As a financial content services agency, we closely follow updates from top regulators, key market announcements and trends happening in forex, regtech, wealthtech and fintech. Every month we round up the top regulatory announcements to ensure we remain compliant and our clients stay informed. Here’s our financial regulations roundup for February 2025.
SEC Launches Crypto 2.0 Taskforce
Donald Trump became the United States president and appointed Mark Uyeda as the acting head of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Uyeda, a highly popular figure in the crypto industry, launched a crypto taskforce led by Hester Peirce. This taskforce will create a comprehensive and clear regulatory framework for crypto assets.
Uyeda’s goal is to radically change the way crypto regulation has happened in the United States. Under Gary Gensler, the agency mostly focused on enforcement, where it brought numerous lawsuits against companies like Binance, Kraken, and Uniswap. In a statement, Pierce said:
This undertaking will take time, patience, and much hard work. It will succeed only if the Task Force has input from a wide range of investors, industry participants, academics, and other interested parties.
Elon Musk Aims To Merge SEC and CFTC
Elon Musk, the wealthiest person on earth and head of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), has supported merging the SEC and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) into one agency. In a statement, Musk said that combining the two agencies into one would help to trim costs and boost efficiency in the government.
The SEC has an annual budget of about $2 billion and is tasked with overseeing exchanges, broker-dealers, investment advisers, and mutual funds. The CFTC, on the other hand, has an annual budget of $400 million and focuses on the swaps and futures trading industries.
FDIC Warns On Deregulation
The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) warned the Trump administration against deregulating the financial services industry, arguing that doing so will put the industry at risk. In an interview with the FT, Martin Gruenberg, its leader, said that short-term changes with the goal of realizing short-term results can have real costs and undermine the long-term success.
His statement was aimed at Donald Trump, who has vowed to cut regulation in the financial services industry. His approach will be different from that of Joe Biden, who focused on tightening regulations in key sectors of the economy..
CFTC Launches Roundtables On Innovation And Market Structure
President Trump appointed Caroline D. Pham as the acting head of the CFTC. In her first action, she launched a series of roundtables focusing on evolving trends and innovation in market structure. These roundtables will focus on key areas like the prediction market, digital assets, and prediction markets. She said:
Innovation and new technology has created a renaissance in markets that presents new opportunities that are accessible to more people, as well as risks. The CFTC will get back to basics by hosting staff roundtables that will develop a robust administrative record with studies, data, expert reports, and public input.
FCA Makes New Changes To Boost Investment
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), the main UK financial regulator, unveiled a new plan to simplify the information supplied to investors to boost confidence and drive investment. One approach for this is to simplify the documents that people buying investments receive.
UK companies will be given more choice about how, what and when they communicate. The FCA will also create detailed requirements to ensure consistency and comparability across the market to help customers. Simon Wells, the interim director of markets said:
High quality product information will give consumers the confidence to invest; increased participation in this market will not only benefit consumers but will also provide capital to drive the economy and boost growth.
AMF Publishes Key Regulatory Priorities
The Autorité des Marchés Financiers (AMF), highlighted the key priority areas for regulations this year. Some of these areas are compliance and internal control functions, valuation and transfer of assets between portfolios in real estate and non-listed fields, quality of reporting data, and communication to clients about products with low liquidity.
ESMA Warning On Stablecoin Regulations
The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) warned that companies in the crypto industry should ensure compliance on MICA policies by March 31. MICA is a wide-ranging regulation document that aims to provide clarity on the crypto industry. One of the key parts of the regulations is about stablecoins, which bridge the gap between the crypto and fiat industries. As part of these regulations, all stablecoins issued by crypto exchanges in the region must be regulated. This means that some popular stablecoins, including Tether, may be delisted from European exchanges.
Kenya To Implement Crypto Regulations
John Mbadi, Kenya’s finance minister, said that the country would implement crypto regulations. The goal will be to license management of crypto exchanges and wallets. Like other governments, Kenya is doing these policies to raise capital and protect its residents. Other countries in Africa, Europe, and Asia are working to create crypto regulations as the industry booms.
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