US Cryptocurrency Legislation Battle (Issue 1 · Week 29, 2026)

01Event Overview

On July 9, 2026, Wisconsin and New York State filed criminal charges against Circle for refusing to freeze $380,000 in fraudulent assets, triggering a crisis regarding the compliance of stablecoins. On the same day, giants such as Samsung and Figure took advantage of the bear market to acquire licensed institutions at low prices, accelerating the institutionalization of crypto infrastructure. On July 13, the market value of CASHCAT tokens on the Robinhood Chain soared to $200 million, highlighting the competition for user traffic during the cold start phase of compliant chains.

02Course of the incident

• [2026-07-09] Wisconsin and New York state filed criminal charges against Circle for refusing to freeze fraudulent assets, sparking a fierce debate over the technical architecture of stablecoins and their legal obligations.
• [2026-07-10] Gate US obtained a currency transmission license in Florida, expanding its compliance footprint to 47 jurisdictions across the United States.
• [2026-07-10] Polymarket applied to the NFA for a futures commission merchant license through an affiliated company, seeking CFTC approval to amend rules in order to support non-full-collateralized transactions.
• [2026-07-11] While Robinhood Chain focused on RWA, CASHCAT took the lead, prompting the CEO to change his strategy and leverage the situation for a low-cost launch, which helped push the token’s market value to $200 million.
• [2026-07-13] Progmat, part of Mitsubishi UFJ, migrated $3 billion worth of securities tokens to Avalanche, using its subnet architecture to balance regulation and efficiency, marking a shift from pilots to actual deployment of RWA solutions.
• [2026-07-14] The Ethereum Foundation team founded EthSystems, a company dedicated to developing privacy-compliant technologies for banks and asset management firms on Ethereum, having completed one year of open-source development.
• [2026-07-15] Bit MAIN received another 180-day extension until January 2027 to meet the minimum stock price requirement, after its initial extension had expired.

03Impact Analysis

04Impact Analysis

05Market Price Dimension

Differential implementation of regulatory requirements has led to significant variations in asset prices. The enforcement of the EU’s MiCA regulations has fueled the growth of compliant stablecoins, with EURC issued by Circle seeing record levels of on-chain activity and new address creation in four years. In contrast, projects lacking regulatory compliance or facing governance issues have experienced severe valuation reevaluations. Pump.fun faced concerns over regulatory lawsuits due to the unlocking of 82.5 billion tokens and a sudden drop in the buy-back rate from 100% to 50%, resulting in a loss of market confidence. Although CASHCAT, listed on Robinhood, saw its market value surge to $200 million during its cold launch, this was driven by irrational speculation rather than legitimate trends, setting it apart from mainstream compliant assets. In the Japanese market, thanks to favorable policies, Progmat under Mitsubishi UFJ migrated $3 billion worth of security tokens to Avalanche, establishing a benchmark for real-world asset tokenization and boosting the valuation of related ecosystem assets.

06Regulatory Response Dimension

Global regulation is entering an era characterized by both “hard landings” and increased scrutiny. The 18-month transition period for MiCA in the EU ends on July 1, 2026. The head of AMLA warned that large-scale withdrawals by customers could place virtual asset service providers under significant anti-money laundering pressures, prompting regulators to enhance their analytical capabilities and pursue unified standards. Institutions that fail to meet these standards face strict penalties; AscendEX was shut down on July 1, 2026, due to non-compliance with MiCA rules, with automatic withdrawals suspended and users at risk of having their funds frozen. In the United States, state-level regulatory frameworks continue to expand. Gate US obtained a money transmission license in Florida, extending its compliant operations to 47 jurisdictions across the country. Meanwhile, Polymarket is applying for a futures commission merchant license from the NFA through an affiliated company, seeking approval from the CFTC to offer margin trading in a compliant manner. In the stablecoin sector, Wisconsin and New York State have filed criminal charges against Circle for refusing to freeze fraudulent assets, sparking intense debates over technical architecture and legal obligations.

07Ecosystem Impact Dimension

The industry is accelerating its transition from an unregulated environment to a more institutionalized one. Major players are taking advantage of lower prices during bear markets to acquire licensed institutions and assets. Five acquisition deals have occurred in the past month, including entries by giants such as Samsung and Figure. Compliance technologies have become essential infrastructure components. The Ethereum Foundation’s team founded EthSystems to develop privacy-compliant Ethereum solutions for banks and asset management firms, with one year of open-source development already completed. LayerZero and Centrifuge use a hub-and-spoke model to address the conflicts between compliance requirements and speed in the $33 billion tokenized real-world asset market. Japan is building a conglomerate-level compliance framework, with the prime minister supporting Web3 for three consecutive terms. SBI has invested nearly $500 million in developing full-chain solutions, while Lawson is piloting stablecoin payments. Optimism and OKX are exploring compliance and risk control solutions for blockchain, advocating that transaction layer settlement rights should remain with relevant parties to help establish blockchain as a financial infrastructure. BitMAIN received an 180-day extension from Nasdaq until January 2027 to address compliance issues, reflecting the ongoing pressure on listed companies to meet regulatory requirements.

08Subsequent focus areas

1. Judicial battles over U.S. stablecoin regulation: Close attention is being paid to the progress of criminal charges filed against Circle in Wisconsin and New York State for refusing to freeze fraudulent assets. If the Federal Reserve issues mandatory freezing orders or expands criminal jurisdiction, it will directly impact the legal compliance standards for stablecoin issuers.

2. Market liquidity after the EU’s MiCA transition period: The 18-month grace period ended on July 1, 2026, raising concerns about anti-money laundering pressures resulting from large-scale withdrawals by customers, as warned by AMLA. If virtual asset service providers face massive fund freezes or payment delays, it could trigger regional compliance crises.

3. Expansion of state-level licenses in the U.S. and federal access: Gate US has obtained a license in Florida, expanding its compliant operations to 47 jurisdictions, while Polymarket is applying for an FCM license in an effort to secure changes to CFTC rules. If federal regulators impose restrictions on mutual recognition of state-level licenses or reject FCM applications, it will hinder institutional capital from entering the market.

4. Scale of RWA tokenization in Japan: Progmat has migrated $3 billion worth of securities tokens to Avalanche, and SBI has invested nearly $500 million to develop solutions across various blockchain networks. If future large-scale asset tokenizations encounter cross-chain compliance issues or tax enforcement problems, it will affect the global benchmarking effect of RWA compliance.

09Related Reads

1. “拒冻38万遭刑事指控，稳定币合规危机爆发”
2. “估值腰斩九成：巨头借熊市狂扫合规牌照”
3. “合规链筹备半年，竟被一只猫引爆两亿市值”
4. “Gate US获佛州许可，美合规覆盖扩至47个辖区”
5. “Polymarket申请美国FCM牌照以合规提供保证金交易”
6. “30亿美元资产上链：日本合规代币化树立新标杆”
7. “以太坊基金会团队创立隐私合规公司EthSystems”
8. “比特MAIN获纳斯达克180天延期以恢复合规”
9. “MiCA生效引爆合规潮：EURC链上数据创四年新高”
10. “日收百万难敌解锁抛压，PUMP回购缩水引合规隐忧”
11. “MiCA过渡期终结：用户挤兑引爆合规危机”
12. “合规失败致关停：AscendEX提现陷人工审核泥潭”
13. “330亿RWA市场：LayerZero与Centrifuge破解合规速度悖论”
14. “首相连任站台、SBI砸5亿、罗森开闸：日本抢跑合规红利”
15. “Optimism与OKX探讨区块链合规风控”