Karsten Wenzlaff, Advisor
August 26th, 2025
Karsten Wenzlaff is a Crowdfunding and Fintech Expert from Germany. He is Secretary-General of Digit[...]
Category Archives: Web3, Decentralization, DAOs
Better And Coinbase Launch Token Backed Mortgages
Mar 26, 2026 | NCFA Fintech Market Activity | Banking And Credit, Digital Assets And Tokenization
Digital Asset Collateral Backs Standard Home Finance Mortgages
On March 26, 2026, Better and Coinbase launched the first token backed conforming mortgage. Qualified borrowers can pledge Bitcoin or USDC to fund a cash down payment while still taking out a standard mortgage that meets Fannie Mae rules. The structure lets borrowers use digital assets without selling them first and without automatically triggering a taxable sale event.
The product targets a large and growing borrower base. Better and Coinbase put the addressable market at 52 million Americans who own digital assets, equal to 20% of American adults. They also mention quite an age split, with 45% of younger investors holding crypto versus 18% of older investors. That age gap means it's much harder for younger buyers to meet traditional down payment cash requirements, yet many already hold part of their savings in digital assets.
See: OSC Opens Door for Tokenized Long-Term Funds
There are no margin calls and no required top ups if Bitcoin falls in value. Price moves alone do not trigger liquidation. Collateral comes into play only if a borrower becomes 60 days delinquent, under the same treatment applied to standard conforming mortgages. Borrowers using USDC can also earn rewards on pledged balances, which may offset mortgage payments and lower the net effective rate.
The buyer profile is also broader than a luxury crypto niche. Better and Coinbase said 67% of token holders are 45 or younger and 26% earn less than US $75,000 a year. They also pointed to Redfin data showing 12.7% of Gen Z and Millennial homebuyers have already sold tokenized assets to fund a down payment, versus 3.5% of Gen X and 0.5% of Baby Boomers.
Digital assets are now included in standard mortgage structure, not just a trading or investment account. Token holdings now help fund a conforming mortgage down payment without forcing a sale first. As this model grows, digital assets will look less like something borrowers need to liquidate and more like collateral lenders may be willing to work with.
Better and Coinbase also plan to expand eligible collateral over time to include tokenized equities, fixed income, and tokenized real estate assets. If that happens, the story will not stop at mortgages. It will continue to proliferate into which consumer lending products can absorb token backed collateral and under what terms.
Talking Point
If digital assets can now help fund a conforming mortgage, which standard lending products could be next to accept token backed collateral?
The National Crowdfunding & Fintech Association (NCFA Canada) is a financial innovation ecosystem that provides education, market intelligence, industry stewardship, networking and funding opportunities and services to thousands of community members and works closely with industry, government, partners and affiliates to create a vibrant and innovative fintech and funding industry in Canada. Decentralized and distributed, NCFA is engaged with global stakeholders and helps incubate projects and investment in fintech, alternative finance, crowdfunding, peer-to-peer finance, payments, digital assets and tokens, artificial intelligence, blockchain, cryptocurrency, regtech, and insurtech sectors. Join Canada's Fintech & Funding Community today FREE! Or become a contributing member and get perks. For more information, please visit: www.ncfacanada.org
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BitGo Adds USDCx And cBTC Custody On Canton
Mar 25, 2026 | NCFA Fintech Market Activity | Digital Assets And Tokenization
Custody And Settlement Infrastructure Deepen On Institutional Tokenization Rails
On March 25, 2026, BitGo added qualified custody support for USDCx and cBTC on the Canton Network. This expands its role on Canton beyond Canton Coin and into CIP-56 assets, the token format Canton uses for regulated financial markets.
The CIP-56 token standard supports private transactions, built in KYC and AML controls, delivery versus payment settlement, and final settlement within seconds. Those features give institutions the controls they need to use tokenized assets in real collateral and settlement workflows.
