- Governments shifted focus from enforcement to innovation in crypto regulation during 2025, influenced by policy changes under President Donald Trump and the GENIUS Act.
- Banks in the U.S., EU, and Hong Kong are preparing to offer stablecoin custody and issuance services following relaxed regulatory barriers.
- Asia-Pacific and Middle Eastern financial hubs like Hong Kong and Singapore advanced licensing and stablecoin regulations but face challenges in regional coordination.
- Multiple countries are developing or implementing comprehensive stablecoin frameworks with strong anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing standards.
A notable global change in cryptocurrency regulation unfolded in 2025 as governments prioritized innovation over enforcement. The annual review by Elliptic highlighted this transition, emphasizing shifts in the United States, banking sectors, stablecoin regulation, and developments in the Asia-Pacific region.
In the U.S., a policy shift under President Donald Trump marked crypto leadership as a key agenda, resulting in the passage of the GENIUS Act, which established the country’s first federal stablecoin framework. The Department of Justice ended some enforcement-heavy approaches, while the Securities and Exchange Commission created a Crypto Task Force led by Commissioner Hester Peirce to coordinate market regulation efforts.
Stablecoins—the digital tokens pegged to fiat currencies, designed to minimize price volatility—are increasingly used across blockchain applications. Calvin Leyon, Kraken’s Head of Onchain, told Decrypt that stablecoins have evolved from centralized IOUs held mainly on exchanges to assets functioning as collateral, settlement rails, and yield-generating instruments in decentralized finance (DeFi).
U.S. banking regulators issued new guidance easing restrictions that had limited banks’ involvement in crypto services, paving the way for institutional participation. Similar trends emerged in the EU and Hong Kong, where major financial firms began planning stablecoin issuance and custody offerings, signaling greater confidence fueled by clearer regulatory frameworks.
On the stablecoin front, several jurisdictions introduced or advanced comprehensive regulation with robust anti-money laundering (AML) and counter-terrorist financing (CFT) measures. Hong Kong launched its stablecoin regulatory regime in August, while the UK and South Korea progressed their frameworks. The Wolfsberg Group—a consortium of 12 major global banks—published guidance in September on banking services for stablecoin issuers.
In the Asia-Pacific region, countries including Hong Kong, Singapore, South Korea, Japan, the UAE, and Australia made strides in licensing, custody, tokenization, and stablecoin regulation. However, experts like Peter Chung of Presto Labs indicated that regional harmonization remains challenging due to different regulatory foundations and vested interests within APAC nations. Chung remarked to Decrypt that while a unified standard like the GENIUS Act would be ideal, it is unlikely given these complexities.
For further information, the full report is accessible here. Guidance from the Wolfsberg Group can be found here.
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