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The UK government has laid a draft statutory instrument before Parliament to govern cryptoassets, while the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has published corresponding perimeter guidance. The new framework, part of the Financial Services and Markets Act, is set to commence on October 25, 2027, with the firm authorisation window opening in September 2026.

This development is critical for all firms in the digital asset space operating in or providing services to the UK. The publications provide significant clarity on the scope of regulated activities, addressing key industry concerns around territoriality, staking, safeguarding, and stablecoins. The statutory instrument introduces important exclusions, including for certain technical service providers and proprietary trading, to avoid stifling innovation and placing UK firms at a competitive disadvantage. It also clarifies rules for stablecoin backing and nominee-operated safeguarding arrangements.

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The UK government has announced its intention to give the Bank of England a new statutory objective to support innovation in payments systems. The measure, which will be introduced as an amendment to the Financial Services and Markets Bill, formalizes the government's push to modernize the UK's payments landscape and create a supportive environment for new technologies like systemic stablecoins.

For financial services firms and fintech innovators, this signals continued high-level support for the sector's growth. However, the new objective will be explicitly secondary to the Bank's primary mandate of protecting and enhancing financial stability. The Bank will not be required to support initiatives that could undermine systemic integrity. This extends an approach already applied to the Bank's regulation of central counterparties and securities depositories. Counsel should monitor the upcoming debates on the Bill in the House of Lords to see the precise scope and wording of the Bank's new remit and how it may influence ongoing work on new retail payments infrastructure and stablecoin

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The U.S. Department of the Treasury has issued a long-awaited Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) to implement the Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for U.S. Stablecoins (GENIUS) Act. Enacted in July 2025, the Act creates a comprehensive federal licensing and supervisory framework for payment stablecoins. This NPRM proposes definitions for crucial jurisdictional terms, including what it means to “issue a payment stablecoin in the United States” and to “offer or sell” one to a person in the U.S. These definitions are fundamental for the digital asset industry, as they will determine which issuers must obtain a federal license starting in January 2027 and which stablecoins digital asset service providers can lawfully offer to U.S. customers. The rules will significantly impact both domestic and foreign-based issuers and exchanges seeking access to the American market. The Treasury has opened a 60-day public comment period, and market participants are expected to weigh in heavily on the proposal, which will shape the future of the U.S. stablecoin landscape.

The U.S. Department of the Treasury has issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) to implement the Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for U.S. Stablecoins (GENIUS) Act. The proposed rules focus on clarifying critical jurisdictional terms, such as what constitutes “issuing a payment stablecoin in the United States” and what it means to “offer or sell” one to a person in the U.S.

These definitions are fundamental to the new regulatory framework. They will determine which stablecoin issuers must obtain a U.S. license and under what conditions digital asset service providers can offer foreign-issued stablecoins in the American market. The GENIUS Act, enacted in July 2025, creates a comprehensive licensing regime for payment stablecoins, and this NPRM is a key step in its operationalization. It will affect all participants in the digital asset ecosystem, from issuers and exchanges to investors and traditional financial institutions exploring the space.

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On June 30, 2026, the Treasury's Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) issued an alert detailing a scheme by Mexican cartels to smuggle U.S.-sourced fuel into Mexico to evade import taxes. The scheme relies on U.S. financial institutions to process payments—including wire transfers and stablecoins—and launder the proceeds. In a parallel action, the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) sanctioned two individuals and nine entities for their roles in the operation.

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Treasury's proposed rules translate the GENIUS Act's statutory framework into operational requirements for stablecoin issuers, intermediaries, and platforms handling the offer and sale of payment stablecoins. The package is expected to address registration and licensing pathways, reserve composition and attestation standards, redemption rights, anti-money laundering obligations, and disclosure requirements, though the specific contours should be confirmed against the published Federal Register text. Sophisticated issuers, banks exploring custody or issuance partnerships, exchanges, and tokenization platforms need to assess how the proposal interacts with existing BSA/AML, securities, and banking-supervisor expectations, and to prepare comments before the comment window closes. Counsel should also evaluate extraterritorial reach, permissible reserve assets, and any conflict with state regimes such as New York's BitLicense or money transmitter frameworks. Watch for the closing of the comment period, Treasury's response to industry feedback, and any parallel rulemaking from the OCC, FDI

