Flash News

TREE NEWS update: The Blockchain Association asked the SEC to raise the offering caps under its Regulation Crypto Assets proposal to $10 million, doubling the current startup exemption, in a comment letter backing the rule. The trade group also urged the Commission to write Howey guidance into the rule and to let third parties file for tokens already trading.

TREE NEWS update: The OCC’s final stablecoin rule retains a two-business-day redemption window and replaces an automatic seven-day extension with one issuers must request, while setting a $5 million capital floor for issuers it oversees. The national bank regulator also backed off a yield test in the final version.

TREE NEWS update: The Shanghai Stock Exchange on Oct. 21 issued a regulatory warning to Nanwei Software Co. and its then-board secretary Zhang Yuan, saying the company’s media interviews and replies on the SSE e-interaction platform did not accurately reflect its AI short-drama and intelligent computing center businesses. The exchange said the disclosures lacked sufficient risk warnings and were only clarified after regulatory prompting, potentially misleading investor decisions.

TREE NEWS update: People’s Bank of China Deputy Governor and SAFE Administrator Zhu Hexin called for steadily deepening the “AI Plus” initiative and accelerating the release of financial data element value, speaking at the 2026 Financial Street Forum fintech conference in Beijing. Zhu said the two fintech development plans for the 14th Five-Year Plan period were fully implemented and outlined four priorities for the 15th Five-Year Plan period, including AI-finance mutual empowerment and risk control.

TREE NEWS update: Xiao Yuanqi, deputy head of China’s National Financial Regulatory Administration, said AI’s application in finance is a systemic transformation rather than a simple technology overlay and requires a sound governance framework, at the 2026 Financial Street Forum fintech conference. He called on financial institutions to strengthen independent R&D in data, models and engineering, keep humans in the loop, and bring AI governance into full-lifecycle management to ensure applications remain safe and controllable.

TREE NEWS update: China’s State Administration for Market Regulation held a special symposium on improving the quality of platform products and services, calling on platforms to fulfill their “gatekeeper” responsibilities under the 2026 task list. The regulator urged platforms to leverage big data to upgrade upstream industrial quality, protect consumer rights, and explore publishing a platform quality governance index report to guide high-quality consumption.

TREE NEWS update: The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency published its final rule implementing the GENIUS Act stablecoin framework, effective Jan. 18. The final rule drops a proposed presumption concerning third-party rewards arrangements. The OCC is the first regulator out of the gate with a finalized rule under the stablecoin law signed by President Trump.

TREE NEWS update: French authorities are proposing changes to EU crypto rules that would require crypto exchanges to conduct checks on DeFi protocols and hold them liable for certain customer losses. The proposal would make exchanges responsible for vetting the decentralized finance protocols they offer access to. The changes target the EU’s existing crypto regulatory framework.

TREE NEWS update: China Securities Regulatory Commission Vice Chairman Liu Haoling said the regulator will explore an AI governance path suited to the realities of China’s capital market, speaking at the 2026 Financial Street Forum fintech conference. He called for a comprehensive governance system covering admission assessment, dynamic monitoring and emergency response across the full lifecycle, and for scientifically defining the boundaries of high-value application scenarios and risk tolerance levels.

TREE NEWS update: The Shanghai Stock Exchange held a mobilization meeting on Oct. 21 for its first batch of active ETFs, with more than 40 executives from nine fund managers and seven securities firms attending. The exchange said it will maintain full-chain oversight of issuance, listing, investment operations and disclosure under a “steady start, step-by-step, strict risk control” approach, aiming to bring more medium- and long-term capital into the A-share market.

TREE NEWS reports: UK banks received 10,000 complaints in 90 days over blocked crypto transfers. Lloyds drew the most complaints despite having no published policy restricting crypto transfers. The figures cover customer grievances filed over a three-month period.

TREE NEWS update: Shinhan and SBI will assess safeguards for travelers and whether stablecoins can speed up trade settlement between South Korea and Japan, using tourist spending as a test case for yen-denominated stablecoins. The companies did not disclose a timeline or the size of the pilot.

TREE NEWS update: Liu Haoling, vice chairman of the China Securities Regulatory Commission, said on May 20 at the 2026 Financial Street Forum that AI governance in capital markets must balance development and security, neither ignoring risks for the sake of technological benefits nor halting progress over risks. He called for a comprehensive governance system covering admission assessment, dynamic monitoring and emergency response across the full lifecycle, and for exploring a credibility assessment framework suited to actual business needs.

TREE NEWS update: The Payment & Clearing Association of China approved membership applications from four entities, including Guizhou Rural Commercial United Bank Co., Ltd., Shanxi Runnong Digital Technology Co., Ltd., Shandong Huixiaobao Information Technology Co., Ltd. and Beijing Tengchun Technology Co., Ltd., admitting them as ordinary members. Membership takes effect from September 16, 2026, the association said in a notice.

TREE NEWS update: China’s National Financial Regulatory Administration held its 2026 International Advisory Committee meeting in Beijing on Oct. 19-20. Vice Premier He Lifeng met committee members that evening and said China is fully implementing its 15th Five-Year Plan and will keep expanding high-level financial opening, welcoming more foreign financial institutions to invest and deepen cooperation in China.

TREE NEWS update: Webull will roll out Kalshi-listed Bitcoin perpetual futures to eligible US futures customers in November, letting them trade the no-expiry crypto contracts from their existing brokerage accounts. The online brokerage said wider access to the contracts is expected before the end of 2026.

TREE NEWS update: China’s Communist Party General Office and State Council General Office issued an opinion on deepening the integration of technological and industrial innovation, stating that national science and technology plan projects with clear industrial application goals should in principle be led by enterprises, which will also drive the commercialization of results. The document also supports universities and research institutes in setting up technology transfer offices and accelerating application through technology transfer, licensing and equity investment.

TREE NEWS update: The General Offices of the CPC Central Committee and the State Council issued an opinion on deepening the integration of technological and industrial innovation. The policy calls on state-owned enterprises to accelerate the creation of R&D reserve funds that are independently accounted and exempt from value-preservation assessments, and allows the National Natural Science Foundation to open pilot programs to private enterprises.

TREE NEWS update: China’s General Office of the Communist Party Central Committee and the General Office of the State Council issued an opinion on deepening the integration of technological and industrial innovation, calling for the full implementation of the “AI Plus” initiative. The document, dated Oct. 21, directs that AI be used to empower all sectors of the economy, alongside accelerated development of the industrial internet and upgrades to traditional manufacturing.

TREE NEWS update: The General Offices of the CPC Central Committee and the State Council issued an opinion on deepening the integration of technological and industrial innovation, proposing relaxed market-access pilots in new business formats and new fields, including a ‘commitment-to-entry’ system. The document also calls for sandbox regulation of new technologies and improved laws and ethical standards in frontier areas such as artificial intelligence and biotechnology.