US Regulators Redraw Crypto Rulebook in Sweeping Policy Shift

Hi! In today’s edition:

• 🏛️ U.S. regulators say most crypto is not a security

• 🧭 CFTC allows Phantom to connect wallets to derivatives markets

• 🤖 World and Coinbase launch human backed AI agent toolkit

Today’s newsletter is brought to you by Adaptive Security!

In crypto, the biggest losses don’t start with malware — they start with trust: a “founder” on a deepfake call asking for an urgent transfer, a cloned vendor voice “confirming” new banking details, or a perfectly-written email/DM that looks internal and reroutes funds.

Adaptive Security helps teams catch these AI-powered attacks before money moves:

• Deepfake + social engineering simulations across channels

• AI Content Creator that turns new threats, policies, or compliance needs into interactive, multilingual training in minutes

Trusted by Fortune 500s, Adaptive is backed by NVIDIA and OpenAI. 

U.S. Regulators Shift Course as Most Crypto Deemed Non-Securities

In a major policy pivot, the SEC and CFTC have jointly clarified that most crypto assets are not securities, ending years of regulatory ambiguity. The new guidance introduces a token taxonomy, separating assets into categories like stablecoins, digital commodities, and digital tools, while limiting securities treatment to a narrower class of “digital securities.”

SEC Chair Paul Atkins framed the shift clearly, saying the agency is no longer the “securities and everything commission.” The guidance also outlines when a token does become a security, focusing on whether it is sold with promises of profit tied to managerial efforts.

The changes go beyond classification. Regulators clarified rules around staking, mining, and airdrops, and the CFTC issued a no-action letter stating non-custodial wallets are not intermediaries.

As legal expert Jake Chervinsky put it, “Surreal,” highlighting the scale of change. He also pointed to plans for a “Reg Crypto” safe harbor for token issuers.

Taken together, the updates signal a clear shift toward pro-innovation policy, with regulators finally drawing lines the industry has been asking for.

CFTC Clears Path for Phantom to Bridge Crypto Wallets and Derivatives

Regulators just handed crypto wallets a meaningful win. The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission said it will not pursue enforcement action against Phantom for connecting users to regulated derivatives markets, allowing the self custodial wallet to expand its product without registering as a broker.

The decision hinges on one key point. Phantom is treated as a passive interface, not an intermediary. Users will interact directly with registered exchanges and brokers, while Phantom simply provides the front end to view markets and submit trades.

The relief comes with guardrails. Phantom must disclose risks, maintain compliance policies, and keep records tied to derivatives activity. It also does not cover DeFi derivatives or prediction markets, leaving a large part of crypto still in regulatory limbo.

Still, the signal is important. Regulators are beginning to draw clearer lines around non custodial software, especially tools that do not touch user funds.

For the industry, this could become a blueprint. If upheld or expanded through future rulemaking, it opens the door for wallets to plug directly into traditional financial rails without becoming full fledged financial intermediaries.

World and Coinbase Launch Toolkit for Human-Backed AI Agents

World, the digital identity project co-founded by OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, has launched AgentKit, a developer toolkit designed to help AI agents prove they are backed by a real human when interacting online. The beta product integrates with x402, an open protocol developed by Coinbase and Cloudflare that allows automated agents to make micropayments when accessing websites, APIs and services.

The goal is to address a growing challenge as AI agents begin performing tasks that once required humans, such as booking reservations or shopping online. Platforms often treat automated traffic as suspicious, blocking it outright.

AgentKit connects agents to World ID, a system that uses cryptographic verification to confirm that an individual is a unique human without revealing their identity. According to World, this allows developers to build what it calls “human-backed agents.”

“Payments are the ‘how’ of agentic commerce, but identity is the ‘who,’” said Erik Reppel, head of engineering at the Coinbase Developer Platform and founder of x402. He said combining payments with identity verification creates a “complete trust stack” for AI agents operating online.

DC Builder, a research engineer at the World Foundation, said the challenge is distinguishing legitimate agents from automated bot networks. “Proof of human addresses this gap by allowing websites to verify that an agent represents a unique person without revealing who that person is.”

World says its network currently includes about 18 million verified users across more than 160 countries.

Uneasy Money 

A $50M DeFi swap returned $36,000. Aave and CoW Swap each published a post-mortem. They don't agree on what went wrong. 

Today on Uneasy Money, Kain Warwick and the crew take them apart — plus the EF's CROPS mandate, Nvidia's AI agents, the Polymarket bettor who threatened a war journalist over a losing bet, and more! 

Join us at 4:00 pm ET on X, YouTube or PumpFun.

• 🚫🇦🇷 An Argentine court ordered a nationwide block of Polymarket, forcing internet providers to restrict access and app stores to remove it after authorities argued the platform functioned as an unregulated online betting system without proper user safeguards.

• 📈🌐 Hyperliquid’s HIP-3 trading markets surged to $1.43 billion in open positions, driven largely by 24/7 trading of tokenized versions of stocks and commodities like the S&P 500 and gold, showing rising demand for nonstop access to traditional assets on crypto rails.

• 🏛️⚖️ U.S. lawmakers signaled a possible breakthrough on stablecoin yield rules, a key sticking point in a broader crypto market bill, as regulators debate whether companies like Coinbase can offer interest-like returns on dollar-backed tokens before upcoming election deadlines.

• 🏦🔗 A group of U.S. regional banks is building the Cari Network on ZKsync, a blockchain scaling platform, to turn regular bank deposits into digital tokens, allowing instant transfers between banks while keeping funds inside the regulated financial system to compete with stablecoins.

• 💳💰 Mastercard agreed to acquire BVNK, a U.K.-based stablecoin infrastructure firm, for up to $1.8 billion, aiming to connect blockchain-based dollar tokens with its global payments network to enable faster cross-border transfers and business payments as stablecoin usage surges.

• 🤝📊 GSR, one of the oldest crypto market-making firms, acquired Autonomous and Architech for $57 million to create a single platform that helps crypto projects design tokens, raise funds, manage treasuries, and access markets instead of relying on fragmented service providers.

• 🇭🇰💼 RedotPay, a Hong Kong-based stablecoin payments company, is exploring a $150 million fundraising round ahead of a potential U.S. IPO valuing it above $4 billion, despite internal executive turnover and ongoing leadership changes.

• 🌍💸 TransFi, a lesser-known stablecoin payments startup, raised $19.2 million to expand its cross-border payment network across emerging markets, using digital dollars to move money faster and cheaper than traditional systems like SWIFT while scaling operations in over 70 countries.

1. Bloomberg: How Eric Trump Became an Ally of One of China’s Biggest Crypto Companies

2. DL News: Here’s what crypto needs to pass the Clarity Act, according to these lawmakers