regulators

ChainCatcher reported live that HashKey Capital CEO Deng Chao and Sharplink CEO Joseph Chalom jointly attended the 2026 Hong Kong Web3 Carnival roundtable discussion, exploring "From Finance to Strategy: How Public Companies Are Positioning Themselves Based on Digital Assets."Chalom, who worked at BlackRock for 20 years, began leading BlackRock's blockchain and digital assets team six years ago, during which he launched Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs, raising about $100 billion at its peak. He stated that the choice to establish a digital asset treasury with Ethereum rather than Bitcoin is because Ethereum is a "native productive asset," which can earn nearly 3% returns through staking, while Bitcoin can only be held in anticipation of appreciation. Sharplink has been listed on Nasdaq and has raised billions of dollars to purchase Ethereum since launching its digital asset treasury strategy last June, currently holding approximately 770,000 ETH and earning about 17,000 ETH and over $35 million in rewards for investors through staking.Regarding industry trends, he pointed out that Ethereum is dominating three major use cases: stablecoins (over 60% occur on Ethereum), asset tokenization, and decentralized finance. He specifically warned that currently over 95% of stablecoins are denominated in US dollars, and if stablecoins are to become the payment rail for trillions of transactions in the AI economy, Asian regulators should not allow them to be dominated by the US dollar and US Treasury bonds, as this will trigger a geopolitical competition to advance local stablecoin legislation.Discussing market cycles, he noted that the crypto market has experienced significant pullbacks since last October, with short-term prices being unpredictable, but in the long term, the current risk-reward ratio is at its best level in a long time. He emphasized that digital asset treasuries are not passive investments; Ethereum is a high-volatility asset, and volatility is a characteristic of capital appreciation rather than a defect.

According to Bloomberg, Andrew Ferguson, the chairman of the U.S. Federal Trade Commission, sent letters to payment companies such as Visa, Mastercard, PayPal, and Stripe, warning them not to refuse services based on users' political views or religious beliefs.Ferguson stated that preventing law-abiding individuals from conducting legitimate business is not in line with American values. This move comes as the Trump administration focuses on the issue of "de-banking," with the government previously suing JPMorgan Chase and its CEO Jamie Dimon, accusing the bank of cutting off services to Trump and his businesses for political reasons. The Trump Organization has also sued Capital One Financial Corp., alleging political discrimination. Both JPMorgan Chase and First Capital deny the allegations. Stripe responded that it would not restrict services based on political views.

A rule proposed by the U.S. Department of Labor to adjust 401(k) investment options has passed White House regulatory review and is expected to be released in the coming weeks. The rule may modify the fiduciary duty guidelines regulated by ERISA, allowing plan sponsors to include cryptocurrency and private equity as investment options.This proposal stems from an executive order previously signed by Trump, which directed relevant departments to promote alternative assets into the retirement account system. Currently, the rule is classified as "having significant economic impact" and is still pending further advancement.

According to Decrypt, the Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre of Canada (FINTRAC) has revoked the registrations of 23 cryptocurrency service providers in an enforcement action.The Canadian Minister of Finance stated that this crackdown marks a "significant acceleration in action," and the government will maintain this momentum. Among the affected businesses, two operate entirely in foreign jurisdictions. The FINTRAC website indicates that registrations may be revoked for various compliance failures, including failure to respond to information requests in a timely manner, not meeting registration eligibility, and failure to update records promptly.Prior to this enforcement action, Canada had been taking an increasingly strict stance on cryptocurrency compliance. The Minister of Finance stated that the government will continue to monitor and take new measures to address the risks posed by cryptocurrency businesses (such as cryptocurrency MSBs and crypto ATMs).

According to The Block, U.S. SEC Commissioner Hester Peirce stated in an interview with CNBC that the regulatory agency welcomes proactive dialogue from tokenized asset management companies.Peirce mentioned that the SEC hopes to collaborate with companies trying new financial products (including tokenized tools) to explore whether the market accepts these products. She emphasized that the SEC is not a "good or bad regulator" and does not determine the quality of financial products, but must ensure that products comply with legal restrictions and disclosure requirements. Peirce noted that in recent years, as attitudes toward blockchain technology have shifted, more companies have approached the SEC regarding tokenization plans.She mentioned last week that SEC staff are studying a "narrower" innovation exemption that would allow limited experimentation with specific tokenized securities under the existing regulatory framework while maintaining investor protection. Peirce stated that as companies test these models, legal, operational, and technical issues are expected to arise, but the regulatory agency hopes to work alongside the industry to address these issues.

