- CFTC opens a controlled pilot, letting key digital assets back new derivatives positions.
- Argentina lifts bank limits, while Belarus and Japan tighten domestic crypto controls.
- Tokenization expands as Pakistan and major markets advance large-scale asset programs.
The past week brought a rare alignment of policy moves across several regions, each landing with different motivations yet converging on the same point: digital assets are being pulled deeper into the financial mainstream. Some updates came quietly through regulatory memos; others arrived with sharper political framing. Either way, the shift was visible.
CFTC Opens a Controlled Path for Digital Asset Collateral
In Washington, the derivatives regulator pushed forward with a long-anticipated pilot. The program permits Bitcoin, Ethereum, and USDC to serve as collateral for certain derivatives positions, though the rollout starts with narrow guardrails.
Acting Chairman Caroline Pham outlined a three-month phase in which Futures Commission Merchants may accept only those three assets and must report weekly balance details, including basic classifications and any irregularities that emerge.
The agency paired the announcement with updated guidance on tokenized collateral and formally withdrew Staff Advisory 20–34, which had been overtaken by newer laws and practice. The reversal did not come with much ceremony, but it signals a steady march toward clearer treatment of digital assets inside regulated market plumbing.
Crypto advocates viewed the pilot as a sign that U.S. rules are finally catching up to the pace of institutional use.
Banks Reenter, While Others Pull Back
Argentina made one of the week’s more attention-grabbing reversals. Its central bank confirmed plans to end the long-standing prohibition on bank-based crypto activity, allowing institutions to offer custody and trading services under tighter oversight.
The goal is not expansion for its own sake. Officials want to bring widespread public use of Bitcoin and stablecoins into a supervised environment that strengthens AML controls and improves tax visibility. Banks would likely find themselves in direct competition with local exchanges, a shift that could reshape pricing and service dynamics.
However, Belarus moved in a different direction entirely. A new decree signed by President Alexander Lukashenko bars individuals from transacting through overseas exchanges or foreign brokers, forcing all trading onto domestic platforms. The measures fall heavily on users inside the High Technologies Park, where most licensed operators already base their Crypto services. The intent appears to be tighter jurisdictional control rather than broader integration.
Similarly, Japan’s regulators advanced their own overhaul. The Financial Services Agency proposed shifting digital-asset oversight from the Payment Services Act to the Financial Instruments and Exchange Act, a move that pulls token offerings closer to securities-style supervision. The plan requires stronger disclosures for IEOs, code audits before listings, and rules targeting insider activity, drawing elements from MiCA and South Korean frameworks.
Tokenization Gains Momentum Across Markets
Data from a16z’s annual industry review landed midweek and added a sense of scale to ongoing market shifts. Stablecoin trading volume reached $46 trillion in 2024, roughly twenty times PayPal’s volume and nearly triple that of Visa.
The report noted that tokenization of traditional assets, U.S. equities, commodities, and indices, continues to expand as more financial products move onto blockchain infrastructure powered by Crypto rails. Pakistan added its name to the list of governments exploring tokenized financing.
Officials signed an agreement with Binance to study the tokenization of up to $2 billion in sovereign instruments and commodity reserves. Regulators also granted early permissions to Binance and HTX to begin the licensing process, following AML registration under the PVARA framework.
Tax Reporting and Network Transitions Advance
Hong Kong opened a consultation covering the Crypto-Asset Reporting Framework and revisions to the Common Reporting Standard. Local legislation is slated for completion in 2026, with automatic tax-data exchange targeted for 2028. Only jurisdictions meeting strict confidentiality standards will participate.
ZKsync, meanwhile, confirmed plans to retire its early rollup network, ZKsync Lite, in 2026. Roughly $50 million in assets remain bridged, and withdrawal paths will stay open while the migration schedule is finalized.
Taken together, the week’s developments showed a market moving in uneven but unmistakable steps toward institutional structure. Some regions tightened controls while others widened access, yet all pointed to the same trajectory: digital assets are being threaded into the existing financial order, and Crypto is entering its next chapter under clearer rules and far broader scrutiny.
