Cryptocurrency + FinTech

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On August 18, the U.S. Department of the Treasury issued a Request for Comment, inviting interested members of the public to provide input on innovative methods to detect and mitigate illicit finance risks involving digital assets. This initiative fulfills the GENIUS Act directive for the Secretary of the Treasury to seek public comment on methods to detect illicit activity involving digital assets, complements the January 23, 2025 Executive Order 14178 on “Strengthening American Leadership in Digital Financial Technology” to promote responsible digital asset growth and U.S. leadership in digital finance, and aligns with the July 30, 2025 report from the President’s Working Group on Digital Assets advocating enhanced anti-money laundering/countering the financing of terrorism (AML/CFT) measures through public-private collaboration. In conjunction with the SEC’s “Project Crypto,” this Request for Comment bolsters the Administration’s commitment to fostering responsible innovation in digital finance while addressing potential risks and misuses by illicit actors.

On July 31, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chairman Paul Atkins (Chair Atkins) presented “Project Crypto,” an initiative aimed at positioning the U.S. as the global leader in the digital finance world. In his address, Chair Atkins outlined his vision to modernize securities rules and regulations, enabling America’s financial markets to fully embrace blockchain technology and move on-chain. This plan solidifies President Trump’s vision of making the U.S. the crypto capital of the world and signals a new era of regulatory clarity and innovation for the crypto industry within the U.S.

Since the House passed the CLARITY Act on July 17, the U.S. Senate Banking Committee, which has oversight of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), has been busy working on its own version of the U.S. crypto regulatory framework. Chairman Tim Scott (R-SC), along with Senators Cynthia Lummis (R-WY), Bill Hagerty (R-TN), and Bernie Moreno (R-OH), released a discussion draft of the “Responsible Financial Innovation Act of 2025.” This comprehensive legislation aims to provide regulatory clarity, encourage innovation, and address key risks in the rapidly evolving digital asset ecosystem. This blog highlights critical elements of the draft bill, offering an overview of its major provisions and implications. Alongside the draft, the Senate Banking Committee has issued a broad Request for Information (RFI) to solicit feedback from the public, with responses due by August 5, 2025.

On July 16, TradeStation Securities, Inc., a member firm of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA), submitted a Letter of Acceptance, Waiver, and Consent (AWC) to FINRA’s Department of Enforcement. This AWC proposes a settlement for alleged rule violations concerning retail communications related to crypto assets. The acceptance of this AWC by FINRA ensures that no future actions will be brought against TradeStation Securities based on the same factual findings.

On July 18, America’s Credit Unions sent a letter to the Honorable Kyle Hauptman, Chairman of the National Credit Union Administration (NCUA), urging the agency to initiate rulemaking that would allow credit unions to take custody of digital assets for their members. This request comes in the wake of the recently enacted “Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for U.S. Stablecoins Act of 2025” (GENIUS Act), which provides a comprehensive federal framework for the regulation of payment stablecoins.

On July 14, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (the Board), and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) jointly issued a statement addressing the safekeeping of crypto-assets by banking organizations on behalf of their customers. This announcement clarifies how existing laws, regulations, and risk management principles apply to the safekeeping of crypto-assets by banks and does not create any new supervisory expectations. Importantly, the federal banking regulators clearly signal that banks can serve as custodians of digital assets including storing cryptographic keys.

Recently, the Department of Financial Protection and Innovation (DFPI) in California issued a consent order against Coinme Inc., a company operating digital financial asset kiosks, commonly known as Bitcoin ATMs, across the state. This order comes after findings that Coinme violated several provisions of the California Consumer Financial Protection Law (CCFPL) and the Digital Financial Assets Law (DFAL). Notably, this is the first enforcement action taken under the DFAL and signals that DFPI is focused on trying to prevent scammers from taking advantage of Californians.

On June 26, the Conference of State Bank Supervisors (CSBS) released new guidance regarding the treatment of virtual currency in the calculation of a licensee’s tangible net worth under the Money Transmission Modernization Act (MTMA). In the press release announcing the new guidance, Brandon Milhorn, CSBS President and CEO, expressed enthusiasm for the new guidance: “We are very pleased to issue the first CSBS advisory guidance to support the consistent, effective, and transparent implementation of the MTMA. The advisory guidance process will help the MTMA evolve and grow as money transmitters deploy new technologies and develop new products and services to support their customers.”

On June 24, Senate Banking Chairman Tim Scott (R-SC), Subcommittee on Digital Assets Chair Cynthia Lummis (R-WY), Senator Thom Tillis (R-NC), and Senator Bill Hagerty (R-TN) released a set of guiding principles for the development of comprehensive market structure legislation for digital assets. These principles, described in more detail below, aim to provide a foundational framework for discussions and negotiations with industry participants, legal and academic experts, and government stakeholders. This announcement comes on the heels of the House Committees on Agriculture and Financial Services both favorably reporting to the House the CLARITY Act (discussed here), which aims to establish a clear regulatory framework for digital assets in the United States. and the recent passage by the U.S. Senate of the GENIUS Act, a landmark effort to establish a comprehensive federal framework for the payment stablecoins (discussed here).