SEC Approves Generic Listing Standards for Commodity-Based Trust Shares (September 17, 2025)
The Securities and Exchange Commission today voted to approve proposed rule changes by three national securities exchanges to adopt generic listing standards for exchange-traded products that hold spot commodities, including digital assets. As a result, the exchanges may list and trade Commodity-Based Trust Shares that meet the requirements of the approved generic listing standards without first submitting a proposed rule change to the Commission pursuant to Section 19(b) of the Exchange Act.
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Swift to add blockchain-based ledger to its infrastructure stack in groundbreaking move to accelerate and scale benefits of digital finance across more than 200 countries and territories worldwide (September 29, 2025)
Swift announces that it will add a blockchain-based shared ledger to its technology infrastructure, a pivotal step for global finance that promises to make instant, always-on cross-border transactions possible at unprecedented scale. Swift already has kicked off work with a group of more than 30 financial institutions globally to design and build the ledger, focused on a first use case of real-time 24/7 cross-border payments and starting with a conceptual prototype by Consensys. Swift will work at pace to complete the prototype in phase one and define its future phases of work.
The ledger will extend Swift’s financial communication role into a digital environment, facilitating banks’ trusted and scalable movement of regulated tokenized value across digital ecosystems. Swift’s focus is on the infrastructure – the types of tokens that will be exchanged on the ledger is the territory of commercial and central banks and Swift will work with them on how to complement and make use of this new infrastructure.
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CFTC Staff Issues No-Action Letter Regarding Electricity Binary Options (September 30, 2025)
The Commodity Futures Trading Commission’s Division of Market Oversight and the Division of Clearing and Risk announced they have taken a no-action position regarding swap data reporting and recordkeeping regulations for binary options in response to a request from Electron Exchange DCM LLC, a designated contract market, and Electron Exchange DCO LLC, a derivatives clearing organization. In the request, Electron Exchange DCM LLC represented that it intends to list cash-settled binary options with underlying commodities relating to electricity and/or power markets.
The divisions will not recommend the CFTC initiate an enforcement action against either entity or their participants for failure to comply with certain swap-related recordkeeping requirements and for failure to report to swap data repositories data associated with binary option transactions executed on or subject to the rules of Electron Exchange DCM LLC and cleared through Electron Exchange DCO LLC, subject to the terms of the no-action letter.
The no-action letter applies only in narrow circumstances and is comparable to no-action letters issued for other similarly situated designated contract markets and derivatives clearing organizations.
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The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) and Industry Partners Publish Technical Report on Proof-of-Concept Sandbox for Quantum-Safe Communications within the Financial Sector (September 29, 2025)
The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), in collaboration with DBS, HSBC, OCBC, UOB, SPTel, and SpeQtral, has successfully completed a proof-of-concept (PoC) sandbox to evaluate Quantum Key Distribution (QKD) for secure communications in the financial sector. Building on an MoU signed in August 2024 and the Post-Quantum Cryptography (PQC) experiment with Banque de France, the sandbox enabled MAS and the participating banks to deepen understanding of quantum security technologies. Through the sandbox, MAS and the banks deployed a QKD solution provided by SPTel and SpeQtral to validate secure transfer of sensitive data. A technical report published highlights that QKD can strengthen communication network security, emphasizes the need for robust standards and interoperability between providers, and underscores the importance of senior management support, in-house competency, and sufficient resources for quantum-safe initiatives.
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European supervisors tell financial institutions to stay alert to stability risks in uncertain and volatile times (September 19, 2025)
The three European Supervisory Authorities (EBA, EIOPA and ESMA – ESAs) issued their Autumn 2025 Joint Committee Report on risks and vulnerabilities in the EU financial system. The Report highlights how tensions in global trade and the global security architecture have deepened geopolitical uncertainties. The authorities call for increased vigilance and urge financial entities to maintain adequate provisions in today’s tense and unpredictable environment.
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FCA shares proposals to promote good business practices amongst crypto firmsc (September 17, 2025)
The FCA is seeking feedback on proposals on the minimum standards crypto firms will need to comply with. The proposals mirror many requirements which already apply to traditional financial firms, such as on operational resilience and systems and controls to fight crime.
The rules aim to be proportionate, allowing UK firms to compete internationally.
In recognition of some of the unique features of the cryptoasset market, the FCA has opened a discussion on how the Consumer Duty, which would require firms to act to deliver good outcomes for their consumers should apply to crypto. The regulator is also seeking views on how complaints should be managed, including whether consumers should be able to refer them to the Financial Ombudsman Service.
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