Regulatory Compliance & Growth in the U.S.A & Abroad
DARA
Digital Asset Regulatory Authority
A Self Regulated Organization
Presented By:
DARA U.S & DARA International
Blockchain Legal Institute Foundation
Digital Asset & Tech News From Around The USA
- Follow DARA on LinkedIn for News Posts
- Federal & State Updates
- Special Speaker: Louis Sirico, Fluidefi
- Position Papers & Outreach
- Next Steps
Phrase of the Week on Twitter
Centralization
A system architecture where control and authority are concentrated in a single entity or small group of entities under common control. Central authority may exercise control over rules and operations of the system, maintain custody of user assets and data, and control who can access the system. This is different from decentralized systems where no one person or group of persons has unilateral control over the system or user assets.
Distributed Ledger Technology
A mechanism for storing and communicating data across a peer-to-peer network, where multiple independent nodes share authority and maintain synchronized copies of the same information without requiring a central server, using a consensus mechanisms to validate transactions. Public blockchains are a type of distributed ledger technology that enables nodes to communicate with other nodes, validate transactions according to network rules, maintain copies of the ledger, and optionally participate in block creation.
Federal Updates
One January 13, 2026, a subsequent notice clarified that the Agriculture Committee’s legislative text will be released on January 21, with the reschedule markup set for January 27, 2026.
On January 29, 2026, the Senate Agriculture (Ag) Committee advanced the Digital Commodity Intermediaries Act out of Committee by a party line vote of 12-11
On January 12, 2026, U.S. Senator Cynthia Lummis (R-WY), the Senate Banking Digital Assets Subcommittee Chair, and Senator Ron Wyden (D-OR) introduced the Blockchain Regulatory Certainty Act (BRCA) of 2026, which would provide critical protections for software developers and infrastructure providers of noncustodial, decentralized technologies—ensuring they will not be inaccurately and improperly treated as “money transmitters” under the Bank Secrecy Act and criminal law.
The bill contains statutory developer protections in Section 207, protecting noncustodial software developers and infrastructure providers from improper regulatory treatment.
Notably, the BRCA was previously introduced on the House-side, sponsored by Representatives Tom Emmer (R-MN), Ritchie Torres (D-NY), Huizenga Bill (R-MI), Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ), and Warren Davidson (R-OH). In July 2025, it passed out of the House as part of the Clarity Act, underscoring the bill’s bipartisan support. The updated draft of the bill explicitly provides for federal preemption, solidifying a single federal framework for money transmission regulation and preventing a patchwork of state laws.
SEC/CFTC Crypto Project
Some Highlights: With respect to prediction markets and event contracts, Chair Selig announced a significant policy shift.
He directed staff to withdraw the CFTC’s 2024 proposed rule that would have restricted political and sports-related event contracts, as well as a 2025 staff advisory notice that had cautioned registrants regarding sports-related event contracts. He further instructed staff to move forward with a new event contracts rulemaking designed to establish clearer and more workable standards for these products.
Market participants should expect an accelerated pace of rulemaking and guidance affecting token classification, trading platforms, custody and collateral arrangements, derivatives products, and event markets.
SEC
On December 12, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) announced its conditional approval of five national trust bank charter applications. Applicants who were accepted include Ripple.
Comptroller Jonathan V. Gould said the OCC views new entrants as supportive of competition and innovation in the federal banking system, and emphasized that each application received the same rigorous review as any other charter filing.
On December 11, SEC staff in the Division of Trading and Markets issued a no-action letter to The Depository Trust Company (DTC), stating it would not recommend enforcement action under Regulation SCI, Exchange Act Section 19(b)/Rule 19b-4, and certain clearing-agency standards (Rules 17Ad-22(e) and 17Ad-25(i),(j)) for DTC’s pilot “DTCC Tokenization Services.”
The voluntary pilot would let DTC participants tokenize security entitlements to certain eligible securities and transfer those “tokenized entitlements” directly between registered participant wallets, while DTC tracks transfers (including via LedgerScan) and records them on its official books and records; the underlying securities remain registered to Cede & Co. Commissioner Hester Peirce said the pilot is an incremental step toward moving markets onchain, and framed the SEC’s approach as iterative.
