reform

IT Home reported on November 12 that the Japanese government is considering requiring AI companies to fulfill security obligations and introducing new penalties to address the risks of uncontrolled advanced AI. The Japanese government plans to announce a comprehensive reform plan by the end of this year, with relevant content confirmed in a closed working group meeting discussing AI legal systems. This move aims to address significant threats such as AI cyberattacks and loss of control, ensuring that the government can take action against malicious companies that refuse to negotiate.Currently, the business division of AI companies is becoming increasingly detailed, including various aspects such as basic research, foundational model development, and user services. The Japanese government will further discuss the scope of regulatory targets. If American AI large model companies are included in the regulation, how to effectively protect the rights and interests of Japanese users will also become a problem that needs to be addressed. For companies that refuse to cooperate in negotiations after issues arise, the Japanese government plans to issue enforcement orders when necessary and consider imposing penalties on companies that defy these orders. These measures are expected to primarily target incidents of uncontrolled advanced AI and attacks.

On November 3, the National Development and Reform Commission held a series of press conferences on advancing the "14th Five-Year Plan," introducing information on cultivating and strengthening new driving forces. Wang Ruomeng, Deputy Director of the Department of Innovation and High Technology Development of the National Development and Reform Commission, stated that there is a broad consensus in society on the coexistence of opportunities and risks in artificial intelligence. During the "14th Five-Year Plan" period, development and security will be coordinated, with security integrated throughout the research, application, and governance of artificial intelligence.Wang Ruomeng emphasized four key areas of work. First, improve the governance rule system, accelerate the promotion of foundational and comprehensive legislation for artificial intelligence, enhance legislation to protect common elements such as data, computing power, and algorithms, as well as to regulate key application scenarios, establish safety standards and ethical guidelines covering the entire lifecycle, and conduct periodic assessments of the implementation of these systems. Second, optimize the regulatory environment, reasonably set a transition period for regulatory policies, provide compliance guidance for applications across different industries, support the establishment of regulatory sandboxes for artificial intelligence in various fields, and improve the management mechanisms for application, testing, use, and exit.Third, clarify the collaborative governance responsibilities of government departments, industry organizations, enterprises, and the public, promote developers and operators to strengthen risk management awareness, timely disclose safety risks, and proactively report safety incidents and vulnerability information. Fourth, address the impact of artificial intelligence on society, pay attention to changes in employment structure, promote the inclusion of new professions such as model trainers and data annotators into the national occupational classification system, and strengthen monitoring and early warning of employment replacement risks; enhance traceability capabilities for issues such as algorithmic discrimination, deep forgery, and privacy breaches, while also strengthening guidance and intervention to prevent addiction and emotional dependence.

According to Bloomberg, the Dutch government plans to promote reforms aimed at improving efficiency through measures such as artificial intelligence, reducing approximately 25,000 civil service positions over the next few years. The Dutch cabinet is expected to announce specific plans for utilizing AI to enhance work efficiency early next year.The government's goal is to save 900 million euros annually by 2027 and to increase the annual savings target to 3.5 billion euros (approximately 3.9 billion dollars) starting in 2035. The number of civil servants in the Dutch government is expected to reach about 160,000 by the end of 2025, an increase of 41% compared to 2018.

According to a report by Forbes on Friday, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is preparing to reform its voluntary disclosure program, planning to reduce penalties and expedite the processing of tax violation cases, including those involving cryptocurrency.Jarod Koopman, head of the IRS Criminal Investigation Division, stated that the agency aims to launch the revised program before December and to close cases within 120 days after taxpayers complete the required submission process. He noted that the new plan will not establish a separate disclosure channel for digital assets but will apply the same voluntary disclosure procedures to other forms of tax noncompliance. Koopman also mentioned that the penalties under the revised program will be significantly lower than current levels, although he did not provide specific amounts. The IRS is considering allowing taxpayers to settle debts through installment payments or settlement offers.According to Forbes, the current program often takes a year or longer to complete and primarily targets taxpayers who intentionally fail to comply with tax laws and may face criminal prosecution, rather than those who make reporting errors due to negligence. Meanwhile, legislative efforts are advancing another voluntary disclosure program aimed at cryptocurrency taxpayers. Section 502 of the Digital Asset Taxation Certainty Act will establish a correction process with clear penalty standards for past violations, and the bill was passed by the House Ways and Means Committee in September.

