On December 4, CertiK, the world's largest Web3 security company, released the (2025 Skynet U.S. Digital Asset Policy Report), which outlines the overall direction of U.S. digital asset regulation in 2025. The report indicates that the United States has established a relatively clear and systematic regulatory framework for digital assets for the first time, moving the U.S. digital asset market from an 'exploration phase' to a 'systematic stage.' As the regulatory direction for centralized functions becomes increasingly clear, code auditing will become a key measure for institutions to ensure safety and compliance.
The U.S. federal regulatory framework is gradually taking shape, and a divergence is emerging in the global landscape
The enactment of the (GENIUS Act), the passage of the (CLARITY Act) in the House of Representatives, and the SEC's repeal of (Employee Accounting Announcement No. 121) constitute a new federal regulatory 'three pillars'. These three initiatives establish the federal regulatory standards for stablecoins, the functional classification principles for digital assets, and the compliance pathways for banks to conduct custodial business. As a result, the operational requirements for banks, stablecoin issuers, and interstate institutions have for the first time received systematic guidance.
As the first federal regulatory system for payment-type stablecoins in the United States, the (GENIUS Act) sets systematic requirements for issuance structure, prudential standards, and technical compliance, including 100% liquidity reserves, a ban on paying returns to holders, role-based access control (RBAC) for smart contracts, and a governance mechanism for freeze permissions.
At the same time, the report points out that the differences between the United States (GENIUS Act) and the European Union (MiCA Act) in terms of reserve asset composition and judicial requirements will lead to a parallel situation in the stablecoin market with 'U.S. version' and 'EU version', resulting in a fragmentation of cross-regional liquidity.
Asset classification is clear, custodial and accounting reforms are driving the restructuring of market structure
(CLARITY Act) defines the regulatory boundaries between the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) functionally: Gas tokens, governance tokens, and other 'digital goods' will fall under the jurisdiction of the CFTC, while tokens for financing purposes will still be regulated by the SEC. The act clarifies that trading by non-issuers in the secondary market does not constitute a securities issuance, reducing the potential compliance risks for trading platforms.
In addition, the Senate's (Responsible Financial Innovation Act) (RFIA Act) and the 'Bipartisan Discussion Draft' provide supplementary paths for future regulation of the digital goods market; the repeal of SAB 121 has eliminated the major accounting obstacles for large financial institutions to enter the digital asset custody business.
Infrastructure and compliance technology upgrades, code auditing has become a key measure for security and compliance
The report also highlights the latest developments in clearing and settlement infrastructure, including the regulated liability network (RLN) tested by the New York Federal Reserve Bank and several large banks, as well as the Monetary Authority of Singapore's 'Project Guardian' pushing for global asset tokenization standards. These pilot projects have validated the feasibility of tokenized deposits, wholesale central bank digital currencies, and cross-border financial activities, laying the foundation for future compliant financial infrastructure.
In terms of compliance monitoring, the adoption of regulatory technology continues to expand: from using Benford's Law to identify abnormal transactions, applying clustering algorithms to monitor manipulative behavior, to adding new requirements such as freeze function verification in smart contract audits, reflecting the regulatory authorities' improving real-time monitoring capabilities of on-chain activities.
It is noteworthy that as the regulation of centralized functions becomes increasingly clear, the strategic focus of financial institutions is gradually shifting towards licensed digital assets, and code auditing is becoming an important means to ensure institutional security and compliance, a trend that is driving the continuous development of the industry.
Regulation has entered a systematic phase
Overall, U.S. digital asset regulation is moving from the 'exploratory phase' to the 'systematic phase' by 2025, with digital assets steadily integrating into the U.S. financial system. As policy boundaries become clearer, the focus of industry development is shifting from evading regulation to finding sustainable development solutions within the regulatory framework. Meanwhile, market fragmentation caused by regulatory differences will also become one of the key challenges that institutions need to address.
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