United States: Commodities/Derivatives/Stock Exchanges

On July 7, the SEC released its Spring 2026 Regulatory Flexibility (“Reg Flex”) agenda detailing an ambitious list of thirty-eight potential rulemakings for the upcoming year.

The SEC and CFTC have issued a joint interpretive release establishing a securities taxonomy for crypto-assets, classifying them into five categories: digital commodities, digital collectibles, digital tools, stablecoins, and digital securities. This groundbreaking guidance identifies specific crypto-assets like Bitcoin, Ether, and Solana as digital commodities rather than securities, marking a significant shift from the SEC's previous regulation-by-enforcement approach.

On August 11, the CFTC announced that it exercised its emergency authority under Section 8a(9) of the Commodity Exchange Act (CEA) and ordered a federally regulated event-contract exchange to continue operating in accordance with the CEA’s Core Principles and normal practices.

ESMA has published its first substantive assessment of how the Active Account Requirement is reshaping central clearing in the EU, revealing widespread adoption among roughly 500 market participants and early signs of clearing activity migrating from UK CCPs to EU counterparties. The findings offer preliminary insights into a regulatory framework designed to reduce EU dependencies on third-country central counterparties, with implications for both EU and UK financial institutions navigating this evolving la

Federal digital asset policy has accelerated dramatically since President Trump's January 2025 executive order, with Congress passing the first stablecoin law and regulatory agencies opening numerous rulemakings. Yet the industry's most critical legislation—the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act—remains stalled in the Senate, creating a complex landscape where regulatory momentum advances without legislative certainty, presenting both compliance challenges and strategic opportunities for financial

Recent regulatory developments are reshaping the landscape for prediction markets, 24/7 equity trading, and fintech banking charters. From the CFTC's new guidance on event contract certifications to state attorneys general challenging high-cost lender applications, these five updates highlight critical compliance and structural changes across financial services. How will these evolving rules impact market participants and emerging financial technologies?

The SEC has included crypto asset rulemaking in its 2026 regulatory agenda, while ESMA launches oversight of crypto custody services and Swift prepares to pilot blockchain-based tokenized deposits with 17 global banks. Meanwhile, New Hampshire considers a Bitcoin-backed bond offering and the CFTC charges a commodity pool operator with crypto-related fraud.

This weekly digest from Lowenstein Crypto examines critical regulatory developments shaping the digital asset landscape, including the SEC's request for comment on novel ETFs, the UK's finalized crypto asset regime rules, and new stablecoin initiatives. The briefing also covers Taiwan's passage of comprehensive virtual asset legislation and Robinhood's launch of its AI-native blockchain network with tokenized securities.

Federal regulators are seeking to modernize derivatives trading frameworks while Kentucky challenges the CFTC's authority over prediction markets. The CFTC and SEC have issued multiple requests for public comment on portfolio margining harmonization and derivatives product definitions, while the House debates whether fintech firms should gain access to Federal Reserve payment systems.