Regulatory update: Trump signs CRA, STABLE bill moves, SEC on stablecoins

Editor’s note: Our Regulatory Updates series highlights the latest regulatory, legal, and policy happenings relevant to the crypto industry, curated by the a16z crypto regulatory team.

Regulatory news: March 28 – April 11, 2025

🧠 tl;dr

• President Donald Trump signed a Congressional Review Act resolution disapproving the Internal Revenue Service’s decentralized finance broker reporting rule.
• The House Financial Services Committee voted 32-17 to pass the Stablecoin Transparency and Accountability for a Better Ledger Economy (STABLE) Act in a full committee markup, making the bill eligible to move to the House Floor for a vote.
• The Office of the Deputy Attorney General published a memorandum, which (1) sets forth the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) digital assets enforcement priorities, (2) directs prosecutors to limit charging regulatory violations in cases involving digital assets to particular circumstances, (3) directs the Office of Legal Policy and the Office of Legislative Affairs to evaluate and propose legislative and regulatory changes relating to improving asset forfeiture efforts, (4) disbands the National Cryptocurrency Enforcement Team, and (5) confirms that the DOJ will participate in President Trump’s Working Group on Digital Asset Markets.
• The Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) Division of Corporation Finance stated that the offer and sale of stablecoins are not securities transactions if the stablecoins are designed to maintain a stable value relative to and can be redeemed for the U.S. dollar (USD) on a one-for-one basis, and have low risk and readily liquid reserve backing assets that meet or exceed the redemption value of the stablecoins in circulation. Commissioner Caroline A. Crenshaw issued a separate statement criticizing the Division’s statement.

🌽 Commodity Futures Trading Commission

• Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) Acting Chair Caroline D. Pham released a statement lauding the recently-announced DOJ policy “ending the practice of regulation by prosecution that has targeted the digital asset industry in recent years.” She also directed CFTC staff to comply with the President’s executive orders and Administration policy, consistent with the DOJ’s digital assets enforcement priorities and charging considerations.

🦅 Congress

• As mentioned in “tl;dr,” the House Financial Services Committee voted 32-17 to pass the Stablecoin Transparency and Accountability for a Better Ledger Economy (STABLE) Act in a full committee markup, making the bill eligible to move to the House Floor for a vote.
• Senators Mazie K. Hirono (D-Hawaii), Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), and others sent a letter to Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche urging him to reconsider the memorandum that he sent to the DOJ regarding the department’s new approach to crypto.
• Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and House Representative Maxine Waters (D-Cal.) sent a letter to SEC Acting Chair Mark T. Uyeda asking the SEC to preserve all records and communications regarding World Liberty Financial, Inc., and seeking information to assess “the extent to which the Trump family’s financial interest in World Liberty Financial may be influencing” the SEC’s activities.
• Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) wrote to SEC Inspector General Deborah Jeffrey, calling for an investigation into whether Trump Administration officials, including those with direct ties to the President’s family and business partners, may have improperly influenced SEC enforcement and regulatory decisions on cryptocurrency.
• House Financial Services Committee Chair French Hill (R-Ark.) and House Agriculture Committee Chair G.T. Thompson (R-Pa.) published an article in CoinDesk providing a blueprint of six principles for digital assets in America.

⚖️ Department of Justice

• As mentioned in “tl;dr,” the Office of the Deputy Attorney General published a memorandum, which (1) sets forth the DOJ’s digital assets enforcement priorities, (2) directs prosecutors to limit charging regulatory violations in cases involving digital assets to particular circumstances, (3) directs the Office of Legal Policy and the Office of Legislative Affairs to evaluate and propose legislative and regulatory changes relating to improving asset forfeiture efforts, (4) disbands the National Cryptocurrency Enforcement Team, and (5) confirms that the DOJ will participate in President Trump’s Working Group on Digital Asset Markets.
• Cryptocurrency market maker CLS Global FZC LLC was ordered to pay $428,059 and sentenced to a term of probation for three years in connection with criminal charges relating to its fraudulent manipulation of cryptocurrency trading volume.

