Welcome to this month's global crypto round-up, summarising crypto regulatory developments that have happened around the world in January 2026 along with our Clifford Chance crypto 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.

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GLOBAL LEGAL AND REGULATORY UPDATES, INDUSTRY GUIDANCE AND PUBLICATIONS

INTERNATIONAL

• (20 Jan 2026) International Capital Market Association (ICMA) paper examining whether stablecoins represent a credible development for capital markets infrastructure, or a diversion from more established solutions
• (13 Jan 2026) G7 Cyber Expert Group statement on advancing a coordinated roadmap for the transition to post-quantum cryptography in the financial sector. | Webpage

AMERICAS

US

• (29 Jan 2026) The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) have announced that they are re-launching Project Crypto as a joint policy initiative to upgrade their rules and regulations to accommodate blockchain technology and the future federal framework for digital asset markets currently advancing through the US Congress. | Statement | Speech by CFTC Chairman Michael S. Selig
• (28 Jan 2026) SEC statement on the taxonomies associated with tokenized securities.
• (13 Jan 2026) The US Senate Banking Committee has published the latest draft of the proposed Digital Asset Market Clarity Act, which establishes a regulatory framework for digital commodities.

APAC

Austraila

• (27 Jan 2026) Australian Securities & Investments Commission (ASIC) Key issues outlook 2026, which highlights the areas where ASIC believes risks are most likely to emerge, including: (i) advanced technology harming consumers (including agentic AI), (ii) cyber-attacks, data breaches and/or inadequate operational resilience and crisis management, and (iii) regulatory gaps related to emerging financial sector participants (digital assets, payments, users of AI) and others on the regulatory perimeter

Hong Kong

• (30 Jan 2026) Speech (in Chinese) by Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury Christopher Hui, in which he announced plans to introduce legislative proposals to the Legislative Council this year (i) on the regulatory regime for advising on virtual assets and virtual asset management service providers and (ii) to implement the relevant amendments to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD)'s Crypto-Asset Reporting Framework (CARF) and the Common Reporting Standard.
• (18 Jan 2026) Hong Kong Securities & Futures Professionals Association (HKSFPA) response to the implementation of the CARF and amendments in relation to the Common Reporting Standard in Hong Kong. 

Kazakhstan

• (16 Jan 2026) The President of Kazakhstan, Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, has signed two new laws introducing a regulatory framework for digital assets, including stablecoins. | Press release (in Russian)

Vietnam 

• (20 Jan 2026) The State Securities Commission of Vietnam (SSC) has opened the window for applications for licenses to provide services for organising a cryptoasset trading market. | Press release

EUROPE

EU

• (28 Jan 2026) The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA)'s guidelines for the criteria on the assessment of knowledge and competence under the Markets in Cryptoassets Regulation (MiCA) have been translated into the official EU languages and will apply from 28 July 2026.
• (27 Jan 2026) The European Central Bank (ECB) has announced that, as of 30 March 2026, the Eurosystem will accept marketable assets issued in central securities depositaries (CSDs) using distributed ledger technology (DLT) as eligible collateral for Eurosystem credit operations. | Press release
• (20 Jan 2026) The EU Commission has proposed a new cybersecurity package to strengthen the EU's cybersecurity resilience and capabilities. The package includes a proposal for a revised Cybersecurity Act, which is intended to enhance the security of the EU's Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) supply chains, as well as targeted amendments to the NIS2 Directive. | Press release
• (15 Jan 2026) Recording of and slides from the ECB's Focus Session on the digital euro pilot.
• (14 Jan 2026) The European Supervisory Authorities (ESAs) have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Bank of England (BoE), the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) and the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) to enhance their cooperation on overseeing critical ICT third-party service providers (CTPPs). | ESAs press release | BoE statement | FCA statement
• (13 Jan 2026) ESMA Digital Strategy 2026–2028, which sets out a roadmap for innovation, efficiency, and resilience. ESMA has also updated its Data Strategy 2023–2028 to reflect the EU's focus on burden reduction, the evolving technological landscape, and ESMA’s desire for unlocking efficiency opportunities. | Press release
• (11 Jan 2026) Open letter from a group of European academics to Members of the EU Parliament, highlighting concerns that political negotiations risk hollowing out the digital euro project and emphasising the need for a strong public digital euro as an essential safeguard of European sovereignty, stability, and resilience.
• (1 Jan 2026) The rules under the eighth amendment of the Directive on Administrative Cooperation in Direct Taxation (DAC8) have begun to apply, expanding tax transparency to cryptoasset transactions. The Directive is intended to strengthen the overall legal framework on the automatic exchange of information to fight tax fraud and combat tax evasion and tax avoidance by enlarging its scope to cover cryptoassets.

