A lot has happened this year in crypto-related policy. This year, Congress passed the first major encryption bill in U.S. history, and the president signed it. Federal regulators have significantly scaled back enforcement actions against crypto companies while announcing further rulemaking efforts aimed at revitalizing the industry. Companies themselves also feel more aggressive in launching new products and services in the United States.
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Last year, CoinDesk’s policy team explained what we want in 2025. Here’s how we explained how.
why is it important
This is the final version of this newsletter for 2025. A lot has happened and it’s clear that 2026 will keep us all busy.
break it down
On December 31, 2024, I wrote: “It seems very likely that the agency will change the way it approaches future litigation against crypto industry participants. It is less clear how the agency will handle ongoing lawsuits against companies such as Coinbase, Binance, Binance.US, and Kraken. No lawyer seems to think the SEC will dismiss these lawsuits outright.”
The SEC dismissed most of the lawsuits it pursued last year.
The other trials unfolded almost as expected. Sam Bankman Freed’s appeal is currently underway, Roman Storm’s case ended in a partial conviction, and post-trial motions are still ongoing. Do Kwon has pleaded guilty to some charges and is currently being followed in a small number of active cases.
Jesse Hamilton said that while Congress works on legislation, “the bottom line is that the post-election excitement often settles into an atmosphere of why is it taking so long?”
While the GENIUS Act addressing stablecoins has become law, Cheyenne Ligon’s analysis similarly corroborates, while the ongoing negotiations over the more important market structure bill corroborate Jesse’s analysis.
The world of digital asset regulation has become very complex in the sense that more and more countries are moving forward with their approach to digital assets. These range from rulemaking in the United States to new licenses being issued in the Middle East to Russia’s evolving approach to digital assets.
this week
Happy New Year everyone!
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See you next week!
