The post FCA, crackdown on crypto appeared on BitcoinEthereumNews.com. The regulation of cryptocurrencies in the United Kingdom enters a decisive phase. The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has initiated a consultation to set minimum standards on transparency, consumer protection, and digital custody, in order to strengthen market confidence and ensure safer operations for exchanges, wallets, and crypto service providers. The consultation was published on May 2, 2025, and opened a public discussion on operational responsibilities and safeguarding requirements for digital assets (CoinDesk). The goal is to make the rules clearer without hindering the sector’s evolution. According to the data collected by our regulatory monitoring team, in the first weeks following the publication, the feedback received from professionals and operators focused mainly on custody, incident reporting, and insurance requirements. Industry analysts note that many responses require technical clarifications on multi-sig, asset segregation, and recovery protocols, as well as proposals to scale obligations based on the size of the operator. FCA Consultation: What’s on the Table The consultation document clarifies how to apply rules inspired by traditional finance to the crypto perimeter, balancing innovation, market integrity, and user protection. In this context, the goal is to introduce minimum standards for all firms under the supervision of the FCA, an essential step for a more transparent and secure sector, with measurable benefits for users. The proposed pillars Obligations towards consumers: assessment on the extension of the Consumer Duty – a requirement that mandates companies to provide “good outcomes” – to crypto services, with outcomes for users that are traceable and verifiable. Operational resilience: introduction of continuity requirements, incident response plans, and periodic testing to ensure the operational stability of platforms even in adverse scenarios. Financial Crime Prevention: strengthening AML/CFT measures through more stringent transaction monitoring and structured counterpart checks. Custody and safeguarding: definition of operational methods for the segregation of client assets, secure…

The post CME Group to launch Solana and XRP futures options in October appeared on BitcoinEthereumNews.com. CME Group is preparing to launch options on SOL and XRP futures next month, giving traders new ways to manage exposure to the two assets.  The contracts are set to go live on October 13, pending regulatory approval, and will come in both standard and micro sizes with expiries offered daily, monthly and quarterly. The new listings mark a major step for CME, which first brought bitcoin futures to market in 2017 and added ether contracts in 2021. Solana and XRP futures have quickly gained traction since their debut earlier this year. CME says more than 540,000 Solana contracts (worth about $22.3 billion), and 370,000 XRP contracts (worth $16.2 billion), have already been traded. Both products hit record trading activity and open interest in August. Market makers including Cumberland and FalconX plan to support the new contracts, arguing that institutional investors want hedging tools beyond bitcoin and ether. CME’s move also highlights the growing demand for regulated ways to access a broader set of digital assets. The launch, which still needs the green light from regulators, follows the end of XRP’s years-long legal fight with the US Securities and Exchange Commission. A federal court ruling in 2023 found that institutional sales of XRP violated securities laws, but programmatic exchange sales did not. The case officially closed in August 2025 after Ripple agreed to pay a $125 million fine, removing one of the biggest uncertainties hanging over the token. This is a developing story. This article was generated with the assistance of AI and reviewed by editor Jeffrey Albus before publication. Get the news in your inbox. Explore Blockworks newsletters: Source: https://blockworks.co/news/cme-group-solana-xrp-futures

The post U.S. OCC Allows Banks ‘Riskless’ Crypto Trading Role appeared on BitcoinEthereumNews.com. Key Points: OCC allows banks to act as agents in crypto trades. No crypto inventory is held by banks. Activities must comply with safety and legal standards. The U.S. Office of the Comptroller of the Currency issued Interpretive Letter 1188, allowing national banks to engage in “riskless principal” cryptocurrency transactions, as reported on December 9th. This guidance enables banks to act as agent brokers in cryptocurrency trades, highlighting a regulatory shift and potentially influencing institutional crypto engagement. OCC Grants New Role for Banks in Crypto Market The adjustment allows banks to serve their clients in the cryptocurrency market with added flexibility and confidence. It broadens financial intermediation activities available to banks with applicable safety and soundness requirements. Banks can now integrate into the growing crypto-asset space without directly handling or holding the assets. No high-profile individuals or organizations have directly commented on the letter. The lack of immediate reaction from notable figures or platforms suggests either satisfaction with status-quo compliance or the absence of perceived impact on the market status. “OCC describes the activity as ‘riskless principal crypto-asset transactions’ and confirms that a national bank may engage in such transactions ‘as part of customer-driven financial intermediation activities’ so long as the bank does not maintain a proprietary crypto position and complies with safety and soundness standards and laws.” OCC News Release on Interpretive Letter 1188 Bitcoin Holds Strong Despite Recent Regulatory Movements Did you know? The OCC’s regulatory approach, including Letter 1188, builds on earlier guidance beginning with Interpretive Letter 1170 in 2020, which allowed banks to offer crypto custody services. As of December 9, 2025, Bitcoin (BTC) maintains a price of $93,039.58, with a market capitalization of formatNumber(1857050434910.60, 2). Its 24-hour trading volume stands at formatNumber(56455834645.94, 2), reflecting a decrease of 4.98% over the same period, according to CoinMarketCap.…