regulation

According to Cointelegraph, U.S. Senator Bernie Moreno stated that the cryptocurrency market structure bill, the CLARITY Act, is expected to pass in Congress before April. Moreno mentioned in an interview with CNBC that there is now a clear path for the bill's advancement.Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong, in the same interview, stated that there were previously disagreements regarding the interest-bearing provisions for stablecoins and regulatory jurisdiction, but all parties are currently seeking a "win-win" solution. The report noted that the stablecoin yield provisions are one of the main points of contention in the bill's progress.Moreno also expressed that he does not believe the results of the midterm elections will affect the bill's passage. Previously, officials from the White House also expressed positive expectations for the bill's advancement earlier this year.

The official website of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission published a speech by Chairman Paul Atkins at the ETHDenver conference, outlining the agency's direction on cryptocurrency regulation, which mainly includes:Clarifying the "investment contract" framework: The Commission will study and publish a framework that clarifies under what circumstances crypto assets constitute investment contracts, as well as their formation and termination mechanisms.Innovation exemptions: Considering the establishment of innovation exemptions that allow for pilot trading of certain tokenized securities under restricted conditions, including limited trading on new platforms such as automated market makers, to accumulate experience for a long-term regulatory framework.Advancement of rules and guidance: Plans to initiate or advance rulemaking on topics such as financing pathways for crypto assets, broker-dealer custody for non-securities crypto assets (including payment stablecoins), and modernization of transfer agent rules; and continue to provide clarity for non-registration scenarios such as wallets and user interfaces through no-action letters and exemption orders.Regulatory philosophy: Paul Atkins emphasized that regulators should not react to short-term price fluctuations. The responsibility of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission is to ensure adequate information disclosure and clear rules, allowing market participants to make decisions in a transparent environment, rather than "supporting prices."

According to CoinDesk, real estate billionaire and founder of Starwood Capital Group Barry Sternlicht stated that the company is prepared to tokenize real-world assets (RWA) such as real estate on the blockchain, but is currently unable to advance related plans due to regulatory restrictions in the United States. Starwood manages assets totaling over $125 billion.Sternlicht pointed out at the World Liberty Forum that asset tokenization could create new financing methods for less liquid assets like real estate and allow investors to participate in investments more conveniently. He described this technology as a "future trend" and believes its development stage is even ahead of artificial intelligence.Industry reports indicate that Deloitte expects the global tokenized real estate market could reach $4 trillion by 2035, a significant increase from less than $300 billion in 2024, implying a compound annual growth rate of about 27%. Sternlicht called for further clarification of the regulatory environment to unlock the potential for assets to be placed on-chain.

According to Jinshi, the White House has expressed support for the "Digital Asset Market Transparency Act." The bill aims to enhance the transparency and regulatory oversight of the digital asset market.

According to Crypto Politan, the Dubai Financial Services Authority (DFSA) announced its updated regulatory framework for crypto tokens last year and released a Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) document to assist businesses in understanding and implementing the new regulations.The new framework allows entities regulated by the DFSA within the Dubai International Financial Centre to choose the crypto tokens they wish to work with without requiring prior approval from the DFSA, and this update has been effective since 2026. The FAQ clarifies that the new regulations cover crypto tokens used for payment or investment purposes, excluding investment tokens such as NFTs, utility tokens, securities tokens, and stablecoins.Stablecoins are limited to use by asset managers for payments. Businesses offering crypto token-related products must comply with the token regime and related requirements, with token suitability assessment criteria including their characteristics, regulatory status in other jurisdictions, global market size and liquidity, relevant technology, and whether they may hinder compliance.

According to the Hong Kong Economic Journal, the newly appointed president of the Hong Kong Institute of Certified Public Accountants, Lo Chok-kin, stated that guidelines are being developed to help the accounting and business sectors understand how to handle virtual assets in accounting. The first part of the guidelines, which involves virtual currencies and stablecoins, has been issued, while the second part, which has not yet been announced, relates to the auditing requirements for stablecoins set by the Hong Kong Monetary Authority. The Institute is currently in discussions with the Hong Kong Monetary Authority on this matter, and it is expected to be released within six months. The third part of the virtual asset accounting guidelines aims to be launched by the end of the year at the earliest, but it will still require communication and consensus with regulatory bodies and the industry before it can be released.

According to the Financial Times, Tether net purchased $28.2 billion in U.S. Treasury bonds in 2025, becoming the seventh largest foreign buyer, with its holdings surpassing those of countries like South Korea and Saudi Arabia, alongside Circle. U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent believes stablecoins are tools for promoting the dollar and absorbing U.S. debt, expecting the industry to grow from its current $300 billion to $3 trillion.Currently, the banking industry and the cryptocurrency sector are competing over stablecoin regulations. JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon and Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong have disagreements on related terms. The banking sector is concerned that allowing third parties to pay interest on stablecoins will lead retail deposits to flow into stablecoins, thereby increasing financial risk. This standoff has caused divisions among Trump supporters, involving conflicts of interest between Wall Street banks and cryptocurrency industry donors.

According to Jin10, the South Korean Finance Minister stated that they will strengthen regulation of the cryptocurrency market.

According to The Block, Paul Atkins, chairman of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), stated at a Senate Banking Committee hearing that prediction markets are a "huge issue" and a regulatory focus he shares with Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) chairman Michael Selig.Atkins pointed out that prediction markets have "potential jurisdictional overlaps," currently primarily governed by the CFTC, but the two agencies will work together. When asked if clear rules would be established, he said "we'll have to wait and see," and noted that "a security is a security, and the definition of prediction markets and their products depends on specific wording." CFTC chairman Selig stated that he would ensure "reasonable rules and protections" are established for prediction markets to prevent them from being pushed overseas.The jurisdiction over prediction market regulation has become a contentious issue between federal and state governments. Operators argue that under the Commodity Exchange Act, all event contracts should be exclusively governed by the CFTC; while some states believe that the relevant platforms involve activities like sports betting, violating local gambling laws. Prediction markets have also recently come under additional scrutiny due to insider trading allegations and restrictive legislation targeting political betting.

