.

The chairman of the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), Mike Selig, announced the first members of the newly established Innovation Working Group, aimed at providing clear industry rules for American innovators. The working group is led by Mike Selig's senior advisor, Michael Passalacqua, and the first five members include former Latham & Watkins crypto lawyer Hank Balaban, former Patomak crypto and prediction markets advisor Sam Canavos, CFTC legal senior official Mark Fajfar, former Sidley blockchain lawyer Eugene Gonzalez IV, and CFTC Market Participants Division special advisor Dina Moussa.In addition, Mike Selig also released an Innovation Tracker, highlighting the agency's work in advancing regulatory clarity, market integrity, and technological progress, with a primary focus on areas including cryptocurrency and blockchain, AI and autonomous systems, contracts and prediction markets.

The Blockchain Association submitted a letter to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in response to Citadel's previous call for increased regulation of DeFi.The Blockchain Association stated that DeFi protocol developers do not fall under the category of brokers or exchange operators and should not be included in the regulatory framework designed for traditional financial intermediaries. The organization also urged the SEC to advance an "innovation exemption" mechanism to provide regulatory pilot space for on-chain assets and tokenized securities, pointing out that the comprehensive rule-making process is lengthy, which may delay the implementation of technology and lead to innovation outflow. Previously, Citadel had suggested that the SEC strengthen regulation of DeFi through formal legislative processes.

Charles Hoskinson, the founder of Cardano, has raised strong doubts about the U.S. Digital Asset Market CLARITY Act, believing that the bill could bring long-term negative impacts in terms of implementation, political risk, and industry structure.Hoskinson stated that even if the bill passes, it may require up to 15 years for rule-making and implementation, leading to a long-term stagnation of the industry amid uncertainty. He pointed out that the current political environment in the U.S. (especially after the FTX incident) has tightened regulations, and new projects may be defaulted to be considered securities, thereby stifling innovation. He further warned that the bill could be "weaponized" by future administrations, becoming a political tool, with different parties potentially using its provisions to target specific projects or industry participants.In addition, Hoskinson criticized the bill for its complex design and being overly "U.S.-centric," neglecting global regulatory coordination while focusing too much on marginal issues like stablecoin yields, failing to address the core problems of the industry. He believes that this structural design may actually benefit mature projects (such as Cardano, XRP, Ethereum) but create higher barriers for newcomers, further exacerbating the trend of industry centralization.