Crypto regulation in the world: weekly digest #137

USA

On March 6, 2025, U.S. President Donald Trump signed an executive order establishing a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve and a U.S. Digital Asset Stockpile. This move positions the United States as a leader in government digital asset strategy, treating Bitcoin as a reserve asset akin to gold.

The reserve will be capitalized with Bitcoin seized by the U.S. government through criminal or civil asset forfeiture processes. Other agencies may transfer their Bitcoin holdings to the reserve if legally permissible. Also, the country will not sell Bitcoin held in the Strategic Bitcoin Reserve; it will serve as a store of value.

The Secretaries of Treasury and Commerce are authorized to develop budget-neutral strategies for acquiring additional Bitcoin without imposing costs on taxpayers. This will consist of other digital assets seized by the government, but no additional assets will be acquired beyond those obtained through forfeiture.

The Reserve, as proposed by President Donald Trump, will include several cryptocurrencies, first of all Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), Ripple (XRP), Solana (SOL) and Cardano (ADA).

The announcement led to a surge in the market value of selected cryptocurrencies initially but later resulted in a decline as it became clear that no new government purchases would be made. The move has been seen as a significant policy shift, positioning the U.S. as a major player in the cryptocurrency sector.

Israel

Israel has introduced a preliminary design for a central bank digital currency (CBDC), known as the digital shekel. Here are the key points about this development:

The proposed digital shekel is designed to serve both retail and wholesale purposes, catering to the needs of households, businesses, and financial institutions. It aims to provide a digital equivalent to cash, enhance existing settlement systems with «smart» features like composability and programmability, and support offline transactions and instant settlements.

The design emphasizes user privacy by not maintaining a centralized database of personally identifiable information. Payment Service Providers (PSPs) will handle user data, and certain transactions may be anonymous.

Despite the preliminary design, the Bank of Israel has not yet decided whether to issue a CBDC. The design is part of ongoing research and exploration. Israel is conducting a public consultation to gather feedback on the proposed design until April 2025. A final decision is expected after 2026, pending further research and regulatory considerations.

The design aligns with emerging global consensus on CBDCs, including a two-tier model where central banks issue the currency and private PSPs manage user services. While many CBDCs share similar features, the digital shekel's focus on both retail and wholesale use, along with its emphasis on privacy and interoperability, reflects broader trends in CBDC development.

The EU

European and U.S. law enforcement agencies have collaborated to seize Garantex, a major Russian cryptocurrency exchange. The seizure involved a coalition of law enforcement agencies from the U.S., Germany, Finland, the Netherlands, Estonia, and Europol.

This operation is part of a broader effort to combat illicit financial activities in the cryptocurrency sector. Garantex is based in Moscow and operated as a significant cryptocurrency exchange in Russia. It was known for its ties to ransomware groups and darknet marketplaces. Garantex was sanctioned by the U.S. Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) in April 2022 for facilitating money laundering activities for ransomware actors and darknet markets. In February, 2025, the European Union also imposed sanctions on Garantex for its association with EU-sanctioned Russian banks.

The operation resulted in the confiscation of Garantex's domains (Garantex.io, Garantex.org, and Garantex.academy) and servers, along with the freezing by Tether of approximately $26 million to $28 million in cryptocurrency.

The seizure strikes a significant financial blow to cybercriminals worldwide, as Garantex, due to OFAC’s statement, had processed over $96 billion in cryptocurrency transactions since its founding in 2019. This action underscores the heightened focus on regulating cryptocurrency exchanges to prevent money laundering and other illicit activities.

News from other countries:

• Colombian lawmakers have recently reintroduced a bill to regulate the country's cryptocurrency sector, aiming to provide clarity and protection for users while fostering investment.

• The Russian Finance Ministry has expressed reservations about including cryptocurrencies in the National Welfare Fund (NWF) due to their volatility. Deputy Finance Minister Vladimir Kolychev stated that the ministry would consider riskier assets like crypto only when the NWF's liquid funds reach a level equivalent to 7-10% of Russia's GDP.

We continue to highlight the news of the world of crypto regulation worldwide. Please stay with us!