The chairman of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) testified before the House Financial Services Committee that it will reduce regulatory burdens through three initiatives to "make IPOs great again," including: streamlining disclosures based on materiality, reducing politicized issues at shareholder meetings, and providing litigation alternatives for public companies. He emphasized that the federal regulatory framework for crypto assets is "seriously outdated," supports Congress in passing the CLARITY Act, and collaborates with the CFTC to develop token classification and on-chain trading exemption programs through "Project Crypto."At the same time, the SEC is conducting a comprehensive review and cutting costs of systems like the Consolidated Audit Trail (CAT), reducing PCAOB budgets and board compensation, and combating overseas manipulation and fraud through cross-border enforcement, reaffirming its core mission to protect investors and enhance market efficiency.

The South Korean cryptocurrency exchange Bithumb has acknowledged serious flaws in its internal systems, which led to mistakenly transferring 620,000 bitcoins to users instead of the intended 620,000 Korean won. Bithumb CEO Lee Jae-won stated that the incident was primarily due to a 24-hour delay in transaction processing and a lag in updating cryptocurrency holdings.Although the exchange has recovered most of the bitcoins, there are still 1,786 bitcoins that were sold before the accounts were frozen and have not yet been retrieved. South Korean lawmakers have expressed concerns about the lack of effective regulation in the country's virtual asset market, especially in the context of South Korea having 10 million cryptocurrency investors, making it one of the most active markets in terms of trading volume globally.

According to market news, the enforcement team at the Chicago office of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) has completely resigned. This office was once regarded as the agency's "top enforcement force," previously having 20 enforcement attorneys, and now none remain.This staff reduction comes as the CFTC seeks to significantly expand its regulatory scope into the cryptocurrency and prediction market sectors. Reports indicate that the same leadership responsible for the CFTC's staff cuts last year had actively advocated for the agency's jurisdiction to cover most of the cryptocurrency markets and sports prediction platforms. Caroline Pham, who served as the acting chair of the CFTC in 2025, pushed for a reduction of over 21% in the agency's workforce last year, and she is currently employed at the cryptocurrency company MoonPay.Former CFTC enforcement attorneys stated that this layoff is targeted, as the Chicago office has specialized experience and a key role in reaching multi-billion dollar settlements with cryptocurrency companies like FTX and Binance.

According to on-site reports from Foresight News, the Chief Executive Officer of the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission (SFC), Ashley Alder, stated at the Consensus 2026 conference that the SFC is committed to establishing a comprehensive regulatory ecosystem for virtual assets and announced three new initiatives:Guaranteed Financing: Allow brokers to provide financing services to clients with good credit backgrounds, with collateral that may include securities and virtual assets. Initially, this will only be open to Bitcoin and Ethereum, and a prudent haircut will be required in accordance with traditional financial standards.Perpetual Contracts: A high-level regulatory framework will be announced, allowing licensed platforms to offer perpetual contract products. This service is currently limited to "professional investors" and requires platforms to have extremely high transparency and the ability to manage volatility fees and automatic liquidation risks.Associated Market Makers: Regulations will be relaxed to allow licensed platforms to provide liquidity through their affiliated market-making units, provided they can demonstrate functional independence and strict management of conflicts of interest.Alder pointed out that tokenized assets have developed rapidly over the past year, with the asset management scale of tokenized gold reaching $400 million, doubling in the past six months. Currently, the SFC has authorized 11 tokenized money market funds. In addition, Project Ensemble is piloting the use of tokenized deposit settlement money market funds. Regarding the regulatory roadmap, the SFC has published a consultation summary on virtual asset trading and custody and plans to collaborate with the SAR government to submit relevant legislative proposals within this year.

U.S. Treasury Secretary Yellen stated in an interview with Fox News that the cryptocurrency market structure bill needs to be passed in the spring, adding, "We need to get the cryptocurrency market structure bill done," while also expressing optimism about the passage of the bill.

Mark T. Uyeda, a commissioner of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), delivered a speech at the 2026 Asset Management Derivatives Forum, highlighting the progress of the implementation of Treasury clearing rules and the development of tokenization in the securities market.The SEC has approved the registration of two new clearing agencies, CME Securities Clearing and ICE Clear Credit, providing market participants with more clearing options. Data from the Office of Financial Research indicates that if the rules are implemented in the first 8 months of 2025, U.S. global systemically important banks could free up an average of $34.5 billion in balance sheet space.Regarding tokenization, Uyeda stated that the SEC has ceased to use enforcement as the primary means of expressing its views, instead promoting limited scope pilots through regulatory guidance and exemptions. He emphasized that SEC rules should remain technology-neutral, focusing on outcomes rather than processes, while ensuring appropriate investor protection measures.

According to The Block, Federal Reserve Governor Christopher Waller stated that the central bank plans to introduce a "streamlined master account" proposal by the end of 2026, which will provide limited access to the U.S. payment system for non-traditional financial institutions, but will not include features such as interest payments and discount window borrowing.Meanwhile, the legislative process for Congress's cryptocurrency market structure bill "Clarity" has stalled due to political divisions. Waller noted that as Bitcoin has fallen from its historical high of $126,000 to around $70,000, the "frenzy" in the cryptocurrency market triggered by the Trump administration is fading.

According to Jinshi, Federal Reserve Governor Waller stated that the resolution of cryptocurrency regulatory issues seems to be stalled in Congress.