The Securities and Exchange Commission announced it will allow qualifying platforms to test trading real U.S. stocks on public blockchains for up to five years without registering as national securities exchanges.

The exemption applies only to tokenized securities that preserve traditional shareholder rights such as voting and dividend entitlements. Products that merely track price movements without ownership rights remain excluded.

Platforms approved under the sandbox, called Tokenized Securities Venues, may use smart contracts and liquidity pools to match trades. They must operate on public, permissionless blockchains with auditable software, while access to the trading venue stays permissioned. Certain liquidity providers receive conditional relief from dealer registration rules.

Participating venues face strict limits: they can tokenize no more than 75 of the most liquid stocks and handle no more than 0.25% of average daily trading volume for those securities. A second tier permits up to 250 stocks with a 2.5% volume cap. The SEC designed these caps to ensure a modest, controlled start.

Companies whose shares are tokenized retain veto power. The issuer must receive 30 days’ notice before a third party proposes tokenization, and can block the offering with a simple objection.

The framework does not permit leverage or lending against tokenized stocks. Settlement, transferability and collateral use remain subject to future rulemaking, though the SEC expects blockchain infrastructure to eventually enable faster settlement and programmable market features.

Synthetic products that mimic stock performance without actual ownership rights fall outside the exemption. The SEC emphasized that tokenized shares must convey the same rights as traditional stock, preserving protections such as voting and dividend claims.

The move follows a broader push for regulatory clarity in digital asset markets. It comes after Congress rejected the Clarity Act, prompting the SEC to act within existing authority. The agency described the sandbox as an experiment to gather evidence that could shape future rulemaking or legislation.

By separating the technology from the regulatory framework, the SEC aims to let traditional finance explore blockchain tools while maintaining investor protections. The experiment may reshape how stocks trade, but it does not alter the legal status of securities or open public blockchains like those used in decentralized finance to unrestricted trading.

The agency’s approach reflects a cautious expansion of innovation in regulated markets, offering a narrow path for testing blockchain’s role in securities trading while keeping oversight firmly in place.

A legal conflict within the family of Nathan Allman, founder of cryptocurrency platform Ondo Finance, has escalated following his sudden death in May at age 32. The dispute centers on control of his equity stake and digital asset holdings, which include significant quantities of ONDO tokens.

Nathan Allman died intestate, leaving his estate — comprising his controlling ownership position in Ondo Finance and a substantial token portfolio — to his parents, Kathleen Allman and Lawrence Allman. Shortly after his death, Kathleen Allman assumed leadership roles within the company, appointing herself chair and interim chief executive while attempting to remove Ian De Bode, who had been serving as acting CEO.

De Bode and David Chen, an early investor in Ondo, have contested these actions in Delaware court. They allege that Kathleen Allman and her daughter Dr. Lani Clinton sought to exert undue influence over corporate decisions, including the approval of a compensation package for De Bode valued at approximately $11 million. The package included a $900,000 annual salary, a $1 million signing bonus, and token awards that would have increased his stake from 0.33% to 8%.

In September, Chen and Dr. Clinton filed a petition in a Hawaiian court requesting a limited conservatorship over Kathleen Allman’s share of the estate. The petition cites concerns about her mental capacity and financial judgment, including allegations of long-term alcohol use and progressive cognitive decline. Dr. Clinton, a physician at Duke University, stated that her mother exhibits symptoms consistent with frontotemporal dementia and is unable to manage complex financial affairs.

Kathleen Allman has denied all allegations, calling the petition baseless and politically motivated. She asserted that the legal actions represent a continuation of efforts by De Bode and Chen to seize control of Ondo after their earlier attempts were rejected by the Delaware Court of Chancery. She emphasized her commitment to corporate governance and the legacy of her son.

The petition includes claims of excessive spending by Kathleen Allman, such as the purchase of a $18.5 million beachfront property in Honolulu and attempts to acquire a luxury yacht. It also references financial distress, including a $200,000 unpaid invoice for home renovations and prior difficulties meeting mortgage obligations.

A separate filing from the estate accused De Bode and Chen of forum shopping and attempting to delay proceedings in Delaware by initiating litigation in Hawaii. It further alleged coordination between the two parties to appoint a sympathetic board member and influence fiduciary decisions during a period of leadership vacuum.

