Crypto Cards Aren’t The Future, But Onchain Credit Is

Opinion by: Vikram Arun, co-founder and CEO of Superform Crypto cards aren’t the future of payments. They’re a temporary interface for a world that hasn’t fully accepted cryptocurrencies. They rely on banks as issuers, Visa or Mastercard as gatekeepers, and compliance rules that look exactly like TradFi.  In most cases, crypto is sold into idle USD, the assets stop earning and every swipe creates a taxable event.  That’s not innovation. That’s a debit card with extra steps.  As digital banks built with blockchain rails scale, crypto cards that behave like…

UK Parliamentary Committee Urges Ban on Political Crypto Donations

A cross-party parliamentary committee in the United Kingdom has urged the government to impose an immediate moratorium on cryptocurrency donations to political parties until stronger safeguards are in place. In a report published on Wednesday, the Joint Committee on the National Security Strategy said the government should amend the Representation of the People Bill to impose an “immediate moratorium on crypto donations” until the Electoral Commission produces statutory guidance ahead of the next general election, due by August 2029. The committee also called for the creation of a Political Finance…

Tim Scott Expects Proposal for Stalled Crypto Bill This Week

US Senator Tim Scott says he is expecting a possible compromise this week on a stablecoin yield payments provision that has stalled a crypto market structure bill in the Senate. “I believe that this week we will have the first proposal in my hands to take a look at,” Scott, the chair of the Senate Banking Committee that is working to advance the bill, said on Tuesday at a crypto lobby event in Washington, D.C. “If that actually happens before the end of this week, and I think that it…

SEC’s Paul Atkins Floats Crypto ‘Safe Harbor’ Exemptions

US Securities and Exchange Commission chair Paul Atkins says the agency should consider a “safe harbor proposal” to give crypto companies and some tokens a regulatory carveout. Atkins said in remarks at a crypto lobby event in Washington, DC, on Tuesday that his safe harbor proposal was made up of a “startup exemption,” a “fundraising exemption,” and an “investment contract safe harbor.” “It is past time for us to stop diagnosing the problem and start delivering the solution,” he said. “Such a safe harbor would provide crypto innovators bespoke pathways…

SEC will Consider most Crypto Assets not Securities under Federal Law

In one of its first actions since signing a memorandum of understanding with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) said it would interpret how “non-security crypto assets” fall under federal securities laws. In a Tuesday notice, the SEC said its interpretation of how to address crypto assets would serve as an “important bridge” as lawmakers in the US Congress consider market structure legislation which will codify how financial regulators oversee digital assets.  The commission said the interpretation would provide a “coherent token taxonomy…

SEC says most crypto assets fall outside securities laws, including staking, airdrops, and mining

SEC Chair Paul Atkins said Tuesday that the agency is implementing a token taxonomy and investment contract interpretation aimed at ending years of uncertainty over when crypto assets fall under federal securities laws. Speaking at the DC Blockchain Summit on March 17, Atkins said the framework would classify digital commodities, digital collectibles, digital tools, and payment stablecoins under the GENIUS Act as categories that are not deemed securities. He said only digital securities, meaning tokenized forms of traditional securities, would remain clearly subject to securities laws under the new interpretation.…

CFTC Issues No-Action Letter for Crypto Wallet Provider Phantom

The no-action position taken by the US regulator under Chair Michael Selig will allow the company to engage in certain activities without registering as a broker. The US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) said Tuesday that its Market Participants Division issued a no-action letter in response to a request from crypto wallet provider Phantom Technologies. A CFTC notice said that the no-action letter would, under certain circumstances, stop the division from recommending that the regulator take an enforcement action against Phantom or its staff for failure to register as a…

GSR moves to build one stop crypto capital markets platform with $57M acquisition

GSR has acquired Autonomous and Architech in a $57 million deal, according to a company announcement, as the crypto trading firm expands its push to become a full-stack capital markets provider for tokenized organizations. The acquisition integrates Autonomous’s launch and operational support platform with Architech’s advisory capabilities, forming a unified offering that spans token design, fundraising, liquidity, and long-term treasury management. Autonomous will continue operating under its existing brand, while Architech will anchor a new GSR Digital Asset Advisory division alongside GSR’s trading and asset management businesses. The move comes…

Vietnam shortlists firms for first regulated crypto platforms

Vietnam is moving to launch its first licensed crypto exchanges as part of a plan to reduce reliance on overseas platforms and better control capital flows. According to a March 12 finance ministry document reviewed by Reuters, five companies passed an initial qualification round for Vietnam’s pilot crypto exchange program, including affiliates of Techcombank (TCEX), VPBank (CAEX), and LPBank (LPEX), as well as stockbroker VIX Securities and conglomerate Sun Group. Vietnam plans a 0.1% personal income tax on crypto transactions via licensed platforms as part of a five-year pilot program…

South Korea Police Draft Guidelines for Seized Crypto Assets: Report

South Korea’s National Police Agency (KNPA) has reportedly drafted new guidelines for handling seized cryptocurrencies, including privacy-focused assets, as authorities move to standardize how digital asset evidence is stored and managed. According to a report by local media outlet Asiae, the KNPA completed a draft directive outlining compliance requirements at each stage of crypto seizure. The directive includes measures for managing software wallets needed to handle crypto assets and privacy-focused tokens.  A police spokesperson told Asiae that as investigative paradigms change, field investigators need systematic guidelines along with appropriate support.…