regulation

Cryptocurrency exchange KuCoin announced that it has immediately suspended all products and services for users in Russia and Belarus, citing legal and regulatory compliance. KuCoin stated that it will provide affected users with an "orderly exit process" to facilitate asset withdrawals. The exchange mentioned in a post on X on Thursday that compliance is at the core of its operations and guides where and how it provides services.KuCoin is headquartered in Seychelles. This move comes as several cryptocurrency companies cooperate with the international sanctions imposed by the United States and Europe against Russia and Belarus, which are related to the war in Ukraine.Additionally, according to an announcement from the Central Bank of Russia on Thursday, it has approved the National Association of Securities Market Participants (NAUFOR) as a self-regulatory organization for cryptocurrency exchanges and custodians. The central bank's registry currently includes 23 cryptocurrency exchanges and 8 digital custodians, and registered entities must join the self-regulatory organization within 90 days.

According to Bitcoin Magazine, on October 29, the Central Bank of Russia approved the National Association of Participants in the Securities Market (NAUFOR) to become the country's first self-regulatory organization for cryptocurrency exchanges and digital custodians. This move implements the "Digital Currency and Digital Rights Law," which was passed by the State Duma in July, into an operational system. The law requires exchange operators and digital custodians to enter the central bank's registry and must join a self-regulatory organization.The central bank's registry currently includes 23 cryptocurrency exchanges and 8 digital custodians, including VTB, Sberbank, and T-Bank's parent company T-Technologies. Companies listed in the registry must complete their membership within 90 days. The self-regulatory organization is responsible for setting industry standards, supervising members, and communicating with regulators on behalf of the industry.NAUFOR stated that it will participate in the formulation of standards for the digital asset market and promote adjustments to the rules by the central bank. The association earlier this month obtained similar qualifications in the field of information system operators and currently has 725 members.The law prohibits the use of Bitcoin for everyday payments, and domestic cryptocurrency payments remain banned. It also issues licenses to exchanges and custodians, limits retail investors' purchase amounts, and establishes state-regulated cross-border trading channels. Non-qualified retail investors can purchase up to 300,000 rubles, approximately $3,800, per year through a single intermediary. Additionally, the Moscow Exchange has tested cryptocurrency trading with professional market participants and plans to launch in December; Sberbank has also been approved to custody Bitcoin and other cryptocurrency assets.

The Bank of England has launched a consultation on how central counterparties (CCPs) can accept digital forms of eligible collateral, stating that current rules allow for such arrangements provided that the relevant assets meet clearing standards. The draft regulatory statement released by the bank will clarify the matters that CCPs must specify when submitting applications under the existing approval process, covering collateral that has been accepted as well as types that meet the criteria under the proposed UK CCP rulebook but have not yet been used in practice. The Bank of England emphasized that this statement will not create new regulatory obligations.The Bank of England pointed out that tokenized collateral must always be capable of being valued, transferred, and liquidated, including under stress scenarios; the improvement in cross-border transfer speed helps institutions meet margin calls in a timely manner. Sarah Breeden, the Deputy Governor responsible for financial stability, stated that this consultation reflects the bank's goal of promoting innovation in financial market infrastructure while maintaining financial stability, and is part of a broader agenda by regulators and the industry to promote the responsible application of tokenization in financial markets.The consultation document will close for feedback on February 12, 2027, and the Bank of England plans to subsequently publish a policy response and related rules.

U.S. Senator Bill Hagerty stated in an interview with Bitcoin Magazine that the only solution for some members of Congress regarding the cryptocurrency industry is central bank digital currency (CBDC), which is "completely incompatible with freedom." He believes that the ambiguity of regulations allows former SEC Chairman Gary Gensler to take enforcement actions against the cryptocurrency industry, while the government's light-touch regulation helps foster innovation.The interview also covered the follow-up progress of the Clarity Act, the debate between Democrats regarding ethical clauses and stablecoin incentives, the regulatory division of labor between the SEC and CFTC in the absence of congressional legislation, and the impact of the GENIUS Act on payments and settlements. Hagerty also discussed the role of stablecoin demand in U.S. Treasury bonds and the dominance of the U.S. dollar.Regarding Bitcoin reserves, the interview discussed expanding the U.S. strategic Bitcoin reserves and related topics concerning 200,000 Bitcoins; it also touched on the American public's concerns about cryptocurrency, Bitcoin mining and Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) energy construction, Bitcoin businesses in Nashville, and the legislation that Congress could promote before the new session in January.