Ondo Finance has declined to comment on the ongoing litigation. De Bode did not respond to requests for comment.

The situation remains unresolved, with both sides pursuing legal remedies in multiple jurisdictions. The outcome will likely influence the future governance and strategic direction of Ondo Finance during this period of transition.

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission convened a roundtable on Thursday to examine how traditional markets might adopt around-the-clock trading, a practice already standard in cryptocurrency markets.

Chairman Paul Atkins told attendees that extending trading beyond regular business hours would allow investors to react more swiftly to market developments. "We're moving toward a new day — and night," Atkins said, emphasizing that tradeable events need not be confined to market hours.

The discussion highlighted the agency's recent move to create a five-year exemption for firms seeking to operate tokenized securities platforms. This exemption would shield such firms from certain regulatory burdens while they develop infrastructure for digital asset trading.

Commissioner Hester Peirce acknowledged that expanding trading hours could introduce new challenges, including wider bid-ask spreads, heightened price volatility, and reduced oversight during non-business hours. She noted that crypto markets "don't sleep," suggesting that traditional firms may need to adapt to continuous market activity.

Atkins indicated that preparatory work is already underway, stating that "several needed preparations are already underway or in place" as the SEC advances its regulatory agenda.

The agency also addressed how tokenization might improve market efficiency. Atkins suggested that digital representation of securities could enable real-time inventory management, reduce settlement failures, and curb abusive short-selling practices.

CoinDesk is hosting its annual Policy and Regulation summit on September 22 in Washington, D.C., featuring SEC Crypto Task Force Chief Counsel Taylor Lindman. Registration details are available on the event website.

The Federal Reserve increased its benchmark interest rate by 25 basis points on Wednesday, marking the first hike in more than three years. Bitcoin's current price sits about 40% below its November 2021 peak, a level it reached before the Fed began tightening in 2022. At that time, the cryptocurrency rallied roughly 18% before dropping about 50% over the following months.

Analysts note that markets are now pricing in an additional 75 basis points of tightening over the next six months. Rising oil prices, driven by geopolitical tensions in the Middle East, have pushed both WTI and Brent crude above $100 per barrel, raising concerns that inflation could accelerate and constrain economic growth.

Core inflation, which excludes food and energy, eased to 2.4% in the latest report, its lowest reading in five years, but the recent energy shock threatens to reverse that progress. The 10-year U.S. Treasury yield climbed to 5%, adding further pressure on financial conditions and risk assets.

Bitcoin's bear market is nearing its first anniversary. The 2022 tightening cycle offers a limited historical comparison, as the cryptocurrency market was less liquid and less developed then. Today's market structure is more mature, but the pattern of a brief rally followed by a deeper decline appears to be repeating.

The Fed's decision to hike rates was motivated by persistent inflation above its 2% target. While headline inflation has remained elevated for more than five years, the recent slowdown in core inflation provides a modest sign of progress. However, the central bank remains cautious, given the potential for energy-driven price spikes to reignite inflationary pressures.

Stablecoin developments continue to attract attention in regulated finance circles. A recent report on Asia-Pacific markets maps emerging rules, use cases, and the role of new stablecoins such as RLUSD, highlighting the region's growing importance in the broader digital asset ecosystem.

The Senate’s 50-49 vote against moving forward on the CLARITY Act left crypto companies without a federal framework for market structure and could postpone product launches, funding decisions and commercial agreements, according to three industry experts.

The bill needed 60 votes to overcome a procedural hurdle, but fell short by 10 votes. All Democrats present opposed the motion, and Republican Senators Susan Collins, Josh Hawley, Jerry Moran and Thom Tillis also voted against it. Tillis later changed his vote for procedural reasons, leaving the door open for a future attempt.

In the absence of federal legislation, Kyle Bligen, executive director of the Decentralization Research Center, urged the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission to use their existing authority to provide clearer guidance. He warned against applying rules designed for traditional financial intermediaries to decentralized systems, emphasizing that consumer protection and anti‑illegal‑activity goals must not be abandoned simply because Congress has stalled.

Matt Price, head of global partnerships at stablecoin platform WasabiCard, said the failed vote left firms facing the same classification and jurisdiction questions they had before the vote. He added that companies are likely to spend more time seeking legal counsel before committing capital, and that some partnerships or product releases may be delayed while regulators’ expectations remain unclear.

