In a groundbreaking move, in late November 2025, Texas executed a $5 million purchase of Bitcoin, marking the launch of its Strategic Bitcoin Reserve under Senate Bill 21 (SB 21), which was passed earlier in 2025. Although the purchase is only a modest investment in amount (compared to the state’s roughly $338 billion budget), the symbolic meaning is much greater in terms of demonstrating that a major political entity views Bitcoin not as speculation but as…
On December 4, 2025, the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) announced that spot cryptocurrency products will begin trading for the first time on federally registered futures exchanges. This decision, announced by Acting Chair Caroline Pham, is part of a deliberate effort to bring the largely offshore and sometimes volatile spot crypto market under a U.S. regulatory umbrella, offering investors the robust customer protections and market integrity associated with century-old federal standards. Under this new framework,…
Three months ago, we wrote about a record $225 million cryptocurrency seizure by the U.S. Secret Service connected to a “pig butchering” scheme. That amount pales in comparison to the U.S. Department of Justice’s announcement on October 14, 2025 that it had filed a civil forfeiture complaint against approximately 127,271 Bitcoin (the cryptocurrency defendant in the case), which are presently in the custody of the U.S. government. Using the current Bitcoin price, the value is…
We recently wrote about how the United Kingdom and the United States jointly launched the Transatlantic Task Force for Markets of the Future and how it had the potential to reshape the global regulatory landscape for digital assets. We wondered about how the EU might respond. Verena Ross, Chair of the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA), recently made headlines in an interview with the Financial Times by confirming that the European Commission is drafting…
In a significant move that has the potential to reshape the global regulatory landscape for digital assets, the United Kingdom and the United States have jointly launched the Transatlantic Task Force for Markets of the Future. Announced during U.S. President Donald Trump’s state visit to the U.K. in September 2025, this initiative marks a significant step toward regulatory harmonization between two of the world’s most influential financial jurisdictions. The task force, co-chaired by officials from…
On September 2, 2025, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) issued a landmark Joint Statement that could reshape the future of cryptocurrency trading in the United States. In a rare show of unity, the two agencies clarified that registered exchanges are not prohibited from listing and facilitating the trading of certain spot crypto asset products, including those involving leverage, margin, or financing. Depending on what happens next,…
The week of July 14 to 18, 2025 marked a historic moment for the U.S. cryptocurrency industry, as the U.S. House of Representatives officially designated it “Crypto Week.” This initiative signaled a profound shift in how Washington approaches the burgeoning digital asset landscape, moving from cautious observation to active legislative engagement. While much of the attention landed on the GENIUS Act, it is also important to understand the implications of the CLARITY Act and the…
On August 18, 2025, Illinois Governor JB Pritzker signed two bills that created, in his words, first-of-their-kind safeguards in the Midwest for cryptocurrency and other digital assets. The legislation was in part a response to an FBI report that Illinois consumers lost $272 million in fraud cases involving cryptocurrency in 2024, representing the most common type of financial fraud. And, not surprisingly for a person who reportedly sees himself as a future Democratic presidential candidate,…
For a time, Do Kwon was hailed as a visionary, a “cryptocurrency king” building a decentralized financial utopia. His company, Terraform Labs, and its associated cryptocurrencies, TerraUSD (UST) and LUNA, grew to a combined market capitalization of over $40 billion. The project promised investors stability and high returns, attracting a legion of devoted followers who called themselves “LUNAtics.” Yet, as the world learned, this crypto kingdom was built on a foundation of deception. The dramatic…
On July 23, 2025, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals issued a pivotal decision in Yuga Labs Inc. v. Ryder Ripps et al., a case that the digital art and non-fungible tokens (NFTs) communities have been following closely. The ruling not only addressed the boundaries of trademark law in the context of NFTs but also clarified the limits of expressive speech and fair use in digital marketplaces. Background Yuga Labs, Inc. burst onto the scene…