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Global Fintech Update

25 June 2025

Fintech Banking & Finance 25 June 2025

Welcome to this week's global fintech round-up, summarising fintech regulatory developments that have happened around the world along with our Clifford Chance fintech publications and upcoming events.

Details of these and previous developments can also be found on our Fintech Topic Guide on the Clifford Chance Financial Markets Toolkit.

 

CLIFFORD CHANCE BRIEFINGS AND MATERIALS

GLOBAL LEGAL AND REGULATORY UPDATES, INDUSTRY GUIDANCE AND PUBLICATIONS

International

  • (24 Jun 2025) Bank for International Settlements (BIS) Annual Economic Report Special Chapter on the next-generation monetary and financial system, which envisages a tokenised unified ledger incorporating central bank money, commercial bank deposits and government bonds as the foundations of a tokenised monetary and financial system. The paper also argues that, while stablecoins may eventually play a subsidiary role if adequately regulated, they do not deliver singleness of money (acceptance for payment at par), elasticity (timely discharge of obligations, preventing gridlock) and integrity (safeguarding against financial crime) and can therefore not serve as the mainstay of the monetary system. | Press release
  • (18 Jun 2025) The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) has published an updated version of its anti-money laundering (AML) and counter-terrorist financing (CTF) recommendations, which are intended to increase the transparency of cross-border payments to better detect financial crime. The FATF has revised recommendation 16 (wire transfers) (R 16), known as the 'travel rule' in the context of virtual assets, the related interpretative note (INR 16) and the glossary to reflect changes in payment business models and messaging standards. Revisions have also been made to reflect the evolving risks and vulnerabilities in this area. The changes will come into effect by the end of 2030. | Press release

APAC

Thailand:

  • (20 Jun 2025) The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has launched a consultation on rules for exchanges to issue their own utility tokens. Deadline for comments: 21 July 2025. | Press release (in Thai)

Europe

EU:

  • (25 Jun 2025) European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) report on the DLT Pilot Regime, providing an overview of the EU market for authorised distributed ledger technology (DLT) market infrastructures and recommendations on how to expand participation in the regime. The report suggests amendments to the pilot regime to make it permanent and allow for more flexibility in the regulatory thresholds or eligible assets depending on the risks of each business model. | Press release
  • (20 Jun 2025) ESMA Q&A on whether it is permissible for an EU trading platform for cryptoassets that is operated by a cryptoasset service provider (CASP) authorised under the Markets in Cryptoassets Regulation (MiCA) to pool its order book with that of one or more non-EU trading platforms operated by an entity or entities that are not authorised as CASPs under MiCA. | Press release
  • (19 Jun 2025) EU Parliament study on MiCA, its safeguards for the EU’s monetary sovereignty, and how it compares to the proposed GENIUS Act in the US.

UK:

  • (24 Jun 2025) The UK Quantum Skills Taskforce has published an updated version of its report, first published in May 2025, which sets out the skills needs of the UK quantum sector and makes recommendations on how these needs could be met. | Webpage
  • (23 Jun 2025) The UK Government has published its Industrial Strategy, a 10-year plan to increase business investment in eight industrial sectors (IS-8) which the Government has identified as having the highest potential to drive economic growth, including financial services. Within financial services, the Government has identified fintech as one of five 'frontier industries' and it intends to make regulation less burdensome for fintechs in the UK. | Webpage
  • (23 Jun 2025) The Bank of England (BoE) has launched a DLT Innovation Challenge in collaboration with the BIS Innovation Hub London Centre to better understand the implications of incorporating DLT into wholesale central bank settlement. 
  • (19 Jun 2025) The Data (Use and Access) Act 2025 has received Royal Assent.
  • (19 Jun 2025) UK Finance blog post entitled ' Good AI without good data? Don’t bank on it'.

EVENTS

 


  • Global Financial Markets Perspectives Series: The impact of digital trade for lending, fintech, ESG and risk management – a new dawn? (hybrid, 1 July 2025): Major economies worldwide are changing their laws to implement UNICTRAL’s Model Law on Electronic Transferable Records (MLETR) to streamline trade flows and logistical steps with the aim of expanding access to financing, reducing fraud and achieving ESG compliance and reporting with transparent supply chains. Our global panel will share the status of MLETR take-up and market developments (including the world’s first syndicated borrowing base financing using the UK’s enactment of MLETR, Electronic Trade Documents Act 2023). We will provide practical insights into navigating a data-driven and paperless trade environment in 2025 and beyond. | To register, please see the event series registration form

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