Tag:Blockchain

1
United Kingdom: Crypto Regulation: Stablecoin
2
United Kingdom: UK Crypto Regulation: Regulated Activities
3
Congress Unveils Highly Anticipated Cryptocurrency Market Structure Legislation
4
FinCEN Issues Geographic Targeting Order to Require Certain Money Services Businesses to File CTRs for Smaller Transactions
5
First JPEX Judgement by a Hong Kong Court in Favor of Customers
6
Banking Regulators’ Growing Concerns over Bank-Fintech Partnerships
7
SFC Circular on Intermediaries Engaging in Tokenized Securities Activities (Part 2)
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SFC Circular on Intermediaries Engaging in Tokenized Securities Activities (Part 1)
9
Hong Kong Stock Exchange Launches a New Blockchain-Based, Real-Time Settlement Platform
10
EU/Luxembourg Update: New Blockchain/ DLT Pilot Regime for Financial Instruments Becomes Effective on March 23

United Kingdom: Crypto Regulation: Stablecoin

By: Judith Rinearson and Kai Zhang

The United Kingdom is quickening the pace on the new crypto regulatory regime. The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) published three papers in quick succession in May 2025: a discussion on key policy positions (DP25/1) and two consultations on detailed rules (CP25/14 and CP25/15). This blog focuses on CP25/14. Please see our upcoming separate blogs on the other proposals.

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United Kingdom: UK Crypto Regulation: Regulated Activities

By: Judith Rinearson and Kai Zhang

The UK is quickening the pace on the new crypto regulatory regime. The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) published three papers in quick succession in May 2025: a discussion on key policy positions (DP25/1) and two consultations on detailed rules (CP25/14 and CP25/15). This blog focuses on DP25/1. Please see our upcoming separate blogs on the other proposals.

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FinCEN Issues Geographic Targeting Order to Require Certain Money Services Businesses to File CTRs for Smaller Transactions

By: John ReVeal, Jeremy M. McLaughlin, Jennifer L. Crowder, and Linda C. Odom

On 11 March 2025, the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) issued a Geographic Targeting Order (GTO) to require money services businesses (MSBs) located in specified zip codes of California and Texas to file currency transaction reports (CTRs) for currency transactions of more than US$200 but not more than US$10,000. The regular CTR filing requirement for transactions of more than US$10,000 remains in place, but the GTO effectively reduces the threshold for such filings.

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First JPEX Judgement by a Hong Kong Court in Favor of Customers

By: Jay Lee, Natalie Chow, and Alvin Lam

On 29 October 2024, the Hong Kong District Court issued the judgment of the first legal action (Chan Wing Yan and Another v. JP-EX Crypto Asset Platform Ltd and Others [2024] HKDC 1628) against JPEX, which the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission has identified as an unlicensed virtual asset trading platform (VATP).

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Banking Regulators’ Growing Concerns over Bank-Fintech Partnerships

By: Jeremy M. McLaughlin, Grant F. Butler, Andrew C. Glass, Gregory N. Blase, and Joshua L. Durham

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (Board), and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) have jointly issued a request for information (RFI) seeking input on the nature, risks, and implications of bank-fintech partnerships. Accompanying the RFI, the agencies issued a joint statement on banks’ arrangements with third parties to deliver bank deposit products and services (Joint Statement). We will be hosting a webinar on this topic on 10 September (register here), and comments to the RFI are due 30 September.

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SFC Circular on Intermediaries Engaging in Tokenized Securities Activities (Part 2)

By: Jay Lee and Beatrice Wun

In our previous blog, we discussed the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission (SFC)’s position on the taxonomy of tokenized securities and digital securities, and whether tokenized securities will be regarded as “complex products”. In this blog, we explore the guidance set forth in the SFC’s circular on intermediaries engaging in tokenized securities-related activities (the Circular).

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SFC Circular on Intermediaries Engaging in Tokenized Securities Activities (Part 1)

By: Jay Lee and Beatrice Wun

On 2 November 2023, Hong Kong’s Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) issued a circular addressing the participation of intermediaries in tokenized securities-related activities (the Circular). The move was timely, as we are seeing a growing interest among financial institutions in tokenizing traditional financial instruments in global financial markets.

The Circular supersedes the SFC’s 2019 Statement on Security Token Offerings (2019 Statement) and clarifies the meaning of tokenized and digital securities.

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Hong Kong Stock Exchange Launches a New Blockchain-Based, Real-Time Settlement Platform

By Jay Lee and Beatrice Wun

Hong Kong Stock Exchange (HKEx) recently launched “HKEx Synapse” (Synapse), a new blockchain-based settlement platform to complement the existing post-trade infrastructure for Northbound Stock Connect. “Stock Connect” in Hong Kong refers to a market access program through which investors in Mainland China and Hong Kong can trade and settle shares listed on the other market via exchanges and clearing houses in the home market. “Northbound Stock Connect” refers to the market access program where investors in Hong Kong can have access to shares in Mainland China.

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EU/Luxembourg Update: New Blockchain/ DLT Pilot Regime for Financial Instruments Becomes Effective on March 23

By Dr. Jan Boeing and Maxime Barthez[1],

Luxembourg and the EU have taken an important step forward in the area of blockchain and Distributed Ledger Technology (“DLT”). With a view to removing regulatory hurdles to the issuance, trading and post-trading of many financial instruments for which an EU regulatory framework already exists (such as the regulation of transferable securities, units in collective investment undertakings and derivatives under MiFIR, MiFID II and CSDR[2]), the EU has put in place the DLT Pilot Regime through Regulation (EU) 2022/858 of 30 May 2022. The new DLT Pilot Regime applies (with certain limitations) to all (traditional) financial instruments within the meaning of MiFID II[3] that are issued, recorded, transferred and stored using blockchain or distributed ledger technology (“DLT Financial Instruments”).

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