Clifford Chance

Welcome to this week's global fintech round-up, summarising fintech regulatory developments that have happened around the world along with our Clifford Chance fintech publications and upcoming events.

Details of these and previous developments can also be found on our Fintech Topic Guide on the Clifford Chance Financial Markets Toolkit.

CLIFFORD CHANCE BRIEFINGS AND MATERIALS

• (25 March 2025) Talking Tech article - The Boundaries of Playing "Fair" When Training AI

GLOBAL LEGAL AND REGULATORY UPDATES, INDUSTRY GUIDANCE AND PUBLICATIONS

Americas

US:

• (25 Mar 2025) Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Crypto Task Force press release announcing it will hold four more roundtables in its ongoing series discussing crypto asset regulation.
• (20 Mar 2025) Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) statement on the mining of cryptoassets that are intrinsically linked to the programmatic functioning of a public, permissionless network, and are used to participate in and/or earned for participating in such network’s consensus mechanism or otherwise used to maintain and/or earned for maintaining the technological operation and security of such network. The statement sets out the SEC's view that such mining activities do not involve the offer and sale of securities within the meaning of Section 2(a)(1) of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 3(a)(10) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934.

APAC

Australia:

• (21 Mar 2025) Australian Treasury statement on developing an innovative Australian digital asset industry. | Webpage

Hong Kong:

• (19 Mar 2025) Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) research paper on distributed ledger technology (DLT) and its potential to transform the financial landscape.

Japan:

• (7 March 2025) The Japanese Government has approved a cabinet decision to amend the Payment Services Act, aimed at adapting to advancements in financial digitalisation and to promote innovation while ensuring user protection, with revisions relating to cryptoassets and electronic payment methods as well as funds transfer business. | Press release (in Japanese)

Europe

EU:

• (20 Mar 2025) Speech by Philip R. Lane, Member of the Executive Board of the European Central Bank (ECB), in which he argued that a digital euro is necessary to preserve the monetary autonomy of Europe and set out the benefits of the digital euro for Europe’s Economic and Monetary Union.
• (20 Mar 2025) The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) has published a list of grandfathering periods decided by Member States under Article 143 of the Markets in Cryptoassets Regulation (MiCA).
• (19 Mar 2025) ESMA has published the official translations of its guidelines on the conditions and criteria for the qualification of cryptoassets as financial instruments under MiCA. Date of application: 18 May 2025.

Switzerland:

• (18 Mar 2025) The Financial Market Supervisory Authority (FINMA) has licensed the first DLT trading facility to date, which permits the trading of DLT securities. The licence was granted on the basis of the Federal Act on the Adaptation of Federal Law to Developments in Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT Act), which entered into force on 1 August 2021. | Press release

UK:

• (23 Mar 2025) HM Treasury and UK Debt Management Office (DMO) policy paper containing information and engagement questions on their pilot Digital Gilt Instrument (DIGIT) issuance using distributed ledger technology (DLT).

EVENTS

• Global Financial Markets Perspectives Series: AI Series: AI litigation and enforcement – the latest trends (online, 3 April 2025): As artificial intelligence becomes mainstream and increasingly advanced, organisations face changing litigation and regulatory enforcement risks. Our panel will discuss key areas of AI-related litigation and enforcement, including privacy issues, cybersecurity, intellectual property, consumer protection and 'AI washing'. Looking at recent cases and enforcement and anticipating potential hotspots in 2025, we will discuss practical approaches to AI risk management for organisations using AI and for financial investors. | To register, please see the event series registration form
• Global Financial Markets Perspectives Series: In conversation with Kenn Cukier – human advantage in an age of technology and turmoil (London, 29 April 2025): As part of Clifford Chance's Ethics Series, we are delighted that Kenn Cukier, Deputy Executive Editor at The Economist, and an AI, technology and data expert, will be in conversation with Clifford Chance lawyer Herbert Swaniker. They will discuss ethical considerations in AI by reference to Kenn's latest book 'Framers: Human Advantage in an Age of Technology and Turmoil' during which he will consider the important role that humanity will continue to play in an age of increasingly sophisticated Artificial Intelligence. | To register, please see the event series registration form