North America: Technology

California's new licensing regime for digital financial asset businesses is no longer on the horizon, it is here. The California Department of Financial Protection and Innovation (DFPI) opened its application portal last month, and the July 1, 2026 compliance deadline is now less than three months away. For companies that anticipate serving California residents with covered digital financial assets services, there is a significant advantage to having a license application in by July 1.

AI tools can feel like a superpower for early-stage startups. They write copy, analyze volumes of data, generate code, and quickly and efficiently automate work that used to take weeks. And they can help startups punch much higher than their weight class.

The Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC or Commission) recently released enforcement results for the 2025 fiscal year (Results) reflect the SEC Division of Enforcement’s (Division) new enforcement priorities, consistent with SEC’s stated goals of moving beyond “regulation by enforcement” by deploying only a “minimal dose” of regulation and enforcement and prioritizing enforcement matters involving investor harm.