The year 2025 marked a historic turning point for cryptocurrency regulation in the United States, characterized by the passage of the first major federal crypto legislation and a significant shift in regulatory enforcement posture. Congress passed and the President signed the GENIUS Act, establishing a federal framework for payment stablecoins. This law defines who can issue stablecoins, the oversight applied, and rules governing reserves and redemption, moving beyond reliance on reputation or third-party attestations.
Concurrently, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) dramatically scaled back its enforcement actions against crypto companies while announcing more rulemaking efforts aimed at bolstering the industry. The agency dismissed the vast majority of the cases it pursued in the previous year, including high-profile lawsuits. This regulatory shift has emboldened companies to launch new products and services in the U.S. market.
Other key regulatory developments in 2025 included the SEC's approval of generic listing standards for certain commodity-based exchange-traded products (ETPs), which creates a more predictable path for new crypto ETFs by reducing the need for custom reviews. The SEC also issued guidelines on how broker-dealers should handle custody of crypto-asset securities, clarifying expectations around control of private keys and customer protection mechanisms.
Globally, the regulatory landscape became more complex, with nations from the Middle East to Russia advancing their digital asset approaches. In the European Union, MiCa regulations imposed pressure on venues and wallets to clearly indicate the legal rights behind different versions of stablecoins. Meanwhile, the debate over the broader Digital Asset Market Clarity Act continued in the U.S., highlighting the ongoing need to define jurisdictional boundaries between the SEC and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC).
