Cryptocurrencies

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The new Administration has a clear mandate to provide a securities regulatory pathway for crypto, but it had been unclear whether the SEC would take the initiative in building a framework for crypto regulation, or whether legislation making its way through Congress would steal the momentum.  What is taking shape…

In July 2025, President Donald Trump signed the bipartisan-supported Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for U.S. Stablecoins Act (the “GENIUS Act” or the “Act”) into law. The GENIUS Act is the first major federal law that specifically regulates the cryptocurrency industry, establishing a comprehensive regulatory framework for payment stablecoins in the U.S. The Act, which will take effect by January 2027 (or earlier if final regulations implementing the Act are issued), significantly reshapes the legal landscape for digital assets in the U.S. and may provide momentum for further Congressional actions in the digital assets space.

Generally speaking, a stablecoin is a type of cryptocurrency designed to maintain a stable value by being pegged to a reserve asset, such as a fiat currency, a commodity, or a basket of reliable assets. Stablecoins aim to provide price stability, making them useful for everyday transactions, trading, and decentralized finance (DeFi) applications, including liquidity pools for collateral in lending and borrowing and as payments for low-cost borderless transactions. Stablecoins collectively represent hundreds of billions of dollars in market cap, underscoring the significance of the Genius Act’s goal to provide legal clarity and a structured framework for stablecoin issuance and oversight. The law also seeks to enhance trust and reduce the custodial and operational risks of stablecoins that were evidenced in recent years during a major algorithmic stablecoin collapse and a “depegging” incident of a major stablecoin. Overall, the law covers digital finance regulation, consumer protection, anti-money laundering (AML) compliance, federal and state regulatory frameworks, bankruptcy, and U.S. monetary policy in general.

To do this, the Act:

  • Formally defines “payment stablecoins”
  • Limits the integration of algorithmic stablecoins into the mainstream financial system and only recognizes fiat-backed stablecoins as permitted payment stablecoins
  • Establishes a federal licensing framework for domestic and foreign issuers
  • Sets standards for reserves and redemption and prohibits “rehypothecation”
  • Clarifies regulatory oversight between federal and state regulators and expressly states that licensed stablecoins are not securities or commodities
  • Enhances transparency and consumer protections, including in the event of issuer insolvency
  • Contains provisions related to anti-money laundering (AML) compliance
  • Seeks to legitimize stablecoins under U.S. law, incentivize the use of U.S. Treasury bonds as reserve assets and generally position the U.S. as a leader in digital finance

As the digital economy continues to evolve, the U.S. government and a handful of states are beginning to experiment with new strategies for financial resilience, including the creation of Strategic Bitcoin Reserves (“SBR”). An SBR is a financial policy tool where a government entity, such as a U.S. state, allocates a portion of assets to securely hold Bitcoin as a long-term store of value or hedge against economic risks like inflation. SBRs function similarly to traditional strategic reserves of assets like gold, as there is a finite supply of Bitcoin.[1] A government (or corporation or individual investor) might wish to add a non-sovereign asset like Bitcoin to their portfolio with the expectation that such assets will appreciate over time or at least maintain a relatively stable value. Recent SBR legislation passed in several states shows Bitcoin is increasingly being viewed as a long-term financial strategy rather than as a speculative asset. These laws also serve as a marketing strategy to position those states with SBRs as tech-friendly and pro-crypto – particularly in light of shifting priorities under the new administration.

Stablecoins have emerged as one of the most transformative innovations in the cryptocurrency space, bridging the gap between the volatility of traditional cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and the stability demanded by mainstream financial systems. This rise has brought with it a wave of innovation, and nowhere is this more apparent than…

The Trump Administration and the new Republican-led Congress are expected to create a friendlier governmental approach to crypto assets.  Among other things, key nominees to serve as senior administration officials are known to favor a friendlier approach, including Paul Atkins, who has been tapped to become Chairman of the Securities…

According to a recent Bloomberg Law article [subscription required], in the past year there has been a sharp decline in active civil suits against cryptocurrency exchanges, digital wallet, mobile phone providers and others involving claims related to crypto hacking incidents or cybertheft, due, in part, to increased security protocols and…

U.S. government agencies continue to take action against cryptocurrency mixing services that enable cybercriminals to obfuscate the trail of stolen proceeds on public blockchains stemming from illicit cyber activity. On November 29, 2023, the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (“OFAC”) sanctioned another virtual currency mixing…

On 7 September 2023, the United Kingdom’s Financial Conduct Authority (“FCA”) set expectations ahead of its new financial promotion rules for cryptoassets (which we wrote about here).

From 8 October 2023, new rules for the marketing of cryptoassets come into force. The new requirements include the need for marketing…