Crypto regulation in the world: weekly digest #139
Germany
The German financial regulator, BaFin, has prohibited the public sales and issuance of Ethena GmbH's USDe token due to significant compliance failures and potential violations of the European Union's Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA).
BaFin suspects Ethena GmbH of offering securities, such as the sUSDe token, without the required prospectus. Ethena failed to meet MiCA's requirements, including insufficient reserves and capital standards. The company had been operating under transitional provisions while awaiting regulatory approval but began issuing USDe prematurely in June 2024.
BaFin ordered Ethena to freeze asset reserves backing the USDe token, halt new customer registrations, shut down its website, and restrict management's authority over funds. However, secondary market trading remains unaffected.
Ethena GmbH issued approximately 5.4 billion USDe tokens globally before MiCAR took effect. The regulator's intervention highlights broader concerns about compliance in synthetic token markets
Earlier, Tether (USDT) also faced several regulatory challenges in the European Union under the MiCA Regulation, which came into full effect on December 30, 2024. Tether also failed to meet MiCA's strict standards, such as obtaining an electronic money institution license, publishing compliant whitepapers, and maintaining fully-backed reserves in liquid assets like bank deposits.
Major exchanges like Crypto.com, Kraken, and Coinbase delisted USDT for European users due to its non-compliance. Users were given deadlines to convert their holdings into MiCA-compliant assets.
USA
The U.S. Treasury Department has officially removed Tornado Cash, a cryptocurrency mixing service, from its OFAC SDN list. This decision was finalized on March 21, 2025, following a legal ruling by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit in November 2024, which determined that Tornado Cash's immutable smart contracts do not qualify as «property» under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA).
The court ruled that OFAC exceeded its authority by sanctioning Tornado Cash's smart contracts, which are self-executing codes that cannot be owned or controlled. While the platform itself has been delisted, sanctions on co-founder Roman Semenov remain in place due to alleged ties to North Korean cyber activities. His designation no longer includes the «cyber-enabled activities» tag but retains the North Korea-related label.
Analytic companies like Tokenscope will update their systems to reflect the removal of Tornado Cash addresses from the OFAC SDN list. However, as far as Tornado Cash is a crypto mixer, interacting with its addresses still remains risky and may be assessed as money laundering. Also, all Tornado Cash addresses will be monitored for illicit activity due to their historical association with money laundering and cybercrime.
Brazil
Brazil is considering groundbreaking legislation, Bill PL 957/2025, that would allow employers to pay salaries partially in cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin. Federal Deputy Luiz Philippe de Orleans e Bragança introduced the bill on March 12, 2025, aiming to regulate crypto payments for wages, benefits, and labor compensations.
The bill permits voluntary salary payments in cryptocurrencies but mandates that at least 50% of the payment must be in Brazil’s national currency, the real. Full crypto payments are prohibited except for expatriate or foreign workers under Central Bank regulations or independent service providers with contractual agreements. Crypto payments must follow official exchange rates established by institutions authorized by the Central Bank of Brazil to ensure transparency and prevent speculation.
The author of the bill argues that this measure could boost Brazil’s fintech sector, attract crypto investments, and provide greater freedom for workers and employers to decide contractual terms without compromising fundamental labor protections.
The proposal draws inspiration from successful crypto payment implementations in countries like Japan, Switzerland, and Portugal. However, it contrasts with nations like Turkey and Russia that prohibit cryptocurrency as a payment method. If approved, this legislation could position Brazil as a leader in integrating cryptocurrencies into its economy while maintaining safeguards against volatility. The bill is still under review by lawmakers.
