Politics, Legal & Regulation

December 18, 2025 @ 1:06 pm By JD Alois  |  

The  Small Business & Entrepreneurship Council  (SBE Council) has issued a statement on Senator Bernie Sanders’ attempt to establish a moratorium on the development of Artificial Intelligence (AI) data centers. Sanders went to X to share his belief that “democracy needs to catch up” to… Read More

December 18, 2025 @ 12:47 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Caroline D. Pham will join MoonPay as Chief Legal Officer and Chief Administrative Officer following the conclusion of her service as Acting Chairman of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). According to an update from MoonPay, Pham will be responsible for overseeing all global legal… Read More

December 18, 2025 @ 11:23 am By JD Alois  |  

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has charged Danh C. Vo, founder and CEO of VBit Technologies, with theft of investor funds in regard to a Bitcoin mining business. The SEC states that Vo raised over $95.6 million and then misappropriated $48.5 million of the… Read More

December 18, 2025 @ 11:09 am By JD Alois  |  

Sherwood “Woodie” Neiss, GUARDD CEO and securities crowdfunding OG, has sent a letter to the Securities and Exchange Commission outlining their ability to support secondary trading for exempt securities. The letter was sent in response to a statement by SEC Chairman Paul Atkins asking for… Read More

December 17, 2025 @ 12:00 pm By JD Alois  |  

This week, Katherine Kirkpatrick Bos, General Counsel of StarkWare, participated in the Securities and Exchange Commission’s Crypto Task Force Roundtable addressing privacy and financial surveillance. This is a hot topic today, especially with the advent of blockchain-powered financial services. While many blockchains allow anyone to… Read More

December 17, 2025 @ 10:16 am By JD Alois  |  

The GENIUS Act, signed into law last July, legalized payment stablecoins as issued by regulated financial services firms. This includes traditional banks, with many poised to move into the new form of value transfer and payments. Yesterday, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) issued a… Read More

December 17, 2025 @ 8:01 am By Omar Faridi  |  

Custodia Bank, a Wyoming-chartered crypto-assets custody institution, has petitioned the full U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit for an en banc rehearing of a divided panel’s October 2025 ruling that affirmed the Federal Reserve‘s discretion to deny it a master account. A master… Read More

December 16, 2025 @ 2:58 pm By JD Alois  |  

The American Fintech Council (AFC) has issued a statement in support of the Bank-Fintech Partnership Enhancement Act (HR 6552). The legislation requires the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, the Comptroller of the Currency, and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation to study how… Read More

December 16, 2025 @ 11:35 am By JD Alois  |  

Earlier this month, Citadel Securities issued a statement addressed to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) stating that it should not grant exemptive relief regarding the definitions of an exchange or a broker-dealer for DeFi trading protocols. Citadel claimed that granting broad exemptive relief from… Read More

December 16, 2025 @ 10:09 am By JD Alois  |  

The UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has posted an update on Open Banking. Unlike in the US, the UK has outlined prescribed requirements for financial services firms to allow customers to control their data, specifying who may access it, while providing streamlined processes for changing… Read More

December 15, 2025 @ 5:17 pm By Michael Wong  |  

South Korea’s push to tighten rules for virtual assets is moving into a second legislative phase focused on stablecoins, as policymakers and financial firms step up discussions on how won-linked tokens could be issued and used, according to organisers of an industry forum. The second… Read More

December 15, 2025 @ 12:03 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Germany’s regulatory authority BaFin has reportedly imposed stricter oversight on digital bank N26, which now includes certain limits on new business based in the Netherlands along with the appointment of a special monitor. As widely reported, this is not the first time that N26 has… Read More

December 15, 2025 @ 10:51 am By JD Alois  |  

The Securities and Exchange  Commission, Crypto Task Force, is holding another roundtable today (December 15, 2025). The topic of discussion is financial privacy and surveillance. As blockchain technology can provide broad capabilities for monitoring transactions, and the US government has been known to abuse its… Read More

December 15, 2025 @ 7:50 am By Omar Faridi  |  

Blockchain analytics firm Elliptic noted that 2025 has marked a turning point in how governments regulated cryptocurrency. Rather than depending on enforcement actions to shape the fast-evolving industry, jurisdictions across the globe have implemented comprehensive regulatory frameworks with requirements being defined clearly upfront. Elliptic pointed… Read More

December 15, 2025 @ 3:56 am By Omar Faridi  |  

Circle Internet Group, Inc. (NYSE: CRCL), one of the world’s internet financial platform companies, announced a regulatory milestone in the United Arab Emirates as it strengthens its presence in the region. Circle has secured a Financial Services Permission (FSP) license from the Financial Services Regulatory… Read More

December 14, 2025 @ 4:35 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Global Dollar Network (GDN) announced that it has grown to over 100 partners and its USD-backed stablecoin, Global Dollar (USDG), surpassed a market cap of $1 billion. This supports the aim to form a more open, enterprise-grade digital dollar ecosystem—supporting real-world financial use cases. As… Read More

December 13, 2025 @ 2:33 pm By Tony Zerucha  |  

As expected, the Web3 community had plenty to say about the Fed and rate cuts this week. Read on to learn about the impacts on crypto and the broader markets. “This rate cut validates our view that restrictive policy is giving way to a slower,… Read More

December 13, 2025 @ 8:18 am By Omar Faridi  |  

KPMG UK has commented on the Financial Conduct Authority’s (FCA) final rules on targeted support. Sharing insights and perspective on the publication of the FCA’s final rules on targeted support, Jane Wilson, Targeted Support Lead, KPMG UK, says that this is considered to be “a… Read More

December 12, 2025 @ 6:24 pm By JD Alois  |  

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) has approved five national trust bank charter applications. The approvals are conditional but will allow the entities to operate under federal rules. The entities approved are in the digital asset sector, including First National Digital Currency… Read More

December 12, 2025 @ 12:34 pm By JD Alois  |  

The Trump Administration wants to ensure that the development of artificial intelligence (AI) is regulated at the federal level and not by individual states. While Republicans tend to give states broad leeway in governance, the current Administration fears a fragmented approach to AI development will… Read More