regulations

According to a report by the Financial Association on September 4, the Thai government has ordered the suspension of construction on 49 data center projects, awaiting the introduction of new regulations for the industry. Danucha Pichayanan, Secretary-General of the National Economic and Social Development Council of Thailand, stated at a press conference on Friday that the suspension is necessary because the government is formulating new regulatory rules and regulations for existing data centers as well as those that are about to begin operations.The Thai Data Center Regulatory Committee, chaired by the Minister of Finance, held its first meeting on Friday. Danucha indicated that the committee is expected to announce new regulations for data center enterprises within a month.

The Securities and Exchange Commission of Thailand (SEC) has officially approved the travel rule for crypto assets, requiring digital asset operators to verify the ownership or control of wallets when customers send or receive crypto assets to self-custody wallets, and to retain transaction-related information for at least five years for regulatory review. Pornanong Budsaratragoon, Secretary-General of the Thai SEC, stated that the rule aims to reduce the risk of digital asset operators being used for money laundering and terrorist financing.The new regulations were finalized after two rounds of public consultations this year, with the first round presenting a draft in March and a notification draft released in June. The Thai SEC stated that most stakeholders expressed support. As the travel rule is implemented, Thailand is considering expanding the access to regulated crypto products. On Monday, the Thai SEC proposed allowing intermediaries to offer specific crypto derivatives traded on regulated overseas exchanges to retail investors.In the days prior, regulators also advanced the draft rules for spot Bitcoin and Ethereum exchange-traded funds (ETFs) and simultaneously sought opinions on the foreign digital asset custodians used by funds investing in crypto assets. Thailand's move aligns with global regulatory trends, as the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) estimates that by 2026, 83% of surveyed jurisdictions will have enacted travel rule legislation.

The Block's investigation shows that on the social trading app Fomo and Robinhood's self-custody wallet Robinhood Wallet, users can directly purchase Memecoin using credit cards via Apple Pay or Google Pay without completing a separate KYC identity verification. Transactions can also accumulate points or cash back rewards as normal credit card rewards. The media tested the purchase of WIF, and transactions on the Visa and Mastercard networks were classified under merchant category code MCC 5815 (digital goods media), rather than the cryptocurrency asset categories MCC 6012 or 6051 as stipulated by card organization rules, which typically come with crypto tags and do not earn rewards.These transactions are supported by the Token Checkout product from the crypto infrastructure company Crossmint. Crossmint insists that this classification is appropriate, citing the joint guidance released by the SEC and CFTC in March of this year, which views certain Memecoins like WIF as "digital collectibles." However, Chase stated that the Visa transaction was not marked as a cryptocurrency purchase and that the classification was incorrect, and they have initiated a case review with Visa; the New York Attorney General's office also stated that it is reviewing the matter. Vanderbilt University law professor Yesha Yadav and other payment experts believe that the SEC's position and card organization rules represent "two completely different systems."

According to The Information, the Trump administration is studying a new regulatory rule for artificial intelligence chips aimed at limiting the remote acquisition of computing resources for advanced AI chips in the United States.The report states that after Trump begins his second term in 2025, the White House announced the withdrawal of the AI Diffusion Rule introduced during the Biden administration. Currently, a small team within the U.S. Department of Commerce is working on a smaller, more targeted alternative plan to restrict geopolitical competitors from accessing advanced AI chips through remote methods such as cloud computing.The rule is still in the drafting stage, and specific restrictions have not yet been clarified, but it indicates that the U.S. government may re-strengthen regulations on the cross-border acquisition of advanced AI computing power, focusing on the possibility of circumventing physical chip export restrictions through remote computing services.

According to Bloomberg, the new regulations on cryptocurrency asset financing proposed by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) this month aim to restart the ICO financing model. The proposal allows startups to raise up to $5 million within four years and large projects to raise up to $75 million annually without full SEC registration.However, the market environment has fundamentally changed: in January 2018, ICO financing reached $3 billion, but now VC token trading volumes have significantly declined, and speculative funds have shifted to perpetual contracts, prediction markets, and AI stocks. Dragonfly partner Tom Schmidt stated, "Having something is better than having nothing, but it would have been more useful if launched a few years ago." Pantera Capital partner Cosmo Jiang pointed out, "Previously, meme coins that were legal but had actual value were illegal, which is completely contrary to the way capitalism operates." Analysts believe, "The ICO of 2026 is not the ICO of 2018; the era when white papers and dreams could attract capital has ended."

According to The Block, the Blockchain Association has submitted a letter of opinion regarding the stablecoin issuer rules proposed jointly by the U.S. Department of the Treasury's Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, and the Federal Reserve. The association supports limiting the Customer Identification Program (CIP) obligations to transactions where issuers directly face customers in the primary market, and it should not extend to peer-to-peer transfer activities in the secondary market.At the same time, the association calls on regulators to further clarify definitions such as "account," "customer," and "digital asset service provider," excluding one-time redemptions and other non-continuous businesses, and to avoid creating overlapping compliance burdens with anti-money laundering rules. The association stated that the implementation of the rules should balance stablecoin security, operability, and space for industry innovation.

According to the Nikkei, Japan's Financial Services Agency plans to relax regulatory restrictions on trust banks issuing stablecoins, opening up space for individuals to conduct stablecoin transactions exceeding 1 million yen, and intends to include relevant content in the upcoming tax reform proposals.If implemented, stablecoins could further be used in large consumption scenarios such as automobiles and housing, indicating that the application of stablecoins in Japan is expanding from small payments to higher amount settlements.

