8. The UK releases a draft regulation of crypto assets, including cryptocurrency exchanges, etc. into the regulatory system
According to the policy notes and draft documents recently released by the British Treasury, the new regulations intend to bring activities such as cryptocurrency trading platform operations, stablecoin issuance, custody services, pledges, market making and matchmaking transactions into the regulatory scope of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000, and require encryption companies targeting British retail customers to be approved in the UK. The new regulations clarify the definitions of "qualified crypto assets" and "qualified stable coins", and make supporting changes to transparency, anti-money laundering, financial promotion, etc. Stablecoins will not be included in payment regulations for the time being. The Ministry of Finance expects to complete the legislation within 2025.
9. El Salvador says it will still buy Bitcoin after IMF deal
According to Bloomberg, El Salvador’s Economy Minister Maria Luisa Hayem said at the Web Summit event in Rio de Janeiro that El Salvador will continue to purchase Bitcoin despite signing a loan agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) that requires it to stop accumulating Bitcoin. Hayem confirmed in a live interview: "President Bukele promised to continue to accumulate assets." According to official news from The Bitcoin Office of El Salvador, El Salvador has added 8 Bitcoins to its national Bitcoin strategic reserve in the past 7 days, bringing the Bitcoin reserve to 6,162.18.
10. Russia’s anti-money laundering agency plans to criminalize illegal cryptocurrency mining
According to Cryptonews, Russia’s anti-money laundering agency, the Federal Financial Monitoring Service, plans to promote criminal liability for illegal cryptocurrency mining, accusing it of promoting money laundering activities. German Neglyad, deputy director of the agency, revealed that he has worked with the Ministry of Finance and the Central Bank to formulate relevant bills and has received support from policy-making agencies such as the Russian People's Council. Nikolai Zhuravlev, deputy chairman of the Federation Council, emphasized that legislation needs to be "forward-looking to eliminate loopholes in the financial system." Osman Kabaloev, deputy director of the Financial Policy Department of the Ministry of Finance, confirmed that the amendment is being drafted and will introduce administrative penalties in addition to criminal liability. The move aims to curb illegal mining and transfer of funds using cheap electricity.
11. SoFi plans to restart encryption services by the end of 2025
According to CoinDesk, financial technology company SoFi announced that it will restart cryptocurrency services and plans to restore customers’ crypto asset investment functions before the end of this year. The company's CEO Anthony Noto said in a CNBC interview that the return will be more strategic than before the suspension of services in 2023, and it also plans to integrate blockchain technology in all its major products in the next 24 months. In 2023, SoFi proactively suspended trading services for more than 20 tokens in order to obtain a U.S. bank license. Noto said that new regulations issued by the U.S. Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) in March this year reduced the compliance burden on banks participating in crypto businesses, creating conditions for restarting. In addition to trading, SoFi may also launch crypto payment and crypto asset lending services.
12. The British Treasury plans to cooperate with the United States to promote innovation in the encryption industry
According to The Block, the British Treasury issued a statement on April 30 that it planned to cooperate with the United States to promote innovative development in the encryption industry. Finance Minister Rachel Reeves said that new regulations will be formulated for crypto asset service providers such as Bitcoin and Ethereum through the "Change Plan" to enhance investor confidence and promote growth. The move aims to make the UK "the best place for innovation in the world". The statement revealed that Reeves recently met with U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent in Washington to discuss digital asset regulatory cooperation, including relevant proposals put forward by SEC Commissioner Hester Peirce. The ministries of finance of the two countries will continue to explore ways to support the responsible development of digital assets through the "UK-US Financial Supervision Working Group". The UK has adjusted its policies to support the encryption industry many times this year, including revising the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 in January to remove strict supervision of domestic pledge service providers. This series of measures echoes the US Trump administration’s support for the encryption industry.
13. Circle receives preliminary approval from Abu Dhabi to operate as a money service provider
Stablecoin issuer Circle has received preliminary approval from the Financial Services Regulatory Authority of Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM) to operate as a currency services provider, The Block reported. Previously, Circle established a new legal entity in ADGM in December 2024 to expand into the Middle East and African markets. This preliminary approval means that Circle has met the requirements to conduct financial business in ADGM, pending final permission. Circle plans to further expand its presence in the region and submitted an IPO application to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission earlier this month.
14. Beijing releases a blockchain action plan, aiming to achieve more than 10 breakthrough results by 2027
The Beijing Municipal Science and Technology Commission, Zhongguancun Science and Technology Park Management Committee and other departments jointly released the "Beijing Blockchain Innovation Application Development Action Plan (2025-2027)". The plan sets a goal by 2027, aiming to improve the ability of independent and controllable blockchain technology to support the national digital infrastructure, and strive to achieve more than 10 breakthrough results in core technology fields such as blockchain special chips and privacy protection. In addition, it is planned to form more than 20 excellent application cases in 5 key areas such as artificial intelligence large models, and initially build a national blockchain hub node. This action plan will provide important guidance for the development of blockchain technology in Beijing.
15. South Korea’s ruling party promises to promote spot crypto ETF trading and expand bank access
According to The Block, South Korea’s ruling People’s Power Party (PPP) announced that it will allow spot cryptocurrency ETF trading within the year and expand bank access to crypto exchanges to gain support from the crypto industry before the presidential election on June 3. PPP also plans to abolish the "one exchange corresponds to one bank" regulation and propose a draft of the "Basic Law on the Promotion of Digital Assets", covering stablecoin supervision and the legalization of security tokens.
16. Coinbase executive: Gold’s appreciation may lead the U.S. Treasury to buy Bitcoin sooner than expected
According to The Block, Coinbase Asset Management President Sebastian Bea recently stated on the "The Scoop" program that if the U.S. government re-evaluates the price relationship between gold and the U.S. dollar, it may accelerate its purchase plan for Bitcoin. He pointed out that Bitcoin is transforming from a high-volatility technology asset to a gold-like store of value, a trend that has attracted more institutional attention and portfolio integration.
17. The U.S. SEC delays its decision on the listing and trading applications of Bitwise Dogecoin ETF and Franklin XRP Fund
According to The Block, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) issued a document announcing the postponement of a decision on the listing and trading applications of the Bitwise Dogecoin ETF and Franklin XRP Fund. The SEC said it needed more time to evaluate relevant rule change proposals and extended the final decision deadline for the Bitwise Dogecoin ETF to June 15 and the Franklin XRP Fund to June 17. The SEC said in the filing: "The Commission believes it is necessary to extend the review period to ensure sufficient time to evaluate the content of the proposal and the related issues involved." James Seyffart, an ETF analyst at Bloomberg Intelligence, said: "In my opinion, this is expected, and most of the final deadlines for these applications are October 2025 or later."
