regulations

The State Council of China has issued the "Regulations on Foreign Investment," which will take effect on July 1, 2026. China supports investors in conducting foreign investment activities based on market principles and actively participating in international cooperation and competition.Investors have the autonomy for foreign investment according to the law, making independent decisions, bearing risks, and assuming profits and losses. Investors engaging in foreign investment and related activities must comply with laws and regulations as well as international practices, respect local customs and cultural traditions, adhere to business ethics, act honestly and with integrity, compete fairly, fulfill social responsibilities, maintain the national image, and must not disrupt market competition order, damage the ecological environment, or infringe upon the legitimate rights and interests of workers. They must not endanger China's national security, harm national interests, or the public interest of society.

According to Jinshi, the German Ministry of Finance stated that it seeks to implement EU-level regulation on important cryptocurrency service providers and stablecoins.

According to CoinDesk, Elena Carletti, an executive at UniCredit Bank in Italy, warned that Europe may struggle to cope with the financial shocks related to crypto companies and banks. Carletti pointed out that when Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank collapsed in 2023, the United States decided to protect all deposits, including funds held by stablecoin issuers, a measure that helped stabilize the crypto market.Carletti stated that Europe cannot easily take the same measures. The EU's MiCA regulations require stablecoin issuers to hold reserve assets in liquid assets such as bank deposits and government securities, which ties them more closely to traditional banks. However, the European deposit guarantee system typically only protects up to €100,000 per bank per depositor. If large stablecoin reserve accounts come under pressure, this limit may not be sufficient to absorb the shock. Carletti described this as a "double weakness."

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) has proposed a new regulation to establish Bank Secrecy Act (BSA) and sanctions compliance standards for stablecoin issuers under its supervision. The new regulation requires stablecoin issuing institutions to comply with all applicable regulations related to anti-money laundering / counter-terrorism financing (AML/CFT), economic sanctions programs, and reporting requirements, including those issued by the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) and the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC).The rule will also establish regulatory and enforcement provisions for AML/CFT programs in accordance with FinCEN's requirements. The proposed rule will be open for public comment for 60 days after its publication in the Federal Register.

The European Central Bank (ECB) rejected the proposal to relax regulations on euro stablecoins, believing that such measures are too risky and could undermine financial stability and the transmission of monetary policy.Bruegel suggested at the informal meeting of EU finance ministers held in Nicosia, Cyprus, that liquidity requirements for stablecoin issuers should be lowered and that they should be allowed to access ECB funding support when necessary to combat a market dominated by dollar stablecoins and to avoid "digital dollarization." However, officials, including central bank president Lagarde, strongly opposed this, arguing that stablecoins could destabilize bank deposits, increase banks' funding costs, weaken lending capacity, and interfere with interest rate control.Although some finance ministers had mixed feelings about the proposal, several central bank officials questioned the idea of making the ECB the "lender of last resort" for stablecoin issuers. The EU is currently implementing strict regulations on stablecoins under the MiCAR framework, while the GENIUS Act passed in the U.S. in 2025 adopts more lenient rules. Currently, euro stablecoins account for only 0.3% of the global stablecoin supply, while Europe is advancing the digital euro project to enhance payment sovereignty.

Grayscale has released its latest research report, with Grayscale's research director Zach Pandl stating that as the CLARITY Act progresses and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) provides clearer guidelines, tokenized assets and blockchain applications such as decentralized finance (DeFi) may see development.Grayscale believes that Ethereum, Solana, BNB Chain, and Canton Network, which currently dominate financial activities on relevant chains, may be the first to attract institutional capital. The article states that in the fields of tokenized assets, stablecoins, and DeFi, Ethereum, Solana, and BNB Chain are in leading positions, while Canton Network also holds a significant share in the direction of tokenized assets.