Italy

• (Jan 2026) Bank of Italy research paper entitled 'What if Ether Goes to Zero? How Market Risk Becomes Infrastructure Risk in Crypto'.

UK

• (29 Jan 2026) The House of Lords Financial Services Regulation Committee has launched an inquiry into and call for evidence on the growth and proposed regulation of stablecoins in the UK. Deadline for responses: 11 March 2026. | Press release
• (29 Jan 2026) Speech by BoE Executive Director Sasha Mills on shaping the UK’s digital financial future, including the following innovation priorities for the coming year: progressing the systemic stablecoins regime, clarifying how tokenised collateral can operate under the UK European Market Infrastructure Regulation (EMIR), and expanding the Digital Securities Sandbox.
• (28 Jan 2026) Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation (OFSI) blog post on its work with UK law enforcement and regulatory partners to tackle the abuse of cryptoassets and associated money laundering activities.
• (26 Jan 2026) UK Cryptoasset Business Council (UKCBC) report warning that 'debanking' is a major obstacle to the growth of the UK’s digital asset economy. According to the report, almost all of the major UK banks and payments services firms currently impose blanket transaction limits or complete blocks to cryptoasset exchanges.
• (25 Jan 2026) CityUK/PwC UK report on reasserting UK leadership in financial and related professional services, which sets out recommendations to ensure the UK takes a leading global role in in tokenised and AI-enabled financial markets. | Webpage | Press release
• (23 Jan 2026) FCA consultation paper (CP26/4) setting out further proposed rules and guidance for firms conducting regulated cryptoasset activities, including guidance consultation (GC26/2) on how the Consumer Duty will apply to cryptoasset firms. Deadline for comments: 12 March 2026. | Press release
• (21 Jan 2026) BoE/PRA/FCA 2025 CBEST thematic report, setting out findings and lessons learned from the CBEST programme, which assesses the cyber resilience of key financial institutions through security testing performed in ‘live’ corporate environments.
• (15 Jan 2026) The FCA has announced a Stablecoin Sprint and trade payments roundtable, which are intended to bring together innovators, consumer groups, regulators, government and industry leaders to help shape the future of stablecoin payments in the UK. The sprint will take place in March and the roundtable in May 2026. Deadline for applications: 4 February 2026. | Webpage
• (13 Jan 2026) UK Finance blog post entitled 'As crypto goes mainstream in Europe, AML needs an AI upgrade'.
• (12 Jan 2026) The FCA has published a set of good practices and areas for improvement following its multi-firm review into the distribution of complex exchange traded products, including crypto exchange traded notes (cETNs). | Press release
• (8 Jan 2026) FCA webpage on the new regime for cryptoasset regulation confirming that the application period for firms that want to undertake the new cryptoasset regulated activities will be open from 30 September 2026 to 28 February 2027, and with sub-pages on:  how the gateway will operate;  the transitional provision;  FSMA and the FCA Handbook;  firm authorisation, supervision and enforcement; and  the FCA's standards.
• (5 Jan 2026) UK Finance blog post on the Digital Pound 2026: Questions that still need answers.

MIDDLE EAST

Dubai

• (12 Jan 2026) The Dubai Financial Services Authority (DFSA) has brought its updated regulatory framework for crypto tokens into force. This follows a consultation process in October 2025. Amongst other things, the updated regime involves a shift from DFSA-led suitability assessments to firm-led assessments. Firms providing financial services involving crypto tokens are now directly responsible for determining whether the crypto tokens they engage with meet the DFSA’s suitability criteria. | Press release