TL;DR:

• Toccata hard fork almost here: As Kaspa's Toccata hard fork is approaching activation, a majority of network hashrate is ready.

• CME sues CFTC over Bitcoin perpetuals: CME has filed a lawsuit against the CFTC, asserting that the contracts should be classified as swaps rather than futures.

• SEC proposes massive market structure shift: The SEC argues that the mandatory trade-through rule has become obsolete due to advancements in technology and tokenization.

• Pakistan establishes crypto regulator: Pakistan passed the Virtual Assets Act 2026, creating a licensing and supervisory framework for virtual asset businesses, stablecoins, tokenized assets, and digital asset markets.

• Stablecoin infrastructure expands: U.S. regulators proposed customer identification requirements for stablecoin issuers under the GENIUS Act, with State Street and Fidelity launching new money market funds designed for stablecoin reserves.

Regulation, not just in the United States, but in almost every country in the world, is in full swing to implement crypto into the global financial plumbing system. And the financial dinosaurs (especially the CME and banking elite) are scared, trying to do whatever they can to stop it; the good news, as this report will show, is that they aren't winning.

First things first, before we cover regulation, we must give praise where praise is due. ​After months of development, Kaspa's Toccata hard fork is now just days away. A majority of network hashrate is ready for the upgrade, which will bring consensus changes to support covenant functionality and ZK proofs, allowing more DeFi applications to run on Kaspa.

​Miners using HumPool (roughly 27%) should migrate to alternative pools or transition to solo mining prior to the upgrade. ​

Ecosystem tools will continue to be updated in preparation for activation. This week, versions 2.0.0 and 2.0.1 of the Kaspa Python SDK were released, adding compatibility with Toccata hard fork features and introducing a new Wallet API built on rusty-kaspa.

​Kaspa developer, IzioDev, stated that he is most excited about:​

“The managed  or high-level wallet API allows even easier wallet creation, persistence, management, and transfers. It now matches JavaScript and Rust capabilities in these areas.”​

Additionally, SmartGoo is most excited about:

“Very, very excited to finally have the managed/higher-level Wallet API included in this project. It should be great for the Kaspa Python community/ecosystem.”​

CME Challenges CFTC Approval of Bitcoin Perpetual Contract

A legal battle over the future of U.S. crypto perpetuals began on June 18, 2026, when the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME, the largest derivatives market) filed suit against the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), after the regulator approved the Kalshi Bitcoin perpetual contract (BTCPERP). The CME argument depends on whether crypto perps are swaps or futures, which ultimately determines which federal agency regulates them. Kalshi is a prediction market based in the US, where users can purchase financial instruments, like bets, on specified outcomes.

The CME argues that perpetual contracts more closely fit the legal definition of a swap rather than a futures contract because they do not expire and do not require delivery of the underlying asset. Moreover, the CME claimed that CFTC abruptly reversed its long-standing interpretation without following the proper administrative process, giving newer competitors an unfair regulatory advantage.

The lawsuit targets both the CFTC's May 29 approval of BTCPERP and its accompanying policy statement, which provided designated contract markets (DCMs) the ability to self-certify cryptocurrency perpetual contracts without requiring CFTC approval.

CME Group Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Terrence Duffy stated:

"Under the Dodd-Frank Act, it defines what a swap is and what a future is, and when there are two parties exchanging payments to each other, that's deemed a swap."

If they are treated like futures, US exchanges can list them more easily, as they can use existing futures infrastructure. They could also benefit from the Section 1256 tax treatment, also known as the 60/40 rule.

If crypto perpetuals are classified as swaps, there may be additional steps to comply with Dodd-Frank requirements, enacted in the US after the 2008 financial crisis, which require separate regulatory structures for swaps and derivatives markets, such as swap dealer registration. If the perps are listed as swaps, it would require exchanges that currently do not offer swaps to build new infrastructure, and purchases might be limited to firms and institutions.

Why does this matter?

The bigger picture is less about crypto itself than the market structure. If the courts uphold the CFTC's interpretation, perpetual futures could become a standard product on regulated U.S. exchanges, increasing competition with CME and potentially drawing liquidity from offshore venues back into the United States, thereby strengthening the U.S. market.

SEC Proposes Eliminating the Order Protection Rule

On June 11, 2026, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) proposed rescinding Regulation NMS Rule 611, commonly known as the Order Protection Rule, or "trade-through rule," and Rule 610(e). If adopted, the proposal would represent one of the most significant changes to U.S. equity market structure since Regulation NMS was implemented in 2005.