According to Caixin, in response to the China Securities Regulatory Commission's investigation into Changqiao Securities and the proposed administrative penalties, Changqiao Securities stated that its licensed entities are regulated by overseas regulatory agencies such as the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission.Changqiao emphasized that customer funds are completely separated from the company's operating funds and are stored in independent custody bank accounts as required by regulations; the U.S. stocks and Hong Kong stocks held are respectively custodied by the Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation (DTCC) and Hong Kong Securities Clearing Company Limited (HKSCC), and are protected by the Hong Kong Investor Compensation Fund (ICF). At the same time, the company will strictly implement all rectification requirements and legally and compliantly promote relevant arrangements.

According to a recent video interview by Cointelegraph, Dr. Han, the founder and CEO of Gate, stated that the cryptocurrency industry is gradually shifting from a speculation-driven market to a phase focused on infrastructure development and real-world applications.Dr. Han pointed out that stablecoins, RWA, AI, and asset tokenization are becoming the core directions of the industry, while a clearer regulatory framework (such as the CLARITY Act) is expected to further promote DeFi, payments, and on-chain financial innovations.Dr. Han also mentioned that high user entry barriers, security risks, and fragmented liquidity remain significant challenges currently faced by the industry. In the future, the cryptocurrency industry will further integrate with traditional finance and play a more important role in areas such as payments, settlements, and the circulation of digital assets.Gate continues to deepen its multi-asset and TradFi layout. In addition to expanding assets such as stocks, metals, foreign exchange, indices, and commodities, it has also launched Pre-IPOs and listed its first project, SpaceX (SPCX). At the same time, as one of the first CEX platforms to access Polymarket, Gate is continuously promoting the development of the prediction market ecosystem and accelerating the construction of a comprehensive trading platform covering both cryptocurrency and traditional finance.

According to the official announcement, digital asset market data and analytics provider Kaiko has announced the acquisition of the European decentralized finance infrastructure provider Cometh, which holds a MiCA / CASP license, to integrate data, analytics, indices, and on-chain infrastructure capabilities, along with Cometh's expertise in smart contract engineering.Kaiko stated that after the transaction is completed, the company will form an integrated infrastructure covering BMR authorized indices, MiCA compliant products, oracle services, and on-chain execution capabilities. Cometh has previously been granted a MiCA / CASP license by the French AMF and holds ISO 27001:2022 certification.

According to Edaily, South Korea's FIU plans to tighten cryptocurrency regulation, proposing a reporting obligation for overseas cryptocurrency transactions exceeding 10 million won (approximately 7,200 USD), and strengthening KYC information verification and the applicability of the Travel Rule.The FIU is expected to hold its first discussion today (May 19) with the CEOs of the five major South Korean cryptocurrency exchanges: Upbit, Bithumb, Coinone, Korbit, and GOPAX, as well as DAXA.Some industry experts in South Korea have warned that implementing "full reporting" for large transactions may constitute excessive regulation and could lead to users and funds flowing to overseas platforms. They suggest that regulators should focus more on abnormal trading patterns rather than a single monetary threshold.

According to The Block, Nasdaq-listed Bitcoin ATM operator Bitcoin Depot has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in the Southern District of Texas to gradually shut down operations. CEO Alex Holmes stated that changes in the regulatory environment have made the current business model unsustainable, with states implementing stricter compliance obligations, including new transaction limits, and some jurisdictions even directly restricting or banning Bitcoin ATM operations.In April, the company experienced a security breach that resulted in the theft of $3.7 million. Last week, the company stated that there were "significant deficiencies" in cash transportation reconciliation, preventing timely delivery of the first-quarter financial report. Preliminary unaudited data shows that first-quarter revenue decreased by 49.2% year-over-year, with a net loss of $9.5 million, compared to a net profit of $12.2 million in the same period last year. The company was founded in 2016 and operates the largest Bitcoin ATM network in North America, with over 9,000 machines globally.