Canton describes itself as a privacy enabled blockchain network for institutional assets, with about 600 validators live and more than 15 million monthly transactions using Canton Coin in their flows. That's why BitGo's expansion is interesting because it plugs additional assets into a network that's already being built for regulated financial activity, not retail token trading.
See: SEC Crypto Interpretation Resets Market Structure
USDCx already serves as the settlement currency for out of hours repo settlement and tokenized collateral workflows on Canton. It is issued through Circle’s xReserve framework. cBTC adds bitcoin backed liquidity to the same environment, giving firms another asset they can use across collateral and settlement activity. This isn't just broader token support. It makes the settlement layer more usable.
Qualified custody for Canton Coin launched in October 2025, and token support followed in less than six months. The work is no longer just about putting assets onchain. It is about building the custody, collateral, and settlement stack that institutions need around them.
Canton is also drawing in more institutional infrastructure, including tokenized money market fund infrastructure from Goldman Sachs and BNY. This BitGo move adds another piece to the same buildout. If tokenized finance is going to work at scale, firms need more than issuance. They need custody that institutions trust, settlement assets they can use, and compliant rails that hold up under real volume. That's where commercial value is starting to concentrate.
Talking Point
As tokenized markets add stablecoin settlement, bitcoin backed liquidity, and qualified custody, which firms become hardest to replace?
The National Crowdfunding & Fintech Association (NCFA Canada) is a financial innovation ecosystem that provides education, market intelligence, industry stewardship, networking and funding opportunities and services to thousands of community members and works closely with industry, government, partners and affiliates to create a vibrant and innovative fintech and funding industry in Canada. Decentralized and distributed, NCFA is engaged with global stakeholders and helps incubate projects and investment in fintech, alternative finance, crowdfunding, peer-to-peer finance, payments, digital assets and tokens, artificial intelligence, blockchain, cryptocurrency, regtech, and insurtech sectors. Join Canada's Fintech & Funding Community today FREE! Or become a contributing member and get perks. For more information, please visit: www.ncfacanada.org
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Gilles Brassard Turing Award Puts Quantum Security In Focus
Mar 20, 2026 | NCFA Market Activity | Quantum Security And Digital Finance
Image: Pixabay/geralt
Quantum Standards and Timelines Now Drive Financial Security Changes
On Mar 18, 2026, the 2025 ACM A.M. Turing Award recognized Gilles Brassard and Charles H. Bennett for foundational work in quantum information science, including the development of quantum cryptography. The award carries a $1 million prize and marks one of the highest global honours in computing.
See: Google’s Willow Quantum Chip Breakthrough
Brassard’s work established early methods for secure communication using quantum mechanics, a field now directly tied to the future of encryption. While he didn't develop today’s post quantum standards, his research helped define how information can be secured against quantum-enabled attacks. That body of work went from advanced research to execution in August 2024 when NIST finalized the first post quantum cryptography standards for encryption and digital signatures used across financial systems.
As ACM President Yannis Ioannidis stated:
“Their work is an important foundation for the field of quantum computing and has fundamentally changed how we process, transmit, and secure information.”
Post Quantum Cryptography Enters Implementation
Post quantum cryptography (PQC) refers to new encryption methods designed to remain secure even if future quantum computers can break today’s widely used systems today, such as RSA and elliptic curve cryptography that currently protect payments, digital identity, secure messaging, APIs, and financial data.
On Aug 13, 2024, NIST finalized three post quantum cryptography standards and announced that organizations should begin transitioning to them as soon as possible. NIST states these standards support encryption and digital signatures used to secure electronic information, including financial transactions and sensitive data.
NIST also states that no one knows exactly when a cryptographically relevant quantum computer will arrive, but some experts estimate it could be possible in less than 10 years. That uncertainty increases the risk because encrypted data can be collected today and targeted for future decryption under the harvest now, decrypt later threat model.