Regulators themselves have been called to fill the legislative gap. Former CFTC Chair Chris Giancarlo and Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong both urged the agencies to act under current mandates. Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse echoed the request, noting that agency action cannot resolve every issue covered by the bill, particularly the division of authority between the SEC and CFTC.

The failed cloture vote also affected betting markets. Polymarket traders reduced the estimated chance of the bill becoming law in 2026 from 30% to 7% after the vote, down from 82% earlier in the year.

Outside the United States, regulatory uncertainty extends to stablecoin operations that span the Atlantic. Konstantins Vasilenko, co‑founder and chief business development officer at Paybis, noted that U.S. Treasury is examining how domestic stablecoin rules apply to foreign issuers, while European authorities consider how to treat oversight conducted abroad. Under the EU’s Markets in Crypto‑Assets regulation, issuers must demonstrate authorization, reserve management and the ability to honor redemption requests. The Treasury’s “lawful‑order” test asks whether a foreign issuer can execute an American order to freeze assets, a question Vasilenko said remains open.

He called for clearer standards so exchanges and wallet providers can assess foreign stablecoins before offering them to U.S. customers, and suggested that mutual recognition between U.S. and EU regimes should be evaluated requirement by requirement rather than through a blanket decision.

The CLARITY Act remains on the Senate calendar, and a future cloture vote could be scheduled during a lame‑duck session after the November elections. Any Senate changes would still require further House action before the measure could reach the president.

StablecoinX announced on September 17 that it had filed a Form 8-K detailing a waiver signed with Ethena OpCo and the Ethena Foundation, which permanently removes lock-up, vesting and scheduled-release restrictions on its ENA holdings. The waiver takes effect on October 5, aligning the company’s ENA unlock schedule with that of other holders. The agreement eliminates all lock-up provisions for ENA acquired through private investment in public equity agreements tied to StablecoinX’s business combination with TLGY Acquisition Corp. Ethena Foundation retains authority over sales, transfers, loans, hedges and other encumbrances of the tokens, requiring written consent for any funding sale. StablecoinX must provide five business days’ notice before a proposed sale, disclosing the intended use of proceeds, maximum token volume and minimum acceptable price. The foundation may purchase all or part of the allocation during the review period, or the company may proceed if no response is received. Settlement can occur in U.S. dollars, USDC, USDe or USDtb, depending on mutually agreed terms. Transactions must be completed within 60 days, after which another notice is required. The waiver preserves restrictions under the U.S. Securities Act, Rule 144, affiliate status and any applicable registration or listing requirements. StablecoinX’s treasury held approximately 3 billion ENA at the end of the second quarter, representing about 20% of the token’s total supply and valued at $218.4 million using a June 30 price of $0.07204. The company’s Class A shares trade on Nasdaq under USDE, offering indirect exposure to Ethena’s governance token. The filing was made under Item 1.01, which covers entry into a material definitive agreement, and was signed by Chief Financial Officer Young Cho. Funding sales must follow the five-day review process and be executed in an orderly manner, with methods such as over-the-counter transactions or agency arrangements used to limit market disruption. Eligible uses of proceeds include general working capital, strategic investments, corporate acquisitions and software development beyond StablecoinX Harness and its decentralized verifier node operations. The agreement also permits share repurchases under an approved Rule 10b5-1 plan, provided the foundation has approved the plan and disclosure obligations are met. The waiver does not grant unrestricted control over ENA usage; any transfer or encumbrance still requires foundation consent or a qualifying funding sale framework. StablecoinX operates a decentralized verifier node that has processed over 10,000 messages representing more than $3 billion in cumulative cross-chain volume as of August 12.

