CertiK’s 2026 State of Digital Asset Regulations report, published this week, shows that global crypto regulation has shifted to an enforceable, traditional financial-style framework.
The report maps regulatory trends across major jurisdictions and highlights that the industry has entered a full compliance phase, aligning with traditional finance on AML, stablecoins, audits and capital requirements.
Crypto is moving towards full compliance phase
The report suggests that this regulatory convergence is now fundamentally reshaping how capital flows to digital assets, particularly for banks, asset managers and regulated custodians.
Frameworks for stablecoins, exchanges, custodians and tokenization are now enforceable, not merely proposed, across numerous jurisdictions, including the US, EU, UK, Hong Kong, Singapore, the UAE, Japan, South Korea, Brazil, India and Turkey.
AML enforcement is becoming the dominant regulatory pressure
CertiK notes that AML (Anti-Money Laundering) compliance has moved to the center of global enforcement activity. Regulators across major jurisdictions are increasingly targeting transaction tracking systems, Know Your Customer (KYC) frameworks and compliance with cross-border sanctions.
AML-related fines and settlements exceeded $900 million in the first half of 2025, including $504 million against OKX and $297.4 million against KuCoin. European AML fines rose by 767% over the same period.
This shift is reflected in enforcement data: security enforcement has become less central, with SEC crypto fines down 97% year-over-year, while the DOJ and FinCEN have significantly expanded their actions.
Stablecoin rules move to implementation
The report highlights a rapid global convergence in stablecoin regulation, now firmly in the implementation phase. Binding requirements covering reserves, redemption rights, management and disclosure are increasingly enforceable across major jurisdictions.
These requirements are now in effect in key markets, including the United States (GENIUS Act), the European Union (MiCA), Hong Kong (Stablecoins Ordinance), Singapore (under MAS’s Payment Services Act licensing framework), the United Arab Emirates (VARA and ADGM regimes), and Brazil (BCB Resolutions 520/521, which classifies stablecoin activity as foreign exchange transactions).
At the same time, central banks are beginning to explore interoperability between systemic stablecoins and domestic payment infrastructure.
In 2026, the primary hurdle for issuers has shifted from obtaining legal status to managing regulatory friction, driven by conflicting local reserve requirements, the absence of license passports and rising global compliance costs
Smart contract audits move to mandatory status
CertiK also highlights that smart contract audits are increasingly becoming a de facto requirement for market access.
In many jurisdictions, audits are now directly linked to listing approvals, license conditions or institutional onboarding processes. This effectively increases the baseline security and compliance costs for new crypto projects.
CertiK concludes that crypto-regulation is no longer fragmented or experimental. Instead, it converges into a unified framework that closely mirrors traditional finance in conservation, capital management and operational resilience.
Why it matters
Crypto regulation has crossed a structural threshold: compliance frameworks in major markets are now binding, enforceable and aligned with traditional financial standards on AML, capital and custody. For both institutional investors and retail participants, this is reshaping what assets, platforms and products can realistically work at scale.
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AML fines surpassed $900 million in H1 2025, driven by an increase in sanctions-related crypto activity and tightened transaction monitoring requirements worldwide – outpacing security enforcement in both volume and penalty value.
In seven major jurisdictions — including Hong Kong, Singapore, the EU, the UAE and US state-level regulators — smart contract audits are now a statutory or quasi-statutory condition for licensing or exchange listings.
This means stablecoins operating in major markets must now meet consistent standards – full reserve backing, independent audits and licensing – regardless of jurisdiction, reducing regulatory arbitrage but increasing costs for issuers.
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