rules

Chief Investment Officer Greg Taylor of PenderFund Capital Management stated that the September non-farm report is favorable for the market and essentially rules out the possibility of a Federal Reserve rate hike in October.There may still be expectations for a rate hike in December, but it has already been priced in by the market and will not have a significant impact on the market.

The Financial Services Commission of South Korea has proposed regulatory guidelines for the issuance and trading of security tokens, intending to allow stocks, bonds, funds, and certain fractional investment securities to be issued and circulated in token form. The relevant regulatory framework is scheduled to take effect on February 4, 2027.According to the proposal, securities token issuance companies that directly manage client accounts must have a paid-in capital of at least 4 billion Korean Won and be equipped with dedicated compliance and technical personnel. The revision of capital market regulations will also introduce an over-the-counter trading license for bonds and limit individual investors' annual net purchases at each over-the-counter exchange to within 100 million Korean Won.The proposal will be open for public consultation from Friday until November 11, after which it will enter the approval process. South Korea previously announced a roadmap to advance the transition of securities issuance and trading to distributed ledger infrastructure in three phases.

On Thursday, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) proposed new regulations aimed at clarifying the requirements for investment advisors and regulated funds regarding the holding and custody of client cryptocurrency assets, as well as standardizing record-keeping, federal disclosures, industry operations, and audit requirements. SEC Chairman Paul Atkins stated that the current custody rules primarily focus on traditional assets, and the new regulations will provide a regulatory framework for the custody of cryptocurrency assets.The proposal is open for public comment for 60 days and intends to allow self-custody of cryptocurrency assets and the use of state-chartered trust companies as custodians under certain conditions.

The core provisions of the regulatory framework for payment stablecoins in Florida, USA, will take effect on October 1, 2026.According to the state's Bill 2026 Chapter 176, engaging in the business of qualified payment stablecoin issuers in the state generally requires a license or must meet exemption conditions; qualified issuers must maintain at least a 1:1 identifiable reserve, which includes cash, funds in Federal Reserve accounts, qualified bank deposits, U.S. Treasury securities with a remaining maturity of no more than 93 days, and qualified government money market funds, among others. They must also publicly disclose redemption policies, disclose reserve composition monthly, accept monthly audits by certified public accountants, and be certified by the CEO and CFO.If the total issuance of payment stablecoins by state-level issuers reaches $10 billion, unless a federal exemption is obtained, they must transition to the corresponding federal regulatory framework within 360 days or suspend new issuances until the scale falls below the threshold.

According to Cointelegraph, the Bitcoin Policy Institute (BPI) released a research report questioning the process by which MSCI established its latest index rules. MSCI had previously listed companies such as Strategy and Metaplanet as potential "non-operating companies," which could lead to their removal from the index.MSCI first proposed excluding digital asset treasury companies from global indices in 2025, but after facing opposition, it shelved the plan in January and opted for a broader review of "non-operating companies." On August 3, MSCI put forward a broader proposal that could still result in the exclusion of Strategy and Metaplanet. In a report titled "The Invisible Committee of Wall Street," BPI pointed out that metadata shows the presentation MSCI consulted is stored in an internal folder specifically for digital asset treasury companies.According to the proposal, MSCI will first assess whether a company has a significant amount of operational assets before applying five additional financial tests. Its own simulations indicate that Strategy, Metaplanet, and uranium investment company Yellow Cake would be excluded. In 2025, JPMorgan analysts estimated that if Strategy were excluded, it could face an outflow of approximately $2.8 billion. BPI also questioned MSCI's reliance on "operational assets," stating that the term is not a standardized balance sheet category under U.S. GAAP or IFRS. MSCI concluded its opinion collection on September 30 and is expected to announce results on or before October 16, with related changes set to take effect during the index review in November 2026.

U.S. Senator Steve Daines (Republican from Montana, member of the Senate Finance Committee) has officially introduced a 56-page digital asset tax bill, named the "Aligning Digital Assets with Tax Principles Act" (ADAPT Act). The bill aims to establish clearer tax rules for scenarios such as stablecoin payments, network fees, staking, and lending, and plans to extend existing tax rules like wash sales and constructive sales to apply to digital assets.The core provisions of the bill state that taxpayers generally do not need to recognize gains or losses when using compliant U.S. dollar stablecoins to purchase goods and services, while exempting brokers from information reporting obligations for qualifying consumer transactions; however, this exemption does not apply to traders and market makers. The bill also extends wash sale rules and constructive sale rules to digital assets, with compliant stablecoins excluded from the constructive sale provisions to limit loss harvesting behavior in crypto assets.Additionally, the bill proposes to exempt digital assets used to pay for network, transaction, or gas fees of $10 or less from gain or loss recognition and allows qualifying digital asset traders and dealers to choose to account for them at fair market value. The bill also stipulates rules for income sources from staking and mining, a non-recognition framework for digital asset lending, a safe harbor for foreign investors' transactions, and definitions for digital asset classifications; most provisions will apply to tax years or transactions after December 31, 2026. Previously, the U.S. House Ways and Means Committee passed its own "Digital Asset Tax Certainty Act" on September 16 by a vote of 38 to 5.

