regulation

According to Bitcoin News, the Czech Ministry of Finance officially listed the decentralized prediction market platform Polymarket on the "Unauthorized Online Gambling List" on July 13. The Czech gambling regulator requires internet service providers (ISPs) to complete access blocking for the platform within 15 days.The Czech regulator stated that Polymarket lacks necessary oversight, its operations essentially fall under gambling products, and due to its decentralized nature and unlicensed operation, it bypasses local gambling legal frameworks, posing risks such as market manipulation using insider information and lack of risk control. Recently, several European regulators have continued to tighten control over Polymarket, with Italy re-adding it to the ban list and the Netherlands also rejecting the platform's appeal.

According to the memorandum, on July 14, 2026, SEC Crypto Task Force staff held a meeting with representatives from Hyperliquid Policy Center, Highland Labs Pte. Ltd. (Hyperliquid Labs), XYZ Ltd., and Sullivan & Cromwell LLP to discuss in-depth topics such as the regulation of crypto assets and the technical architecture and market ecology of the Hyperliquid protocol.

According to the Korea Times, South Korea's financial regulatory authorities will hold a high-level meeting on Thursday to discuss the risks and countermeasures of single-stock leveraged ETFs. This meeting is expected to take place under the framework of the South Korean government's macroeconomic and financial issue coordination mechanism, the "F4 Meeting," with officials from the Ministry of Economy and Finance, the Financial Services Commission, the Financial Supervisory Service, and the Bank of Korea in attendance.Recently, fluctuations in the South Korean stock market have intensified, and single-stock leveraged ETFs are receiving increasing attention from regulators and market participants. Various parties believe that these products have become a significant factor driving extreme stock price volatility.Informed officials stated that the regulatory authorities have been coordinating relevant plans internally in recent days, but the policy direction has not yet been finalized. Possible measures discussed in the market include raising margin requirements, limiting daily price fluctuations, and adjusting leverage ratios. However, regulatory officials believe that these measures may only provide temporary relief and are unlikely to fundamentally address the structural causes of market volatility.

According to a report by the Procuratorial Daily, researchers from the People's Procuratorate of Yuhu District, Xiangtan City, Hunan Province, and the Law School of Xiangtan University have jointly written an article proposing a systematic response plan to the regulatory dilemmas of money laundering crimes using virtual currency. The article points out that current judicial practice faces three major dilemmas: first, Article 191 of the Criminal Law limits money laundering crimes to seven types of upstream crimes, resulting in many cases being treated as "concealment crimes"; second, methods such as mixers, privacy coins, and cross-chain transfers lead to fragmented evidence chains, making traditional investigative methods difficult to penetrate; third, conflicts in the legal attributes of virtual currency, a vacuum in procedural rules, and barriers to cross-border cooperation make it difficult to recover assets.In response, the article suggests promoting "dual investigations for one case," establishing the principle of self-authentication of blockchain data, constructing a tiered standard of proof, and establishing a national-level custody and disposal platform for involved virtual currencies, while actively promoting the signing of special agreements for international criminal justice assistance in virtual currency crimes.

According to Bitcoin.com, Coinbase Chief Policy Officer Faryar Shirzad responded on X to U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren's criticism of the CLARITY Act, stating that the bill will not undermine national security but rather bring digital asset platforms under stronger regulation. Elizabeth Warren previously stated that the current draft of the CLARITY Act could provide opportunities to evade sanctions.Faryar Shirzad stated that the bill will require crypto platforms to comply with stricter national security standards and allow platforms to freeze suspicious transactions at the request of law enforcement.U.S. Senator Cynthia Lummis previously stated that the CLARITY Act includes 16 illegal financial protection measures and warned that the bill may be the last major opportunity for Congress to pass comprehensive digital asset rules before 2030.

