#crypto-regulation

#crypto-regulation

In a major regulatory win for the cryptocurrency sector, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) has granted conditional approval for Circle Internet Group ( ) and Ripple to establish new national trust banks. The OCC also conditionally approved Paxos, BitGo, and Fidelity Digital Assets to convert their existing state trust licenses into national charters. These five approvals mark a significant step toward integrating digital asset firms into the federal banking system.

According to Pakistan's finance ministry, the MoU with Binance will allow the government to assess tokenising sovereign bonds, treasury bills, and commodity reserves - including oil, gas, and metals - as it seeks new tools to boost liquidity and expand market reach. Tokenization would create digital representations of real-world assets on blockchain networks, potentially widening investor access and supporting secondary-market efficiency.

The review will focus on safeguards for both direct and indirect investments in crypto-assets by retail investors, regulators added. The decision came during a meeting of the Committee for Macroprudential Policies. The committee includes the heads of the Bank of Italy, market watchdog Consob, insurance and pension regulators, and the Treasury's director general, according to Reuters reporting. Committee members warned that risks from crypto-assets could rise. Growing connections between crypto and the wider financial system, along with inconsistent international regulations, could heighten vulnerabilities, they said.

While many of the findings - such as the Fed, FDIC, and OCC pressuring banks away from crypto through informal guidance, and the SEC's "enforce first, make rules never" approach - were previously known, the report now places them squarely in the Congressional record. The report identifies at least 30 entities that were effectively "debanked" through informal regulatory guidance and supervisory pressure. These businesses, the Committee claims, were forced out of the U.S. banking system without formal enforcement actions.

Harris highlighted the "borderless nature" of the crypto market, suggesting that a passporting system - where companies regulated in one jurisdiction can operate in another without undergoing a full authorization process - could enhance investor protection, reduce compliance costs, and improve market interoperability.

One of crypto's largest, and most controversial, companies is coming to the U.S. On Friday, at an event hosted at a spy museum in New York City, the stablecoin issuer Tether announced that it was launching a U.S. stablecoin called USAT, a stunning reversal for an operation that just last year appeared to be in the crosshairs of U.S. law enforcement officials.

Are lawyers at heightened risk of developing a gambling addiction? I've got 2 bills on "no," who wants in on that action? [ ABA Journal] SEC and CFTC look to crypto regulation, which will come to a halt once they learn what Trumpcoin is. [ Law360] Trump's handling of federal workers puts him on collision course with limits of legal authority. [ Bloomberg Law News]

Andreessen Horowitz' plan to push its agenda in Washington shows no sign of slowing down, with the firm reporting $1.49 million in federal lobbying so far this year, according to lobbying records filed with Congress. A16z is even narrowly outspending its own industry trade group, the National Venture Capital Association. The pace of lobbying appears to be accelerating from last year, according to a TechCrunch review of lobbying disclosures. A16z spent $1.8 million on lobbying in all of 2024 and $950,000 in 2023.

Gugnin allegedly facilitated over $530 million in transactions for Russian clients linked to sanctioned banks, employing Tether to circumvent US sanctions and export controls.

In his opening remarks, Senator Scott emphasized that more illegal activities occur with cash than with crypto, suggesting that cash carries greater risks for illicit finance.