Canada has already set execution timelines. The Canadian roadmap for post quantum cryptography migration requires departments to begin planning in April 2026, report progress annually, transition high priority systems by the end of 2031, and complete remaining migration by the end of 2035. Canada’s national strategy for quantum communication and cryptography states that advances in quantum computing could undermine current encryption and threaten digital systems and data security.
What It Means for Fintechs
For financial services, encryption now affects what gets built and what gets bought. Payments, identity, onboarding, APIs, messaging, custody, and long term data all rely on encryption that may need to be replaced or upgraded.
Quantum also reaches into blockchain based finance like stablecoins, tokenized deposits, wallet infrastructure, custody controls, and smart contract connected payment flows all depend on digital signatures and key management. NCFA’s earlier coverage of quantum safe stablecoins points to a market approaching US$250 billion and highlights how quantum safe controls are already being added to stablecoin settlement systems.
See: Photonic $180M Financing Puts Quantum In Focus in 2026
Buyers are starting to ask direct questions. Where is encryption used in the product. Which parts rely on current standards. What is the plan to upgrade. These questions and decisions are part of core financial workflows now and show up across payments messaging, identity systems, API access, document signing, custody, and stored data.
Vendors that can clearly show where encryption sits in their systems and how they plan to upgrade it will have an advantage as requirements tighten.
In Conclusion
NIST standards are finalized and Canada has set migration timelines starting in April 2026, with high priority systems due by the end of 2031 and full migration by the end of 2035. That puts a clock on encryption used across payments, identity, APIs, messaging, custody, and long term data.
The National Crowdfunding & Fintech Association (NCFA Canada) is a financial innovation ecosystem that provides education, market intelligence, industry stewardship, networking and funding opportunities and services to thousands of community members and works closely with industry, government, partners and affiliates to create a vibrant and innovative fintech and funding industry in Canada. Decentralized and distributed, NCFA is engaged with global stakeholders and helps incubate projects and investment in fintech, alternative finance, crowdfunding, peer-to-peer finance, payments, digital assets and tokens, artificial intelligence, blockchain, cryptocurrency, regtech, and insurtech sectors. Join Canada's Fintech & Funding Community today FREE! Or become a contributing member and get perks. For more information, please visit: www.ncfacanada.org
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S&P 500 Perpetual Trading Goes 24/7 Onchain
Mar 19, 2026 | NCFA Market Activity | Digital Assets
S&P 500 Perpetuals Launch On Hyperliquid
On Mar 18, 2026, licensed S&P 500 perpetual trading went live on Hyperliquid through Trade[XYZ]. The product gives eligible non US investors 24/7 access to leveraged long or short S&P 500 exposure without expiry. A core global equity benchmark now trades onchain 24/7.
Liquidity Starts To Move
S&P says its linked ecosystem drives $1T daily trading across futures, options, ETFs, and structured products. Moving that benchmark into a perpetual format allows liquidity to form before traditional sessions open. Early demand for the product already looks real. Decrypt reported $10M open interest shortly after launch, while S&P’s release says Trade[XYZ] markets on Hyperliquid have already cleared $100B volume since October 2025 and are running at more than $600B annualized.
See: Fortune 100 & 500 Embrace Blockchain, Driving Onchain Growth
Price discovery no longer has to wait for markets to open. If more benchmark trading starts off hours on crypto venues, traditional exchanges risk following market moves instead of leading them. Even a modest change in where liquidity shows up first can change how volatility spreads across markets.
Why Operators Should Care
Investors now have a route to benchmark exposure at any hour, across borders, on a venue built for continuous trading. That changes expectations around access, monitoring, and response time for exchanges, brokerages, data analytics and risk teams. It also raises risk with reports that the product can offer leverage up to 50 times, which means off hours trading can bring sharper liquidations and sweeping moves when order books are thin.
The global implication is bigger than one listing. A major index owner has opened a new channel for benchmark access on chain. That puts pressure on incumbents that still depend on fixed sessions, regional access, and legacy infrastructure. If this model gains traction, exchanges will need to defend their role not just on liquidity depth, but on speed, availability, and product reach.
