Cross-Border AI and Fintech Practice — U.S. Federal · New York · California · China · Hong Kong · European Union
Biweekly Review: August 13 – August 26, 2026
I. This Period — New Laws and Cases
This two-week period closes with two record-setting events.On August 13, 2026, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) withdrew at the last minute the public meeting on the crypto issuance rule vote originally scheduled for August 14 — but then still advanced the proposal: on August 18, the SEC proposed the Regulation Crypto Assets, and on August 21 it was published in the Federal Register, commencing a 60-day comment period ending October 20, 2026. On the same day (August 18), the U.S. Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) proposed treating qualifying stablecoins as cash equivalents (comments due November 19), and the Meta child safety case also opened in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California. Two days later, the CFTC's newly established Innovation Advisory Committee held its first meeting (August 20). This period closes with a milestone: on August 26, Meta reached a proposed USD 17 billion settlement in the child safety litigation — the largest payout in the technology industry in a single case. There were no new rulings on AI copyright this period, but judgments in the consolidated OpenAI multidistrict litigation (MDL) and Thomson Reuters v. Ross are both overdue; in Asia, OKX restricted its Hong Kong employees' use of Anthropic's Claude. The following are all new items this period; ongoing and upcoming items are set out in the table in Part II.
Part I covers only new items this period (August 13–26). All ongoing and upcoming items are listed in the summary table.
United States — Meta Reaches Record USD 17 Billion Child Safety Settlement (August 26)
The largest technology settlement in history is, in substance, a ruling on product design.On August 26, 2026, Meta reached a proposed settlement with a multistate coalition of attorneys general led by California, Colorado, Kentucky and New Jersey, under which it will pay up to approximately USD 17 billion over ten years to resolve 51 consolidated actions. The litigation alleged that Facebook and Instagram were deliberately designed to be addictive to minors and that Meta concealed the associated risks; the states also alleged violations of the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) through the collection of data on users under 13. The settlement was reached about a week after trial began (the case opened on August 18 in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California before Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers, and the settlement remains subject to her approval). In addition to the payment, the settlement carries enforceable design changes: default daily usage time limits, nighttime usage lockouts that only parents can lift, enhanced parental supervision tools, and robust age verification measures to identify users under 18 and under 13. Some of the funds will be used for youth mental health, screening and crisis intervention services. Some commentators have called it social media's "tobacco settlement moment."
Practical Analysis
For any developer of consumer-facing or AI products directed at minors, the key point is not the size of the payment, but that settlement agreements now directly prescribe product architecture — treating usage time caps, curfews, age verification and parental controls as enforceable terms rather than voluntary features.Together with this year's New Mexico ruling against Meta (approximately USD 942 million, with usage caps and a notified curfew), the direction is clear: "addictive design" and weak age gates are becoming litigation triggers in themselves. Developers of AI companions and chatbots should assume that the same "design remedy" approach will next be directed at them, and should establish (and document) safety-by-default settings for minors before a court orders them to do so.
United States — SEC Proposes Crypto Asset Regulatory Rules (August 13–21)
On August 18, the SEC proposed the Crypto Asset Regulatory Rules and on August 21 published the proposed draft in the Federal Register (No. S7-2026-27), initiating a 60-day comment period ending October 20, 2026.The proposal retains the three paths that Chair Atkins has consistently previewed since his March 17 speech at the DC Blockchain Summit: a startup exemption (up to approximately USD 5 million within four years, using lighter whitepaper-style disclosure); a fundraising exemption (up to USD 75 million in any 12-month period, requiring audited financial statements and semi-annual reports); and an investment contract safe harbor allowing sufficiently decentralized tokens to exit securities characterization. Commissioner Peirce's supporting statement ("Filling the Regulatory Tank") positions it as a durable alternative to "regulation by enforcement."
Practical Analysis
The SEC's publication in the Federal Register converts a policy signal into a participation obligation with a clear deadline.If any of the three paths may apply to a client's fundraising arrangements, this quarter's deliverable should be a comment letter submitted before October 20, not a "wait-and-see" memorandum. Attention should be paid to its interaction with the CLARITY Act: if Congress acts at the September 15 milestone, legislation could reshape or render parts of these rules ineffective, so the comment letter should address both tracks simultaneously.
