In this issue:
- Crypto Exchanges Achieve, and Seek, OCC Charters; Stablecoin Study Published
- Reports Provide New Data, Analysis on Tokenized RWA Markets
- Treasury NPRM Addresses Issuing Stablecoins Under State-level Regimes
- US Central Bank Publishes FAQ on Capital Treatment of Tokenized Securities
- Enforcement Actions Target Crypto Exchange Hack, Unregistered Exchange
- DEX Hacked for $280 Million; Whitepaper Highlights Quantum Computing Threats
Crypto Exchanges Achieve, and Seek, OCC Charters; Stablecoin Study Published
A major U.S. cryptocurrency exchange recently announced that it has received conditional approval from the U.S. Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) for a national trust bank charter. According to a blog post by the company, the conditional approval positions the exchange “to build the next chapter of finance with the regulatory confidence that our partners, customers, and the broader market need.” The same exchange also recently announced an integration with Chainlink “to bring its premium exchange data underpinning billions in trading activity onchain” and recently announced a partnership with Better, an online mortgage lender, to launch crypto-backed mortgages.
In related news, EDX Markets, an institutional crypto exchange, has reportedly submitted an application to the OCC to establish a national trust bank. If approved, EDX reportedly plans to offer crypto custody, asset management and trade-settlement services under the trust bank charter.
And in a final notable item, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) recently published an IMF working paper that examines “whether financial market participants, in aggregate, expect stablecoins to play an important role in payments.” According to an IMF press release, among other things, the paper finds that “U.S. legislation supporting the use of stablecoins in payments reduced the market value of listed incumbent payment firms by 18% or approximately $300 billion, consistent with stablecoins increasing competition in the payments sector.”
For more information, please refer to the following links:
- Coinbase Receives Conditional OCC Approval: Building the Future of Finance
- Coinbase and Chainlink Bring Exchange Data Powering Billions in Trading Onchain for the First Time
- Coinbase Powers the First Crypto-Backed, Conforming Mortgages by Better
- EDX seeks OCC trust bank charter for institutional crypto custody
- Stablecoins and the Future of Payments: Evidence from Financial Markets
Reports Provide New Data, Analysis on Tokenized RWA Markets
Multiple recent reports provide new data and analysis on the tokenized assets markets. A report by RWA.io focuses on tokenized deposits, which it defines as “digital representations of commercial bank money on a blockchain” that are “direct liabilities of the issuing bank” and “subject to the same regulatory and supervisory frameworks as traditional deposits.” The report provides a technical, regulatory and economic analysis of how tokenized deposits fit within the broader digital money ecosystem alongside stablecoins and central bank digital currencies. The report argues that “[t]okenized deposits, as regulated, bank-issued liabilities, are positioned to become the backbone of institutional finance on the blockchain, providing a secure and reliable settlement asset for the tokenized economy.”
A second report, by RedStone, provides an overview of the current tokenization platforms landscape. The report finds that the real-world asset (RWA) market is splitting into four distinct operating models: (1) Manager-Controlled Tokenization Environments; (2) Institutional Operating Systems and Regulated Issuance Partners; (3) Standards and Compatibility-First Platforms; and (4) Vertically Integrated/Blockchain-Native Capital Markets. Among other things, the report analyzes these four models and explores key architectural design issues related to RWAs, such as the issue of where to embed compliance logic – inside the token, outside it or at the network layer.
A third report, by Centrifuge, an RWA tokenization platform, provides findings based on “a survey of 150 operators directly involved in shipping, operating, or servicing tokenized assets.” Key findings from the survey include the following:
- When asked to name the single biggest benefit of onchain finance today, respondents rank programmability first, at 24 percent, with instant settlement close behind at 19 percent.
- When asked to name the primary use case for tokenized assets, product building blocks and balance-sheet collateral accounted for 66 percent of responses, suggesting that tokenized assets are increasingly valued for what they enable inside onchain markets, not simply for passive yield.
- Seventy-six percent of respondents cited regulation and liquidity as the main bottlenecks to scaling tokenized RWAs, with regulation as the biggest bottleneck.
- When asked what builds confidence in tokenized RWAs for end investors, 67 percent of respondents cited reliable liquidity and redemption, 57 percent cited clear investor rights and 43 percent cited competitive yield.
For more information, please refer to the following links:
- Tokenized Deposits Essential to the Future of Digital Finance, Finds Industry-Backed RWA.io Research
- Tokenization & RWA Standards Report
- Tokenization Outlook 2026
Treasury NPRM Addresses Issuing Stablecoins Under State-level Regimes
On April 1, the U.S. Department of the Treasury (Treasury) issued a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) seeking public comment related to Treasury’s implementation of the Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for U.S. Stablecoins (GENIUS) Act. According to a Treasury press release, under the GENIUS Act, payment stablecoin issuers with a consolidated total outstanding issuance of not more than $10 billion may opt for regulation under a state-level regulatory regime, provided that the state-level regulatory regime is substantially similar to the federal regulatory framework. The NPRM seeks to “establish broad-based principles for determining whether a state-level regulatory regime is substantially similar to the federal regulatory framework under the GENIUS Act” for purposes of allowing payment stablecoin issuers to opt for regulation under a state-level regime. The NPRM was published in the Federal Register on April 3.
