United States: FinTech

As FinTech companies mature beyond initial money transmission licensing and sponsor-bank arrangements, they face strategic decisions about specialized charters and hybrid regulatory structures. This article examines when Wyoming SPDIs, Puerto Rico IFEs, and modular licensing approaches become relevant for digital asset custody, international treasury, and institutional services.

The CFTC proposes sweeping changes to prediction market regulation while the SEC advances binary options on corporate KPIs and machine-understandable data initiatives. These developments raise fundamental questions about the boundaries between gambling, derivatives trading, and securities markets, as federal regulators navigate conflicting state actions and emerging technologies that blur traditional regulatory lines.

This weekly digest from Lowenstein Crypto examines critical regulatory developments shaping the digital asset landscape, including the OCC's findings on banking restrictions for crypto businesses, the EU's classification of USDC as a significant e-money token, Australia's proposed standards for crypto exchanges, and the FSB's concerns about cross-border stablecoin oversight. The report highlights how regulatory frameworks are evolving to address operational challenges while balancing innovation and financia

The SEC has issued a groundbreaking Innovation Exemption allowing tokenized securities venues to facilitate trading of tokenized NMS stocks using automated market makers and liquidity pools. This temporary five-year exemption from exchange and dealer registration requirements establishes conditions for permissioned blockchain-based trading while granting public companies a 30-day window to object to third-party tokenization of their securities.

The October edition of The Desk covers critical developments in derivatives regulation, including the approaching Treasury clearing compliance deadline, CFTC enforcement actions totaling over $150 million in penalties, and new guidance on tokenized assets and prediction markets. The newsletter examines how regulatory agencies are adapting to digital innovation while maintaining market integrity through enhanced whistleblower programs and stricter oversight of commodity pool operators.

Chairman Paul S. Atkins has launched a broad philosophical shift at the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), directing the agency toward cutting red tape, maximizing capital formation, and embracing technological innovation. The following summarizes SEC initiatives now underway

The U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) recently took two sanctions actions under Operation Economic Outcast, the U.S. government’s campaign targeting Iran...

The CFTC has issued a staff letter allowing software developers and technology providers to distribute applications that facilitate customer access to CFTC-regulated derivatives without registering as introducing brokers. Technology vendors who meet specific conditions can now develop user interface software and non-custodial digital asset wallets connecting customers to derivatives markets...

The European Union’s MiCA regulation and the United States’ GENIUS Act both prohibit stablecoin issuers from paying interest or yield for merely holding a token, to prevent payment stablecoins from functioning as unregulated, deposit-taking accounts.