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission announced on September 17 that it would not pursue enforcement actions against qualifying passive software providers who fail to register as introducing brokers or associated persons, provided they meet ten specific conditions. The no-action position applies to software that connects users with registered derivatives exchanges, brokers and futures commission merchants. Providers must file a notice with the CFTC’s Market Participants Division, accept the agency’s jurisdiction, and ensure users maintain a direct relationship with regulated entities rather than the software developer. The relief does not constitute a blanket exemption from the Commodity Exchange Act but rather a temporary suspension of enforcement for activities described in Staff Letter 26-25. Ten conditions govern eligibility, including prohibitions on statutory disqualifications, restrictions on promotional material resembling brokerage advertising, and requirements that users can access regulated firms without relying solely on the provider’s software. The position also bars providers from becoming the sole conduit for customer relationships and mandates that marketing remains within limits that would not trigger National Futures Association pre-approval requirements. Enforcement powers remain intact for conduct outside the letter’s scope, such as fraud, market manipulation or unlawful solicitation. The CFTC’s action follows a separate five-year exemption granted by the Securities and Exchange Commission for eligible venues offering tokenized National Market System stocks, which similarly requires public and auditable smart contracts and direct ties to primary exchanges. Both agencies have operated within existing statutory authority after legislative efforts to clarify digital asset oversight stalled in the Senate. The CFTC’s relief is limited to passive derivatives software and does not extend to applications that exercise control over customer assets, execute trades on behalf of users, or generate explicit trading signals. Developers serving U.S. customers may use the position to offer tools that facilitate access to regulated derivatives markets without immediately assuming the full registration obligations of introducing brokers, though the framework remains subject to future rulemaking that could alter the conditions of relief.

Three days after the Splash stable‑swap pool on Cardano was drained, holders of the OADA token continued to confront a problem that a code patch alone could not resolve: the pool had lost the ADA that served as their primary exit route. According to Splash’s incident report, an attacker executed two transactions on September 13 to withdraw 2,434,648 ADA and 1,988,222 OADA. After accounting for the attacker’s 9,870 ADA deposit but before network fees, the ADA drain amounted to 2,424,778. The validator calculated a tradable reserve by subtracting accrued protocol fees from the pool’s actual balances. The report noted that the reserve need not stay positive, that fee changes could occur only from below, and that the system did not enforce the direction of a swap. Those missing checks permitted the validator to accept a transaction after the tradable ADA reserve turned negative. Splash indicated that a reserve‑domain check or a two‑sided fee bound would have blocked the reconstructed attack, though neither remedy would return the ADA already removed from the pool. Immediately after the drain, the pool held 10 ADA and roughly 1.44 million OADA, while its tradable ADA reserve was negative and its LP token balance remained unchanged. The balance‑sheet impact matters because Splash’s September 13 snapshot indicated that OADA lacked protocol‑level redemption. Other OADA venues listed in the report were nearly empty, with balances limited to single‑ or double‑digit ADA amounts. The attacker’s OADA sale introduced another constraint. At 14:53 UTC on September 13, a Minswap V2 OADA/FLDT pool contained 1,763,923 OADA against 45,751 FLDT. Splash suggested that new ADA/OADA liquidity could be arbitraged against that inventory, allowing discounted OADA to compete for any fresh ADA placed in a reopened pool. A code patch can block the documented exploit path, but restoring an OADA exit also requires ADA liquidity or a redemption mechanism and management of the thin‑pool OADA inventory. Consequently, a functional relaunch would need replenished ADA liquidity or a protocol redemption feature, along with a strategy for handling the thin secondary market OADA inventory. Optim Finance announced on September 13 that its protocol was paused, remaining liquidity had been removed, and OADA‑to‑ADA swaps were unavailable. A subsequent update on September 15 said the team was indexing the chain and compiling a full accounting of affected addresses and assets while pursuing a resolution, but it did not announce restored liquidity, redemption or operational status.

Fortitude Mining announced that Jaime Leverton, formerly chief executive of Hut 8, will assume the role of chief executive effective September 21. She will succeed Andrea Childs, who will shift to chief operating officer.

Fortitude reported mining 72,696 ZEC during the first half of 2026, representing roughly 28% of the Zcash network’s total output for the period. The company recorded revenue of $20.9 million for the second quarter.

The miner operates more than 60 megawatts of power capacity across seven sites in South Dakota, Nebraska, Texas and New York. In July it agreed to acquire 9,000 Bitmain Antminer Z15 Pro units, which are projected to contribute 7.56 GSol/s of equihash hashrate; shipments are slated for the fourth quarter.

Fortitude, a subsidiary of Digital Currency Group, has been engaged in Zcash mining since 2019 and launched as a vertically integrated mining platform in 2025. In June the firm disclosed a proposed combination with HeartSciences, a transaction anticipated to close in the fourth quarter of 2026 and to bring the combined entity to public markets. Upon completion, the company will trade on Nasdaq under the ticker TUDE, pending regulatory approval.

