Cryptoeconomics

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Jurisdiction · Standards only

Global standard setters

Standard setters have agreed the reference framework (FSB recommendations, the Basel cryptoasset standard, the FATF travel rule and IOSCO's conduct expectations) and their own reviews find implementation of it uneven.

Last verified against the primary source on

Regime
FSB high-level recommendations; Basel Committee cryptoasset standard (SCO60); FATF Recommendation 15 and travel rule; IOSCO crypto and DeFi recommendations; BIS research and pilots
Status
Standards agreed; implementation uneven across jurisdictions
Scope
Cross-border stablecoin arrangements, bank prudential treatment of cryptoasset exposures, VASP supervision and the travel rule, crypto market conduct, tokenized wholesale settlement

The state of play

International standard setters supply the reference framework that national regimes implement. The Financial Stability Board's global stablecoin and crypto-activity recommendations were supplemented by a thematic peer review published on October 16, 2025 that found significant gaps and inconsistencies in implementation. The Basel Committee's prudential standard for cryptoasset exposures (SCO60) had its implementation date deferred to January 1, 2026, announced on May 13, 2024, alongside a disclosure framework. The FATF's seventh targeted update, published on July 16, 2026, reported that 83% of surveyed jurisdictions had travel-rule legislation, up from 73% a year earlier, while flagging weak enforcement and growing criminal use of stablecoins. IOSCO's policy recommendations for crypto and digital asset markets and for DeFi set market-conduct expectations. The Bank for International Settlements devoted a chapter of its 2026 Annual Economic Report, released on June 23, 2026, to the singleness of money and a unified ledger, and published findings from Project Agora on May 27, 2026.

Frameworks

FrameworkStatusDateNote
FSB high-level recommendations for the regulation, supervision and oversight of global stablecoin arrangementsIn force 17 July 2023Revised recommendations covering governance, reserve management, redemption rights and cross-border cooperation for global stablecoin arrangements.
FSB high-level recommendations for crypto-asset activities and marketsIn force 17 July 2023Same-activity, same-risk approach to crypto-asset service providers, conflicts of interest and cross-border data sharing.
FSB thematic peer review on implementation of the crypto-asset and stablecoin recommendationsIn force 16 October 2025Found significant gaps and inconsistencies in national implementation, particularly for stablecoin arrangements and cross-border cooperation.
Basel Committee prudential standard for cryptoasset exposures (SCO60)In force 1 January 2026Group 1 and Group 2 classification with a 1% Tier 1 exposure limit for Group 2 assets; implementation deferred from January 2025 to January 1, 2026 in the May 13, 2024 announcement, with an accompanying disclosure framework.
FATF Recommendation 15 and the travel rule for virtual assetsIn force 21 June 2019Requires licensing or registration of virtual asset service providers and transmission of originator and beneficiary information for transfers.
FATF seventh targeted update on implementation of standards for virtual assets and VASPsIn force 16 July 2026Reports 83% of surveyed jurisdictions with travel-rule legislation, up from 73% in 2025, with persistent enforcement gaps and rising criminal use of stablecoins.
IOSCO policy recommendations for crypto and digital asset marketsIn force 16 November 2023Eighteen recommendations on conflicts of interest, market manipulation, custody, cross-border risks and retail distribution.
IOSCO policy recommendations for decentralised financeIn force 19 December 2023Applies existing standards to DeFi arrangements by identifying responsible persons and addressing governance and disclosure.
BIS Project Agora (tokenized correspondent banking on a unified ledger)In force 27 May 2026Findings published with eight central banks and more than 40 private financial firms on tokenized wholesale settlement and cross-border payments.
BIS Annual Economic Report chapter on the next-generation monetary and financial systemIn force 23 June 2026Sets out the singleness of money, elasticity and integrity as tests for tokenized systems, and argues for tokenized central bank reserves and commercial bank money on a unified ledger.
CPMI-IOSCO application of the Principles for Financial Market Infrastructures to stablecoin arrangementsIn force 13 July 2022Clarifies that systemically important stablecoin arrangements are subject to the PFMI, including governance, settlement finality and money settlement.

