#Regulation

Circle submitted comments on October 20 and explained its position on October 28: a technology-neutral framework for onchain capital formation, coordinated with the GENIUS Act.

It requests cash treatment for qualifying payment stablecoins under specified rules and changes to broker-dealer haircuts subject to safeguards. These are company recommendations on a proposal, not evidence of SEC adoption.

Chainalysis reports that OFAC sanctioned ten people and one entity on October 28 over DPRK IT-worker operations. The network uses false identities to obtain jobs and intermediaries to convert crypto earnings.

Its onchain analysis describes salary-like stablecoin receipts passing through conversions and consolidation toward cash-out services.

Chainalysis puts MENA's crypto economy at $443.3 billion for July 2025–June 2026, down 1.4%, while the UAE grew 32%, highlighting regional differences.

The report links shifts in Türkiye to its licensing transition and observes falling bitcoin transactions during Iranian internet shutdowns. This is period-specific activity research; regional totals do not directly measure payment adoption.

ABMedia reports that at the October 27 Swell conference, Scott Bessent described digital assets as part of the technology competition underpinning the dollar’s position. He said most stablecoins are dollar-based and issuers hold US Treasuries as reserves. Wider adoption could increase demand for that debt and provide a source of federal financing.

Bessent argued that stablecoins can reach new users in emerging markets rather than merely replace existing dollars. Following the failure of the CLARITY Act to pass, he proposed cooperation between Treasury, the SEC and CFTC to advance regulation. The report also notes that agency rules can provide clarity but do not have the same long-term effect as legislation.