On May 26, 2026, the Bank of England and the Financial Conduct Authority published a joint consultation setting out a shared approach to tokenized wholesale financial markets in the UK. The Call for Input seeks views on tokenized assets, DLT-based settlement and collateral processes, and prudential treatment, as regulators also reiterated plans linked to a 2028 synchronization service and a pilot tokenized gilt (DIGIT).

On May 25, 2026, a proposed U.S. Senate CLARITY Act draft was described as pushing crypto firms to redesign stablecoin yield products around AI-driven, transaction-based DeFi strategies instead of passive interest. The draft would extend limits beyond issuers to exchanges, brokers, and custodians, effectively preventing traditional APY on idle dollar-backed stablecoin balances. Firms are exploring "Yield-as-a-Service" structures where AI agents route liquidity across protocols to earn fees and incentives, a shift analysts say could raise complexity and retail risk.

On May 25, 2026, Tether said it invested in remittance fintech LemFi to broaden USDT-based cross-border settlement services across Africa and Asia. LemFi will integrate USDT settlement rails into its payments stack to reduce reliance on traditional networks such as SWIFT, while the investment size was not disclosed.

On May 24, 2026, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission postponed releasing its proposed "innovation exemption" framework for tokenized securities amid investor-protection concerns. The plan was expected to create a limited, SEC-supervised sandbox for blockchain-based trading, but questions around third-party tokens and whether they preserve dividends, voting rights, and other shareholder protections contributed to the slowdown.

The European Central Bank told EU finance ministers on May 24, 2026 that loosening rules for euro-denominated stablecoins could undermine banks and raise financial-stability risks. The message followed closed-door talks held Friday in Nicosia, Cyprus, where officials opposed proposals to relax MiCA liquidity requirements and to expand potential access to ECB liquidity facilities.

Galaxy Digital has obtained a New York BitLicense and a Money Transmission License, enabling it to broaden regulated digital-asset trading and custody services in New York. The authorization applies to its institutional subsidiary GalaxyOne Prime NY and is intended to deepen access to New York-based institutional clients. Galaxy said it oversees nearly $9 billion in client assets across its digital-asset operations.

On May 24, 2026, Zerohash Europe said it became the first firm operating under the EU's MiCA regime to also obtain a full Electronic Money Institution (EMI) license, enabling wider regulated stablecoin and brokerage services across Europe. The EMI authorization from De Nederlandsche Bank allows the company to pair crypto-asset services with electronic-money capabilities throughout the European Economic Area, ahead of MiCA's full rollout in July.

Nasdaq has teamed up with decentralized trading platform Ostium to supply market data for blockchain-based perpetual contracts linked to US equities. The integration supports onchain equity perps without requiring traditional brokerage accounts, as Ostium says its platform has surpassed $50 billion in cumulative volume across more than 26,000 traders.

On May 23, 2026, Ethereum investors continued increasing the amount of ETH committed to staking contracts even as the token is down roughly 26% year to date. About 31% of total ETH supply is now staked, up from roughly 29% at the start of 2026, highlighting a widening gap between onchain participation and price performance.