Canadian fintechs, dealers, market infrastructure firms, and regulators should pay attention to how benchmark access is changing. If clients start expecting round the clock exposure and faster market response, organizations that stay tied to old windows may lose ground. Firms that build around new access patterns, stronger risk tools, and better market visibility will have a chance to capture more of the next layer.
See: SEC Crypto Interpretation Resets Market Structure
This is not just a crypto wrapper on a known index. It is an early sign that benchmark distribution is starting to move onto new rails. The firms that adapt early can help shape where liquidity, data, and customer activity go next.
Outlook
The next phase will depend on where liquidity builds and how quickly institutions respond. If trading depth increases on these venues, more benchmarks, sectors, and asset classes will follow into perpetual formats. That would push exchanges, clearing systems, and regulators to respond to a market that no longer operates in sessions. However, if liquidity remains thin, these products will stay a niche trading layer. The open question is how fast global capital markets will adjust to always on access?
The National Crowdfunding & Fintech Association (NCFA Canada) is a financial innovation ecosystem that provides education, market intelligence, industry stewardship, networking and funding opportunities and services to thousands of community members and works closely with industry, government, partners and affiliates to create a vibrant and innovative fintech and funding industry in Canada. Decentralized and distributed, NCFA is engaged with global stakeholders and helps incubate projects and investment in fintech, alternative finance, crowdfunding, peer-to-peer finance, payments, digital assets and tokens, artificial intelligence, blockchain, cryptocurrency, regtech, and insurtech sectors. Join Canada's Fintech & Funding Community today FREE! Or become a contributing member and get perks. For more information, please visit: www.ncfacanada.org
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SEC Crypto Interpretation Resets Market Structure
Mar 18, 2026 | NCFA Insight | Digital Assets And Tokenization
Token Classification and Lifecycle Rules Define Securities Boundaries
On Mar 17, 2026, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission issued a formal interpretation on how federal securities laws apply to certain crypto assets and certain crypto asset transactions with aligned support from the CFTC read the SEC’s March 17 press release on the joint crypto interpretation (and Fact Sheet).
This is a significant U.S. digital asset policy interpretation because it gives the market something it's lacked for a long time: a public classification system, a public lifecycle test, and public treatment of core activities such as staking, wrapping, and airdrops.
The old question of 'is it a security?' no longer sits only at the token level.
The SEC now says the answer can depend on the category of asset, the way it is sold, the promises around it, and whether those promises still matter later in the market.
A Working Token Map
The release classifies crypto assets into five categories based on characteristics, uses, and functions: (1) digital commodities, (2) digital collectibles, (3) digital tools, (4) stablecoins, and (5) digital securities. It's a framework that crypto firms can actually use in product design, listing review, and compliance planning.
See: US Trust Charter Debate Heats Up Around Crypto Banks
Some of the examples are worth noting. In the published interpretation, the SEC lists Aptos, Avalanche, Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash, Cardano, Chainlink, Dogecoin, Ether, Hedera, Litecoin, Polkadot, Shiba Inu, Solana, Stellar, Tezos, and XRP as examples of digital commodities. It says these assets gain value from how the network operates and from market supply and demand, not from a team whose efforts drive profit expectations.
On collectibles, it points to CryptoPunks, Chromie Squiggles, Fan Tokens, WIF, and VCOIN.
On tools, it cites Ethereum Name Service domain names and CoinDesk’s Microcosms NFT Consensus Ticket.
The point is not that every asset that looks similar gets a free pass, and the SEC is now saying publicly that many crypto assets are not securities in themselves.
And It's Lifecycle
The SEC separates the token from how it is sold. It applies the Howey test to the transaction, not just the asset. A token that is not a security can still be sold as part of an investment contract if a team’s promises create an expectation of profit.
The interpretation then separates the asset from the contract and explains how that link can end. A non security token is no longer subject to an investment contract once buyers no longer rely on the issuer’s promises.