Leverton’s background includes steering Hut 8 through a merger with US Bitcoin Corp. and guiding its transition to a U.S.-domiciled, Nasdaq-listed miner. Childs will remain involved in operations as chief operating officer.

Zcash’s market price has risen sharply in recent weeks. On September 6, CoinGecko listed the token at approximately $1,424, reflecting a 185% increase over the prior 30 days and a gain of more than 2,600% over the previous year. The rally follows a disclosure by Paradigm co‑founder Matt Huang that the firm holds ZEC and has invested in the Zcash Open Development Lab. Huang characterized Zcash as a “private complement to Bitcoin” and highlighted the importance of sustained funding for privacy‑focused technology amid advances in artificial intelligence and quantum computing.

Glassnode data indicate that Zcash accounts for 62% of the privacy‑coin sector’s market capitalization. Excluding ZEC, the sector’s cap‑weighted basket of privacy tokens has risen 85% over the past year.

The Senate's failure to advance the Clarity Act leaves the U.S. crypto sector without a unified federal regulatory structure and leaves the responsibilities of the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission unresolved.

The vote, taken on Tuesday, removes a potential pathway for comprehensive legislation that would have clarified how digital assets are classified and overseen. Industry executives warned that the absence of legal certainty is already prompting capital, talent and innovation to shift toward jurisdictions with more predictable rules.

CoinDesk reported that shares of U.S.-based crypto firms such as Coinbase Global and Circle Internet fell roughly 10% in the immediate aftermath of the vote. The decline reflected concerns that U.S. retail investors and institutional players would face heightened barriers to participation in a regulated market.

Lin Han, founder and chief executive of Gate, a crypto exchange with a focus on Asian markets, said the short‑term advantage will likely go to service providers operating in jurisdictions that have already enacted clear regulatory frameworks. He noted that while the United States remains a major source of talent, the current legislative stalemate does not serve the industry's long‑term interests.

The European Union's Markets in Crypto‑Asset (MiCA) regime became fully applicable in July 2023, and several Asian economies have moved forward with their own rule‑making efforts. By contrast, the United States and the United Kingdom, whose full regulatory regimes are not slated to take effect until next year, now rank among the few major financial centers without definitive guidance for the sector.

Stefan Muehlbauer, head of U.S. government affairs at CertiK, a blockchain security firm, described the likely losers as the American public and the domestic technology ecosystem. He said overseas hubs, including those in Asia and Europe, are positioned to capture market share as they expand under established rules.

While the SEC and CFTC retain authority to issue guidance, such as the SEC's recent "innovation exemption" for tokenized securities, analysts stress that agency rulemaking cannot fully replace the certainty that comprehensive legislation would provide. Gracy Chen, chief executive of Bitget, cautioned against assuming an immediate shift of trading volume to Asia, emphasizing that crypto remains a global market and that firms will continue to seek the most liquid and accessible venues.

Matt Hougan, chief investment officer at Bitwise Asset Management, characterized the Senate outcome as a temporary obstacle rather than a decisive setback. He noted that the administration of President Donald Trump retains approximately two and a half years during which further policy developments could occur, and that investors continue to evaluate digital assets based on underlying token economics.

Nilmini Rubin, chief policy officer at Hedera, a distributed ledger platform, indicated that the legislative effort is ongoing. She highlighted that policymakers have devoted considerable time to studying the technology, but warned that prolonged uncertainty could erode U.S. competitiveness in the emerging crypto economy.

Richard B. Levin, a fintech and regulation attorney, suggested that the United States may eventually adopt a workable framework, though the path forward remains uncertain. The absence of clear rules, he said, could keep the country on the periphery of a system that is increasingly centered in other jurisdictions.

Stakeholders agree that stablecoins, tokenization and cross‑border payment solutions will continue to expand regardless of the legislative outcome. However, without a statutory framework, consumer protection measures and the ability of U.S. regulators to shape the market's evolution remain limited.

The situation underscores a broader race among regions to become the preferred environment for crypto innovation, with the United States now facing a period of regulatory ambiguity that could influence the trajectory of the industry for years to come.