OKX founder and CEO Star stated on social media that they will promote perpetual contracts into the regulated U.S. market. This project is jointly advanced by the Intercontinental Exchange (ICE, the parent company of the New York Stock Exchange), the on-chain perpetual contract platform Trade.xyz, and OKX.According to public information, ICE has signed a final agreement with Trade.xyz to plan the establishment of an independent trading and clearing system in the U.S., supporting 24/7 perpetual contract trading for stocks, indices, commodities, foreign exchange, and crypto assets. Among them, ICE serves as the exclusive operator for the U.S. market, Trade.xyz is the exclusive partner for ICE to launch this business in the U.S., and distribution to retail users will be conducted through a joint venture between ICE and OKX.Star stated that this collaboration will combine ICE's institutional-grade market infrastructure, Trade.xyz's on-chain innovation capabilities, and OKX's distribution and trading technology, aiming to create a new generation of global, round-the-clock financial markets.

According to The Defiant, Australian bank Westpac announced that starting in December, it will set a monthly limit of 10,000 Australian dollars on payments involving cryptocurrency for its customers, and it will not provide exemptions or arrangements for higher limits.Westpac also stated that withdrawals from cryptocurrency exchanges to Westpac accounts are not affected by this adjustment and will continue to be processed as before.

According to RBC, Russia has established testing standards for cryptocurrency investors, planning to require investors to pass a knowledge test before buying and trading cryptocurrencies on regulated platforms. Ekaterina Andreeva, the First Vice President of the National Association of Securities Market Participants of Russia (NAUFOR), stated that the draft of the relevant standards has been submitted to the Central Bank of Russia's Basic Standards Committee.Brokerages expect to start offering tests to clients as early as the end of November, with scores recognized across different regulated platforms. According to the cryptocurrency regulatory law that Russia began implementing in phases starting this September, non-qualified investors can only trade high liquidity crypto assets on the whitelist after passing the test.

Michael Selig, the Chairman of the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission, stated at the CFTC's inaugural Frontier Forum in Washington that imagining a refrigerator autonomously purchasing groceries with funds from staked ETH, or even issuing its own Memecoin, "is no longer science fiction." He believes that when AI agents can hold assets and execute trades autonomously, regulators must make adjustments.Selig pointed out that the CFTC's regulatory framework is built around executing specific financial functions concerning "identifiable market participants," but autonomous software is raising questions about how these rules apply. He proposed that if AI agents identify trading opportunities and execute trades for users, their developers may need to register, who is responsible when the agent goes out of control, how regulators know for whom the agent is trading, and whether a new type of "Know Your Agent" rule, referred to as KYA, is necessary.Selig also mentioned that AI could provide smaller traders and businesses with risk management capabilities that were previously only available to large institutions, but greater autonomy also brings new risks: agents may react unexpectedly to market conditions, agents using similar models may exhibit correlated trading behaviors, and the speed of autonomous trading could complicate market regulation and risk management. Animoca Brands Chairman Yat Siu recently expressed similar concerns to Cointelegraph; Coinbase launched Agentic Wallets in February, and Binance introduced AI Agent Skills in March, allowing agents to trade within user-defined parameters or provide spot order tools.

According to Bloomberg, Sarah Court, the chair of the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC), stated at a parliamentary hearing that the agency has not received any applications submitted by prediction market operators. Prediction market platforms like Polymarket may face strict regulation in Australia, and any application for an operating license will also undergo rigorous scrutiny.Sarah Court pointed out that the trading mechanisms of prediction markets are similar to the binary options that have been banned in Australia, characterized by a win-or-lose outcome, and the trading subjects are often unrelated to investment or financial markets. Although Australian users can directly access relevant overseas platforms, they are not protected by local financial regulations, making it difficult to obtain dispute resolution and customer fund protection measures.