This can happen in two ways. The issuer fulfills what it said it would build, such as delivering functionality or completing roadmap milestones. Or the issuer abandons those efforts, making it unreasonable for the market to keep relying on them. In both cases, the investment contract can fall away, even though the issuer may still face anti fraud liability for earlier statements.
See: Stablecoin Interest and Rewards A Regulatory Fault Line
This directly addresses the secondary market problem. A token’s status in later trading does not depend only on how it was launched. It also depends on whether buyers still rely on the issuer’s promises at that point in time.
Marketing And Legal Risk
The SEC ties securities treatment directly to what issuers say. Statements in agreements, websites, whitepapers, and social media can create a reasonable expectation of profit.
That risk increases when issuers make explicit promises tied to roadmaps, milestones, funding plans, and how their work will drive value.
Token design and marketing cannot be separated. If the sales narrative links price appreciation to team execution, the offering can be treated as an investment contract.
For founders and counsel, that is the message. Product design, legal design, and communications design now need to be built together from day one.
Staking Gets A Defined Framework
The SEC says covered protocol staking activities don't involve securities transactions when structured as described. It covers self staking, custodial and non custodial staking, delegated and nominated staking, and liquid staking.
See: SEC Clears Crypto Staking. What It Means for Canada
The interpretation is that rewards and penalties come from protocol rules, not from a team managing profits. That includes liquid staking models where users receive tokens tied to their staked position. If returns come from how the network operates, not from a promoter’s decisions, the activity is less likely to be treated as a securities transaction. That gives exchanges, custodians, and staking providers clearer ground for product design.
Wrapping And Airdrops
The SEC also says wrapping a non security crypto asset doesn't create a security when the wrapped token is redeemable one for one, the underlying asset stays locked for the holder, and value comes from that underlying asset. This supports cross chain use, custody design, and token mobility.
It also confirms that certain airdrops do not involve an investment of money under the Howey Test when recipients do not give anything in return. Common uses include rewarding early users, supporting governance, and building network participation. This does not make all airdrops safe, but it gives builders a clearer framework to separate distribution from securities risk.
Stablecoins And Tokenization
The SEC aligns its position on stablecoins with the GENIUS Act. It says qualifying payment stablecoins issued by permitted issuers will not be securities once the law is in force. It also states that some covered stablecoins already fall outside securities treatment under its interpretation. This gives issuers and institutions clearer direction on how stablecoins are treated at the federal level.
See: Tokenized Infrastructure Is Changing How Markets Operate
Tokenized securities get a clear boundary. A security remains a security whether it is issued offchain or onchain. The SEC describes both issuer led tokenization and third party tokenization of existing assets. In both cases, moving an asset onchain may improve issuance and settlement, but it does not change its legal status.
What Changes For The Market Now
This interpretation affects different parts of the market in different ways.
- Token issuers now have a stronger reason to define exactly what they are promising, when they expect to deliver it, and how they will communicate completion
- Exchanges and brokers gain a clearer basis to review whether an asset remains tied to issuer efforts in secondary trading
- Custodians and staking providers get more detailed guidance on where protocol participation ends and securities treatment begins
- Investors get a more useful way to separate network assets, tokenized securities, and issuer dependent schemes
- The release also raises the bar for policymakers
See: Treasury Reopens Crypto Mixer Privacy Debate
This interpretation shows what a more usable framework looks like in practice. While it doesn't solve every unanswered question, it's helpful and moves the debate from slogans to structure. Markets develop faster when participants can classify assets, model lifecycle risk, and design products in lie with public rules instead of trying to read the regulator’s mind from old enforcement cases.
Takeaway
The SEC doesn't replace the Howey Test but it makes Howey more operational for crypto markets. That's the real change. The release gives the industry a public map for classification, a public test for when securities treatment begins and ends, and public treatment of activities that sit at the center of token network design. If you're looking for more of a legal analysis here.