According to CoinDesk, Christian Lopez, head of blockchain and digital assets at investment bank Cohen & Company Capital Markets, stated that as investors rotate funds into other sectors and macro uncertainty continues to suppress risk appetite, the crypto IPO market has noticeably slowed down.Lopez pointed out that although the successful listings of Circle and Bullish had raised high expectations for crypto IPOs in 2026, the subsequent weakening of market conditions, declining trading volumes, and underperformance of some post-listing stocks have dampened enthusiasm for new issuances. Several crypto companies, including Kraken's parent company Payward, Consensys, Ledger, and Grayscale, have postponed their IPO plans, waiting for market improvement; however, Blockchain.com and FalconX are still advancing their listing processes.Lopez believes that the uncertain interest rate outlook and global deleveraging pressures are making investors more cautious about high beta assets like crypto. He expects that the window for crypto companies to go public may not substantially reopen until next year. Additionally, he stated that regulatory clarity is no longer the primary obstacle for crypto companies going public; rather, the ability to access capital and business diversification are more critical.

According to The Block, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled 6 to 3 in favor of Trump's right to replace the leaders of several independent federal agencies, including the FTC, excluding the Federal Reserve, strengthening the president's control over personnel in regulatory agencies.As this ruling comes out, the SEC and CFTC are advancing a new round of regulatory rules for crypto assets, including rule revisions, exemptions, and the allocation of responsibilities regarding digital assets. Currently, the SEC is led by three Republican commissioners, while the CFTC has only its chairman, Michael Selig, in office.Former CFTC officials and industry insiders have stated that the reduction in the number of commissioners may weaken internal negotiations and the robustness of rules, and may also make rules under a single commissioner more susceptible to being rewritten or abolished in future administrations. However, as long as they comply with their respective authorizing statutes and the Administrative Procedure Act, the relevant rules still have legal effect.

According to reports, the U.S. "Digital Asset Market Clarity Act" (CLARITY Act) is expected to enter the next stage of the legislative process on July 4, 2026. As the regulatory framework for digital assets continues to improve, the market's expectations for the development of stablecoin payments have become clearer, providing businesses with more explicit policy references for adopting stablecoins for global payments.In this regard, WasabiCard CEO Ray Yang stated, "For businesses, regulatory transparency is more important than regulatory leniency. Companies can adapt to strict compliance requirements, but it is challenging to formulate long-term development plans in an environment where regulations are unclear. The advancement of the CLARITY Act will create a clearer and more predictable development environment for stablecoin payments."As an enterprise-level stablecoin global payment infrastructure platform, WasabiCard continuously enhances its compliance capabilities and global payment network, establishing a risk management system covering KYB, KYC, KYT, and AML, and holds U.S. MSB and MTL licenses, providing businesses with one-stop payment solutions for global card issuance, stablecoin payments, global remittances, and fund distribution.Regarding the development prospects of stablecoin payments, Ray Yang believes, "As the global regulatory environment continues to improve, stablecoin payments will accelerate their integration into the global payment systems of enterprises. WasabiCard will continue to help businesses conduct global operations more robustly through compliant and reliable payment infrastructure."

According to a post by the cryptocurrency venture capital fund Pantera Capital, Hyperliquid's potential addressable market size is approximately $100 trillion in nominal daily trading volume, which includes about $200 billion in 0DTE options and leveraged ETF trading, around $2 trillion in commodity derivatives trading, and approximately $8 trillion in foreign exchange derivatives trading, which is currently almost entirely off-chain.Pantera stated that if Hyperliquid can consistently capture a low single-digit share of the aforementioned comprehensive trading volume, its revenue potential could reach up to five times the current level. It is estimated that if the HIP-3 market is calculated at an annualized nominal trading volume of $36.5 trillion and captures a 1% market share, under the assumption of a 2 basis points comprehensive fee rate and a 50% Hyperliquid economic split, Hyperliquid could generate approximately $3.7 billion in revenue.However, Pantera also pointed out that regulation is the biggest risk facing Hyperliquid. Perpetual contracts are not yet fully open in the United States, and if the U.S. pushes for the legalization of related products and launches regulated platforms in the future, Hyperliquid may face more intense competition, and some U.S. user trading volume may also shift to compliant venues. Pantera also believes that Hyperliquid may eventually launch a regulated version for the U.S. market, similar to other platforms.