​Rule 611 currently requires trading venues to prevent orders from being executed at prices below the best publicly displayed quote available on another exchange. In other words, it requires brokers to route trades to whichever exchange is displaying the best available price.

​The SEC argues that advances in technology have reduced the need for rules that were designed for a much less automated market. The agency also cited the growth of tokenized securities and on-chain trading venues as reasons to reconsider the present framework.

​The SEC stated that removing the rules could reduce market complexity, encourage competition among trading venues, and support innovation in tokenized securities trading. However, the proposal also raises questions about whether investors could receive worse prices more often and how brokers will justify executions that bypass better displayed quotes. Moreover, there is additional concern that removing these protections could also weaken price discovery and confidence in displayed market data.

​U.S. SEC Approves T. Rowe Price Crypto ETF

Moreover, the SEC approved the T. Rowe Price Active Crypto ETF on June 12, 2026, an actively managed ETF that can hold a diversified portfolio of up to 15 approved cryptocurrencies. This provides exposure to new altcoins and many investors.

​According to the SEC filing, the fund is for long-term capital appreciation and is generally expected to hold between 5 and 15 eligible digital assets at any given time. The current list of eligible holdings includes Bitcoin, Ether, Solana, XRP, Cardano, Avalanche, Litecoin, Polkadot, Dogecoin, HBAR, Bitcoin Cash, LINK, XLM, Shiba Inu, and Sui. The fund is also allowed to hold cash and certain stablecoins for operational expenses.

Pakistan Passes Virtual Assets Act, Establishes Dedicated Crypto Regulator

​Pakistan is working toward a comprehensive governing framework for digital assets. The country's National Assembly passed the Virtual Assets Act 2026, which creates the Pakistan Virtual Asset Regulatory Authority (PVARA), a new regulator responsible for licensing, supervising, and regulating digital asset companies that perform business in Pakistan.

​The legislation establishes regulatory structures for exchanges, brokers, custodians, asset managers, token issuers, and other digital asset service providers. Licensed firms must maintain customer asset segregation, implement cybersecurity and risk-management controls, comply with anti-money laundering requirements, and provide proof-of-reserves reconciled with customer liabilities.

​The bill also creates formal rules for fiat-referenced stablecoins and asset-referenced tokens. Stablecoin issuers must maintain 100% reserve backing, provide redemption mechanisms, and publish audited reserve disclosures, while tokenized real-world assets are explicitly recognized under the framework.

The enforcement section is quite strong, as unlicensed VASP activity can lead to prison time, large fines, or both. Moreover, regulators can impose administrative penalties, revoke licenses, freeze or suspend services during emergencies, block websites/apps/payment links connected to illegal services, and refer criminal cases through special procedures. This will likely bring significant compliance operations, which we believe strongly in.

What’s most interesting about the bill is the legislative prohibition on the issuance of algorithmic stablecoins, unless there is specific future regulatory authorization. The most notable algorithmic stablecoin collapse occurred in May 2022, when TerraUSD (UST) entered a “death spiral.”

​The lawmakers wrote: "The Authority will ensure investor protection, promote innovation, and advance transparency in the Virtual Asset Market." We believe so as well.

​Dubai VARA Issues AML/CFT Risk Assessment Guidance for Crypto Firms

Dubai's Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (VARA) published new guidance outlining best practices for anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing (AML/CFT) business risk assessments for licensed virtual asset service providers (VASPs).

The guidance states that "a well-constructed AML/CFT Business Risk Assessment ('BRA') is the foundation of an effective financial crime compliance program."

The document encourages firms to base risk assessments on measurable operational data, including customer risk profiles, transaction monitoring outcomes, sanctions screening results, and exposure to jurisdictions identified by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) as high-risk or under increased monitoring.

Under VARA's Compliance and Risk Management Rulebook, VASPs are required to review and update their business risk assessments at intervals of no longer than three months.

The major focus is proliferation financing (funding to support, acquire, and transport weapons of mass destruction), especially risks tied to the DPRK, Iran, shell companies, nested accounts, intermediary VASPs, cross-chain bridges, and layered blockchain transactions (i.e., mixers and privacy transactions). VARA states that proliferation financing should be treated separately from money laundering and terrorist financing, with its own risk score, controls, sanctions-screening logic, freezing procedures, and UAE reporting process.

State Street and Fidelity Launch Stablecoin Reserve Money Market Funds

State Street entered the stablecoin reserve market on June 16 with the launch of its State Street Stablecoin Reserves Money Market Fund, a product designed to manage stablecoin reserves under the framework created by the GENIUS Act. The fund counts Anchorage Digital among its initial investors.