United States — FASB Proposal to Treat Qualifying Stablecoins as Cash Equivalents (August 18)
The U.S. Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) issued a proposed Accounting Standards Update (ASU) clarifying how the definition of "cash equivalent" applies to digital assets such as stablecoins, allowing entities to determine, based on a set of attributes, whether their stablecoin holdings meet the liquidity level of cash equivalents.Comments are due by November 19, 2026. Together with the SEC's proposal, this reflects a broader push to "normalize" crypto assets on listed companies' balance sheets—a change that is understated but substantive for any issuer, corporate treasury department, or fund that holds or issues stablecoins, because cash-equivalent treatment changes how these holdings are presented in financial statements.
United States — CFTC First Meeting of the Innovation Advisory Committee (August 20)
CFTC plants its flag in digital asset and AI regulation.On August 20, its Innovation Advisory Committee (established in January 2026 to replace the Technology Advisory Committee, chaired by Walt Lukken, CEO of the Futures Industry Association (FIA)) held its first meeting, with members including Coinbase, Ripple, Gemini, CME and Kalshi in attendance. The agenda was broadly divided into crypto (approximately 50 minutes), AI (approximately 35 minutes) and prediction markets (approximately 50 minutes), and the most heated debate concerned prediction markets: the self-certification of event contracts, and "mention markets" (i.e., contracts betting on whether a particular word will be used in a given speech or earnings call) and their susceptibility to manipulation. The Committee discussed the regulatory roadmap for this area. The signal for practitioners is that the CFTC intends to be a co-drafter of US market structure rules, rather than a bystander to the SEC.
United States — AI copyright litigation: major rulings overdue (ongoing)
No new AI copyright rulings landed in this issue — and this "absence" is itself the news.Two rulings the industry has been awaiting are now markedly delayed: in the Southern District of New York (S.D.N.Y.), summary judgment in the consolidated OpenAI litigation (MDL) has not been issued for more than approximately four and a half months since briefing closed on April 2; and the Third Circuit has not issued its opinion in Thomson Reuters v. Ross Intelligence (Case No. 25-2153) for more than ten weeks since oral argument on June 11. Meanwhile, the aftermath of Bartz v. Anthropic continues to unfold: after the record USD 1.5 billion settlement received final approval on July 20 (covering approximately 482,460 works, at approximately USD 3,109 per work), approximately 350 opt-out rightsholders are pursuing separate litigation, seeking the statutory damages ceiling of up to USD 150,000 per work. One of these rulings is expected to reset the "fair use" debate in short order.
China / Hong Kong — AI access policy draws attention
A vendor access incident becomes a compliance lesson.The exchange OKX prohibited its Hong Kong employees (as well as employees transiting through mainland China) from using Anthropic's Claude, after its enterprise Claude account had been briefly suspended; the exchange stated that prior use by some Hong Kong employees may not have complied with Anthropic's regional access policy — which currently prohibits the use of Claude in mainland China and Hong Kong. Other platforms offer perpetual contracts referencing the stock of Chinese AI companies, in order to circumvent restrictions on foreign investment in mainland-listed stocks. By way of background, China's Interim Measures for the Administration of Anthropomorphic AI Interaction Services (effective July 15, 2026) continue to be implemented: they require disclosure that the counterparty is not a real person, the inclusion of rest/safety reminders, blocking of "virtual companion" functions for children, and obtaining parental consent for users under 14.
II. Summary Table — New and Ongoing
Light-colored rows marked "New" are from this issue, covering August 13–26; "Ongoing" items were reported previously and are retained for tracking.