The National Development and Reform Commission has released a new version of the "Regulations on Foreign Investment Management," which better ensures the development and security of foreign investment from an institutional perspective. The regulations consist of 76 articles, divided into six chapters: General Principles, Guidance and Services for Foreign Investment, Supervision of Foreign Investment, Protection of Foreign Investment, Legal Responsibilities, and Supplementary Provisions.The regulations will take effect on December 1, 2026, at which point the "Regulations on Overseas Investment Management" issued in 2017 will be simultaneously abolished. The state supports investors in conducting foreign investment activities based on market principles and actively participating in international cooperation and competition. Investors enjoy the autonomy of foreign investment according to the law, making independent decisions, bearing risks independently, and being responsible for their own profits and losses.

Grayscale's parent company DCG stated on the X platform that last week the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) proposed reforms to the accredited investor system, allowing certain investors to qualify for participation in the private market through exams and other means. This initiative was suggested by DCG founder Barry Silbert as early as 15 years ago.It is reported that Barry Silbert raised the issue during the founding of SecondMarket around 2011, stating that the SEC's "accredited investor" system primarily relies on income and net asset standards, but wealth levels do not necessarily represent investment capability. Some high-net-worth individuals may not possess sufficient financial knowledge, while some ordinary investors should also have the opportunity to qualify for participation in the private market if they pass the financial literacy tests set by regulatory agencies.

Apple's new CEO, Tim Cook, has begun implementing internal reforms just weeks into his tenure, aimed at accelerating product development and expanding the product line. Cook plans to reduce reliance on the traditional release schedule, cut some middle management positions, and enhance innovation capabilities to remain competitive in the era of artificial intelligence.At the same time, Apple is advancing cost-cutting measures and seeking new sources of revenue.

The World Trade Organization urges member countries to reform global trade rules to avoid the risk of trade fragmentation. The organization warns that without reform, global GDP could decline by 5.1% by 2050, with exports decreasing by 18.6%.Strengthening multilateral cooperation could lead to a 2.9% increase in global GDP and nearly an 18% increase in exports.

According to the Daily Telegraph, the Reform Party in the UK received a second donation of £36 million within 48 hours. The party's largest donor, cryptocurrency billionaire Christopher Harborne, added another £36 million, matching the amount donated by Ben Delo on Friday, bringing the total raised by the Reform Party to £72 million in two days. The Reform Party has raised over £86 million this year, far exceeding the Conservative Party's £10.2 million and the Labour Party's £7.7 million.

According to a report by the Financial Associated Press, the Chief Financial Officer of OpenAI stated that they are considering reforming the charging model, testing a new pricing model based on performance, gradually moving away from the usage-based billing method, and competing with lower-priced open-source models.

According to Decrypt, the latest records from the UK Electoral Commission show that BitMEX co-founder Ben Delo donated £4 million (approximately $5.4 million) to the Reform Party of the UK twice in April this year, bringing his total donations to the party this year to £8 million (approximately $10.8 million), second only to Tether equity investor Christopher Harborne (who has donated a total of £15 million, approximately $20.25 million).These two donations accounted for 75% of the party's total donations for the corresponding quarter and were also the largest two single donations received by any political party in the UK during that quarter. The UK has prohibited political donations in the form of cryptocurrency since March, so all donations were made in cash.It is reported that BitMEX co-founder Ben Delo revealed in April that he had donated $5.4 million (approximately £4 million) to the Reform Party of the UK led by Nigel Farage, with the donations occurring before the new regulation setting a £100,000 cap on donations from overseas expatriates was introduced.

Microsoft announced that it will begin disclosing quarterly sales figures for its Azure cloud business, changing the company's long-standing practice of only reporting Azure revenue growth without disclosing specific income. Microsoft stated that considering the scale and importance of Azure, now is the right time to increase transparency. This adjustment marks the first major reform of the primary financial reporting structure since 2015.Microsoft has merged its existing Intelligent Cloud business and Productivity and Business Processes business into a "Agent and Infrastructure" department; more personal computing business has been adjusted to the "Devices and Consumer" department. Microsoft stated that artificial intelligence is changing the way the company builds products and operates, blurring the lines between products and reshaping business models.The company previously disclosed that Azure's sales for the fiscal year ending in June exceeded $100 billion, up from $75 billion in the previous fiscal year, accounting for about 30% of Microsoft's total revenue. This new reporting structure will officially take effect when Microsoft releases its first-quarter financial report for fiscal year 2027.

