2026

President Trump

<p><strong>Digital asset regulation finally shifted into gear in 2025 as the US moved toward a more crypto-friendly legal framework and the EU began fully enforcing the Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA) framework across Europe.</strong></p>
<p>But crypto lawyers enter 2026 facing unresolved questions around prediction markets and super apps, tax, privacy and digital market structure.</p>
<p>To understand how <a href="https://cointelegraph.com/magazine/crypto-laws-changing-across-world-2025/" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">crypto law evolved in 2025</a> and preview what lies ahead, Magazine spoke with legal experts Catherine Smirnova and Yuriy Brisov of Digital &amp; Analogue Partners in Europe, Joshua Chu of the Hong Kong Web3 Association and Charlyn Ho of Rikka in the US.</p>
<p>The discussion has been edited for clarity and length.</p>
<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="magazine-what-do-you-think-was-the-most-important-legal-development-in-crypto-in-2025">Magazine: What do you think was the most important legal development in crypto in 2025?</h2>
<p><strong>Ho</strong>: I would say the most important legal developments were the full implementation of MiCA in the EU and the <a href="https://cointelegraph.com/magazine/genius-stablecoin-bill-opens-door-for-big-tech-stablecoin/" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">passage of the GENIUS Act</a> and the advancement of the <a href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/crypto-clarity-act-passes-house-crypto-week-continues" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">CLARITY Act in the US</a>. The reason I’m saying that is not so much just the specifics of those pieces of legislation, but rather there is legislation now.</p>
<figure class="wp-block-image aligncenter size-large is-resized"><img width="1024" height="714" src="https://s3.magazine.cointelegraph.com/magazine/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/Donald-Trump-signs-GENIUS-Act-1024x714.jpg" alt="President Donald Trump holding up signed GENIUS Act in the White House.">
 <figcaption><em>President Trump signed GENIUS Act into law in July, 2025. (</em><a href="https://x.com/WhiteHouse/status/1946352976072671485" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow"><em>White House</em></a><em>)</em>
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<p>The crypto legal landscape has become clearer, and we are moving toward more defined regulatory frameworks.</p>
<p><strong><em>Also read: <a href="https://cointelegraph.com/magazine/9-weirdest-ai-stories-2025-ai-eye/" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">9 weirdest AI stories from 2025</a></em></strong></p>
<p>One additional development would be the Trump administrations <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/01/strengthening-american-leadership-in-digital-financial-technology/" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">executive order</a> on crypto. While it is not legislation, it has had a real impact. It represents a US-first policy that aggressively promotes and expands crypto domestically. Politics aside, this is a turning point. It is a formal recognition that crypto is here to stay and that it is an important part of the technological landscape. It moves crypto beyond the perception that it is merely a tool for illicit activity or fringe experimentation, and recognizes it as a legitimate technology with broader implications beyond memecoins or speculative trading.</p>
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<figure class="wp-block-image alignright size-large is-resized"><img width="731" height="1024" src="https://s3.magazine.cointelegraph.com/magazine/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/Paul-Atkins-SEC-Chair-731x1024.jpg" alt="Head shot of SEC Chair Paul Atkins">
 <figcaption><em>Atkins was sworn in as SEC chairman on April 21, 2025. (SEC)</em>
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<p><strong>Brisov</strong>: Another important development in US policy was Project Crypto announced by Paul Atkins. The US played a key role in the early blockchain revolution, but under prior SEC policies, many crypto startups left the country.</p>
<p>With the new administration under President Trump and Paul Atkins as SEC chair, the situation has changed. We saw a clear reversal in 2025, with startups returning to the US.</p>
<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="magazine-what-broader-regulatory-forces-in-2025-influenced-how-governments-approached-digital-assets">Magazine: What broader regulatory forces in 2025 influenced how governments approached digital assets?</h2>
<p><strong>Smirnova</strong>: The regulation of digital markets has become a geopolitical issue. In the EU, a trend that began several years ago has continued, with the introduction and enforcement of tailor-made regulation for digital markets. This includes investigations into gatekeepers and the application of frameworks like the Digital Markets Act.</p>
<p>The US has taken a different direction under the current administration. In previous years, we saw historic investigations and decisions against companies such as Meta and Google. This year, the new administration signaled that it does not intend to pursue structural remedies. Instead, the US government has actively supported large technology companies.</p>
<figure class="wp-block-image aligncenter size-full is-resized"><img width="711" height="956" src="https://s3.magazine.cointelegraph.com/magazine/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/AI-geopolitics.jpg" alt="White House tweets as Vice President JD Vance speaks at Paris AI summit">
 <figcaption><em>Crypto and AI regulation is now a geopolitical battleground. (</em><a href="https://x.com/WhiteHouse/status/1889328530380472443" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow"><em>White House</em></a><em>)</em>
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<p>We saw the same dynamic in AI regulation. At an international conference earlier this year, many expected a coordinated global approach to AI governance. Instead, the US announced it would not participate in international regulation, preferring either its own framework or minimal regulation in order to maintain global leadership and support domestic companies.</p>
<p>As a result, regulation itself has become a competitive tool. The EU has already responded by partially deregulating AI after seeing startups relocate to the US. This dynamic will continue into 2026 and beyond.</p>
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<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="magazine-what-were-the-most-important-legal-developments-in-asia-in-2025">Magazine: What were the most important legal developments in Asia in 2025?</h2>
<p>By the middle of the year, particularly in Hong Kong, we saw enforcement bodies gaining much more experience in dealing with crypto-related matters.</p>
