CertiK hails U.S. stablecoins and digital asset custody legislation for crypto boost

The report pointed out that the GENIUS Act introduces the first federal licensing regime for stablecoin issuers. The CLARITY Act is meant to clearly divide oversight between the SEC and CFTC, expanding the CFTC’s role in digital commodity markets. The SEC’s reversal of SAB 121 removes capital barriers for banks to offer crypto custody, boosting institutional participation. Blockchain security company CertiK has released a U.S. Digital Asset Policy Report examining the impact of the legislative milestones in the United States. The current federal framework emerged from the GENIUS Act, the CLARITY Act, which was passed in the U.S. House of Representatives and is still being reviewed in the Senate, and the rescission of Staff Accounting Bulletin 121. The Certik highlighted that these new federal laws and market-structure reforms have ushered in the clearest framework yet for stablecoin issuance, asset classification, and institutional custody. According to CertiK, they aim to provide “financial institutions, digital asset providers, and policymakers evaluating how federal and state rules intersect” with an authoritative resource with the report. “This report reveals a pivotal shift in how digital assets are regulated and supervised across the United States,” said Kayvon Hosseini, CertiK’s head of advisory. “By analyzing federal legislation and market structure proposals, as well as state-level obligations, the research highlights the operational demands that digital asset firms must meet in the coming years.” Federal rules set clear standards for stablecoins and custody The GENIUS Act, signed into law in July this year, establishes for the first time a federal licensing framework for payment-stablecoin issuers, sets strict reserve-asset and redemption rules, and prohibits the issuance of dollar-backed tokens without federal approval. The law was widely described as a landmark industry moment in U.S. digital-asset legislation and was welcomed by crypto companies, banks and fintechs preparing to enter the stablecoin market. The CLARITY Act, meanwhile, advances the longstanding debate over how to classify digital tokens by delineating the boundary between securities and digital commodities. The proposal, backed by Senate Republicans, would clearly define the Commodity Futures Trading Commission’s (CFTC) and the SEC’s oversight. It is said to also expand the CFTC’s oversight of digital commodity markets, reserving securities-linked products for the SEC. The report also looked into the impact of the SEC rescinding SAB 121, highlighting that the reversal “removes prior capital constraints on digital asset custodians, enabling broader bank participation.” Another finding in the report is that despite a universal baseline for cybersecurity and AML compliance existing at the federal level, fragmented state licensing regimes continue, creating “a preemption gap for multi-state operators.” Meanwhile, market-structure legislation in the Senate is paving the way for CFTC-registered exchanges to list spot crypto products, a move that could reshape trading venues for assets categorized as commodities under the CLARITY framework. CFTC Acting Chairman Caroline D. Pham earlier today announced that listed spot cryptocurrency products will begin trading for the first time in U.S. federally regulated markets on CFTC-registered futures exchanges as of December 4 Another key finding in the report is institutional pilots, such as the Regulated Liability Network and Project Guardian, which are said to demonstrate accelerating adoption of permissioned settlement infrastructure. Regulatory clarity enters the space globally Beyond the U.S., the CertiK report situates these developments within a global trend with jurisdictions around the world fast-tracking the rollout of stablecoin and digital-asset regulations. According to TRM Labs’ 2025/26 global policy review , which pointed out that “stablecoins were a huge focus for policymakers worldwide, with over 70% of jurisdictions progressing stablecoin regulation in 2025.” CertiK stated, “For financial institutions, the strategic focus is shifting toward permissioned digital assets: using blockchain-based settlement within clearly defined regulatory perimeters. As liquidity becomes segmented by jurisdiction (for example, between U.S. and EU/MiCA-compliant pools), the ability to map regulatory ‘gaps’ and build compliant, cross-jurisdictional infrastructure will be a key source of competitive advantage over the next few years.”