This Week's Global Regulatory Movements

China continues strict enforcement of its comprehensive ban on crypto trading and private stablecoins, and regulators recently held a multi agency meeting (late November) to re emphasize that virtual currencies have no legal tender status and that stablecoins are viewed as systemic risks, including for illicit cross border flows. This stance limits any compliant DeFiFinancial systems built on blockchain that operate without intermediaries like banks, NFTA unique digital asset representing ownership of specific content, like art or music, or tokenisation stack targeting onshore users, and pushes structuring toward Hong Kong, Singapore, or UAE, even when technology or AIAI systems that learn patterns from data without explicit programming teams are based in mainland China.

China is simultaneously promoting the digital yuanChina's retail CBDC issued by People's Bank of China for domestic and international use as the only legitimate digital currency rail, which directly affects cross border settlement experiments and any AIAI systems that learn patterns from data without explicit programming blockchainA decentralized, digital ledger of transactions maintained across multiple computers pilots that might otherwise have used public chains or USD stablecoins. From an AI governance perspective, the near term developments to watch this week are sectoral: content platform and device level rules (e.g., scrutiny of AI enabled phones) rather than new horizontal AI or tokenisation statutes.

Korea is on a tight political timetable to introduce and pass the Digital Asset Basic Act, with a government proposal deadline around 10 December and a target to pass the law in an extraordinary National Assembly session in January 2026. The bill would create a comprehensive framework for digital assets and, crucially, require any won backed stablecoinA cryptocurrency pegged to a stable asset, such as USD or gold to be issued through consortia in which banks holdA misspelling of 'hold,' used to mean holding onto cryptocurrency for long-term gains at least 50-51% of equity, which is critical for DeFiFinancial systems built on blockchain that operate without intermediaries like banks, on chainA decentralized, digital ledger of transactions maintained across multiple computers FX, and tokenised deposit designs.

Separately, there is political momentum to impose "no fault liability" on exchanges after a major hack: exchanges would have to compensate users without proof of negligence, which materially changes operational risk, insurance, and smart contract auditProfessional review of smart contract code for vulnerabilities and bugs expectations for platforms servicing Korean clients. This week, the key practical action is watching draft text leaks and policy statements around the Basic Act, because details on NFTs, tokenisation, and AIAI systems that learn patterns from data without explicit programming risk controls may be refined before the January session.

Thailand already has a digital asset licensing regime; current movements are more about ecosystem development and data centre/AIAI systems that learn patterns from data without explicit programming infrastructure than new primary crypto or AI statutes in the next few days. Vietnam has recently streamlined approvals for ICT and data centre projects and is positioning itself as an emerging hub for AI and cloud, which indirectly impacts data protection, localisation, and infrastructure choices for exchanges and tokenisation platforms serving Vietnamese clients.

Across Southeast Asia, regulators are tightening data centre and data sovereignty expectations, stressing that AIAI systems that learn patterns from data without explicit programming workloads and digital asset platforms must address energy, cybersecurity, and cross border data transfer risks, so any multi jurisdictional DeFiFinancial systems built on blockchain that operate without intermediaries like banks or tokenisation stack should be mapping data flows through Thai, Vietnamese, and Indonesian facilities this week as new guidance lands from infrastructure and telecom regulators rather than pure financial services bodies. There is no indication of a brand new, region wide digital asset statute taking effect this week, but the trajectory is toward more prescriptive cloud/AI/data centre compliance that will intersect with VASPEntity providing services related to virtual assets, subject to AML regulations due diligenceProcess of verifying customer identity and assessing risk requirements.

Singapore continues to be singled out in comparative studies as one of the most mature and AIAI systems that learn patterns from data without explicit programming enabled digital asset regulatory environments, and recent analysis published just days ago highlights MAS's combination of strict licensing, crypto specific AMLRegulatory framework requiring financial institutions to detect and prevent money laundering, terrorist financing, and other illicit financial activities rules, and requirements to segregate client digital payment tokenA digital asset built on an existing blockchain, often representing utility or value assets in statutory trusts. This directly impacts exchangeA platform where users can buy, sell, or trade cryptocurrencies and custody structures and is particularly relevant for cross border platforms using Singapore as a hub for tokenised RWAs, programmable money, or AI driven compliance analytics.

MAS has also finalised a stablecoinA cryptocurrency pegged to a stable asset, such as USD or gold framework and participates in regional work on AIAI systems that learn patterns from data without explicit programming and blockchainA decentralized, digital ledger of transactions maintained across multiple computers based analytics for real time financial crime detection, so internal work this week for firms should include aligning stablecoin and DeFiFinancial systems built on blockchain that operate without intermediaries like banks offerings with Singapore's custody, segregation, and disclosure expectations, and ensuring that AI monitoring tools meet local data protection and model governance standards. No specific new Act is scheduled to "go live" this week, but supervisory expectations around AI enabled AMLRegulatory framework requiring financial institutions to detect and prevent money laundering, terrorist financing, and other illicit financial activities and cross border travel ruleRequirement to share sender and recipient information for crypto transactions above a threshold compliance are tightening in practice.

