Today in crypto, the US Securities and Exchange Commission issued new stablecoin guidelines, Malta’s Financial Intelligence Analysis Unit (FIAU) fined OKX’s Europe-based arm for Anti-Money Laundering (AML) failures, and Genius Group says a US court order is forcing it to reduce its Bitcoin holdings.
SEC lays out guidelines for stablecoins, excludes algorithmic tokens
The United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) released a statement on April 4 establishing guidelines for stablecoins.
In an April 4 statement, the agency minted a new term, “covered stablecoins,” classifying them as non-securities and exempting such tokens’ transactions from reporting requirements.
According to the SEC’s definition, a “covered stablecoin” is fully backed by physical fiat reserves or short-term, low-risk, highly liquid instruments and is fully redeemable at a 1:1 ratio with US dollars.
The definition precludes algorithmic stablecoins that maintain their US dollar peg using software or an automated trading strategy, leaving the regulatory status of algorithmic stablecoins, synthetic dollars, and yield-bearing fiat tokens uncertain.
Current stablecoin market overview. Source: RWA.XYZ
Industry leaders and executives are currently pushing for regulatory changes that would allow stablecoin issuers to share yield opportunities with stablecoin holders and offer onchain interest.
According to the new guidelines, covered stablecoin issuers must never co-mingle asset reserves with operational capital or offer tokenholders interest, profit, or yield opportunities. Additionally, the covered stablecoin issuers must never use their reserves for investing or market speculation.
Malta regulator fines OKX crypto exchange $1.2 million for past AML breaches
Cryptocurrency exchange OKX is under regulatory scrutiny in Europe after Maltese authorities issued a fine for violations of Anti-Money Laundering (AML) laws in the past.
Malta’s Financial Intelligence Analysis Unit (FIAU) fined Okcoin Europe — OKX’s Europe-based arm — 1.1 million euros ($1.2 million) after detecting multiple AML failures on the platform in 2023, the authority announced on April 3.
While admitting that OKX has significantly improved its AML policies in the past 18 months, the authority “could not ignore” its compliance failures from 2023, “some of which were deemed to be serious and systematic,” the FIAU said.
OKX was among the first crypto exchanges to receive a license under Europe’s new Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) regulation via its Malta hub in January 2025.
The FIAU stated that at the time of the compliance examination in 2023, OKX compiled a business risk assessment (BRA) in an attempt to identify threats and vulnerabilities.
The regulators found multiple deficiencies within the BRA’s methodology, making OKX unable to properly access the money laundering risks it was exposed to and to take necessary measures to manage them, it said.
Some of those risks included potential threats from the use of cryptocurrency mixers or tumblers, privacy coins, stablecoins and the usage of tokens on decentralized exchanges.
An excerpt from FIAU’s penalty statement to Okcoin Europe. Source: FIAU
A spokesperson for OKX did not respond to Cointelegraph’s request to comment on whether the exchange admitted to such wrongdoing in the past.
“With this chapter behind us, OKX remains focused on the future — continuing to build a secure, transparent, and compliant platform for our users worldwide,” the representative said.
Genius Group says it’s been banned from buying more Bitcoin
Singapore-based artificial intelligence firm Genius Group says it’s temporarily barred from expanding its Bitcoin treasury after a US court order has banned it from selling shares, raising funds and using investor funds to buy more Bitcoin.
Source: Roger James Hamilton
A New York District court issued the preliminary injunction (PI) and temporary restraining order (TRO) on March 13 in connection with a broader dispute surrounding its merger with Fatbrain AI, the Genius Group said in an April 3 statement.
“Genius is taking all necessary measures to minimize Bitcoin sales but anticipates that it will need to downsize its Bitcoin Treasury in the coming months in the event the PI remains in place,” the firm said.
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