Among other things, the NPRM (1) defines key terms, including the terms “Federal regulatory framework” and “State-level regulatory regime”; (2) sets out the overall broad-based principles explaining how the statutory provisions of the GENIUS Act apply to State-qualified payment stablecoin issuers, and how State-level regulatory regimes may be considered substantially similar to the Federal regulatory framework; (3) provides broad-based principles for the uniform requirements and State-calibrated requirements, respectively; and (4) recognizes that States may impose requirements beyond what is included in the Federal regulatory framework and provides that such additional requirements are permissible so long as they do not conflict with the GENIUS Act, the proposed rule or other Federal law, and they do not modify the State-level regulatory regime such that it can no longer be reasonably viewed as substantially similar to the Federal regulatory framework. Comments on the NPRM must be received on or before June 2.
For more information, please refer to the following links:
- Treasury Seeks Public Comment on GENIUS Act Notice of Proposed Rulemaking Concerning State-Level Regulatory Regimes
- Notice of Proposed Rulemaking: GENIUS Act Broad-Based Principles for Determining Whether a State-level Regulatory Regime Is Substantially Similar to the Federal Regulatory Framework
- GENIUS Act Broad-Based Principles for Determining Whether a State-Level Regulatory Regime Is Substantially Similar to the Federal Regulatory Framework
US Central Bank Publishes FAQ on Capital Treatment of Tokenized Securities
The board of governors of the U.S. Central Bank recently published “answers to several frequently asked questions concerning the capital treatment of tokenized securities that, under applicable law, confer legal rights identical to those of the non-tokenized form of the security (eligible tokenized securities).” The document provides answers to the following questions: (1) What is the capital treatment for eligible tokenized securities?; (2) Would a tokenized security qualify as financial collateral for purposes of the capital rule?; and (3) Would the capital treatment of tokenized securities depend on whether the tokens are issued on permissioned or permissionless blockchains?
For more information, please refer to the following link:
Enforcement Actions Target Crypto Exchange Hack, Unregistered Exchange
By Amos Kim
The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) recently announced charges of computer fraud and money laundering related to the hack of Uranium, the decentralized cryptocurrency exchange (DEX), in April 2021. According to the DOJ press release, the defendant, Jonathan Spalletta, exploited the DEX’s smart contracts to fraudulently obtain over $54 million in cryptocurrency. The press release notes that Spalletta allegedly withdrew the funds across multiple liquidity pools, causing Uranium to shut down due to a lack of funds. According to the DOJ indictment, Spalletta laundered the proceeds to purchase collectible items, including antique coins and rare Magic: The Gathering and Pokémon trading cards. The press release notes that law enforcement seized approximately $31 million in cryptocurrency from Spalletta in February 2025 pursuant to a seizure warrant. Spalletta faces a statutory maximum of 20 years in prison for money laundering and 10 years for computer fraud.
Separately, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) recently announced that the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York entered a consent order against Peken Global Limited, the operator of the KuCoin exchange. According to the consent order, Peken Global is permanently enjoined from permitting direct access to U.S. participants on its electronic trading and order matching system without registration by the CFTC as a foreign board of trade. The order requires Peken Global to pay a $500,000 civil monetary penalty. In a related filing, the court entered an order of voluntary dismissal with prejudice, dismissing the CFTC’s claims against other KuCoin entities, including Mek Global Ltd., PhoenixFin PTE Ltd. and Flashdot Ltd.
For more information, please refer to the following links:
- Maryland Man Charged With Defrauding Crypto Exchange Of Over $50 Million In Hacks
- Federal Court Enters Permanent Injunction Against Peken Global Limited
DEX Hacked for $280 Million; Whitepaper Highlights Quantum Computing Threats
Drift Protocol, a Solana-based decentralized exchange (DEX), recently confirmed that it lost approximately $280 million in a hack. According to reports, the attack was executed in part by exploiting the Solana network’s durable nonces – a mechanism enabling pre-signed transactions – to seize control over and steal the hacked crypto. The attack is reported to be unique among recent hacks because rather than exploiting smart contract failures, the attackers effectively hacked a legitimate technical feature of the Solana network.
In a separate incident, a major U.S. technology company has reportedly attributed a recent supply chain attack on the popular Axios npm package to North Korean threat actors. According to reports, North Korean hackers have historically used such attacks to steal cryptocurrencies.
The same major U.S. technology company recently published a whitepaper showing that “future quantum computers may break the elliptic curve cryptography that protects cryptocurrency and other systems with fewer qubits and gates than previously realized.” According to the whitepaper, the company wants to “raise awareness on this issue and [is] providing the cryptocurrency community with recommendations to improve security and stability before this is possible, including transitioning blockchains to post-quantum cryptography (PQC), which is resistant to quantum attacks.” The whitepaper notes that to share the new research responsibly, the company “engaged with the U.S. government and developed a new method to describe these vulnerabilities via a zero-knowledge proof, so they can be verified without providing a roadmap for bad actors.”
For more information, please refer to the following links:
- Drift explains $280M exploit as critics question Circle over USDC freeze
- Google Attributes Axios npm Supply Chain Attack to North Korean Group UNC1069
- Google Finds Quantum Computers Could Break Bitcoin Sooner Than Expected
- Safeguarding cryptocurrency by disclosing quantum vulnerabilities responsibly
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