🪙 Department of the Treasury

• The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network issued an Advisory to assist financial institutions in identifying and reporting suspicious activity related to the financing of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria. The Advisory includes a section on digital assets. 
• The Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) sanctioned a network of Houthi financial facilitators and procurement operatives working in coordination with a senior Houthi financial official backed by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps-Qods Force. OFAC also identified eight digital asset wallets that the Houthis used to transfer funds associated with their activities.

🔐 Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation

• Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) Acting Chair Travis Hill published a list of key policy issues for the FDIC, which include digital assets and blockchain. Chair Hill said that a specific area that merits attention from the banking regulators is the use of public, permisionless blockchains by banks.

📈 Securities and Exchange Commission

• As mentioned in “tl;dr,” the SEC’s Division of Corporation Finance stated that the offer and sale of stablecoins are not securities transactions if the stablecoins are designed to maintain a stable value relative to and can be redeemed for the U.S. dollar (USD) on a one-for-one basis, and have low risk and readily liquid reserve backing assets that meet or exceed the redemption value of the stablecoins in circulation. Commissioner Caroline A. Crenshaw issued a separate statement criticizing the Division’s statement.
• The Division of Corporation Finance provided its views about the application of certain disclosure requirements under the federal securities laws to offerings and registrations of securities in the crypto asset markets. Commissioner Hester M. Peirce released a statement on the topic as well.
• SEC Acting Chair Mark T. Uyeda requested that the SEC staff promptly review seven previously issued staff statements for the purpose of identifying which should be modified or rescinded consistent with the SEC’s current priorities.
• The SEC approved the listing and trading of options tied to ETH exchange-traded products.
• Nova Labs agreed to pay $200,000 to the SEC to resolve the agency’s claims against it. 

🏛️ White House

• As mentioned in “tl;dr,” President Donald Trump signed a joint Congressional Review Act resolution disapproving the Internal Revenue Service’s decentralized finance broker reporting rule.
• President Donald Trump pardoned the business entity behind cryptocurrency exchange BitMEX and four of the firm’s former executives. BitMEX and the executives previously pleaded guilty to violations of the Bank Secrecy Act. 

🌍 State

🐎 Kentucky / 🦌 Illinois

• Kentucky’s Department of Financial Institutions dismissed its lawsuit against Coinbase alleging that Coinbase’s staking services violated the state’s securities laws. Illinois Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias told CoinDesk that Illinois also intends to drop its staking lawsuit against Coinbase. Vermont and South Carolina have already dismissed their staking lawsuits against Coinbase.

🗽 New York

• Blockchain and payments company Block, Inc. agreed to pay a $40 million penalty to the New York Department of Financial Services to settle claims that it violated the Department’s money transmitter and virtual currency regulations due to failures in its Bank Secrecy Act/Anti-Money Laundering compliance program. Block also agreed to retain an independent monitor to perform a comprehensive evaluation of its compliance with the Department’s regulations and its remediation efforts.
• New York Attorney General Letitia James sent a letter to congressional leaders urging them to pass federal legislation to strengthen regulations on cryptocurrencies and digital assets.

🌍 International

🇦🇺 Australia

• The Australian Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre’s cryptocurrency taskforce released a statement informing the public that it had found that some crypto ATM providers may not have the right anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism (AML/CTF) checks in place.

🇨🇦 Canada

• Crypto exchange Kraken announced that it had obtained a Restricted Dealer registration in Canada.

🇪🇺 European Union

• European Securities and Markets Authority Executive Director Natasha Cazenave spoke to members of the European Parliament’s Economic and Monetary Affairs Committee on crypto assets and their potential implications for financial stability. 

🇭🇰 Hong Kong

• Hong Kong’s Securities and Futures Commission issued new guidance allowing licensed crypto exchanges and funds to offer staking services.

🇲🇹 Malta

• Malta’s Financial Intelligence Analysis Unit fined cryptocurrency exchange OKX €1,054,269 for certain violations of the Prevention of Money Laundering and Funding of Terrorism Regulations.

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

• The UK Financial Conduct Authority approved Blackrock to operate as a crypto asset firm in the country.

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