Week 41, September 28 – October 4, 2026
After the CLARITY bill failed in the Senate, U.S. regulators are rewriting the rules through their own staff guidance and draft regulations, without a vote in Congress. Meanwhile, the industry’s support base in Washington is shrinking: allies are leaving both government and lobbying circles. At the same time, Europe is advancing the digital euro with regulatory backing, while also pushing for limits on stablecoin rewards.
US regulators are writing a crypto regime without Congress
American agencies are replacing the failed bill with staff guidance and draft rules. Staff at the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) clarified that token buyback programs in an operating decentralized network do not create an investment contract under the Howey test. Tokens received through staking are not always considered securities. The guidance is not legally binding. The SEC is proposing to allow investment advisers and funds to self-custody crypto assets, and state-licensed trust companies to act as their custodians. Robinhood considers these concessions insufficient.
The crypto industry is losing allies and making enemies in Washington
On October 2, SEC Commissioner Hester Peirce left the agency; since February 2025, she had led its crypto task force. Two commissioners remain at the SEC, both Republicans: Paul Atkins and Mark Uyeda. Blockchain Association CEO Summer Mersinger will step down on October 16, after the CLARITY vote failed. On September 28, Democrats on the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations published a report on Tether. According to the report, 87% of 757 wallets linked to financing Iranian terrorism had primarily used USDT. Senator Richard Blumenthal called on Attorney General Todd Blanche and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent to investigate the violations.
Europe puts the digital euro ahead of stablecoins
From January to June 2027, the ECB will test the digital euro with fintech companies and study AI-agent payments. The digital euro could be launched in mid-2029 if the relevant laws are adopted. The ECB has proposed, as part of the review of the EU Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA), extending restrictions on stablecoin rewards to lending and staking arrangements. A petition against this was signed by 126,000 people, and Stand With Crypto says the restriction puts EU stablecoins at a disadvantage. According to DefiLlama, the market capitalization of euro stablecoins is 376 times smaller than that of dollar stablecoins. Verena Ross, Chair of the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA), said the regulator will shift its focus from rulemaking to supervision in 2027.