CryptoLink Newsletter - May 2026Digital asset policy activity continued to accelerate as Senate negotiations over market structure legislation moved from committee action to resolving the remaining issues needed to bring the CLARITY Act to the floor. Lawmakers are still working through ethics and conflict-of-interest restrictions, illicit finance provisions and the allocation of authority between the SEC and CFTC. Supporters are pushing for a July floor vote, though timing remains uncertain as negotiators work to build broader bipartisan support before the August recess.
Crypto tax legislation is advancing on a separate track, led by the House Ways and Means Committee. Current discussions focus on changes that could attract bipartisan support, including the tax treatment of mining and staking rewards and more limited relief for small digital asset transactions. Although Senate Finance Committee members continue to engage on digital asset tax policy, the House package remains the primary legislative vehicle.
May reflected continued scrutiny of digital asset activity across Congress and the federal agencies. Ranking Member Elizabeth Warren pressed Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg on reported plans to integrate a stablecoin across the company’s platforms and challenged Comptroller of the Currency Jonathan Gould over the OCC’s grant of national trust charters to crypto firms she argues do not qualify under the National Bank Act.
Regulators also continued refining the framework for digital asset markets, stablecoins and crypto-linked derivatives. The FDIC Board approved a proposed rule that would subject FDIC-supervised, permitted payment stablecoin issuers to Bank Secrecy Act, AML/CFT and sanctions-compliance standards aligned with FinCEN requirements. The CFTC also approved KalshiEX, LLC’s BTCPERP bitcoin perpetual futures contract and confirmed the foreign-futures categorization of certain perpetual products. Internationally, the European Commission opened a consultation on the functioning of the Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation, which remains open through August 31. Together, these developments show the continued movement toward clearer legislative and regulatory pathways while enforcement and oversight remain central to the digital asset landscape.
Crypto tax legislation is advancing on a separate track, led by the House Ways and Means Committee. Current discussions focus on changes that could attract bipartisan support, including the tax treatment of mining and staking rewards and more limited relief for small digital asset transactions. Although Senate Finance Committee members continue to engage on digital asset tax policy, the House package remains the primary legislative vehicle.
May reflected continued scrutiny of digital asset activity across Congress and the federal agencies. Ranking Member Elizabeth Warren pressed Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg on reported plans to integrate a stablecoin across the company’s platforms and challenged Comptroller of the Currency Jonathan Gould over the OCC’s grant of national trust charters to crypto firms she argues do not qualify under the National Bank Act.
Regulators also continued refining the framework for digital asset markets, stablecoins and crypto-linked derivatives. The FDIC Board approved a proposed rule that would subject FDIC-supervised, permitted payment stablecoin issuers to Bank Secrecy Act, AML/CFT and sanctions-compliance standards aligned with FinCEN requirements. The CFTC also approved KalshiEX, LLC’s BTCPERP bitcoin perpetual futures contract and confirmed the foreign-futures categorization of certain perpetual products. Internationally, the European Commission opened a consultation on the functioning of the Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation, which remains open through August 31. Together, these developments show the continued movement toward clearer legislative and regulatory pathways while enforcement and oversight remain central to the digital asset landscape.
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