Cryptocurrency laws around the world will change in 2026, building on the momentum of 2025, affecting cryptocurrency users in the United States, the United Kingdom, and the Asia-Pacific (APAC) regions.
The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), a US banking regulator, published a proposal in December outlining a path for banks to issue dollar-pegged stablecoins under the GENIUS stablecoin framework approved by Congress in mid-2025.
Under the proposal, banks must issue stablecoins through a subsidiary, and both institutions are subject to FDIC reviews and audits to determine their financial soundness.
The US Federal Reserve, the country’s central bank, in December rescinded its guidance preventing banks from engaging in crypto activities, paving the way for them to custody clients’ assets and provide other crypto services in 2026.
Cryptocurrency investors can also expect US lawmakers to pass the CLARITY Act in 2026, a comprehensive crypto regulatory framework that outlines taxation, asset taxonomy, and issuance guidelines.
Cryptocurrency taxes in the US are assessed when digital assets are traded or sold and are taxed as ordinary income, with a tax rate of 0% to 20% for assets held for one year, while cryptocurrencies held for shorter periods are taxed between 10% and 37%.
Centralized cryptocurrency brokerage and service providers must also report cost basis — the original value of the cryptocurrency when it was purchased — to the IRS starting in January 2026, but the new reporting rules do not apply to decentralized exchanges, according to Coinbase.
Related: US Crypto Legislation and Policies to Watch in 2026
UK to implement final crypto rules in 2026 and begin enforcing tax policy
The UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), a government regulator, is expected to publish its final rules outlining regulations for the crypto industry in 2026.
These rules include anti-money laundering (AML) and Know Your Customer (KYC) provisions, on par with traditional financial markets, consumer protections, and licensing requirements for approved digital asset service providers in the country.
The UK and EU implemented the Crypto Asset Reporting Framework (CARF) on Thursday, standardizing cryptocurrency exchanges’ collection of data on user transactions for tax reporting purposes.
Under CARF, covered crypto service providers must collect expanded customer data and submit annual reports on account balances and transactions to local tax authorities, which then exchange the information with their foreign counterparts under existing data sharing agreements.
Hong Kong advances stablecoin regulatory framework, China central government changes mind
Hong Kong lawmakers in December introduced a regulatory bill for stablecoins, which must go through three readings including reviews, debate and negotiations, after which it will be sent to the chief executive, who, like the governor of a US state, can sign it into law.
The bill is expected to become law sometime in 2026, paving the way for a comprehensive regulatory framework for stablecoins in Hong Kong, a special administrative region of China with its own financial system, regulations and currency.
Meanwhile, China’s central government has changed crypto policy and stablecoin regulations for the mainland, issuing another cryptocurrency ban in December.
Chinese regulators pushed for stablecoin reform in 2025, but quickly backtracked on any proposed policy changes and opted to focus on the development of the digital yuan, a central bank digital currency (CBDC).
In one of its latest measures in 2025, the People’s Bank of China began allowing commercial banks to pay interest to digital yuan holders in January 2026 to expand its role beyond a simple fiat replacement.
Magazine: How cryptocurrency laws changed in 2025 and how they will change in 2026