According to CoinDesk, the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) has submitted two rules for review to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). One rule aims to include event contracts within the regulatory definition of swaps, while the other is a "temporary final rule" that seeks to exclude "casino-style gambling products" from the scope of swaps.These two rules were received by the OMB this week, with the document dated September 28. OMB review is typically the last step before rules are submitted for public comment, and the temporary final rule will take effect immediately while allowing for subsequent public input and revisions.This move comes as the CFTC engages in a tug-of-war with multiple states over the nature of prediction markets. Event contracts are typically binary yes-or-no bets on measurable outcomes such as sports events and elections. Last week, the U.S. Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that Kalshi's sports contracts do not fall under swaps and should be governed by state gambling regulations, while the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals made a similar ruling; however, the Third Circuit Court of Appeals previously determined that the CFTC has jurisdiction over prediction markets, creating a legal divergence at the federal level. CFTC Chairman Mike Selig believes that the CFTC has exclusive jurisdiction over prediction markets.If event contracts are classified as swaps and not as gambling products, it could weaken the positions of various states in multiple lawsuits against prediction market platforms like Kalshi. The CFTC is legally required to consist of five commissioners, but President Trump has yet to nominate additional commissioners, leaving Selig as the sole commissioner, who is unilaterally advancing regulatory and policy decisions. Additionally, information disclosed by the OMB indicates that the CFTC recently submitted a "pre-rule" focusing on cryptocurrency regulation to the White House.

According to CoinDesk, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) proposed a significant update to the transfer agent rules on September 1, the first since the 1970s. Chairman Paul Atkins explicitly stated that the rules should cover the application of blockchain technology in securities issuance and equity transfer.Joris Delanoue, co-founder of Fairmint, pointed out that if ownership data is scattered among token wrapping layers, SPVs, broker-dealer internal ledgers, and off-chain databases, it will replay the historical "paperwork crisis" of the late 1960s. He emphasized that the tokens themselves should serve as the official ledger required by Section 17A of the Securities Exchange Act, rather than as off-chain securities wrapping substitutes. The article calls for the industry to integrate ownership data around unified open standards and suggests that the SEC distinguish between native on-chain registration and third-party wrapping models in Form TA-2, allow the use of cryptographic credentials and other modern identifiers, and incorporate pre-trade restrictions on smart contracts into compliance enforcement mechanisms.

Paul Atkins, the Chairman of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), stated that although the CLARITY Act was not passed by Congress, the SEC will still clarify on-chain financing rules within its statutory authority. The U.S. Senate failed to advance the CLARITY Act on September 15 with a vote of 49 to 50, not reaching the required threshold of 60 votes. Atkins has not disclosed what form the relevant guidance will take, whether it will be an exemption, a registration path, or in the form of staff guidance.The SEC previously paved the way for tokenized stocks on September 17 and released nine frequently asked questions on September 25, explaining the impact of commitments by token issuers on the determination of securities. Commissioner Hester Peirce will leave office on October 2, at which point the SEC will only have Atkins and Mark Uyeda remaining as sitting commissioners.

According to Crypto in America, former CFTC Chairman Russ Behnam stated at the Georgetown University Financial Markets Quality Conference that as prediction markets experience explosive growth, Congress urgently needs to clarify the boundary between risk management and gambling, and related lawsuits may ultimately be submitted to the U.S. Supreme Court.Behnam also pointed out that after the Clarity Act failed to advance in the Senate, the CFTC's reliance on existing authority to regulate the spot market is akin to "patching things up with tape and paperclips," and regulators urgently need to establish more durable rules.

Spain has confirmed that cryptocurrency assets stored in self-custody wallets do not need to be declared as foreign assets. Cryptocurrency assets held in foreign custodial institutions must be declared if the holding value exceeds 50,000 euros; however, if they are bought on a foreign exchange and sold entirely within the same year, they do not need to be declared.

According to Decrypt, Mike Selig, the chairman of the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), stated that after the Senate rejected the Clear Act, the CFTC will continue to advance the formulation of rules for the cryptocurrency market structure, saying "now is the time for action." Selig pointed out that the CFTC's existing statutory authority provides room for advancing the rules without waiting for Congress to pass new legislation.The agency will also reassess the current rules applicable to algorithmic and smart agent-driven 24/7 on-chain markets. Related arrangements may include establishing designated contract market categories that allow exchanges to offer cryptocurrency leveraged trading under CFTC regulation; however, the CFTC does not have the authority to regulate the spot market, and regulation of the spot market still requires legislation.