2026-08-26 · United States — Northern District of California
Meta reaches proposed approximately USD 17 billion settlement over child safety (consolidated litigation by 33 states)
Status:New — settlement
Significance for businesses:Largest technology payout in history; includes mandatory design changes for minors; pending court approval
2026-08-13→21 · United States — federal
SEC withdrew the August 14 vote, then proposed the Crypto Asset Regulation Rules (published in the Federal Register on August 21)
Status:New — request for comments
Significance for businesses:60-day period; comments due October 20; assess applicable pathways and submit
2026-08-18 · United States — federal
FASB proposes to treat stablecoins as cash equivalents (proposed ASU)
Status:New — request for comments
Significance for businesses:Comments close on November 19; changes the balance-sheet treatment of stablecoins
2026-08-20 · United States — Federal
First meeting of the CFTC Innovation Advisory Committee
Status:New — in progress
Significance for businesses:The CFTC seeks a role in crypto/prediction markets; "mention market" risk
China / Hong Kong · Asia
OKX restricts employee use of Anthropic Claude (regional access policy)
Status:New — Update
Significance for businesses:Review the supplier AI access policies of teams in Mainland China and Hong Kong
2026-10-20 · United States — Federal
Comment deadline for the Crypto Asset Regulatory Rules
Status:Upcoming deadline
Significance for businesses:Draft and submit comment letters; take into account the interaction with the CLARITY Act
2026-09-15 · United States — Federal
First procedural vote on the CLARITY Act
Status:Ongoing
Significance for businesses:Probability of passage in 2026 approximately 33–37%; proceeding in parallel with the SEC rulemaking track
Ongoing · United States—courts
OpenAI MDL (SDNY) summary judgment; Thomson Reuters v. Ross (Third Circuit)
Status:Ongoing—pending
Significance for businesses:Both cases are overdue; either ruling may reset the "fair use" standard
Ongoing · United States—courts
Bartz v. Anthropic follow-on (approximately 350 opt-outs)
Status:Ongoing
Significance for businesses:Withdrawing parties seek the statutory maximum of USD 150,000 per work
2026-08-02 · European Union
AI Act — enforcement powers for general-purpose AI (GPAI) take effect
Status:Ongoing — in effect
Significance for businesses:The Commission may impose penalties on GPAI providers; improve compliance documentation
2026-07-15 · China
Interim Measures for the Administration of Anthropomorphic AI Interaction Services
Status:Ongoing — in effect
Implications for businesses:Companion-type applications must disclose that they are not human; protection of minors; obtain consent
2026-07-01 · EU
MiCA authorization deadline
Status:Ongoing — in effect
Implications for businesses:Unauthorized CASPs must exit; fines of up to 12.5% of turnover
Second half of 2026 · Hong Kong
First batch of stablecoin issuer licences (HSBC, Anchorpoint)
Status:Ongoing
Significance for businesses:The Hong Kong dollar-pegged stablecoin is expected to launch in the second half of 2026
III. Recommended Compliance Actions
Artificial intelligence (AI) companies
Child safety by design must be compliant.The approximately USD 17 billion Meta settlement—together with this year's approximately USD 942 million New Mexico ruling—shows that states are mandating product-level changes: default usage time limits, nighttime lockouts that only parents can lift, age verification and parental controls. If you develop AI companion or chatbot products for minors, you should assume the same approach will be directed at you: establish and document safety-by-default settings for minors, robust age verification and truthful safety claims now, because the exposure is mandatory design mandates plus damages.
The final copyright ruling remains pending—stay prepared and do not let your guard down.Given that both the OpenAI MDL and Thomson Reuters v. Ross cases are overdue, either ruling could change the boundaries of "fair use" overnight. Please retain evidence that each training dataset was lawfully obtained, properly preserve records under the broad discovery orders in pending litigation, and eliminate any data of questionable provenance—the Bartz settlement rewarded those with clear provenance and penalized pirated copies.
The EU AI Act (GPAI): enforcement is now in effect.Since August 2, the Commission has had the power to request documentation, conduct assessments, order recalls and impose fines. Please improve your technical documentation, copyright compliance policies, training data summaries and systemic risk assessments, and ensure that the Article 50 transparency obligations (chatbot disclosure, AI content labeling, deepfake labeling) are effectively implemented.
Supplier and regional AI access policies are critical.The OKX/Claude incident shows that model providers' regional access terms (for example, restrictions covering mainland China and Hong Kong) can suddenly create operational and compliance gaps. Please review the AI tools used by your employees in mainland China/Hong Kong, confirm that they comply with each provider's terms, and document approved alternatives.