The National Crowdfunding & Fintech Association (NCFA Canada) is a financial innovation ecosystem that provides education, market intelligence, industry stewardship, networking and funding opportunities and services to thousands of community members and works closely with industry, government, partners and affiliates to create a vibrant and innovative fintech and funding industry in Canada. Decentralized and distributed, NCFA is engaged with global stakeholders and helps incubate projects and investment in fintech, alternative finance, crowdfunding, peer-to-peer finance, payments, digital assets and tokens, artificial intelligence, blockchain, cryptocurrency, regtech, and insurtech sectors. Join Canada's Fintech & Funding Community today FREE! Or become a contributing member and get perks. For more information, please visit: www.ncfacanada.org
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US Crypto Rules To Clarify Onshore Market Structure
Mar 5, 2026 | NCFA Fintech Market Insight | Digital Assets And Policy And Regulation
Tokenized Collateral Perpetuals And Event Contracts Get Rules
On January 29 2026, at the joint SEC CFTC event in Washington titled CFTC SEC Harmonization U.S. Financial Leadership in the Crypto Era.
CFTC Chair Michael S. Selig’s remarks laid out a detailed US policy direction for crypto market structure. The speech goes past broad support for innovation and points to specific rule work on tokenized collateral, perpetual derivatives, software safe harbours, retail leveraged crypto trading, and event contracts.
SEC Chair Paul S. Atkins’ remarks support the same direction from the SEC side, which is part Project Crypto.
“Fragmented regulation in an integrated market is not a safeguard for investors so much as a source of confusion among them.”
That line from Atkins defines the problem. Unclear boundaries change how firms structure products, where they launch, and how much they spend on compliance before they can scale.
“Project Crypto recognizes that crypto markets span across our agencies’ respective regulatory boundaries.”
Selig starts from the point that crypto products don't fit neatly into older lines between agencies. Clearer lines are needed to cut the cost of operating in uncertainty.
1. Tokenized Collateral And Perpetuals Move Into The Rulebook
“I have directed CFTC staff to develop rules to enable the responsible deployment of additional forms of eligible tokenized collateral.”
Eligible collateral is what a trading venue accepts to back positions. It decides how much margin traders need, how fast funds move, and how safely trades settle. If the CFTC allows more tokenized assets to count as eligible collateral, more crypto trading can happen inside regulated U.S. markets, but custody and collateral movement will need tighter controls and clearer proof that assets are protected and available when they are needed.
“The CFTC will use the tools at its disposal to onshore perpetual and other novel derivative products so that they can flourish across both centralized and decentralized markets, subject to appropriate safeguards.”
Perpetuals are a popular kind of crypto futures that many platforms offer outside the U.S. If U.S. rules start allowing them in a regulated way, more trading, market making, and new product builds can move onshore. That would also make it harder for offshore exchanges to keep growing just because the U.S. has no clear legal path today.
2. Software Builders And Multi Product Platforms Get A Clearer Path
“The CFTC will explore ways in which the agency can encourage innovation in software development and support builders as they work toward product market fit, including by assessing whether an innovation exemption may be appropriate in certain circumstances.”
This targets a hard issue in crypto regulation. Wallets, interfaces, and on chain software do not fit cleanly into rules built around centralized intermediaries. If the CFTC creates clearer room for software development and early stage testing, legal uncertainty will be reduced for teams building core infrastructure.
“As part of this harmonization effort, we will examine whether substituted compliance can achieve equivalent or better regulatory outcomes at lower costs for market participants.”
See: Atkins Testimony Targets IPO Burden And Crypto Rules
This is about cost, duplication, and speed. Overlapping requirements can turn compliance into a barrier to entry. Substituted compliance can cut repeated work where two regimes are trying to solve the same control problem.
“Within the bounds of the law and where appropriate, market participants should be able to offer multiple products through a single platform without navigating an inefficient patchwork of registrations and overlapping regulatory regimes.”