According to Bits.media, the Financial Market Committee of the Russian State Duma has approved the final version of the government's cryptocurrency regulation bill, which will be submitted for a second reading. Committee Chairman Anatoly Aksakov revealed that the second reading version made several key adjustments: the requirement to mandatory declare cryptocurrency wallet addresses has been removed, and instead, only balances and transaction flows need to be declared to protect residents from the risk of sensitive information leakage; a new amendment allows for the legal purchase of securities in the securities market and Russian digital financial assets using cryptocurrency.In the future, it may be allowed for Russian licensed brokers and asset managers to trade on foreign cryptocurrency exchanges, but they must meet additional requirements such as the "friendliness" of the jurisdiction. For non-professional investors, the annual limit through a single intermediary is set at 300,000 rubles, and it is limited to "the most liquid cryptocurrencies." The bill also introduces a two-day freeze on large transfers to foreign and third parties. Aksakov did not clarify whether the proposal to prohibit Russians from using non-custodial cryptocurrency wallets would be retained.

According to the Financial Times, the UK's Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has warned that regulation of artificial intelligence in the financial sector is facing an "arms race" and urged for new powers to regulate ChatGPT, Claude, and Gemini.

Paul Atkins, the Chairman of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), stated that over the past year, the SEC has actively responded to President Trump's goal of "making America the world's crypto capital" and is taking historic steps to modernize rules and regulations to promote the market's migration to on-chain.

According to TASS, Vladimir Chistyukhin, the First Deputy Governor of the Central Bank of Russia, stated that the law regarding cryptocurrency regulation may officially take effect on September 1, 2026. He also clarified that a transition period will be set until July 1, 2027.During this period, market participants need to prepare documents, apply for registration in the regulatory directory, obtain new licenses, and adjust internal processes, with formal operations expected to begin from late 2026 to early 2027. From July 1, 2027, the relevant criminal and administrative liability provisions will take effect, strictly distinguishing between legal and illegal cryptocurrency operations by clarifying legal responsibilities.

According to the Korea Exchange (KRX) announcement on July 2, to further improve the KOSDAQ market system, KRX has officially revised the relevant listing rules and implementation details, aiming to strictly control the deviation of technology special listing companies from their main business.The new regulations clearly state that companies listed through technology exceptions that change their main business direction within 5 years after listing (excluding businesses similar to or subsidiary to the original main business) will be subject to substantial delisting review. KRX officials specifically cited an example where a related biotechnology company transferred its management rights to an overseas digital asset company after listing last year and illegally transformed into a "cryptocurrency vault" and other digital asset professional investment institutions. KRX emphasized that such behavior has caused the company to deviate from the technical and growth assessment basis approved at the time of listing, and therefore must undergo strict delisting review.In addition, the new regulations have added additional restrictions to the grace period for delisting conditions enjoyed by special listing companies (i.e., exemption from revenue insufficiency or large-scale losses within 3 to 5 years), requiring relevant companies to publicly disclose their "corporate value enhancement plans" during this period to ensure future growth and strengthen communication with investors. This revision of regulations also includes measures to optimize the capital market, such as expanding customized qualitative review standards for innovative companies and establishing a low PBR (price-to-book ratio) company disclosure system.

According to Coin Bureau, Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino explained the reason why USDT has not applied for the EU MiCA license, stating that the regulation is "very dangerous for stablecoins."He mentioned that MiCA could force issuers to keep 60% of their reserves in uninsured cash deposits at small European banks, which may not be able to handle large-scale redemptions. Ardoino believes the legislation is "poorly considered" and stated that "skipping MiCA is to protect Tether's over 400 million users."

The Spanish National Securities Market Commission has authorized the cryptocurrency platform Venga to operate under the EU's Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA), making it one of the few entities in Spain to receive MiCA approval. The MiCA transitional period took effect on July 1, and digital asset companies that previously operated under national rules must obtain formal approval under the new regime, or they must cease providing regulated services in the EU.This authorization allows Venga to provide services within the market composed of 27 EU member states based on a single regulatory framework. Michael Stroev, co-founder and CEO of Venga, stated that the MiCA review covers aspects such as ownership structure, corporate governance, management suitability, risk framework, and product infrastructure. Previously, over 3,000 crypto companies in the EU held local virtual asset service provider registrations, but currently, about 240 companies have received full MiCA authorization, with fewer than 15 companies approved in Spain.