Recently, there have been reports that the first batch of stablecoin licenses in Hong Kong will be granted to HSBC, Standard Chartered, and the local virtual asset trading platform OSL. We have inquired through the channels of HSBC and Standard Chartered's subsidiaries in China for verification, but neither has provided a positive response. However, an insider from one of the foreign banks revealed: "We are still waiting for formal news from the regulators."

According to Cointelegraph, the New Zealand Financial Markets Authority (FMA) has officially ruled that the stablecoin NZDD, which is pegged to the New Zealand dollar, does not qualify as a financial product.The FMA stated that the NZDD stablecoin does not constitute a debt security in economic substance, as its holders do not receive any profits, interest, or other returns, nor does it possess investment characteristics. This ruling stems from the financial technology sandbox pilot project that the FMA is advancing.

According to Cointelegraph, the Australian cryptocurrency exchange BTC Markets has informed the country's securities regulator of its intention to apply for a market license to offer regulated tokenized real-world assets (RWA).BTC Markets CEO Lucas Dobbins stated on Monday, "Our plan is to obtain the licensed infrastructure that allows specific types of tokenized assets to be offered and used by the public." He added that his vision is for the market to operate continuously in a world where tokenized stocks, bonds, and real-world assets will be traded alongside cryptocurrencies, with settlements occurring instantly.

According to Bloomberg, the UK Gambling Commission is planning to assess the feasibility of allowing gamblers to use cryptocurrencies for betting payments, a move that aligns with the UK's push for a regulatory framework for digital assets.The report states that the Financial Conduct Authority is expected to finalize regulations related to crypto assets this year, with plans for them to come into effect by the end of 2027. UK betting companies may be able to apply for crypto business licenses under the new regulatory system in the future.Tim Miller, Director of Research and Policy at the UK Gambling Commission, stated that the relevant exploration will be incorporated into the broader regulatory process for digital assets.

There are rumors that Chinese regulators are reviewing Jane Street's trading behavior in the Chinese ETF market. However, a person close to Jane Street stated, "We are unaware of these rumors and have no reason to believe they are true; these rumors should not be associated with Jane Street."This week, Jane Street and its co-founders, along with two employees, were accused of insider trading, fraud, and market manipulation, actions that have been linked to the accelerated collapse of the 2022 TerraUSD (UST) stablecoin and its sister token Luna, resulting in a loss of $40 billion in value.Founded in 1999, Jane Street is one of the largest proprietary quantitative trading firms in the world, with net trading revenues exceeding $20 billion in 2024 and net profits nearing $13 billion. Unlike hedge funds, Jane Street does not accept external client funds, resulting in significantly lower disclosure obligations compared to traditional asset management firms, a structure that has kept it shrouded in mystery for a long time.

According to Cointelegraph, South Korean banks are calling on regulators to restrict the issuance of won-denominated stablecoins to licensed commercial banks, citing concerns over money laundering risks and financial stability.

According to CoinDesk, the DeFi Education Fund (DEF) based in Washington, USA, stated in response to the UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) regarding the consultation paper on the regulation of crypto asset activities that regulatory obligations should only apply to entities that have "unilateral control" over user assets or transactions, and should not be considered intermediaries solely for developing or participating in decentralized protocols.DEF argues that "control" should be linked to specific operational powers such as the ability to unilaterally initiate or block transactions, modify protocol parameters, or exclude users, and warns that directly applying the requirements for prudent regulation, reporting, and platform access of centralized trading platforms, as well as complete anti-money laundering obligations, to automated, non-custodial DeFi protocols will be structurally mismatched.

According to Yonhap News Agency, the Financial Supervisory Service of South Korea has upgraded the investigation level regarding the large-scale Bitcoin mispayment incident at Bithumb exchange from on-site inspection to formal audit, and has initiated a comprehensive investigation on the same day.The Financial Supervisory Service stated that the nature of this incident is extremely serious, and additional personnel have been dispatched to conduct high-intensity audits, focusing on whether the exchange violated the "actual holding obligation," whether there are issues with "phantom currencies," and internal control loopholes. The investigation will primarily focus on the reasons behind Bithumb's actual holding of approximately 46,000 Bitcoins while mistakenly paying out 620,000 Bitcoins, as well as the asset custody and account consistency under its "ledger trading" model.Financial authorities pointed out that this incident could undermine the overall trust in the virtual asset market and will verify whether the mistakenly paid Bitcoins have actual structural risks associated with large-scale withdrawals. Additionally, the internal approval loophole that allows a single operator to complete large transfers at Bithumb will also be closely examined.