On August 24, according to Caixin, the National Development and Reform Commission released the "Measures for the Administration of Foreign Investment (Revised Draft for Public Comment)" and is publicly soliciting opinions from society, from August 21 to September 20, 2026. The "Draft for Comments" expands the definition of investors from enterprises to domestic enterprises, other organizations, and individual residents, and clarifies that reinvestment by investors abroad also falls under foreign investment.In the section on foreign investment regulation, regarding the classification and regulatory division of foreign investment, the procedures for approval and filing, and other matters, investors must obtain foreign investment approval documents or filing notices before implementing foreign investments. For individual residents newly included as investors, the approval authority is the National Development and Reform Commission, and the filing authority is the provincial development and reform department of their registered residence or habitual residence.

According to Bitcoin.com, Grayscale's research director Zach Pandl pointed out in an analysis report that if the SEC's proposed new regulations on crypto asset financing (Regulation Crypto Assets) are ultimately implemented, Ethereum, Solana, and BNB Chain may become the main beneficiaries.The proposal establishes two exemption paths: projects raising less than $5 million can be exempt from registration for four years, and projects raising less than $75 million can be exempt from registration for one year, with a conditional safe harbor designed to provide a clear domestic compliance path for crypto asset issuance and reduce the motivation for issuers to operate overseas. Pandl noted that tokenized financing has previously been hindered by regulatory ambiguity, and if the new regulations stimulate issuance activities, it will bring more U.S. issuers and investors on-chain, driving value back to underlying networks and native tokens such as ETH, SOL, and BNB. The proposal is still in the public comment phase, and the final rules may be adjusted based on public feedback and SEC review; increased network activity does not guarantee a rise in token prices.

Fox Business crypto reporter posted on the X platform that the SEC will hold a public meeting on Friday at 10 AM Eastern Time to discuss whether to issue a notice proposing a customized issuance system for certain investment contracts involving crypto assets.

According to Reuters, the Central Bank of Brazil announced new anti-fraud rules, under which some cryptocurrency transfers will be delayed for up to 24 hours. The new regulations will take effect next year and apply to transfers exceeding $10,000 sent to overseas virtual asset companies or self-custodied wallets, with the threshold calculated based on individual transactions or the total transfers of a customer in a single day.The Central Bank of Brazil stated that this move reflects the increasing use of virtual assets (including stablecoins) for the rapid transfer of funds obtained through financial fraud. The central bank emphasized that this measure is not a freezing of assets and will not permanently block transfers; it can also apply to other transactions that require stricter scrutiny.

According to CoinPost, the Financial Services Agency of Japan has announced a partial revision of the "Comprehensive Supervision Guidelines for Major Banks and Others," which will unify the reporting format for cybersecurity incidents across 17 regulatory areas, including cryptocurrency exchange operators.A new "Common Format for Other Cyber Attacks and Related Incidents" has been added, which, along with the existing formats for DDoS attacks and ransomware, constitutes a three-category reporting distinction system. As a transitional measure, non-specific social infrastructure operators may continue to use the old reporting format until the end of March 2027, with the deadline for public comments set for September 7, 2026.

According to the expected plan compiled by the Korea Digital Convergence Industry Association, the secondary regulations for Security Token Offerings (STO) in South Korea may include: allowing "pooling" issuance of similar types of underlying assets, setting over-the-counter trading limits for general investors, clarifying the licensing conditions and business scope for non-standard securities over-the-counter exchanges, and developing a phased roadmap for the tokenization of standard securities. In addition, the technical and financial requirements for issuer account management institutions are also expected to be included in the regulations.This expected plan is based on publicly available policy directions and industry discussions and is not an official version. Specific standards still need to be determined through legislative announcements, regulatory reviews, and other procedures. Previously, the STO market was primarily focused on single assets; if pooling is allowed, it could promote the issuance of multi-asset composite products such as music copyrights and real estate. The over-the-counter trading limits for general investors are expected to be higher than existing sandbox cases, but the final limits still need to balance investor protection and market liquidity. The status of non-standard securities over-the-counter trading platforms and existing operators, as well as the future path for the tokenization of standard securities (stocks, bonds), will be key focuses moving forward. The industry warns that after the regulations are implemented, the preparation time for related companies' systems and internal controls may be quite urgent.

According to the Financial Times in the UK, scammers are exploiting the new EU MiCA regulations to target users who are forced to withdraw assets from unlicensed crypto platforms after the licensing deadline. The fraudsters impersonate regulatory agencies and crypto exchanges to lure users into transferring funds to fake accounts.

According to Yahoo Finance, the "Financial Supervisory Commission" of Taiwan has announced that starting from October 2026, virtual asset service providers (VASP) in Taiwan must implement the Travel Rule when transferring virtual assets. For transfers exceeding 30,000 New Taiwan Dollars, the transferring party must not only provide basic transaction information but also additional details such as the customer's date of birth and residence for the receiving party to verify identity.This measure will be implemented in phases—starting in October this year, transfers between VASPs within the region will be prioritized, while transfers between VASPs at other addresses are expected to be implemented by the end of 2027. If operators fail to incorporate the relevant processes into their internal control systems or do not implement data transmission, they may face fines ranging from 500,000 to 10 million New Taiwan Dollars under the Anti-Money Laundering Act.

According to Jinshi reports, Premier Li Qiang recently signed a State Council order, announcing the revised "Regulations on the Protection of Integrated Circuit Layout Designs," which will officially take effect on October 15, 2026.

According to TNW, the Cyberspace Administration of China has released a draft of regulations for combating cyberbullying and is seeking public feedback. The draft requires platforms to establish classifiers for detecting and categorizing online violence content, provide users with a "one-click protection" feature, and implement blacklist management and regular reporting mechanisms for violating accounts.Notably, the draft explicitly includes AI-generated deepfake images and synthetic harassment texts within the scope of regulation. The Q&A platform Zhihu has already responded by restricting the use of anonymous accounts.