State-level frontier AI rules in the United States remain applicable.Keep California SB 53's transparency and whistleblower processes operational, and prepare for the New York RAISE Act (effective January 1, 2027), noting its shorter incident reporting deadline. Monitor the Department of Justice's "preemption" task force, but assume that state law remains enforceable.
China companion/agent applications.Under the July 15 measures on anthropomorphic services, you must disclose that the other party is not a real person, add safety reminders, block "virtual companion" features for children, obtain parental consent for users under 14, and add explicit and implicit labels to AI-generated content (GB 45438-2025).
Web3 / crypto businesses
The SEC comment window is the top priority—deadline October 20.The crypto asset regulatory rules have now been published in the Federal Register. Please assess which pathway applies to your fundraising (the approximately USD 5 million startup exemption, the USD 75 million fundraising exemption, or the decentralized safe harbor), build a matching disclosure/audit/reporting system, and submit a comment letter that also addresses how the September CLARITY Act interacts with it.
Stablecoin accounting treatment is also changing.The FASB's proposed cash-equivalent treatment (comments due November 19) will affect how stablecoin holdings are presented on the balance sheet. If you hold or issue stablecoins, model both outcomes now and reach agreement with your auditors before the standard is finalized.
Track the September 15 milestone for the CLARITY Act—but do not place high hopes on it.Given that the probability of passage in 2026 is approximately one-third, planning should treat SEC rulemaking as the primary source of near-term federal rules, and should view the legislative path as parallel rather than primary.
Prediction markets have come within the CFTC's purview.If you operate or list event contracts, you should expect scrutiny of self-certification and "mention market" manipulation risk; begin documenting listing standards and market integrity controls before any roadmap is issued.
European Union (MiCA).The transitional grace period ended on July 1 — if you serve EU clients, you must hold a MiCA license or you must cease. Fines may reach up to 12.5% of annual turnover; ESMA has entered the enforcement phase (reserve segregation, custody, redemption at par, transaction caps for large stablecoins).
Hong Kong / China.Only HKMA-licensed issuers and SFC-licensed platforms may offer fiat-referenced stablecoins (HKD 25 million capital, full reserve of high-quality liquid assets); the first bank-backed HKD stablecoins are expected to launch in the second half of 2026. RMB-referenced stablecoins and real-world assets (RWA) tokenization should be treated as prohibited both domestically and abroad — conduct lawful activities through Hong Kong's regulated regime.
This newsletter is for reference only and does not constitute legal advice. If you need assistance with AI legal governance or Web3 and digital asset compliance, please contact our lawyers.
English Edition
AI & Web3 Biweekly Legal Newsletter
Cross-Border AI and Fintech Practice — United States · New York · California · China · Hong Kong · EU
Two Weeks in Review: August 13 – August 26, 2026
This Period — New Laws & Cases
A consequential fortnight bookended by two records.It opened with a surprise — on August 13 the SEC pulled its scheduled August 14 open-meeting vote on crypto offering rules at the last minute — and then advanced the package anyway: the Commission proposed “Regulation Crypto Assets” on August 18 and published it in the Federal Register on August 21, starting a 60-day comment clock that closes October 20, 2026. The same Tuesday (Aug 18), FASB proposed treating qualifying stablecoins as cash equivalents (comments due Nov 19), and Meta's child-safety trial opened in the Northern District of California. Two days later the CFTC's new Innovation Advisory Committee held its first meeting (Aug 20). The period closed with a landmark: on August 26 Meta agreed to a proposed $17 billion child-safety settlement — the largest tech-industry payout in a single case. No new AI copyright ruling landed, though the OpenAI MDL and Thomson Reuters v. Ross decisions are both overdue; and in Asia, OKX restricted its Hong Kong staff from using Anthropic's Claude. Everything genuinely new is below; ongoing and upcoming items are tracked in the Section 2 table.
Section 1 covers only what is new in this period (August 13–26). All ongoing and upcoming items are in the Summary Table.
