The UK and more than 40 other countries began enforcing new tax transparency rules for digital assets on January 1 under the OECD's Crypto-Asset Reporting Framework (CARF), the Financial Times reports. Major crypto exchanges must collect full transaction histories for UK users and report trading activity and tax residency information to HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC). The UK is among the first group of 48 countries to apply CARF, and from 2027 HMRC will automatically share related data with EU member states and other participating jurisdictions including Brazil, the Cayman Islands and South Africa. In total, 75 countries have committed to adopt CARF, while the United States plans to implement the rules in 2028 and begin information exchange in 2029.

Sen. Cynthia Lummis said on Jan. 1 the Responsible Financial Innovation Act would permit large banks to offer digital-asset custody, staking and payment services, BlockBeats reports. The Senate Banking Committee may mark up the bill in the second week of January, which would signal progress despite Democrats' concerns over decentralized finance.

The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission announced on January 1 that Amir Zaidi has rejoined the agency as Chief of Staff after six years. Zaidi, who worked at the CFTC from 2010 to 2019, served as Director of the Division of Market Oversight in his final two years, where he oversaw the establishment of the regulated Bitcoin futures market. CFTC Chairman Michael Selig said Zaidi will contribute his experience as the agency develops rules for fast-evolving commodity markets while Congress prepares digital asset market structure legislation.

David Duong, head of investment research at Coinbase, said on Dec. 31 that crypto is in a transformative phase driven by faster institutional adoption, BlockBeats reports. He cited clearer regulatory frameworks, including U.S. stablecoin and market-structure clarity and Europe's MiCA. Duong said this is boosting operational readiness, enabling product innovation and market maturation, and embedding crypto rails in payments and settlement.

Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, Agricultural Bank of China, China Construction Bank, Bank of China, Postal Savings Bank of China and Bank of Communications announced on Dec. 31 that digital yuan real-name wallet balances will earn interest at each bank's demand deposit rate starting Jan. 1, 2026, BlockBeats reports. Interest calculation and settlement will follow the same rules as traditional demand deposit accounts, the banks said.

South Korea's Financial Intelligence Unit fined cryptocurrency exchange Korbit 2.73 billion won (about $1.88 million) and issued an institutional warning on Dec. 31 for violating anti-money-laundering obligations under the Act on Reporting and Using Specified Financial Transaction Information. The FIU also issued a caution to the exchange's representative director and a reprimand to its anti-money-laundering reporting officer. The measures follow an on-site inspection conducted from Oct. 16 to Oct. 29, 2024, in which the FIU identified three major compliance breaches: approximately 22,000 customer due diligence and transaction restriction violations including accepting ambiguous identification documents, allowing trading when customer information was incomplete, and failing to perform periodic re-verification; 19 asset transfer transactions with three unregistered overseas virtual asset service providers; and failure to perform money laundering risk assessments before listing 655 new assets such as NFTs.

FASB plans to explore in 2026 whether certain stablecoins qualify as cash equivalents and to study accounting for crypto-asset transfers, including Wrapped Tokens, The Wall Street Journal reported on Dec. 31. FASB Chair Rich Jones said these crypto projects have been added to the agenda.

The U.S. crypto regulatory outlook for 2026 features several key milestones, according to BlockBeats, amid expectations of a more crypto-friendly stance under a second Donald Trump term. In January, the Senate is expected to hold hearings on a crypto market structure bill clarifying SEC and CFTC oversight, while the SEC may propose an innovation exemption for startups. Major mid-year events include Jerome Powell’s term ending on May 15, California’s Digital Financial Assets Law taking effect July 1, and implementation of the stablecoin GENIUS Act by July 18. Further progress on crypto tax and CFTC rules is expected by August, with the November 3 U.S. midterms likely shaping the path toward a more unified regulatory framework.