1. Argentina: The CNV lifts the suspension against Belo.
In our previous edition, we reported that the Argentina’s National Securities Commission (“CNV”) had ordered the immediate cessation of all activities related to ARGt, a peso-pegged stablecoin offered by Belo, a crypto wallet and payments application, on the grounds that its yield-bearing structure, offering returns of up to 32% per annum.
Through Resolution No. 23,515, the CNV lifted the precautionary measure after Belo removed all references to yields or returns associated with holding ARGt, redefining the asset exclusively as a digital payment instrument with no expectation of benefit from mere ownership.
2. Argentina: The BCRA establishes a new disciplinary regime for PSPs.
April was a significant month for payment service providers (“PSPs”) on the regulatory front. The Central Bank of Argentina (“BCRA”) Communication “A” 8411/2026, fully effective during the month, redefines the disciplinary regime applicable to the sector, placing PSPs in the same group as financial institutions in terms of the nature of offenses and the scale of sanctions.
Service unavailability, delays in the settlement or crediting of funds, and deficiencies in operational continuity are now expressly sanctionable. For digital wallets and payment platforms, this means a concrete review of internal service level agreements, processor agreements, and contingency plans is no longer optional.
Among the key new responsibilities PSPs must now address:
- Service continuity: maintaining minimum availability standards for users, with downtime now constituting a sanctionable offense on par with those applicable to financial institutions.
- Settlement timeliness: ensuring funds are credited and settled within the required timeframes, with delays subject to the same disciplinary scale as banks.
- Operational resilience: implementing and documenting technical contingency plans capable of withstanding disruptions to critical infrastructure.
- Third-party oversight: reviewing agreements with processors and infrastructure providers to ensure contractual standards align with BCRA’s new supervisory expectations.
- Internal controls: strengthening governance and control frameworks to meet the heightened scrutiny now applicable to the sector.
3. Hong Kong: The HKMA grants the first stablecoin issuer licenses to traditional banks.
The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (“HKMA”) granted the first two licenses under the Stablecoins Ordinance, which entered into force in August 2025. The licensees were granted to HSBC Bank and Anchorpoint Financial Limited. Of the 36 applications evaluated in the first round, only those previously mentioned were approved.
The framework imposes stringent requirements, including full 1:1 backing with high-quality liquid assets segregated from the issuer’s own funds, mandatory redemption within one business day, a prohibition on paying any form of return to token holders, and the application of the travel rule to transfers above certain amount, with identity verification of the recipient embedded directly into the smart contracts. This last point structurally differentiates Hong Kong-regulated stablecoins from freely transferable tokens such as USDT or USDC.
4. U.S.: The OCC conditionally approves Coinbase’s national trust charter.
The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (“OCC”) granted conditional approval to Coinbase for its national trust charter application, authorizing the creation of the Coinbase National Trust Company. The new entity will operate as an uninsured trust bank, focused exclusively on digital asset custody and investment management services for institutional clients.
The approval is particularly significant in light of a regulatory change that took effect on April 1, 2026, which clarified that national trust banks may engage in non-fiduciary custody activities, resolving a long-standing legal ambiguity that had limited the application of trust charters to crypto custody businesses.
5. U.S.: The SEC publicly acknowledges overreach in its crypto enforcement strategy.
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) published its FY2025 enforcement review, in which the agency publicly distanced itself from the crypto enforcement approach that had defined the prior administration. The review characterized several recently dismissed crypto cases as evidence that prior leadership had prioritized volume and headlines over measurable investor harm.
The SEC stated that a series of book-and-record enforcement actions and penalties brought since FY2022, together with crypto firm registration-related cases and “definition of a dealer” actions, had identified no direct investor harm, produced no investor benefit or protection, and reflected what the agency itself described as a misinterpretation of the federal securities laws.
