The opinion editorial below was written by Michael Handelsman for Kelman.Law.
This Week in Crypto Law
This week, regulators and courts focused on the infrastructure surrounding digital assets: tokenized securities, customer-fund safeguarding, stablecoin competition, and cross-border fraud. The developments below also illustrate the different legal effects of an examination priority, an agreed regulatory sanction, a newly filed civil complaint, and a criminal prosecution.
SEC Makes Tokenization a 2027 Examination Priority
On October 23, the SEC announced its fiscal year 2027 examination priorities. The Division of Examinations identified tokenization and evolving market infrastructure among the areas warranting heightened attention. It will examine clearing agencies’ controls relating to tokenization and review how entities subject to Regulation Systems Compliance and Integrity address tokenized securities.
The priorities also extend to issues likely to affect digital-asset businesses indirectly. Examiners will review broker-dealer anti-money-laundering programs, cybersecurity, third-party service providers, trading systems, transfer agents’ use of emerging technology, and controls surrounding new products and business activities.
The underlying Division report is a staff statement, not a rule or Commission interpretation. It creates no new legal obligations and does not mean that every firm involved with tokenization will be examined. It does, however, provide a useful indication of where the SEC is likely to direct supervisory resources.
Registered firms developing tokenized products should therefore review whether their actual operations match their disclosures and written procedures. That review should cover recordkeeping, transaction processing, custody, valuation, incident response, vendor oversight, conflicts of interest, and supervisory responsibility. A blockchain-based format may alter operational risks, but it does not displace the securities-law obligations attached to the underlying instrument or regulated entity.
Irish Regulator Fines Coinbase Over Safeguarding and Outsourcing
On October 22, the Central Bank of Ireland announced an agreed €3,252,618 fine against Coinbase Ireland Limited for breaches of safeguarding and outsourcing requirements under Ireland’s Electronic Money Regulations 2011. Coinbase admitted the contraventions, which the regulator said occurred between November 1, 2020 and August 19, 2025. The settlement was reached on October 21.
According to the Central Bank’s enforcement announcement, Coinbase Ireland relied excessively on U.S.-based Coinbase Group entities to implement safeguarding controls and lacked sufficient local expertise to oversee those functions. The regulator also found inadequate system design and control testing, which left the designated safeguarding account underfunded for extended periods, as well as deficient escalation and reporting processes.
The undiscounted monetary penalty was €4,646,597. A 30% settlement discount reduced it to approximately €3.25 million. The reprimand and penalty remain subject to confirmation by the Irish High Court and will take effect only if confirmed.
The case concerns Coinbase Ireland’s role as an electronic-money institution, including the fiat and e-money customers use to purchase crypto assets. It should not be described as a MiCA custody enforcement action. Its practical message is nevertheless relevant across the digital-asset sector: outsourcing a critical process does not outsource regulatory responsibility.
EU-facing businesses should verify that their licensed entity has genuine local expertise, reliable reconciliation processes, documented escalation channels, and the authority to challenge group-level systems. Intragroup arrangements should be evaluated with the same rigor as external outsourcing, particularly when customer funds are involved.
Circle Shareholder Files Stablecoin-Competition Lawsuit
On October 22, Circle shareholder and former employee J. Benjamin Greenberg filed Greenberg v. Trump et al., No. 1:26-cv-03686, in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. The federal docket identifies President Donald Trump, World Liberty Financial, several affiliated entities, Steven C. Witkoff, and Circle Internet Group as defendants. Circle appears as a nominal defendant in the shareholder action.
Greenberg alleges that two UAE-linked transactions involving World Liberty violated the Constitution’s Foreign Emoluments Clause and unfairly harmed Circle, whose USDC stablecoin competes with World Liberty’s USD1. The complaint reportedly points to a $500 million purchase of a 49% World Liberty stake and MGX’s use of $2 billion in USD1 for its Binance investment. Circle stated that the case was filed by an individual shareholder and that the company did not initiate, authorize, or participate in it. World Liberty and the White House dispute the allegations.
This is a newly filed complaint, not a judicial finding that any defendant violated the Constitution or injured Circle. Threshold questions may include shareholder standing, the availability of derivative relief, causation, and whether the asserted constitutional theory supports the remedies requested.
For stablecoin businesses, the case shows how competition, governance, foreign investment, and public-official conflicts can converge in private litigation. Firms working with politically exposed persons or state-linked investors should document ownership, economic benefits, approval processes, and potential conflicts before transactions close. Those records may become important even where the underlying transaction is not challenged by a financial regulator.
DOJ Completes Extradition in Alleged $36.9 Million Crypto Scam
On October 23, Zheng Zhao appeared in federal court in Los Angeles after being extradited from the Netherlands. The Justice Department alleges that Zhao participated in an international cryptocurrency investment-fraud network operating through scam centers in Cambodia and targeting 174 identified U.S. victims. He was detained pending a November 30 arraignment.
The DOJ announcement alleges that the network contacted victims through social media, telephone calls, text messages, and dating services before directing them to counterfeit trading platforms. More than $36.9 million allegedly moved from U.S. bank accounts to an account at Deltec Bank in the Bahamas, where the funds were converted into USDT and transferred to a Cambodia-controlled wallet.
A criminal complaint contains allegations only, and Zhao is presumed innocent unless proven guilty. Eight alleged co-conspirators have already pleaded guilty, according to DOJ.
The extradition demonstrates that offshore defendants, foreign bank accounts, and stablecoin transfers do not necessarily place a case beyond U.S. enforcement. For victims and counsel, speed remains critical: communications, bank records, wallet addresses, transaction hashes, platform screenshots, and exchange-account information should be preserved before accounts disappear or assets move through additional wallets.
Businesses or individuals confronting regulatory, litigation, compliance, or digital-asset recovery issues can contact Kelman PLLC to discuss the circumstances and applicable legal options.
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