<figure class="wp-block-image alignleft size-large is-resized"><img width="1024" height="682" src="https://s3.magazine.cointelegraph.com/magazine/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/Justice-Coleman-Joshua-Chu-1-1024x682.jpeg" alt="Justice Coleman Joshua Chu">
 <figcaption><em>Enforcement is catching up to crypto crime in Asia. (Chinese University of Hong Kong Faculty of Law)</em>
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<p>We saw the first criminal prosecutions against <a href="https://cointelegraph.com/magazine/hong-kong-acts-crypto-kols-philippines-blockchain-bill-asia-express/" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">core participants in the JPEX scandal</a>. While charges have been laid, whether these cases result in successful prosecutions remains to be tested. That process will extend into the coming year as the system matures.</p>
<p>At a recent seminar, Justice Russell Coleman articulated this well. He said, “Extending the rule of law into new areas is like shining light into dark corners where people might otherwise behave in ways unacceptable to society. Technology changes, but fairness and proportionality remain the guiding principles.”</p>
<p>I added that innovation is necessary if we want to protect victims of cybercrime and provide effective legal remedies. Technology is not the enemy. It enables the justice system to keep pace with reality.</p>
<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="magazine-looking-toward-2026-what-regulatory-or-legal-frameworks-do-you-expect-to-emerge">Magazine: Looking toward 2026, what regulatory or legal frameworks do you expect to emerge?</h2>
<p>One important development that deserves more attention is taxation.</p>
<p>In Hong Kong, there is currently a public consultation on crypto asset reporting. As the crypto space matures, tax regimes will inevitably catch up. Governments are operating under fiscal pressure, and crypto wealth will not be ignored.</p>
<p>This is not traditional regulatory legislation but tax code evolution, which may have a much larger impact. We are likely to see amendments to the <a href="https://www.elegislation.gov.hk/checkconfig/checkClientConfig.jsp?applicationId=RA001" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">Inland Revenue Ordinance</a> and changes to how crypto assets are reported under common reporting standards. When crypto becomes mainstream, the outcome may not align with what many traders expect.&nbsp;</p>
<p>Japan is often a useful indicator of what is coming, and recent tax discussions there are worth watching closely. [<em>Japan has proposed a 20% flat tax on crypto gains</em>]</p>
<figure class="wp-block-image aligncenter size-large is-resized"><img width="865" height="1024" src="https://s3.magazine.cointelegraph.com/magazine/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/Japan-crypto-tax-865x1024.jpg" alt="A table compiled in 2023 outlines possible changes to Japans crypto tax regime scheduled for 2026.">
 <figcaption><em>A table compiled in 2023 outlines possible changes to Japans crypto tax regime scheduled for 2026.</em>
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<p><strong>Brisov</strong>: Another potential spark is prediction markets, such as Polymarket and similar platforms. These are still largely unregulated, with no clear court cases or legislative frameworks yet. However, they may become a more significant trend in 2026.</p>
<p>Another major trend will likely be the emergence of so-called super apps.</p>
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<p>These apps would combine multiple functions such as prediction markets, commodity trading, on-ramps and off-ramps, exchanges, memecoins and <a href="https://cointelegraph.com/magazine/tradfi-building-ethereum-l2s-tokenize-trillions-rwas-inside-story/" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">real-world asset tokenization</a>. They may also integrate AI agents and potentially autonomous AI actors.</p>
<p>Regulators and legislators will have to adapt, much like they did during the early days of major social media platforms. We do not yet fully understand how to regulate these structures.</p>
<p><strong>Ho:</strong> I would like to see more progress in the areas of privacy, cybersecurity and crypto. What I have observed is that existing privacy laws, such as the GDPR, do not adequately <a href="https://cointelegraph.com/magazine/cryptos-impossible-choice-when-privacy-and-aml-laws-conflict/" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">contemplate decentralized systems</a>. When GDPR was negotiated around 2012 to 2013, cloud computing was the primary focus. Applying those frameworks to crypto today often results in breakdowns or inconsistencies.</p>
<figure class="wp-block-image aligncenter size-full"><img width="1004" height="565" src="https://s3.magazine.cointelegraph.com/magazine/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/gdpr.png" alt="How crypto laws changed in 2025 — and how they’ll change in 2026">
 <figcaption><em>A June Ethereum proposal to make blockchain privacy GDPR compliant. (</em><a href="https://ethresear.ch/t/a-pathway-for-gdpr-data-management-privacy-for-ethereum/22567" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow"><em>Ether Research</em></a><em>)</em>
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<p>I would like to see either adjustments to existing laws or clearer regulatory interpretations that explain how these rules apply to crypto. There has been increased focus on privacy-oriented developments in the space, and I hope the legal frameworks begin to reflect that reality.</p>
<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="magazine-from-a-privacy-law-perspective-how-do-you-view-privacy-tokens-and-their-reputation">Magazine: From a privacy law perspective, how do you view privacy tokens and their reputation?</h2>
<p><strong>Ho</strong>: I am not sure there will necessarily be new legislation specifically targeting privacy tokens. What I do expect is greater clarity around their use cases.</p>
<p>Like any tool, privacy-enhancing technologies can be used for both legitimate and illegitimate purposes. Banning the tool itself is, in my view, shortsighted.</p>
<p>Public blockchains are designed to be transparent, but that does not mean individuals want all of their transactions visible to the entire world. There is a need for selective disclosure. This is where technologies such as verifiable credentials can play a role by allowing regulators access to necessary information while still preserving individual privacy.</p>
<p>There is likely a middle ground. While I am not a technologist, I know there are many people actively working on solutions that balance regulatory oversight with privacy preservation.</p>
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How crypto laws changed in 2025 — and how they’ll change in 2026

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