This points to a model where firms can run more of their product stack under one platform instead of splitting activity across separate legal and operational silos. That can improve operating leverage for exchanges, brokers, and infrastructure firms that want to offer more than one regulated product. Also see broader SEC direction in Atkins crypto rules testimony.
3. Retail Leveraged Crypto And Event Contracts (eg. Prediction Markets) Get A Reset
“I have directed CFTC staff to begin drafting rules clarifying when leveraged, margined, or financed retail commodity transactions in crypto may be offered off-exchange under an ‘actual delivery’ exception.”
Retail users can already get leveraged crypto in some places, but U.S. rules have left big gaps in what is clearly allowed. If the CFTC writes clearer rules, firms will know which leverage products they can offer, which ones are off limits, and what steps they must follow to stay compliant.
“I have directed CFTC staff to explore the creation of a new category of DCM registration that is tailored specifically to retail leveraged, margined, or financed crypto asset trading.”
This suggests the CFTC may create a new kind of regulated exchange category built specifically for retail leveraged crypto trading. If it does, firms will be able to design products and go to market using a clearer venue rulebook, and exchanges will compete on who can offer the best compliant access and distribution.
“First, I have directed CFTC staff to withdraw the 2024 event contracts rule proposal that would prohibit political and sports-related event contracts and the 2025 staff advisory.”
This removes a major source of uncertainty around prediction markets.
“Second, looking ahead, and in the spirit of markets that trade on expectations, I have directed CFTC staff to move forward with drafting an event contracts rulemaking.”
Withdrawing the old proposal reduces near term uncertainty, but new event contract regulations would spell out which event-based contracts are allowed, what monitoring and controls platforms must run, and how firms can build prediction style products without guessing where the line is.
What This Means For Builders And Investors
These speech commitments point to a practical attempt to aggregate more products, more liquidity, and more infrastructure into regulated US channels. Tokenized collateral, perpetuals, retail leveraged crypto, and event contracts are all in the spotlight with real market share potential. Companies that can meet the bar for custody, risk controls, disclosures, and auditable operations can begin building onshore products more confidentially than they could before.
Also, OCC Issues Rulemaking Notice for Stablecoin Issuance
The CFTC and SEC discussion focuses on market structure, but tokenized collateral and onshore crypto venues still rely on a settlement instrument that can hold up under supervision. That is why the stablecoin perimeter matters.
See: MiCA Vs UK Crypto Rules And Global Fintech Competition
On February 25, 2026, the OCC issued a notice of proposed rulemaking (See: OCC stablecoin NPRM) to implement the GENIUS Act (Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for U.S. Stablecoins Act) for payment stablecoin issuance and related activities under OCC jurisdiction, including national banks and their subsidiaries, federal savings associations and their subsidiaries, federal branches and their subsidiaries, and foreign payment stablecoin issuers, along with entities approved as federal qualified payment stablecoin issuers and certain state qualified issuers. The OCC points to a new 12 CFR 15 that covers reserve assets, redemption, risk management, audits and supervision, custody, applications and registrations, examination of foreign issuers, and a capital and operational backstop.
Also, Congress Hits New Impasse On Stablecoin Rules
While the OCC moves ahead with rulemaking under the GENIUS Act, the legislative framework for crypto market structure is still contested in Washington. A Reuters report from March 5, 2026 on the crypto bill impasse in Congress describes renewed disagreement over stablecoin related customer rewards and whether they could draw deposits away from banks. The dispute shows that even as regulators move ahead with rules for trading infrastructure, tokenized collateral, and stablecoin issuance, Congress is still debating how far crypto firms should be allowed to compete with the traditional deposit system.
Talking Point
If the CFTC and SEC push tokenized collateral, perpetuals, and event contracts into regulated channels while the OCC pushes stablecoin issuance into a bank style rulebook, does the next U.S. advantage move to firms that can run both market structure and the cash leg under supervision?