According to CoinDesk, Taylor Lindman, the Chief Legal Counsel of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Crypto Working Group, stated at the CoinDesk Policy & Regulation event held in Washington that the SEC is advancing rules for the custody of crypto assets. The relevant proposal has been submitted to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review, covering investment companies and broker-dealers. She indicated that the rule aims to inform the market about how to hold non-securities crypto assets within broker-dealers without special registration and clarifies that investment advisors can store client assets in institutions such as state-chartered trusts.Once the proposal passes the review by the Office of Management and Budget, the SEC will formally present it and seek feedback from the industry and the public. Lindman also mentioned that the SEC will issue an employee statement in December 2025 as a transitional arrangement, guiding broker-dealers on handling crypto custody matters before the rules are implemented, and will allow investment advisors to store client assets in state-chartered trusts as qualified crypto custodians starting in September 2025.Lindman described the SEC's recent work as "laying the groundwork," including previously proposed rules allowing crypto issuance and exemptions for tokenized securities. She stated that the SEC is working to ensure that existing securities intermediaries and market participants can confidently use blockchain to hold and trade crypto assets. Previously, the SEC's attempts at custody rules under Gary Gensler in 2023 were abandoned, and a leadership supportive of crypto was appointed after the Trump administration took office.

DeepSeek supplements the API peak and valley billing rules. During weekends with adjusted work hours and China's statutory holidays, the entire day is charged at off-peak rates. Although September 20 is a workday due to the National Day holiday adjustment, the API still applies the off-peak price.DeepSeek implemented peak and valley pricing starting August 17, with off-peak prices set at half of peak prices. Less than a week later, all Saturdays and Sundays were changed to off-peak prices. This further clarifies the billing criteria for adjusted workdays and statutory holidays.Taking deepseek-flash as an example, for every million tokens of cache misses, the off-peak rate is 1 yuan, and the peak rate is 2 yuan; the output rates are 4 yuan and 8 yuan respectively. Another adjusted workday for the National Day holiday on October 10 is a Saturday, which will also be calculated at the off-peak price.

Former Democratic presidential candidate and founder of Noble Mobile, Andrew Yang, called on the federal government to strengthen regulations on cutting-edge AI laboratories. In an interview with CNBC, he stated that researchers have warned that the pace of iteration for powerful models has exceeded the constraints of existing rules, and he candidly said, "The fear is real, the concerns are real, and the demand is real; the American public wants to see this industry regulated."Yang urged Congress to require AI companies to assume liability for damages, set waiting periods before deployment, and equip powerful models with a "kill switch." He mentioned that OpenAI and Anthropic recently disclosed incidents of models breaching boundaries or invading other companies' systems, prompting lawmakers to consider introducing the "AI Kill Switch Act," which would allow federal officials to order restrictions or shutdowns of specific cutting-edge systems.In response to David Sacks' claim that the AI safety warnings are "psychological warfare," Yang stated that multiple things are happening simultaneously and cited a warning from an unnamed lab director that AI robots may have implanted self-replicating code on the internet, leading OpenAI and Anthropic to build a synthetic internet to train their models. He also emphasized that AI regulation is a bipartisan issue, saying, "If you are in rural areas or red districts, your constituents are equally panicked about AI."

SEC Chairman Paul Atkins issued a statement regarding the committee's approval of the "innovation exemption." He pointed out that more than a week ago, Congress failed to advance the CLARITY Act, thus the SEC today took significant steps within its statutory authority to bring the U.S. capital markets into the digital age by promoting on-chain trading of specific tokenized stocks.The order grants two types of temporary, conditional exemptions under Section 36(a)(1) of the Securities Exchange Act: first, it exempts "Tokenized Securities Venues" (TSV) from the definition of "exchange" under the Securities Exchange Act; second, it exempts specific liquidity providers ("regulated companies") from the definition of "dealer." Atkins emphasized that the anti-fraud and anti-manipulation provisions of federal securities laws fully apply to all securities activities in these markets, without exception.The exemption comes with several investor protection conditions: TSV must be U.S. entities and comply with OFAC sanctions; access standards must be set for a licensing system, allowing only specific participants to trade; synthetic products cannot be used—tokenized NMS "national market system" stocks must be tokenized by the issuer of the underlying stock or its representative, or by a third party not affiliated with the issuer, and holders must enjoy the same rights as traditional securities (including dividends and voting rights); issuers have the right to oppose and prevent their securities from being traded on TSV.Atkins stated that the committee is not solidifying current technology as future standards but rather allowing the market to evolve, monitoring its development, and using this as a basis to establish a more flexible, future-oriented regulatory framework. This exemption is a temporary measure, and the committee is seeking public input on all aspects, emphasizing that this transitional arrangement must be followed by the establishment of permanent rules to ensure that on-chain markets maintain a viable path as capital markets evolve.

The French Council of State rejected the urgent application filed by the cryptocurrency companies Bull Bitcoin and Paymium, refusing to immediately suspend the implementation of the French decree enforcing the EU Directive on Administrative Cooperation No. 8 (DAC8).The applicants argued that the centralized collection of personal and financial data from digital asset users could lead to data breaches, extortion, and personal safety risks. The court found that the applicants failed to demonstrate an urgent situation sufficient to support an emergency suspension. The lawsuit seeking to fully revoke the decree by Bull Bitcoin is still under review. DAC8 will take effect in the EU on January 1, 2026, and registered service providers must complete their first declaration for the year 2026 by September 30, 2027.

According to market news, Mike Selig, the chairman of the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), announced that the CFTC is ready to launch its rules for the new financial sector.