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On 04 April 2025, Commissioner Caroline A. Crenshaw of the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (US SEC) issued a pointed critique titled “Stable” Coins or Risky Business? of the Division of Corporation Finance’s statement on Stablecoin crypto regulation, particularly its classification of certain USD-stablecoins as non-securities. Crenshaw challenges the legal basis and factual assumptions and stating as potentially dangerous precedent being set in underestimating risks and overstating investor protections in a market increasingly dependent on intermediaries. Crenshaw’s According to her, these stablecoins are uncollateralised, uninsured, largely inaccessible to retail investors for direct redemption, and susceptible to runs and challenges the US SEC staff’s analysis concluding that certain USD-stablecoins are not securities. She argues that the staff’s reasoning omits critical risk factors, misrepresents redemption mechanisms, and fails to satisfy the legal standards...

On 04 April 2025, the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (US SEC) through its Division of Corporation Finance released a statement on stablecoins offering clarity on the legal characterisation of certain fiat-backed crypto assets. In its interpretative document titled Statement on Stablecoins, the Division articulated that specific types of stablecoins, defined as "Covered Stablecoins", do not constitute securities under the federal securities laws when issued and redeemed under prescribed conditions. This clarification emerges amidst a broader institutional movement spearheaded by the US SEC’s Crypto Task Force, reflecting a growing commitment to bring regulatory precision to crypto asset markets. The Statement on Stablecoins forms part of the US SEC's evolving efforts to delineate the boundary between financial innovation and statutory obligations under the United States Securities Act of 1933 and the United States Securities Exchange Act of 1934. The US SEC’s...

On 02 April 2025, the United States Commodity Futures Trading Commission (US CFTC) announced the appointment of Rahul Varma as the Acting Director of its Division of Market Oversight (DMO) who has over a decade of regulatory experience and a proven track record in market surveillance and intelligence, Varma steps into this critical leadership role at a time when the integrity and transparency of US commodity markets are under renewed global focus. Rahul Varma began his career at the US CFTC in 2013 as Associate Director for Market Surveillance within the DMO, overseeing sectors such as energy, metals, agriculture, and soft commodities. In 2017, he played a foundational role in establishing the Market Intelligence Branch, later serving as its Acting Deputy Director. In 2024 he was appointed Deputy Director and consolidated Market Intelligence and Product Review branches, at the intersection of data analytics, product innovation, and regulatory policy. Prior to joining the US CFTC,...

On 4 April 2025, the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (US SEC) published a notice notifying the receipt and commencing the review of an application by Texas Stock Exchange LLC (TXSE) for registration as a national securities exchange under Section 6 of the United States Securities Exchange Act of 1934. This notice, published and documented in SEC Release No. 34-102773; File No. 10-249, invites public comment and takes up the notice to scrutinise for US SEC to evaluate TXSE’s compliance with federal securities laws. TXSE initially filed its Form 1 application on 31 January 2025, followed by Amendment No. 1 on 02 April 2025, by which they updated the exhibits and detailed operational information. The US SEC’s Division of Trading and Markets is reviewing the submission to determine whether the proposed exchange satisfies all applicable statutory and regulatory requirements for national securities exchanges under the Exchange Act. According to the application, TXSE...

On 7 April 2025, the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (US SEC) announced the agenda and confirmed panelists for the upcoming roundtable titled “Between a Block and a Hard Place: Tailoring Regulation for Crypto Trading.” The event will take place on 11 April 2025 at the US SEC’s headquarters, in Washington, D.C., and will be hosted by the Crypto Task Force for crypto regulatory clarity. The event is open to the public, both in person and online, and will run from 1:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. EDT. Attendees can submit suggestions and questions either via email to crypto@sec.gov during the event or through note cards available at the venue. A live webcast will be accessible at www.sec.gov without the need for registration, though advance registration is required for those attending in person. The agenda will open with remarks by Richard Gabbert, Chief of Staff of the Crypto Task Force and Senior Advisor to the Acting Chairman, followed by Acting Chairman Mark T. Uyeda,...

On 28 March 2025, the United States Commodity Futures Trading Commission (US CFTC) announced that US CFTC Division of Market Oversight (DMO) and US CFTC Division of Clearing and Risk (DCR) have formally withdrawn CFTC Staff Advisory No. 18-14, titled Advisory with Respect to Virtual Currency Derivative Product Listings. The withdrawal, effective immediately, was set out in CFTC Letter No. 25-07, issued on 27 March 2025, titled ‘Withdrawal of CFTC Staff Advisory No. 18-14 with Respect to Virtual Currency Derivative Product Listings’ which states that the Advisory with Respect to Virtual Currency Derivative Product Listings is no longer necessary given the evolution of the virtual currency derivatives market and Crypto Taskforce developments. The 2018 Advisory was originally issued on 21 May 2018 to clarify the DMO and DCR’s expectations in their review of new virtual currency derivatives proposed for listing by Designated Contract Markets (DCMs), Swap Execution Facilities (SEFs), or...

