Last week, TRM policy’s Ari Redbord and Angela Ang were joined by special guest Elise Soucie Watts (Global Digital Finance) for a review of what mattered in global crypto policy in Q3.
Read on for highlights from their discussion or watch the full recording below.
United States: Unprecedented momentum, but just at the starting line
In the United States (US), the White House released a sweeping 163-page digital assets report — covering everything from taxation to market structure and directing agencies to provide legal clarity through guidance and supervision, rather than wait for Congress. The report proposes a limited liability “hold” mechanism that lets exchanges pause suspicious funds while coordinating with investigators.
On Capitol Hill, the GENIUS Act became the first federal stablecoin bill to set expectations for reserves, redemption, and anti-money laundering (AML). The House passed the CLARITY Act, and Senators circulated discussion drafts that would divide oversight between the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC).
This momentum is real, Ari argued — but the US is just at the starting line. It still trails jurisdictions that have spent the past several years crafting and refining regulatory frameworks, and which are now well on their implementation journey.
APAC: Regulatory implementation and stablecoins in focus
Across the Asia Pacific (APAC) region, regulators kept implementation front and center. Hong Kong advanced its ASPIRe roadmap from February to grow its digital asset industry. And the Securities and Futures Commission consulted on new regimes for crypto dealing and custody — and published client-asset custody guidance. Hong Kong’s Stablecoin Ordinance also took effect on August 1; interested parties may now officially apply to issue a stablecoin in Hong Kong. The Hong Kong Monetary Authority emphasized that prospective issuers must demonstrate both compliance capabilities and present clear, concrete commercial use cases.
Elsewhere in APAC, stablecoin developments also continue apace. In Singapore, regulators have yet to publish draft stablecoin legislation, but several issuers operate in substantive compliance. Japan issued its first Funds Transfer Service Provider license to JPYC for a yen-pegged instrument backed by deposits and government bonds. In Korea, lawmakers tabled multiple proposals in the National Assembly, and the Financial Services Commission plans to release an official draft in October. In China, reports suggest officials may consider permitting RMB stablecoins, though the scope remains unclear.
EMEA: MiCA in motion, UK consults, MEA frameworks align
In Europe, regulators have moved MiCA from text to operation, and national competent authorities have begun implementation. Elise emphasized that teething pains — including unevenness — are expected, and that supervisors can manage them through training, oversight, and coordination. In parallel, work on the digital euro continues.
Meanwhile in the UK, authorities advanced a dense consultation agenda. Alongside recent consultations on stablecoin issuance and custody, and on prudential topics, the FCA issued a paper that maps its entire handbook to crypto. The Law Commission is analyzing private-international law issues under the Digital Assets and Electronic Trade Documents Act, and HM Treasury is pushing to accelerate authorizations and cut duplicative money laundering registrations.
In the Middle East and Africa, policymakers continued to build and align frameworks. Jordan published their first proposed framework to regulate virtual assets. Regulators in Kenya, Nigeria, Ghana, and South Africa are tracking US and EU developments, and are signaling near-term updates. In the UAE, multiple regulators issued clarifications on how their regimes interact, and the Abu Dhabi Global Market consulted on using fiat-referenced tokens (stablecoins) within regulated activities.
Stablecoins: Utility, risk controls, geopolitics
Clearly, stablecoins were the quarter’s top storyline across all regions. Stablecoins are interesting to many financial institutions, central banks and regulators, because their inherent value stability makes them the most payment-like crypto asset. They therefore hold great potential to realize the broad utility of blockchain technology. This is also why regulators have converged on reserves, timely redemption, and robust AML as the core controls. However, stablecoin issuers will be selective about where they issue, given that it is inefficient and unnecessary to do so in too many jurisdictions. Issuers will choose key jurisdictions that not only have conducive regulatory frameworks, but also fit their use cases and target markets.
At the same time, sovereignty concerns persist. Some authorities prefer domestic currency instruments or prioritize CBDCs, so the future favors interoperability over replacement.
Tokenization: Simple utility is the "killer app"
Asset tokenization also remains squarely on regulatory and business agendas, even if it got less airtime than stablecoins this quarter.
Ari, Angela, and Elise characterized tokenized money market funds as the near-term “killer app” because they package a familiar instrument with clear utility and manageable legal and risk questions. And Angela noted that tokenized US Treasuries grew from roughly USD 100 million in January 2023 to about USD 7.5 billion by mid-2025 — scale that starts to shape market structure. One way regulators are working to balance innovation with guardrails is through sandboxes, allowing supervisors and firms to test legal and operational seams before scaling.
Information sharing: Real-time, on-chain
In the fight against illicit finance, the importance of real-time information sharing has been made abundantly clear by the ever-accelerating speed at which criminals are moving funds on-chain. This is why TRM launched the Beacon Network — a real-time interdiction layer where law enforcement issues alerts to an always-on consortium of major exchanges, fintechs, and DeFi protocols. Exchanges can join free to receive alerts, block suspect flows, and coordinate seizures with investigators.
What we’re watching in Q4
As we head toward the end of yet another busy year for crypto policy, the team will be watching US implementation of GENIUS — particularly Treasury’s AML remit — and whether market-structure legislation can clear its next hurdles. In APAC, stablecoin policy work is also expected to continue. In Europe and the UK, supervisors will focus on consistent MiCA application and the FCA/HMT’s post-consultation outputs. And globally, attention is shifting from building domestic frameworks to making them work together — through reciprocity concepts, bilateral and multilateral arrangements, and the kind of supervisory information-sharing that lets cross-border businesses operate coherently.
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