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Between June and July 2026, U.S. regulators and Congress advanced a broad array of digital asset measures. California’s Digital Financial Assets Law took effect July 1, requiring DFPI licensure for businesses exchanging, transferring, storing, or issuing digital assets with California residents, with penalties up to $100,000 per day for unlicensed activity. Illinois enacted a 0.2% privilege tax on digital asset transactions effective January 1, 2027, though litigation and repeal efforts are pending. The Senate Banking and Agriculture Committees released merged Clarity Act text with an ethics provision barring public officials from profiting from digital assets; a cloture vote is scheduled for September. The SEC’s 2026 Regulatory Agenda targets exchange and broker-dealer rules for digital assets, while the agency also sought comment on novel ETFs including crypto holdings. Federal regulators proposed BSA/AML rules for payment stablecoin issuers under the GENIUS Act, with comments due in August. The OCC approved Circle and Sony Bank applications for national trust banks focused on digi

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This weekly blockchain digest covers four key developments. First, multiple major payments firms are launching stablecoin integrations, while stablecoin issuer Circle secured a limited purpose trust charter from the New York Department of Financial Services and fintech Dakota applied for a national trust bank charter, signaling growing regulatory clarity for stablecoin issuers. Second, several large U.S. banks are rolling out tokenized deposit products for corporate clients, with planned 24/7 settlement, smart contract functionality, and the same regulatory protections and deposit insurance eligibility as traditional deposits. Third, the Bank for International Settlements launched Project Agorá, a public-private partnership with 8 central banks and 40+ financial institutions to test tokenized wholesale cross-border payments. Finally, a $130 million Bitcoin theft from Coldcard hardware wallets highlights ongoing cybersecurity risks for crypto asset holdings, with users advised to update firmware and replace seed phrases.

The OCC denied Wise US Inc.’s application to launch Wise National Trust, a proposed national trust bank with planned crypto and stablecoin interoperability services, citing unaddressed AML/CFT deficiencies, weak governance, and management unfamiliarity with national banking rules. The denial references Wise’s 2025 $4.2 million multistate AML settlement and notes the proposed trust’s elevated financial crime risk from its planned digital asset services. The decision signals that the OCC will hold crypto-adjacent fintechs to strict enterprise-wide compliance standards even for small, subsidiary banking operations, and requires applicants to demonstrate robust, organization-wide AML frameworks tailored to digital asset risks before charter approval.

This update covers key July 2026 crypto industry developments: SEC Commissioner Hester Peirce issued guidance clarifying that parties managing crypto vaults or onchain lending strategies may trigger federal securities law obligations if they exercise discretion over asset allocations, interest rates, or liquidation thresholds. The SEC and DOJ also announced multiple enforcement actions targeting crypto fraud, including charges against a Florida operator accused of misappropriating $22 million in investor funds and seizure of $25 million tied to international scam networks. On the market side, multiple U.S. financial institutions launched regulated spot crypto trading for clients, a U.S. crypto payment processor secured an EU MiCA license for cross-border stablecoin services, and major firms announced partnerships to launch tokenized securities IPOs and onchain prime brokerage products. Two crypto bridge exploits resulted in $31.6 million in stolen funds, underscoring cross-chain cybersecurity risks. In-house counsel should assess whether their firm’s crypto yield products fall under

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This week’s blockchain digest covers six high-impact developments for crypto and financial services stakeholders. First, stablecoin issuer Circle received final OCC approval to launch a national trust bank for digital asset custody, Visa debuted a stablecoin platform for financial institutions, and Tether completed a cross-border stablecoin remittance proof of concept with Hyundai. Second, DTCC successfully piloted tokenized securities settlement with over 30 traditional and digital finance firms. Third, U.S. bank trade groups urged Senate revisions to the Clarity Act to close loopholes allowing stablecoins to function as interest-bearing deposit substitutes. Fourth, the U.S. and UK Treasuries published a joint stablecoin statement endorsing cross-border regulatory coordination and full reserve backing requirements. Fifth, OFAC added four Iran Central Bank crypto wallets to its sanctions list, leading Tether to freeze $131 million in USDT, and Interpol’s Operation First Light 2026 resulted in 5,800 arrests and $293 million in intercepted illicit crypto assets across 97 jurisdictions.

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