On 21 March 2025, the United States Commodity Futures Trading Commission (US CFTC) announced that the United States District Court for the District of Arizona has issued a pair of default judgments against Debiex, a digital asset trading platform, and Zhang Cheng Yang, a relief defendant linked to the scheme. The United States District Court for the District of Arizona issued a Judgment dated 13 March 2025, found Debiex liable for violations of the United States Commodity Exchange Act and US CFTC regulations, permanently banning the entity from trading on US CFTC-regulated markets or registering with the Commission. In a separate but related Judgment dated 12 March 2025 passed by United States District Court for the District of Arizona, Zhang Cheng Yang was ordered to return funds received without legal entitlement, having acted as a money mule in the scheme. These Judgments, arises from a US CFTC complaint filed on 17 January 2024, which alleged that Debiex orchestrated a...

On 20 March 2025, United States Securities and Exchange Commission (US SEC) Commissioner Caroline A. Crenshaw issued a dissenting statement titled "The Flame in Plato’s Cave" sharply criticising the agency’s latest non-binding guidance on cryptocurrency mining activities. The statement, referencing Plato’s allegory of illusory perceptions, argues that the US SEC’s approach creates misleading interpretations of regulatory obligations in the digital asset space. In a sharply analytical statement as a pointed critique of a recent staff interpretation concerning the securities law implications of Proof-of-Work (PoW) crypto mining. The statement responds to what Commissioner Caroline A. Crenshaw characterises as an increasingly frequent issuance of non-binding staff guidance on crypto matters, ten in the past nine weeks alone, according to her tally. The statement under scrutiny, issued by staff at the US SEC’s Division of Corporation Finance, concludes that PoW mining generally does not...

On 20 March 2025, the Division of Corporation Finance of the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (US SEC) released a detailed statement on Certain Proof-of-Work Mining Activities, offering its views on the application of federal securities laws to crypto asset mining operations, particularly those associated with proof-of-work (PoW) networks. The statement defines the scope of covered activities as those involving the mining of “Covered Crypto Assets” i.e. digital assets that are intrinsically linked to the technological functioning of a public, permissionless PoW network. The term “Protocol Mining” is used to describe the activity by which network participants (miners) validate transactions and earn rewards in the form of newly minted crypto assets in accordance with pre-determined protocol rules. It specifically addresses whether mining activities constitute securities offerings under Section 2(a)(1) of the United States Securities Act of 1933 and Section 3(a)(10) of...

On 25 March 2025, the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (US SEC) announced in Release No. 2025-57 that its Crypto Task Force will convene four additional public roundtables as part of its ongoing initiative to address regulatory challenges in the crypto asset space. These sessions follow the inaugural roundtable held on 21 March 2025, and aim to deepen dialogue on key aspects of the crypto regulatory landscape. According to the announcement, the scheduled roundtables and their respective themes are as follows: 11 April 2025: Between a Block and a Hard Place: Tailoring Regulation for Crypto Trading 25 April 2025: Know Your Custodian: Key Considerations for Crypto Custody 12 May 2025: Tokenization - Moving Assets Onchain: Where TradFi and DeFi Meet 6 June 2025: DeFi and the American Spirit Each roundtable will take place at the US SEC’s headquarters at 100 F Street, N.E., Washington, D.C., and will also be livestreamed on SEC.gov. No registration is required for virtual...

On 21 March 2025, at the opening session of the United States Crypto Task Force’s inaugural roundtable in Washington D.C., United States Securities and Exchange Commission (US SEC) Commissioner Caroline A. Crenshaw delivered the inaugural speech raising awareness and stressing on the importance of upholding the foundational principles of US securities law as the Commission explores the classification of crypto assets. The roundtable, themed “Defining Security Status” in respect of crypto assets and its classification in US, forms part of the US SEC’s Spring Sprint Toward Crypto Clarity initiative. Commissioner Caroline A. Crenshaw framed the discussion around two critical questions: whether crypto assets fall within the definition of securities under existing US law, and whether they should. She welcomed the opportunity for reasoned policy debate and emphasised the importance of regulatory clarity being rooted in the US SEC’s scope of jurisdiction and to create an umbrella for...

On 21 March 2025, at the inaugural Crypto Task force roundtable of the Spring Sprint Toward Crypto Clarity series, Commissioner Hester M. Peirce of the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (US SEC) delivered remarks welcoming participants and encouraging a renewed regulatory approach to the crypto asset space. The roundtable is part of the initiative by the US SEC’s Crypto Task Force and reflects the agency’s commitment to fostering collaboration and clarity around the classification and regulation of digital assets. Commissioner Hester M. Peirce began by acknowledging the symbolic timing of the event, which takes place two months after Acting Chairman Mark T. Uyeda announced the formation of the Crypto Task Force and coincides with the onset of spring in Washington D.C., she referred to the roundtable as a “restart of the Commission’s approach to crypto regulation,” commending US SEC staff for their enthusiasm and readiness to develop a workable framework. Commissioner...