It has been a busy week in the fintech space. Joining me is Anastasia Kinsky, Fintech TV correspondent and editor of The Signal newsletter. Anastasia, welcome to Wall Street to Mena. The SEC suddenly pulled two major crypto announcements this week without new dates. What is behind the cancellation and where does things stand now with Congress on crypto rules?
Great to be back. Thank you for having me. Yes, the SEC had a bit of a flip-flop this week. Given that we are not going to see any vote on the Clarity Act until September, they had decided they would host a meeting on Friday to discuss their approach to crypto regulation as well as the tokenisation innovation exemption. This was all set to be delivered today. But they cancelled it only yesterday — without any rescheduled date. It is thought that the delay is related to the ongoing Clarity Act negotiations, and whether they need to wait for that legal clarity before making any moves of their own.
Hong Kong just launched its first regulated HKD-backed stablecoin led by Standard Chartered. Why does this matter and what does it mean for Hong Kong's role in digital finance?
It has been a great week for Anchor Point, which is led by Standard Chartered. They have launched their first stablecoin — HKD AP — the very first HKD-pegged stablecoin. That is very exciting across the board for how this regulation is moving forward and the clarity the industry is getting. But it is also particularly exciting for institutional and professional investors who can now mint and redeem tokens. What that means is you are adding the settlement layer for tokenised assets across traditional finance, and adding the infrastructure that will allow the space to really start adopting digitalisation in the way we have been looking for. It complements USD alternatives and positions Standard Chartered as central to that infrastructure.
Tether just passed its first full financial audit. Does this mean Tether is now fully compliant with US rules?
Not quite. To be clear, Tether has not actually applied for a US stablecoin license, and the USDT global structure falls outside that framework for now. What we are really talking about is transparency and accountability. For a long time, Tether has stayed quieter in this space — they have been absolutely huge in terms of how they are used, but more reserved in terms of public disclosure. What they are trying to do now is drive transparency and demonstrate that they have what it takes. One of the big four — KPMG — has completed a full audit of Tether's assets. So they have confirmed that this has happened. But they have not yet announced what is actually in that audit.
Thank you so much, Anastasia. And to stay ahead of the biggest fintech stories, sign up for The Signal newsletter.
Thank you so much.