Yie-Hsin Hung, President and Chief Executive Officer of State Street Investment Management, stated:

"With the GENIUS Act, a clear framework has been established for how stablecoin reserves can be invested. State Street Investment Management's time-tested approach to cash management focuses on principal preservation, liquidity, and income, and we're excited to partner with Anchorage Digital to bring these capabilities to the digital assets space."

Two days later, on June 18, 2026, Fidelity Investments launched the Fidelity Reserves Digital Fund, a money market fund designed for stablecoin issuers and structured to comply with the GENIUS Act framework.

The launches reflect a larger trend of traditional financial institutions building products specifically for stablecoin reserve management. Recent offerings have also emerged from firms including BNY, Goldman Sachs, Federated Hermes, Morgan Stanley, JPMorgan, and BlackRock, while existing products from WisdomTree and Franklin Templeton have been updated to comply with the new regulatory framework.

​U.S. Regulators Propose Customer Identification Rules for Stablecoin Issuers

On June 18, 2026, the U.S. Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN), Federal Reserve, Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), and National Credit Union Administration (NCUA) released proposed customer identification program (CIP) requirements for permitted payment stablecoin issuers (PPSIs) as required under the GENIUS Act.

The proposal would require stablecoin issuers to verify the identities of customers that maintain a direct relationship with the issuer, such as those purchasing or redeeming stablecoins. However, the requirements would not apply to certain transactions where users do not maintain a direct relationship with the issuer and interact solely through smart contract-based systems.

The proposal provides one of the first indications of how U.S. regulators intend to implement anti-money laundering and customer identification requirements under the GENIUS Act while permitting stablecoin activity that occurs outside of a direct issuer-customer relationship.

​Hong Kong Launches wCBDC Pilot for After-Hours Derivatives Trading

Hong Kong is testing whether a wholesale CBDC can support after-hours derivatives markets. On June 18, the HKMA and HKEX announced a pilot program exploring the use of Hong Kong's wholesale central bank digital currency (wCBDC), the e-HKD, for posting advance margin in after-hours derivatives trading sessions.

According to HKEX, the initiative is intended to provide market participants with greater flexibility when posting margin outside of normal banking hours. Vanessa Lau, Chief Operating Officer of HKEX, stated:

"By exploring the use of CBDC, we seek to provide a more flexible and timely payment option outside of regular business hours, and tackle longstanding operational pain points in the industry."

Currently, cash margin must be posted by 3:00 p.m. to be eligible for after-hours trading sessions, which can run from 5:15 p.m. until 3:00 a.m. The pilot will examine whether a wholesale CBDC can help extend the window for posting margin outside traditional banking hours.

​France Sets Timeline for Quantum-Resistant Cryptography Transition

​France's national cybersecurity agency, ANSSI, announced that beginning in 2027, it will stop certifying security products that do not incorporate post-quantum cryptography, with a wider transition to quantum-resistant systems targeted by 2030.

​The policy is intended to address future risks posed by quantum computing to widely used cryptographic algorithms, such as RSA and elliptic curve cryptography (ECC), which currently secure government systems, financial infrastructure, and many blockchain networks. The move follows the publication of post-quantum cryptography standards by the U.S. National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and shows a growing international focus on preparing critical systems for future quantum threats.

​While ANSSI's announcement does not specifically address digital assets, many blockchain networks rely on elliptic curve cryptography for transaction signing and wallet security. As a result, the transition to quantum-resistant cryptography standards is likely to remain an ongoing area of interest for the digital asset industry.

​U.S. Lawmakers Introduce Cryptocurrency Theft Enforcement Bill

On June 11, 2026, U.S. Representatives Lance Gooden and Josh Gottheimer introduced the Federal Cryptocurrency Theft Enforcement and Coordination Act, legislation aimed at improving the federal government's response to cryptocurrency theft.

The bill would establish a Federal Cryptocurrency Theft Task Force within the Department of Justice, bringing together the DOJ, DHS, Treasury, and federal law enforcement agencies to coordinate investigations, support victims, and improve information sharing.

Rep. Gooden stated:

"Crypto criminals are stealing billions from Americans, and Washington lacks a coordinated strategy to stop them."

According to the bill's sponsors, the legislation was introduced following a reported surge in crypto-related losses, with the FBI's 2025 Internet Crime Report indicating that Americans lost more than $11 billion to crypto-related crimes. The proposal also calls for annual reporting to Congress and for the creation of standardized guidance on blockchain forensics, evidence collection, and victim support, which could be adopted by state and local law enforcement agencies.