Nasdaq obtained broader discretion to reject initial public offering applications deemed at manipulation risk, effective immediately on December 13, Reuters reports. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission approved the rule on Friday, permitting denials where a company's business locale will not cooperate with U.S. regulators, where underwriters, brokers, lawyers or auditors were involved in problematic transactions, or where the integrity of management or major shareholders is in doubt. The change is intended to address a wave of small IPOs that saw steep declines after listing; over the past year half of Nasdaq IPOs raised less than $15 million, and most of those shares fell by more than 35% within a year.

Ripple, BitGo, DigitalAssets, Paxos and Circle received conditional approvals for trust bank charters from the U.S. Office of the Comptroller of the Currency on December 13, BlockBeats reports. The approvals allow the five companies to pursue federal trust banking operations under OCC oversight.

Crypto custodian BitGo received conditional approval from the U.S. Office of the Comptroller of the Currency on Dec. 13 to become a banking institution, The Wall Street Journal reports. Once final approval is secured, the company plans to convert its South Dakota-chartered trust company into a federally chartered national trust bank. The new entity would be able to custody digital assets and certain non-deposit financial assets, and offer regulated crypto-related services without needing state-by-state authorization, BitGo said.

Fed voters explained their opposition to rate cuts on Dec. 12, citing elevated inflation and the need for more data, BlockBeats reports. Chicago Fed President Goolsby cited tariff impacts on inflation, while Kansas City Fed President Schmid said inflation remains high. Philadelphia Fed President Harker said the Fed will assess tariffs and AI, noting that policy would differ if AI drives a productivity boom.

Binance obtained Anti-Money Laundering registration under Pakistan's Virtual Asset Regulatory Authority framework on Dec. 12, the company announced. The registration allows Binance to provide cross-border virtual asset services as it works toward a full Virtual Asset Service Provider license in Pakistan. Binance said it will continue supporting digital economy development in South Asia and cooperating with regional regulators to build a transparent virtual asset ecosystem.

China Construction Bank froze accounts held by Ms. Yu and her husband after a 250-yuan transfer between them carried the note "Dogecoin this week," which bank staff said triggered virtual currency controls, China News Weekly reported on Dec. 12. Branch employees told Ms. Yu she needed to submit her husband's recent bank statements and a handwritten pledge that past and future transactions were unrelated to virtual currencies to lift the restrictions, while staff at her husband's Dalian branch said accounts linked to virtual currency transactions could face irreversible freezes. Calls to the bank's national hotline and the Tianjin branch yielded unclear replies, with staff requesting additional documents including a marriage certificate to process the restriction removal. On Dec. 5, seven associations including the National Internet Finance Association of China issued a risk warning urging member institutions not to engage in virtual currency or real-world asset token issuance and trading in China.

Members of the U.S. House Financial Services Committee have sent a letter to SEC Chair Paul Atkins requesting rule changes to allow Bitcoin and other digital assets in 401(k) retirement plans, according to Wu Blockchain. The lawmakers also urged the SEC to relax the accredited investor definition and to coordinate with the Department of Labor on these issues. The letter cites President Donald Trump’s directive to expand investment options in retirement accounts, Wu Blockchain reported.

U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chairman Paul Atkins declared on December 12th, as reported by BlockBeats, that American financial markets are on the precipice of an on-chain transformation. Atkins stated the SEC, under his leadership, is prioritizing innovation and embracing new technologies to realize this future, while steadfastly protecting investor interests. He highlighted that on-chain markets are poised to offer enhanced predictability, transparency, and operational efficiency for investors. Atkins also called for an innovation exemption policy to empower innovators to transition markets on-chain without cumbersome regulatory burdens. This announcement closely follows the U.S. SEC's recent approval for the Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation (DTCC) to custody and confirm tokenized stocks and Real World Assets (RWA) on-chain.