SEC Pulls Reg Crypto Vote and Delays Tokenization Exemption as Industry Waits

SEC pulls Reg Crypto vote and delays tokenization exemption amid concerns The commission scrapped Friday's open meeting due to an "unforeseen scheduling issue," while industry sources said White House concerns and Wall Street firms led by SIFMA pushed back on the legal footing of a separate tokenization innovation exemption. The setback leaves U.S. crypto rulemaking waiting on either the SEC or Congress's stalled Digital Asset Market Clarity Act. 12

KPMG audits Tether's books, counting gold bars, in first Big Four sign-off KPMG U.S. issued an unqualified opinion on Tether International's 2025 statements, showing reserves exceeded liabilities by $6.814 billion. The full audit went beyond quarterly attestations, testing transactions, systems and assets — including a physical inspection of Tether's gold bars. 3

Bitcoin steady near $64K as CPI calms; XMR and HYPE outperform July U.S. CPI matched forecasts at 3.4% yearly, keeping BTC rangebound while the broader crypto market cap eased 0.54% to $2.18 trillion. Ethereum sentiment is turning positive, though analysts warn of a possible final leg lower; XMR rose 3.2% and HYPE 2.7%. 45

Neutrl suspends NUSD minting and redemptions as reserve issue is assessed The protocol paused minting, redemptions and other functions after consulting legal counsel, saying it wants to preserve an orderly process while it assesses the impact on reserves. It has not disclosed the size or nature of the problem; NUSD is a market-neutral synthetic dollar whose staked form is sNUSD. 6

Nasdaq seeks SEC rule to list crypto ETF options without per-product approval The SR-ISE-2026-42 filing would allow options on digital-commodity trust shares to launch under standardized criteria — a $700 million average daily global market value threshold and at least 85% of NAV on ISG-surveilled markets — instead of bespoke SEC sign-off for each product. It comes as the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act stalls and could cover products holding Bitcoin, Ethereum and Solana. 7

MUFG pilots Japanese government bond repos onchain via Canton Network Four MUFG companies are working with Digital Asset Holdings and Progmat on a Canton Network proof of concept for JGB repo transactions. The goal is 24/7 intraday settlement, automated lifecycle management and better capital and funding efficiency, under Japan's FSA Payment Innovation Project. 8

Sharplink stakes $200 million in ETH through Lido, custodied at Anchorage The Nasdaq-listed corporate ETH holder will receive wstETH for its $200 million treasury allocation, with the staked Ether custodied at Anchorage Digital. The move follows Anchorage's wstETH integration and adds to the roughly $16.5 billion of ETH staked via Lido. 9

Fidelity files to let its Ethereum ETF stake 100% of holdings The filing would let the crypto Ethereum ETF earn staking rewards on its entire portfolio. It is the latest sign of ETF issuers pushing to make digital-asset holdings yield-bearing. 10

Ether.fi expands into tokenized stocks and portfolio-backed loans The Ethereum DeFi platform is adding tokenized equities and loans backed by portfolios, broadening access to traditional assets onchain. The move extends Ether.fi beyond its core liquid staking business. 11

MiCA restrictions leave 14 EU stablecoin issuers without custody rights Europe's Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation is imposing custody limitations that affect 14 stablecoin issuers in the EU. The restrictions add regulatory friction for issuers trying to hold or safeguard reserves. 12

Andre Cronje: true DeFi no longer exists, only onchain finance The Flying Tulip founder argues that most protocols have traded away decentralization and immutability for emergency controls, so true DeFi survives only in small niches. DeFi TVL has fallen to roughly $75 billion from $167 billion in October 2025, and an ECB paper found top 100 governance holders control more than 80% of supply at major DAOs. 13