Circle submitted comments to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission regarding its proposed regulatory framework for cryptocurrency assets. Circle supports the proposal's goal of fostering innovation under clear rules while maintaining the advantages of U.S. capital markets, including transparency, investor protection, market integrity, liquidity, and efficiency.Circle also suggested that the cryptocurrency asset regulatory framework should align with the GENIUS Act. Given that payment stablecoins are increasingly becoming important considerations and settlement assets for on-chain capital formation, Circle requests that the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) clarify how payment stablecoins that comply with the provisions of the GENIUS Act can be used for these purposes.The letter further requests that the Commission clarify that eligible payment stablecoins constitute "cash" under proposed Rule 302(b), should receive appropriate U.S. dollar valuation treatment, and comply with the corresponding accounting and customer reserve treatment conditions.Circle also recommends that, provided objective safeguards are in place, the current 2% broker discount for payment stablecoins that comply with GENIUS be reduced to zero. Finally, Circle requests that the SEC clarify that technical services provided after the network goes live (including maintaining a known set of validating nodes) do not constitute necessary management work. Establishing safe harbor rules for the technical roadmap would allow issuers to continue maintaining and improving the operational network without inadvertently restarting the related analysis.

According to Solid Intel, Brazil's largest bank Itaú Unibanco has become the first bank to officially engage in cryptocurrency trading and custody services under the new regulations set by the Central Bank of Brazil. The bank has reported the relevant business to the Central Bank of Brazil on Tuesday, ahead of the deadline of October 30.

According to First Financial News, the Korea Communications Commission (KMCC) has determined that Google and Apple violated the Telecommunications Business Act by enforcing in-app payments, and has decided to impose a total fine of 63.7 billion Korean Won on the two companies. Among them, Google was fined 42.9 billion Korean Won, and Apple was fined 20.81 billion Korean Won.The regulatory agency also issued a corrective order, requiring both companies to modify their relevant business procedures. This penalty comes about three years after South Korea first announced its sanction plans in 2023.

The U.S. Department of Justice has filed an appeal, attempting to reinstate a nationwide ban against the artificial intelligence company Anthropic. The next day, the General Services Administration (GSA), responsible for government procurement, announced an expanded collaboration, allowing government agencies to use Claude at a 40% discount, paying based on actual usage without a commitment to a minimum expenditure. Anthropic disclosed that approximately 500 federal, state, and local government organizations in the U.S. are currently using Claude, with usage by federal civilian agencies increasing about 20 times over the past year.The GSA publicly supported Trump's ban on Anthropic in February of this year and removed Claude from the government procurement list. In March, a California court halted the comprehensive ban, and the GSA restored procurement eligibility in April. In August, the court further ruled that the government's broad ban was illegal. Although the Department of Justice has appealed, the relevant ruling will not automatically become invalid as a result.

According to Cointelegraph, Robinhood CEO Vlad Tenev stated during the third quarter earnings call on Tuesday that there is uncertainty about whether U.S. tokenization rules can be sustained in the long term, which may hinder investors from allocating large assets into the tokenized market. He described the five-year innovation exemption granted by the SEC in September as "a very positive step," but emphasized that further rule-making or legislation is needed to bring long-term regulatory certainty.Tenev noted that the uncertainty regarding the direction of the rules after five years is likely to become an obstacle to allocating large assets to this technology when communicating with clients. Tokenized stocks have previously faced resistance from traditional issuers, with 16 companies including Microsoft, Alphabet, and Goldman Sachs opposing their stocks being listed on the proposed OKXICE platform. AMC CEO Adam Aron has also publicly criticized Robinhood's tokenized stock products.Robinhood currently offers about 200 stock tokens on the Robinhood Chain, supported by the underlying stocks, but constructed in the form of tokenized debt securities, providing only economic exposure without dividend and voting rights, thus falling outside the scope of the SEC innovation exemption that requires rights parity. Tenev stated that tokenized stocks of private companies will be launched overseas, while seeking a path that complies with accredited investor restrictions within the United States. Binance Research's baseline scenario predicts that the market size could reach $34.9 billion by 2030, with approximately $4.43 billion as of September 15.