The UAE is consolidating its position as a virtual assetFATF term for digital value representation tradable or transferable electronically hub, with Dubai's VARA and federal level regimes (including ADGM) providing licensing pathways for exchanges, tokenisation projects, and custody providers, and recent commentary frames this as part of a broader "roadmap for virtual asset leadership." Current regulatory focus includes preparing for adoption of the OECD Crypto Asset Reporting Framework (CARF) by 2027, which requires firms this week to start planning cross border tax reporting and KYC/AMLRegulatory framework requiring financial institutions to detect and prevent money laundering, terrorist financing, and other illicit financial activities data pipelines rather than waiting for last minute implementation.

The UAE is also pushing Sharia compliant crypto offerings and using AIAI systems that learn patterns from data without explicit programming and blockchain analyticsTools tracing cryptocurrency transactions and identifying risks for compliance purposes to support supervision and market integrity, which affects how AI driven risk scoring and transaction monitoringAutomated surveillance of wallet activity for AML red flags and sanctions risks should be designed for Islamic finance aligned tokenisation products. At the AI blockchainA decentralized, digital ledger of transactions maintained across multiple computers intersection, regulatory posture for the coming months is about encouraging tokenisation of RWAs and institutional adoption within clear licensing and reporting lines, not banning experimentation, but the expectation is that AI tools used for compliance must be explainable and auditable.

Saudi Arabia is moving toward launching regulated, possibly state backed stablecoins under the joint purview of the Capital Market Authority and the Saudi Central Bank as part of Vision 2030, with recent public statements confirming active work on the regime. Although crypto is not yet legal tender, the policy narrative sees regulated stablecoins as enablers for digital payments, trade, real estate tokenisation, and retail and e commerce loyalty use cases, all of which directly touch tokenisation and DeFiFinancial systems built on blockchain that operate without intermediaries like banks rails.

For this week, the practical implication is that stakeholders should assume a forthcoming licensing and Sharia compliance framework for stablecoins and design AIAI systems that learn patterns from data without explicit programming and analytics stacks that can operate under central bank oversight and support consumer protection and financial crime prevention objectives. The Saudi-UAE cooperation on digital currency initiatives also means that cross border settlement and interoperabilityThe ability of different blockchain networks to communicate and work together seamlessly questions should be on the radar for any regional DeFiFinancial systems built on blockchain that operate without intermediaries like banks or tokenised asset projects starting structuring work now.

Brazil has just put into place a comprehensive crypto asset framework via three central bank resolutions (519, 520, 521) that operationalise the 2022 Virtual AssetsFATF term for digital value representation tradable or transferable electronically Law, creating a licensing category for virtual asset service firms (SPSAVs) and setting governance, security, and prudential expectations. Deadlines are tight, with a February 2026 entry into force plus a nine month grace period, so this week is squarely within firms' internal gap analysis and license preparation windows, especially for cross border custodians, exchanges, and DeFiFinancial systems built on blockchain that operate without intermediaries like banks gateways.

In AIAI systems that learn patterns from data without explicit programming governance, Brazil's Senate has advanced a landmark AI bill with risk tiering and heavy sanctions, and a lower house special committee is holding hearings through late 2025 with a possible floor vote in early 2026, making this week part of an active consultation and lobbying phase. Combined with the new AI Plan for 2024-2028, this means that digital asset and tokenisation projects deployed in Brazil must plan for both financial regulation compliance and AI risk obligations (documentation, audits, and impact assessments) when using AI for trading, credit, or compliance decisions.

For AIAI systems that learn patterns from data without explicit programming governance, the EU AI Act is already partially in force: certain high risk and prohibited use provisions apply, and additional due diligenceProcess of verifying customer identity and assessing risk, transparency, and GPAI requirements ramp up around 2 August 2025, including obligations for providers of large models to keep internal "black box" documentation and publish high level training data summaries. This week, the Commission has signalled targeted amendments to strengthen the AI Office and centralise oversight of general purpose AI models, while extending some simplifications for SMEs, which matters directly for AI driven DeFiFinancial systems built on blockchain that operate without intermediaries like banks, trading, or compliance tools offered as services into the EU.

On digital assets, MiCAAn EU regulatory framework standardizing crypto rules for issuers and service providers is in its transitional phase, creating a harmonised licensing regime but with staggered application dates for different actors, leading to near term uncertainty as member states phase out national regimes. For tokenisation and cross border compliance this week, the priority is mapping MiCA licensing, ART/EMT categorisation, and the intersection with EU level AMLRegulatory framework requiring financial institutions to detect and prevent money laundering, terrorist financing, and other illicit financial activities rules and sectoral regulations (DORA, PSD2/3, data protection) for any AIAI systems that learn patterns from data without explicit programming enhanced crypto, NFTA unique digital asset representing ownership of specific content, like art or music, or RWATangible assets represented on-chain platform targeting EU clients.