According to Decrypt, the price of Bitcoin remains around $80,350, with a short-term increase of only 0.8%, continuing to face pressure after multiple attempts to break through the $82,000 resistance level failed. This range is seen as a combined resistance level of the ETF cost line, the 200-day moving average, and the CME gap filling area. Although the U.S. CLARITY Act has passed the Senate Banking Committee, bringing positive expectations for crypto regulation, institutional funds continue to withdraw.Data shows that the net outflow of the U.S. spot Bitcoin ETF has decreased to an average of -$88 million per day over the past seven days, marking the largest outflow since mid-February. Analysts believe that this round of selling pressure is more about "profit-taking" rather than panic selling. On a macro level, rising U.S. Treasury yields have become a core source of pressure. The yield on the U.S. 10-year Treasury bond has risen to about 4.52%, reaching a 10-month high, while the April CPI has increased by 3.8% year-on-year, the highest level in three years, further delaying market expectations for a Federal Reserve interest rate cut.Analysts point out that geopolitical conflicts are driving up energy prices, exacerbating inflationary pressures, thereby weakening the appeal of risk assets. From an institutional perspective, some analysts believe that the current outflow of ETF funds is part of portfolio rebalancing rather than a trend-based withdrawal.The options market shows that Bitcoin faces significant resistance in the $82,000-$84,000 range, while $77,000 is a key support level. If the price falls below this range and leverage does not cool down, the market may enter a deleveraging phase, increasing the risk of a correction.

According to a Reuters report, Carolyn Rogers, Senior Deputy Governor of the Bank of Canada, stated during her testimony in the Senate that the design work for Canada's stablecoin regulatory framework is fully underway and is expected to be launched in mid to late 2027.She noted that the previously planned target for early 2027 was rather ambitious.

Paul Atkins, the chairman of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), stated that the regulatory agency is considering new rules for on-chain financial markets and related software applications.Atkins pointed out that current software protocols such as DeFi are difficult to classify within the traditional regulatory framework of exchanges, brokers, or clearinghouses, as a single protocol often has multiple functions including trade execution, collateral management, liquidity routing, and settlement. His remarks are seen as the SEC adopting a more open attitude towards the crypto industry, which is friendlier compared to his predecessor Gary Gensler. Meanwhile, the SEC is also exploring innovative exemption mechanisms for tokenized securities and advancing the clarification of the digital asset classification system.

According to Cointelegraph, the South Korean crypto industry group DAXA (Digital Asset Exchange Alliance), representing 27 registered virtual asset service providers (VASP), has submitted objections to the Financial Services Commission (FSC) and the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) regarding the proposed amendments to the implementation order of the Specific Financial Information Act.The new regulations aim to require domestic VASPs to report any virtual asset transfers with foreign VASPs as suspicious transaction reports (STR) if the amount reaches 10 million won (approximately $6,800), regardless of the risk level. DAXA warned that this would cause the annual reporting volume of South Korea's five major trading platforms (Upbit, Bithumb, Coinone, Korbit, Gopax) to surge from about 63,000 last year to over 5.4 million, making compliance practically impossible.The industry also opposes the proposed requirement to verify the accuracy of customer information, arguing that the subordinate rules impose obligations not clearly defined by law. This industry backlash comes as exchanges face sanctions from financial regulators in court. On April 9, the court ruled to lift part of the business suspension against Upbit operator Dunamu, but the regulators have appealed. On April 30, the court suspended the six-month partial business suspension against Bithumb. Coinone also received a temporary stay of execution.The public consultation period for the new regulations ends on May 11, and it is expected to be finalized in July after regulatory and legal reviews. This highlights the tension between South Korea's tightening of crypto anti-money laundering regulations and the industry's concerns about excessive compliance burdens.

Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) stated in a letter to the CFTC that state regulations on prediction markets are creating "barriers to fair access" and may weaken market liquidity.a16z pointed out that requiring platforms to restrict user access by state will affect market uniformity and conflict with the federal principle of fair access. At the same time, frequent bans and enforcement actions may also compress overall trading depth. The agency emphasized that prediction markets play an important role in information discovery and probability pricing, supporting unified federal regulation. The CFTC, on the other hand, insists that the relevant contracts fall under its exclusive regulatory scope.

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.