The Ethena Foundation announced significant reforms to its tokenomics, with the ENA token rising 23% to $0.17 within 24 hours. The reforms include the cancellation of the monthly VC unlock schedule and a proposal to use protocol revenue to buy back ENA. ENA holders are voting to decide on the "fee switch," where 95% of the net income from Ethena's brand business will be used for programmatic purchases of ENA when the circulation of USDe reaches $7.5 billion, with the remaining 5% allocated for growth.Ethena Labs and the Foundation have also reached a principled agreement to assign most of the intellectual property and economic benefits of the Ethena protocol to the Foundation and ecosystem, rather than to Ethena Labs shareholders. This agreement is expected to be announced in October. The reforms come as the supply of USDe has decreased from a peak of nearly $15 billion in October to below $5 billion, with part of its revenue relying on derivative funding rates, which have diminished as the crypto market cools.In search of new sources of growth, Ethena announced last week a $1 billion facility with FalconX to bring USDe collateral into over-collateralized institutional loans. Additionally, Janus Henderson invested in ENA in June and is exploring USDe distribution, while Coinbase has also launched a savings product in collaboration with Ethena.

According to Bitcoin.com, Strategy (MSTR) Executive Chairman Michael Saylor proposed the concept of "Bitcoin Reform" in a published article, advocating that Bitcoin should break free from the dogmatic understanding of early concepts such as Satoshi Nakamoto, the white paper, and "must self-custody," and further integrate into banks, exchanges, enterprises, securities markets, and government systems.Saylor stated that self-custody remains an important right for holders to freely exit the intermediary system, but it should not be a mandatory obligation for everyone; users can also evaluate institutional services based on dimensions such as custodial isolation, collateral, audits, insurance, and withdrawal rights. He believes that Bitcoin has gradually evolved from peer-to-peer electronic cash and "digital gold" into "digital capital" that can support credit, equity, currency, and machine economies.

On August 24, according to Caixin, the National Development and Reform Commission released the "Measures for the Administration of Foreign Investment (Revised Draft for Public Comment)" and is publicly soliciting opinions from society, from August 21 to September 20, 2026. The "Draft for Comments" expands the definition of investors from enterprises to domestic enterprises, other organizations, and individual residents, and clarifies that reinvestment by investors abroad also falls under foreign investment.In the section on foreign investment regulation, regarding the classification and regulatory division of foreign investment, the procedures for approval and filing, and other matters, investors must obtain foreign investment approval documents or filing notices before implementing foreign investments. For individual residents newly included as investors, the approval authority is the National Development and Reform Commission, and the filing authority is the provincial development and reform department of their registered residence or habitual residence.

Polygon co-founder Sandeep Nailwal stated that in response to community calls, the team is advancing a proposal for staking and tokenomics reform. He revealed that Polygon's revenue has achieved a tenfold increase this year, delivering 5k TPS and a 25% reduction in block time, and is now moving towards a block time of less than 1 second, making it the right time for stakers to receive their rightful share.Key points of the proposal include: launching native staking similar to L1 on Polygon PoS, which can run in parallel with Ethereum staking; the priority fee for each transaction will flow to POL stakers (PIP-85 has been approved, and native staking will simplify implementation); staking rewards are expected to nearly double, supported by real network fees rather than inflation; staking POL may earn additional incentives such as discounted Gas fees; sPOL will maintain liquidity and can be used in DeFi. Polygon Labs will write the code and submit the proposal for community forum review.

Synthetix tweeted that the previously passed SIP-423 proposal has achieved its main goals, including the deprecation of the native stablecoin sUSD, the restructuring of the Debt Jubilee, and the reform of the SNX staking mechanism. The new SNX will be minted at a 4:1 ratio with sUSD, with the conversion including a 1-year lock-up period and a 1-year unlocking period. The original supply was 344,939,867.56 SNX, with an additional minting of 236,464,356 SNX, bringing the new total supply to 581,404,223.56 SNX.Synthetix stated that SIP-423 is a "hard reset" that allows the protocol to break free from internal dependencies and focus on making Synthetix a perpetual contract trading venue on the Ethereum mainnet.

According to Crypto.News, the investigation that was previously suspended due to large gifts related to cryptocurrency has resumed after Nigel Farage, leader of the Reform Party in the UK, was re-elected as the MP for the Clacton constituency. The parliamentary commissioner is investigating whether he failed to register financial interests as required, focusing on a personal grant of approximately £5 million (about $6.7 million) from billionaire investor and Tether-related shareholder Christopher Harborne; as well as benefits such as staff, security, transportation, and accommodation provided by long-time advisor George Cottrell, who was previously sentenced for a money laundering-related case in the U.S.Nigel Farage's resignation during his term led to the suspension of the investigation, and he insists that he did not violate any rules, claiming that the money was an unconditional personal gift, part of which was used for security expenses. His by-election victory has allowed him to become an MP again, and the investigation has therefore continued.