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On 24 October 2025, the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) issued a public consultation paper proposing a framework to strengthen investors’ ability to seek civil compensation for losses arising from market misconduct. The initiative follows recommendations by the Equities Market Review Group to boost investor protection, encourage participation in Singapore’s equities markets, and sustain confidence through better recourse mechanisms. MAS’s consultation seeks to address structural and financial barriers faced by retail investors pursuing legitimate claims, while implementing safeguards against frivolous or opportunistic litigation.

On 21 October 2025, the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) published the 42 finalists for the 2025 Global FinTech Hackcelerator and the Singapore FinTech Festival (SFF) FinTech Excellence Awards. The winners will be announced at the SFF FinTech Excellence Awards Dinner on 13 November 2025, celebrating a decade of pioneering achievements in financial technology.

On 16 October 2025, the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) announced the launch of BLOOM an initiative designed to enhance digital settlement capabilities across the financial industry. BLOOM, an acronym for Borderless, Liquid, Open, Online, Multi-currency, aims to enable settlement in tokenised bank liabilities and well-regulated stablecoins through standardised frameworks that manage risks and promote interoperability. Its MAS’s strategy to integrate innovation with regulatory discipline. BLOOM builds upon the foundation laid by Project Orchid, launched in 2021 to explore a digital Singapore dollar and test the supporting infrastructure. Over ten trials were conducted under Project Orchid, leading to detailed industry reports and market-ready solutions such as programmable rewards, conditional payments, and cross-border collaborations. BLOOM extends this groundwork by focusing on multi-currency settlement, cross-border applications, and wholesale financial use cases, including corporate treasury management, trade finance, and agentic payments.

On 7 October 2025, Latvijas Banka released an insightful statement titled “Public Safety in Money Matters: Critical Financial Services and the Digital Euro,” authored by Modern Payments Expert Reinis Vecbaštiks. The piece examines how payment systems—once taken for granted—become a focal point of public safety and national security during crises. Against the backdrop of geopolitical conflict, climate disruptions, and energy shortages, the central bank reaffirms its long-term policy of ensuring payment resilience through a dual focus on physical and digital continuity. The narrative also connects this operational mandate to the European Central Bank’s digital euro initiative, framing it as a natural evolution toward “resilience-by-design” monetary infrastructure. The article outlines Latvia’s strategic approach to safeguarding access to money and payments during emergencies. It describes how the central bank, together with major commercial banks (AS Swedbank, AS SEB banka, AS Citadele banka, and Luminor Bank AS), maintains “critical financial services” capable of functioning even when communication or power networks fail. The initiatives include a strengthened ATM network with priority cash replenishment, the rollout of offline card payments for essential goods, and the development of backup digital systems. These efforts are complemented by broader European initiatives to design the digital euro as a sovereign, secure, and offline-capable means of payment that remains accessible even if individual banks or private infrastructures fail.

On 9 October 2025, the European System of Central Banks reaffirmed its commitment to the FX Global Code, a global standard of conduct for the foreign exchange market. The Code, first introduced in 2017 and most recently updated in December 2024, defines the principles of fairness, transparency, and integrity that underpin ethical FX market behaviour. The European Central Bank and all national central banks within the ESCB have renewed their Statements of Commitment, confirming that their internal policies and market operations comply with the revised Code. This renewal not only strengthens the integrity of the FX ecosystem but also reinforces confidence in monetary policy transmission through well-functioning financial markets.

On 9 October 2025, the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority (FINMA) issued Guidance 04/2025, announcing an extension of the transitional period for the exchange of collateral in certain over-the-counter (OTC) derivative transactions. The current transitional period, which was due to expire on 1 January 2026, will now be extended for an additional three years until 1 January 2029. The extension applies to transactions not cleared through a central counterparty authorised or recognised by FINMA to maintain regulatory equivalence and market stability in line with evolving global frameworks.

On 30 September 2025, the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority (FINMA) Chair, Marlene Amstad, addressed the AMF–AEFR Conference on Technological Frontiers in Finance in Paris. The event was hosted by the Autorité des Marchés Financiers (AMF) and the Association Europe Finances Régulations (AEFR), featuring global regulators including Tuhin Kanta Pandey, Chair of the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), and Tuang Lee Lim, Assistant Managing Director of the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) and Chair of the IOSCO Fintech Task Force. The discussion focused on the growing influence of artificial intelligence (AI) across financial markets and regulatory supervision. Amstad outlined FINMA’s findings from Swiss market surveys, the IOSCO SupTech Survey, and the global implications of AI for financial stability, governance, and international cooperation.

On 8 October 2025, the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (US SEC) postponed its scheduled Crypto Task Force Roundtable on Financial Surveillance and Privacy due to a lapse in federal appropriations. The event, originally set to take place at US SEC Headquarters in Washington D.C. from 1:00 PM to 4:00 PM ET on 17 october 2025, will be rescheduled to a later date. Registration had been open for in-person attendance, with a webcast option available to the public. Updated details on the agenda and participating panelists will be announced once a new date is confirmed.

On 30 September 2025, United States SEC Commissioner Hester M. Peirce addressed the Digital Assets Summit in Singapore, delivering remarks titled “Cultivating Confidence: The Role of Custody in Institutional Confidence – Public Trust and Oversight.” Commissioner Peirce spoke on the challenges of crypto custody and the urgent need for clarity in regulatory treatment of custodians. She emphasised that investor trust depends on effective and adaptable custody frameworks, not outdated prescriptions. The Commissioner discussed how restrictive regulatory steps, such as the US SEC’s Staff Accounting Bulletin No. 121 and the Special Purpose Broker-Dealer framework, hindered market participation. Peirce urged regulators to consider principles-based custody frameworks and recognise technological solutions like blockchain transparency and smart contracts. She reaffirmed that fostering investor confidence requires balancing regulatory oversight with commercial reality.

On 30 September 2025, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (US SEC), through its Division of Investment Management, issued a no-action letter permitting state-chartered trust companies to act as custodians for crypto assets under the United States Investment Advisers Act of 1940 and the United States Investment Company Act of 1940. The relief allows investment advisers, registered investment companies, and business development companies to treat certain state trust companies as “banks,” provided they operate under state supervision and possess fiduciary authority. The decision triggered immediate dissent from US SEC Commissioner Caroline A. Crenshaw, who issued a strongly worded statement titled “Poking Holes: Statement in Response to No-Action Relief for State Trust Companies Acting as Crypto Asset Custodians.” Crenshaw warned that the new relief dilutes investor protections embedded in federal custody regulations and bypasses statutory due process, underscoring the need for formal rulemaking on digital asset custodianship.

The Financial Intelligence Unit of India (FIU-IND) ordered the blocking of access to 25 offshore crypto exchanges for failing to register under the Indian Prevention of Money-Laundering Act, 2002 (PMLA 2002). The enforcement action follows earlier notices issued to offshore platforms that had been serving Indian users without compliance with registration and anti-money laundering obligations.

On 25 September 2025, Lucy Castledine, Director of Consumer Investments at the UK Financial Conduct Authority (UK FCA), set out the regulator’s five-year strategy at the PIMFA Compliance Conference. She confirmed four priorities that will shape the regulatory landscape for 2025 and beyond: supporting growth, being a smarter regulator, embedding Consumer Duty, and tackling financial crime.