Each month our finance writers round up the top regulatory announcements and compliance changes to ensure our clients stay informed. We follow regulatory news and updates from ASIC, CySEC, MFSA, FCA, FSA, FRB, SEC, MiFID II to produce compliant content marketing for our clients. Here’s our financial regulations roundup for July 2026.
MiCA Transition Deadline
One of the most significant regulatory events was the June 30th Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) transition deadline. After that day, all crypto-asset service providers (CASPs) operating within the EU must hold MiCA authorization or qualify under limited national transitional arrangements. Firms without authorisation were expected to either cease serving EU customers or execute orderly wind-down plans. European regulators repeatedly warned companies throughout June that continued operations without authorization could result in regulatory action.
Firms still operating under national “grandfathering” arrangements were told to stop onboarding new EU clients, cease marketing, and limit activity to closing out or transferring existing positions.
FCA Publishes its Crypto Rulebook
The UK’s Financial Conduct Authority published its long-awaited final crypto regulatory framework during June. Following extensive industry consultation, the FCA moderated several of its original proposals while maintaining comprehensive oversight. Some of the major changes in these guidelines were that stablecoin issuers capital requirements were reduced from 2% to 1%. It also announced more flexible liquidity requirements and reduced disclosure obligations for smaller firms.
The framework is intended to bring virtually all crypto activities under FCA supervision beginning in October 2027. At the same time, the FCA established a formal Market Abuse Regime for Cryptoassets, introducing strict measures to prevent insider trading, market manipulation, and unlawful disclosure of inside information.
SEC Publishes Draft Strategic Plan for Public Comment
The SEC published its new Draft Strategic Plan. Under its primary regulatory objective, the Commission officially elevated digital assets and distributed ledger technology (DLT) to a top agency priority. The plan outlines a commitment to providing a “rational, coherent, and principled approach” to registration and disclosure frameworks. In a statement, Paul Atkins, the head of the SEC said:
During my tenure as Chairman, the Commission will not stray from this core three-part mission, and the Draft Strategic Plan focuses on three important goals to advance our mandate.
The three part mission he noted was protecting investors, maintaining fair, orderly, and efficient markets, and facilitating capital formation.
Meanwhile, the SEC sought public comments on novel exchange-traded funds (ETF) seeking to invest in innovative asset classes or engage in investment strategies. The request focuses on ways to facilitate innovation in the ETF space while protecting investors, maintaining fair, orderly, and efficient markets, and facilitating capital formation. Brian Daly, a director at the agency, said:
Exchange-traded funds are a tremendous success story, growing from $4 trillion in 2019 to over $12 trillion at the end of 2025. As ETFs continue to grow and novel strategies emerge, public engagement is essential to answering key questions to make the next years of development a success.
ASIC Warns on Crypto Perpetual Futures
Australia’s ASIC published a commissioned report flagging that crypto perpetual futures increasingly mimic CFDs in economic substance while sitting largely outside the regulator’s current perimeter, often reaching Australians via offshore platforms — echoing the same product-classification debate playing out in Europe.
Crypto perpetual futures have become a large industry in the industry, with decentralized exchanges like Hyperliquid and Lighter handling billions of dollars each month. Meanwhile, ASIC concluded the broader CFD sector review, concluding a multi-year push on design-and-distribution obligations across the retail CFD industry. This has resulted in improved compliance practices and remediation for affected retail clients.
In another major event, ASIC announced that it extended its previous deadline for digital asset firms providing financial services to apply for an Australian Financial Services (AFS) license.
It also expanded the scope of its no-action position to include digital asset businesses operating under, or entering into, authorised representative arrangements with an AFS licence holder, and operating under, or entering into, intermediary authorisation arrangements with an AFS licence holder.
CySEC Notes Proprietary Trading is Not an ESMA Regulatory Priority
In a statement, George Theocharides, the head of CySEC, who also chairs ESMA’s risk standing committee, said that retail proprietary trading is not an ESMA regulatory priority despite the sector’s rapid global growth.
Proprietary firms have become increasingly popular globally, with some analysts calling for more clarity on the rules governing the sector.
CFTC Rescinds Policy Regarding Denials of Settlements
The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) rescinded a policy stating that the commission would not accept settlement offers where the defendant continues to deny the allegations in the complaint. In a statement, Michael Selig said:
For nearly three decades, the Commission has refused to settle cases unless the defendant promised not to publicly deny the Commission’s allegations. I am pleased that we are rescinding the no-deny policy consistent with regulators throughout the government.
CLARITY Act is Nearing A Senate Vote
The Digital Asset Market Clarity Act, commonly referred to as CLARITY, continued seeing substantial debate in the United States. There are now signs that the bill will be taken to the Senate floor for a vote after the Major County Sheriffs of America (MCSA) shifted to a neutral stance, dropping its earlier opposition to the bill.
The organisation believes that the Senate should introduce more tweaks to give local and state law enforcement a formal role in the Treasury study required under the bill.
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