The National Crowdfunding & Fintech Association (NCFA Canada) is a financial innovation ecosystem that provides education, market intelligence, industry stewardship, networking and funding opportunities and services to thousands of community members and works closely with industry, government, partners and affiliates to create a vibrant and innovative fintech and funding industry in Canada. Decentralized and distributed, NCFA is engaged with global stakeholders and helps incubate projects and investment in fintech, alternative finance, crowdfunding, peer-to-peer finance, payments, digital assets and tokens, artificial intelligence, blockchain, cryptocurrency, regtech, and insurtech sectors. Join Canada's Fintech & Funding Community today FREE! Or become a contributing member and get perks. For more information, please visit: www.ncfacanada.org
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MiCA Vs UK Crypto Rules And Global Fintech Competition
Mar 4, 2026 | NCFA Fintech Market Insight | Digital Assets And Policy And Regulation
Image: Freepik/diana.grytsku
Passporting Scale Versus Tighter Supervision
On February 27 2026, the FCA set the application window for UK cryptoasset permission under the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000. The window opens on September 30 2026 and closes on February 28 2027. FCA webinar guidance also points to October 25 2027 as the date the new regime goes live.
This confirms the UK is moving crypto firms into the same permissioned structure used across traditional financial services (UK draft crypto rules). A firm that already operates under anti money laundering registration now faces a full authorisation process, a narrower transition path, and a higher standard on governance, controls, safeguarding, financial resources, and senior accountability.
Two Regulatory Models Are Competing
The UK model prioritizes integration with established financial regulation. It raises the operating bar and can favour firms with stronger compliance infrastructure, clearer ownership structures, and the capital to support ongoing supervision. That can improve institutional credibility, but it also increases readiness cost and raises the threshold for smaller firms.
The EU model is different. MiCA creates a dedicated crypto rulebook, and that structure supports cross border expansion through one member state authorisation and EU passporting. One licence can open access across the single market. NCFA has already covered that operating advantage in MiCA licence unlocks EU access.
Canada Sits In A Different Middle Ground
Canada has a domestic passport framework, but it's not the same as EU style passporting across sovereign countries inside a single massively connected market. CSA regulatory cooperation reduces duplication across participating provinces and territories, but Ontario does has not formally adopted the passport rule despite Canada's need to reduce duplication and regulatory burden. Ontario's passport status still emains outside MI 11-102, with Ontario using an interface and reliance model instead.
A Canadian crypto platform can use the passport process to expand across much of Canada, but of course it doesn't get the scale benefit that MiCA passporting provides across the EU with market access to 450 million. The compliance cost can still be high, while the addressable market remains much smaller. Canada also continues to raise the operating bar through supervision and custody expectations, including CIRO’s digital asset custody framework. See: NCFA’s Weekly Fintech Intelligence Jan 31-Feb 6, 2026.
Collectively this puts Canada's approach to crypto regulation closer to the UK on operating discipline than to the EU on market scale. Also worth noting varying consumer differences between UK and Canada crypto consumers.
What Builders And Investors Need To Decide
These models now reward different business strategies. The UK offers deeper integration with traditional financial supervision and may suit firms that want institutional positioning, bank grade credibility, and a tighter regulatory perimeter.
The EU offers faster regional scale through passporting and may suit firms that need broader customer reach across multiple markets.
Canada offers a more controlled path, but one that can be slower to scale and more operationally demanding relative to market size.
See: Atkins Testimony Targets IPO Burden And Crypto Rules
For exchanges, brokerages, wallets, custody providers, and compliance firms, this is now a jurisdiction choice with direct consequences for licensing cost, expansion speed, product sequencing, and capital planning. For investors, it changes where operating leverage may be easiest to achieve. The question is not whether crypto gets regulated. The question is which regulatory architecture creates the best conditions for durable growth.
Talking Point
When the UK raises the authorisation bar, the EU offers passporting scale, and Canada keeps a tighter supervised path, which model attracts more builders, more capital, and more long term market share?
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