TRM Labs policy team’s Ari Redbord and Angela Ang were joined by TRM’s EMEA Compliance Advisor Luke Dufour for a review of what mattered most in global crypto policy in Q4 2025. As jurisdictions across the globe move from rule‑setting to execution, the crypto and web3 professionals discussed how policy is being implemented in practice — from “supervision and licensing to enforcement — and what that means for compliance teams navigating an increasingly complex regulatory landscape.”
Angela touched on TRM’s Global Crypto Policy Review and Outlook 2025/26.
This year, TRM Labs had reportedly reviewed crypto policy developments in 30 jurisdictions, representing “over 70% of global crypto exposure,” which revealed several key trends:
- Stablecoins dominated policy agendas, with over 70% of jurisdictions progressing stablecoin regulation in 2025.
- Greater regulatory clarity created tailwinds for institutional adoption, with financial institutions in about 80% of jurisdictions announcing new digital asset initiatives.
- The impact of regulation on illicit finance remains clear. TRM analysis found that virtual asset service providers (VASPs), which are the most widely regulated segment of the crypto ecosystem, have significantly lower rates of illicit activity than the overall ecosystem.
Angela also pointed out that there appeared to be “a broader shift in tone.”
Led by the US, 2025 marked a “turning point in global crypto policy, with noticeably friendlier attitudes toward crypto.”
Ari agreed that 2025 had indeed been “a watershed year for US crypto policy.”
Meanwhile, Q4 has reinforced that crypto policy momentum “is no longer just about bills moving through Congress.”
Instead, regulators are said to be increasingly “using guidance, supervision, and enforcement to operationalize policy goals.”
Ari pointed to growing expectations “that agencies — including the SEC, CFTC, and Treasury — will continue to clarify crypto oversight through how they supervise firms and interpret existing mandates.”
Although legislative debates over market structure continues, the practical reality for industry is “being shaped now, through supervisory posture and enforcement signals.”
However, the TRM update clarified that crypto-friendly regulation does “not mean enforcement against bad actors is neglected.”
On the contrary, the quarter saw “arguably one of the largest enforcement actions in US history against Cambodian conglomerate Prince Group, which was running scam compounds across Southeast Asia.”
In Europe, Luke described 2025 as the year when MiCA decisively “moved from text to execution.”
National competent authorities are “implementing the regime, and firms are beginning to experience the practical implications of differences in supervisory approach, resourcing, and interpretation.”
Some “unevenness” is expected at this stage.
According to the update from TRM Labs, the challenge for regulators will be managing that “through coordination and oversight — and for firms, navigating cross-border compliance in a live regulatory environment.”
In the United Kingdom, policymakers had continued to advance a more progressive consultation agenda, including “significant work on stablecoin regulation.”
Although directionally clear, the near-term task for companies is “translating emerging stablecoin, custody, and prudential proposals into workable compliance builds that can scale as rules harden.”