Products issued under this regime

  • Project Agora tokenized correspondent banking prototype
  • Project mBridge multi-CBDC cross-border platform
  • Project Pine and other BIS Innovation Hub tokenized-finance experiments
  • SWIFT and Chainlink interoperability pilots for tokenized asset settlement

Market participants

On the record

Every development we have evidenced under Global standard setters, newest first.

Full record →

Project Agorá prototype results published, with real-value testing to follow

The Bank for International Settlements reported that the Project Agorá prototype showed tokenisation of central bank reserves and commercial bank deposits can support atomic multi-currency settlement across jurisdictions while leaving each central bank in control of its own money and preserving transaction privacy. Eight central banks and more than 40 private financial institutions took part, and the project said the work would advance to real-value transactions in certain currencies.

Research Global Tokenized deposits Bank for International Settlements: Project Agorá shows how tokenisation can improve wholesale cross-border payments ↗

Uniswap governance activates the protocol fee switch

Uniswap governance activated the protocol fee switch on Ethereum, directing a share of swap fees to protocol revenue used to buy back and burn UNI. Governance subsequently extended protocol fees to further deployments, with temperature checks on Uniswap v4 fees and on extension to Robinhood Chain posted in July 2026.

Governance Global Uniswap governance forum ↗

Swift says it will add a blockchain-based shared ledger to its infrastructure

Swift said it would build a blockchain-based shared ledger into its infrastructure stack, initially for round-the-clock cross-border payments and the movement of regulated tokenised value, with smart contracts used to record, sequence and validate transactions. More than 30 financial institutions across 16 countries are working on the design, and Consensys was appointed to build the prototype for the first phase.

Standards Global Swift: Swift to add blockchain-based ledger to its infrastructure stack ↗

Project mBridge reaches minimum viable product stage

The central bank partners in Project mBridge announced that the cross-border multi-CBDC settlement platform had reached minimum viable product stage and invited further participants. The founding central banks were the Bank of Thailand, the Central Bank of the United Arab Emirates, the Digital Currency Institute of the People's Bank of China and the Hong Kong Monetary Authority; the Saudi Central Bank joined as a full participant and more than 26 central banks were observing members.

Institutional pilot Global Bank for International Settlements press release ↗

Financial Stability Board finalises its global crypto-asset regulatory framework

The Financial Stability Board published final high-level recommendations for the regulation of crypto-asset activities and of global stablecoin arrangements, built on the principle of same activity, same risk, same regulation. The framework was addressed to national authorities and set out expectations on governance, reserve assets and cross-border cooperation.

Standards Global Stablecoins Financial Stability Board press release ↗

FSB issues ten recommendations on global stablecoin arrangements

The Financial Stability Board published ten high-level recommendations for the regulation, supervision and oversight of global stablecoin arrangements, applying the principle of same business, same risk, same rules and requiring that such arrangements meet applicable standards before they begin operating. The FSB set December 2021 for completion of international standard-setting work and July 2022 for national frameworks consistent with the recommendations.

Standards Global Stablecoins Financial Stability Board: Regulation, Supervision and Oversight of Global Stablecoin Arrangements ↗

Single-collateral Dai activated by MKR vote

Holders of the MKR token voted to activate single-collateral Dai, bringing into operation a dollar-denominated token created against ether locked in collateralised debt positions rather than against bank deposits. A year after launch the system reported close to 80 million Dai in circulation and more than 5,000 collateralised debt positions opened, having held its peg through a roughly 90% fall in the price of ether.

Product launch Global Stablecoins MakerDAO: Happy BirthDAI ↗

Bitcoin white paper circulated on the Cryptography mailing list

A message signed Satoshi Nakamoto posted a paper titled "Bitcoin: A Peer-to-Peer Electronic Cash System" to the Cryptography mailing list, describing a payment system that is "fully peer-to-peer, with no trusted third party" and that orders transactions by hash-based proof-of-work. The design assumed that honest nodes controlling a majority of computing power would extend the longest chain and so prevent double-spending.

Research Global Cryptography mailing list: Bitcoin P2P e-cash paper (Satoshi Nakamoto) ↗

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