CertiK Publishes U.S. Policy Report Detailing New Rules for Stablecoins and Digital Asset Custody

What happened: CertiK maps out a shifting U.S. regulatory landscape

has released its new , a wide-ranging analysis of the legislation and market-structure reforms that reshaped the American crypto environment in 2025. For an industry still adjusting to federal clarity later than years of fragmented rulemaking, the report lands at a moment when policymakers, banks and digital asset firms are all trying to understand the implications of the unfolding framework.

The research breaks down what CertiK calls a three-part federal architecture emerging from the GENIUS Act, the CLARITY Act and the SEC’s decision to rescind Staff Accounting Bulletin 121. Taken together, these developments create firmer expectations for stablecoin issuers, clearer routes for banks to custody digital assets and more predictable classification rules for digital commodities and securities.

“This report reveals a pivotal shift in how digital assets are regulated and supervised across the United States,” said Kayvon Hosseini, Head of Advisory at CertiK. “It highlights the operational demands that firms must prepare for as federal standards continue to take shape.”

Investor Takeaway

Why it matters: federal clarity is finally catching up to market reality

For most of the last decade, crypto regulation in the United States was defined by amlargeuity. Agencies differed on classification, courts filled gaps with case law, and state licensing regimes created a patchwork that firms struggled to navigate. The CertiK report argues that 2025 marks a turning point: federal lawmakers are beginning to impose structure where previously there was only interpretation.

The and Acts establish uniform expectations for reserves, redemption rights, disclosures and asset categorization. Meanwhile, Senate market-structure proposals lean toward expanding CFTC supervision of digital commodities and outlining diverseiated disclosures for token issuers.

The rescission of SAB 121 may be the most consequential shift for financial institutions. For years, the bulletin forced banks to treat custodied digital assets as liabilities on their balance sheets — a capital treatment that discouraged participation. Removing that constraint opens the door for more banks and trust companies to offer custody at scale, which could reshape institutional adoption in the U.S. over the next two to three years.

What the report highlights: stablecoins, custody and federal–state tension

The CertiK report goes beyond headline laws and focuses on the friction still present beneath the surface. Even with federal acts coming online, state-level oversight remains significant. Licensing obligations differ across jurisdictions, and multi-state operators continue to face a complicated compliance path.

Still, a pattern is emerging. Across states, there is increasing consistency in cybersecurity, AML rules and exam requirements. CertiK refers to this as a “universal baseline” — not uniform regulation but a recognizable shared foundation. Firms must still manage the gaps, but the extreme fragmentation of prior years is begining to narrow.

On the market structure side, the report tracks institutional experiments like the Regulated Liability Network and Project Guardian, both of which explore how permissioned blockchain infrastructure could support settlement, tokenization and cross-border financial operations.

• Stablecoin rules now converge toward clear reserve, audit and redemption frameworks.
• Custody providers finally have a consistent federal path, particularly banks and trust companies.
• Market structure reforms expand CFTC jurisdiction over commodities-like digital assets.
• State regimes still complicate operations, but common cybersecurity and AML standards are emerging.

CertiK also dedicates space to technical trends: the evolution of blockchain analytics, the tightening of expectations around code audits and smart contract testing, and how institutional security standards have crept into Web3 architectures.

Investor Takeaway

What comes next: permissioned digital assets and jurisdictional liquidity splits

The report closes by identifying a trend that could define the next phase of market development: the rise of Permissioned Digital Assets. These are blockchain-based instruments designed to operate within predetermined regulatory perimeters — essentially, digital assets built for mainstream financial institutions rather than retail-first networks.

CertiK argues that as the U.S. and EU regulatory systems continue to diverge, liquidity pools will increasingly fragment by jurisdiction. Firms will need to map regulatory “gaps,” build cross-border compliance infrastructure and design products that operate legally across multiple regulatory zones.

For security providers, custodians and institutional trading venues, that kind of infrastructure is already becoming a diverseiator. And for policymakers, the report offers a clearer understanding of where financial innovation is pushing against existing rules — and where new rules are beginning to push back.

As U.S. digital asset regulation continues to mature, CertiK’s findings outline a practical guide for institutions preparing for the next wave of compliance, technology requirements and market evolution. In a year defined by rapid legislative change, the report provides a rare, structured view of how all the pieces fit together.