Business Applications
Major US lender Newrez to recognise crypto for mortgage qualification.This means eligible crypto holdings can be used when verifying assets or estimating income to help customers qualify for a mortgage without having to liquidate. An adjusted valuation will apply to crypto assets to account for market volatility.
Spot Markets
On January 12, 2026, DEFI Education Fund published an educational blog entitled “Digital Asset Spot Market Regulation: Distinguishing CeFi vs. DeFi.” The new blog explains how digital commodities and decentralized, noncustodial markets work, and why developer protections matter in market structure legislation. It highlights the key distinctions between centralized, custodial (CeFi) spot markets and decentralized, non-custodial (DeFi) spot markets—distinctions that should be reflected in final bipartisan market structure legislation.
You can read the full blog here.
Artificial Intelligence
On January 14, the Senate Executive Departments and Administration Committee will meet to discuss SB 640, which prohibits the use of AI to provide services requiring a professional license, unless those services are provided by someone with a license. New Hampshire
WISCONSIN
On January 14, the Assembly Committee on Science, Technology, and AI will meet to discuss AB 415, which prohibits state employees and contractors from downloading, using, or accessing a social media platform, software application, or artificial intelligence tool that is owned or operated by an entity located in a foreign country of concern.
Indiana is at the forefront of AI energy consumption in the United States, with data centers using 47.2% of the state’s total power output, according to a January 2026 report by Texas Royalty Brokers. This is nearly seven times the national average.
Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer (D) signed two bills, SB 158 and HB 4262, both of which offer consumer protections with the Event Online Ticket Sales Act which regulates the online sale of tickets for entertainment events in Michigan and prohibits the use of automated bots and related deceptive practices.
Utah has become the first state to allow patients to renew medical prescriptions using artificial intelligence. Through a press release on January 6, the Utah Department of Commerce’s Office of Artificial Intelligence Policy announced a partnership with Doctronic, the AI-native health platform, to give patients with chronic conditions a faster, automated way to renew medications.
Congressional Research Service
On December 3, the Congressional Research Service published an updated In Focus report titled “Central Bank Digital Currencies,” describing policy considerations related to a U.S. CBDC, stablecoins, and digital payments.
The report covered Federal Reserve and Executive actions, design considerations, and issues for Congress. Questions raised included the extent to which “a CBDC would displace private activity,” the extent to which “a CBDC could promote financial inclusion,” whether “any shift from private bank accounts to a CBDC would increase financial stability,” privacy and technical challenges and their implications for the Federal Reserve, whether “a CBDC would improve the effectiveness of monetary policy,” potential CBDC-rooted challenges to the role of the USD in the global economy, and the instruments available to Congress to “hasten or prohibit the adoption of a CBDC.”
Secretary of Treasury
On December 10, 2025, the Financial Stability Oversight Council (FSOC), chaired by the U.S. Secretary of the Treasury, released its 2025 Annual Report, which devotes a section to digital assets with subsections covering regulatory framework and market structure, tokenization, stablecoins and payments, banking sector, illicit finance, and continued monitoring and further action. The report notes that “The Council can serve as a valuable forum for interagency information sharing and monitoring with a focus on understanding interconnections between digital assets, financial institutions, markets, and households. Council member agencies will work to faithfully and expeditiously implement the provisions of the GENIUS Act as required by law.”
Technology Update Guest Speaker
Louis Sirico - FluiDefi
FLUIDEFI is an award winning platform and professional services provider. FluiDefi’s team specializes in AI, blockchain, decentralized finance (DeFi), compliance, and confidential computing.They build bespoke solutions for banks, law enforcement agencies, big 5 accounting firms, layer 1 blockchains, and hedge funds.
Louis Sirico
He is the Chief Technology Officer of FLUIDEFI®, an award-winning FinTech company with offices in Montreal and Maryland. He is an patented AI inventor, cloud architect, developer, published writer, & former TV show host. He has held technical positions at the FBI crime lab, DoD, DoE, as well as IBM, and was nominated for Entrepreneur of the Year by the Entrepreneur Council of Maryland. He is also the blockchain technical expert for Bloomberg Law and publishes monthly articles.
Today’s Topics Include:
- Seizing digital assets & cryptocurrencies on a blockchain
- Self custody or third party custodians?
- Evidence Management & Reporting
Additional Resources
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