The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) is once again investigating the prediction market platform Polymarket to determine whether it has violated the 2022 settlement agreement, focusing on whether it has taken adequate measures to prevent U.S. users from accessing the main overseas platform. This review is part of a broader investigation initiated by the CFTC earlier this year, involving user geographic location identification mechanisms, advertising activities in the U.S. market, as well as the customer account opening processes and protective measures of U.S. platforms.According to the 2022 settlement agreement, Polymarket agreed to cease providing services to U.S. users. In 2024, the CFTC and the U.S. Department of Justice conducted investigations, which concluded in 2025 without any charges being filed; thereafter, Polymarket gradually returned to the U.S. market through the acquisition of a licensed derivatives exchange. Polymarket previously stated that it has strengthened geographic restrictions, prohibiting circumvention through methods such as VPNs, and established monitoring mechanisms. There is currently no information indicating that the CFTC has filed formal charges regarding this investigation.

According to The Washington Post, U.S. President Trump will announce the easing of regulations related to methane leaks from oil companies.

The U.S. Department of Justice submitted a notice of appeal to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, attempting to overturn the ruling made by a California court in August, which restored a full federal agency ban against the developer of Claude, Anthropic. On October 26, local time, Anthropic publicly submitted its IPO prospectus, and on the same day, the U.S. Department of Justice filed the aforementioned appeal.In September, the Washington appellate court allowed the Pentagon to exclude Claude from military systems and related defense procurement on the grounds of supply chain risks. The California court had previously blocked a broader ban that not only required all federal agencies to stop using Claude but also prohibited defense contractors from engaging in non-military commercial cooperation with Anthropic. The judge believed that the government lacked sufficient evidence to prove the associated risks, and the ban was essentially retaliation against Anthropic for publicly criticizing the government.The prospectus shows that government agency contract revenue accounts for only about 1% of Anthropic's total revenue. Evidence cited by the California court indicated that three government contractors terminated their contracts with Anthropic or were asked to cease cooperation, and three deals worth over $180 million, which were close to being finalized, fell through. Some clients requested the addition of unilateral termination clauses, while others turned to competitors. Anthropic had previously estimated to the court that if the broadest ban were fully implemented, revenue could decrease by billions of dollars by 2026.

According to Bitcoin.com News, the Central Bank of Ireland announced on October 22 that it has imposed a fine of €3,252,618 on Coinbase Ireland Limited for violating customer funds protection and outsourcing requirements in the Irish Electronic Money Regulations 2011. Coinbase admitted to the violations.The regulator stated that the violations occurred between November 1, 2020, and August 19, 2025, with a settlement reached on October 21. The case involves Coinbase Ireland's role as an electronic money institution, including the fiat and electronic money used by customers to purchase crypto assets, and should not be described as a MiCA custodial enforcement action.

Binance has submitted a cryptocurrency service provider license application to the Central Bank of Brazil through its local entity BBrasil, in order to maintain its operations in one of the largest cryptocurrency markets in Latin America before the regulatory deadline of October 30. The application was submitted on October 23, and the company stated that this will allow Brazilian users to continue accessing cryptocurrency assets, stablecoin trading, payment, and investment services.Meanwhile, Binance announced that changes for Brazilian users will take effect on Tuesday, including restrictions on crypto lending, margin trading, and other services, and will delist 22 cryptocurrency assets in the country. Thiago Sarandy, General Manager of Binance Brazil, stated that the company supports the consideration of regulated markets for virtual asset characteristics and hopes that ongoing dialogue with the Central Bank of Brazil will enable it to offer other products that were suspended to comply with current regulations in the near future.According to the regulations of the Central Bank of Brazil, existing cryptocurrency service providers must submit authorization applications by October 30 to continue operating under transitional arrangements. However, submitting an application does not equate to obtaining regulatory approval; Binance still needs to wait for the official review results from the Central Bank of Brazil to determine whether its local business can operate in full compliance.