The Nevada Gaming Control Board has filed a civil enforcement lawsuit in the First Judicial District Court of Nevada, accusing Coinbase of providing unlicensed sports event contract betting services through its Coinbase Financial Markets division. The documents show that the regulator is also requesting the court to issue a temporary restraining order and a preliminary injunction, requiring Coinbase to cease "operating a derivatives exchange and prediction market related to sports betting" in Nevada.Mike Dreitzer, Chairman of the Nevada Gaming Control Board, stated that this move aims to fulfill regulatory responsibilities and protect the order of the local gaming industry as well as the interests of residents in the state. This lawsuit comes less than a week after Coinbase announced a partnership with Kalshi to launch prediction market services in all 50 states. Although Kalshi is regulated at the federal level by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, state-level regulators can still challenge related businesses legally.Additionally, Nevada has recently taken similar action against Polymarket, with the court previously approving a temporary restraining order prohibiting it from offering event-based contract betting to residents in the state. The related cases are also seen as potentially challenging the federal regulatory authority over prediction markets.

According to Cointelegraph, the Financial Supervisory Service of South Korea has upgraded its virtual asset trading analysis intelligence system VISTA and introduced automated detection algorithms to combat improper cryptocurrency trading.The algorithm employs a sliding window grid search technique to automatically identify potential price manipulation ranges, reducing reliance on manual investigations. Performance testing has shown that the system has successfully detected all known manipulation periods and previously hard-to-detect abnormal ranges.The Financial Supervisory Service has allocated a budget of 170 million Korean won (approximately $116,000) for AI performance upgrades in 2026. Future plans include automatically identifying networks of colluding trading accounts, analyzing abnormal trading patterns of thousands of cryptocurrency assets, and tracking the sources of manipulated funds.

According to Cointelegraph, South Korean financial regulators are assessing whether to end the long-standing practice of "one exchange, one bank" for cryptocurrency exchanges.The review is being coordinated by the Financial Services Commission (FSC) and the Fair Trade Commission, aiming to evaluate whether the current mechanism exacerbates market concentration. The report notes that "one exchange, one bank" is not enshrined in law but has gradually formed under anti-money laundering (AML) and customer due diligence requirements.Related research suggests that this model may limit access to banking services for small and medium-sized exchanges, thereby consolidating the advantages of leading platforms. This discussion is also related to South Korea's advancement of the second phase of legislation for the "Basic Law on Digital Assets." The bill plans to allow the issuance of Korean won stablecoins, but there are still disagreements regarding the regulatory framework and approval mechanisms, with the submission date postponed to 2026.

According to Cointelegraph, cryptocurrency lending company Nexo Capital will pay a $500,000 fine to the California Department of Financial Protection and Innovation. The regulator accused the company of issuing thousands of loans to California residents without holding a valid license and failing to properly assess borrowers' ability to repay.The regulator stated that from July 2018 to November 2022, Nexo issued at least 5,456 consumer and business loans to California residents without a valid loan license, and typically did not assess borrowers' repayment ability, existing debts, or credit history before lending. Nexo must transfer all funds of California customers to its U.S. affiliate Nexo Financial LLC, which holds a California loan license, within 150 days.

According to a report by Reuters, the French market regulator warned on Tuesday that as the transition period for the EU's new crypto regulation MiCA is set to end on June 30 this year, nearly one-third of about 90 registered crypto companies in France that have not obtained a MiCA license have yet to inform the regulator of their plans. Stephane Pontoizeau, Executive Director of the AMF's Market Intermediaries and Infrastructure Supervision Department, stated that as of now, 30% of the companies have applied for a license, 40% have decided not to apply, while the remaining 30% have neither informed of their plans nor responded to inquiries from the regulator, which is a cause for concern.According to the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA), companies that have not obtained MiCA authorization must implement an "orderly wind-down plan" before the end of the transition period. Previously, companies like Coinbase, Circle, and Revolut have already obtained MiCA licenses.

The South Korean financial regulatory authorities are evaluating the introduction of a "preventive freeze" mechanism, allowing for the temporary freezing of relevant accounts before suspected price manipulation in cryptocurrency trading has been cashed out.The Financial Services Commission (FSC) is studying a trading suspension system, aiming to align cryptocurrency enforcement standards with those of the stock market to address the current issues of needing to apply for court orders and the delays in handling. This discussion comes as South Korea advances to the second phase of cryptocurrency legislation, which may focus on stablecoins and market manipulation. If implemented, regulation will shift from post-event accountability to real-time intervention, increasing scrutiny on high-frequency, automated trading and short-term abnormal fluctuations, significantly tightening the market enforcement environment.

According to market news, U.S. federal banking regulators have stated that banks can legally engage in the buying, selling, and custody of cryptocurrencies.