United States — Meta Agrees to Record $17 Billion Child-Safety Settlement (Aug 26)
The biggest tech settlement ever, and a product-design verdict in all but name.On August 26, 2026, Meta reached a proposed settlement with a coalition of state attorneys general — led by California, Colorado, Kentucky and New Jersey — to pay up to $17 billion (reported by some outlets as $17.1B) over ten years, resolving 51 consolidated lawsuits alleging that Facebook and Instagram were engineered to be addictive to minors and that Meta concealed the risks. The states also alleged violations of the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) through collection of data on under-13 users. The deal came just over a week into trial in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California (proceedings began August 18 before Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers, who must still approve the settlement). It pairs the money with enforceable design changes: default daily time limits, an overnight-use block that only a parent can lift, enhanced parental-supervision tools, and robust age-assurance to detect under-18 and under-13 users. Part of the fund is earmarked for youth mental-health, screening and crisis services. Commentators are calling it social media's tobacco-settlement moment.
PRACTITIONER'S COMMENTARY
For any company building consumer or AI products used by minors, the significance is not the dollar figure — it is that a settlement is now dictating product architecture: time caps, curfews, age assurance and parental controls as enforceable terms, not voluntary features.Read alongside this year's New Mexico Meta ruling (~$942M, with usage caps and a notification curfew), the direction is unmistakable: “addictive design” and weak age-gating are becoming litigation triggers in their own right. AI companion and chatbot developers should assume the same design-remedy playbook will be aimed at them next, and should build (and document) youth-safety defaults before a court orders them.
United States — SEC Pulls Its Own Vote, Then Proposes “Regulation Crypto Assets” Anyway (Aug 13–21)
SEC proposed “Regulation Crypto Assets” on August 18 and published the proposing release in the Federal Register on August 21 (S7-2026-27), opening a 60-day comment period that closes October 20, 2026.The proposal keeps the three pathways Chairman Atkins has trailed since his March 17 DC Blockchain Summit speech: a startup exemption (up to about $5M over a four-year period via lighter, whitepaper-style disclosure); a fundraising exemption (up to $75M in any 12-month period, with audited financials and semiannual reporting); and an investment-contract safe harbor letting a sufficiently decentralized token exit securities classification. Commissioner Peirce's supporting statement (“Filling the Regulatory Tank”) frames it as the durable replacement for regulation-by-enforcement.
PRACTITIONER'S COMMENTARY
The pulled vote is a useful reminder that a scheduled meeting is not a done deal — but the substance survived, and the Federal Register publication converts a policy signal into a dated obligation to engage.If any of the three pathways plausibly fits a client's raise, the deliverable this quarter is a comment letter by October 20, not a wait-and-see memo. Watch the interplay with CLARITY: if Congress moves at its September 15 checkpoint, a statute could reshape or moot parts of this rule, so comments should address both tracks.
United States — FASB Proposes Treating Qualifying Stablecoins as Cash Equivalents (Aug 18)
The Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) issued a proposed Accounting Standards Update clarifying how the definition of “cash equivalents” applies to digital assets such as stablecoins, letting companies use a set of attributes to decide whether a stablecoin holding meets the liquidity level of a cash equivalent.Comments are due November 19, 2026. Together with the SEC's proposal, it reflects a broader administration push to “regularize” crypto assets on public-company balance sheets — a quieter but consequential shift for any issuer, treasury or fund holding stablecoins, because cash-equivalent treatment changes how those holdings appear in financial statements.
United States — CFTC's Innovation Advisory Committee Debuts (Aug 20)
The CFTC planted a flag in digital-asset and AI oversight.On August 20, its Innovation Advisory Committee — launched in January 2026 to replace the Technology Advisory Committee, and chaired by Futures Industry Association CEO Walt Lukken — held its inaugural meeting, with members from Coinbase, Ripple, Gemini, CME and Kalshi at the table. The agenda split roughly into crypto (50 minutes), AI (35 minutes) and prediction markets (50 minutes), but the sharpest debate was on prediction markets: self-certification of event contracts, and “mention markets” (contracts betting on whether particular words are said in a speech or earnings call) and their susceptibility to manipulation. The Committee discussed a regulatory roadmap for the sector. The signal for practitioners: the CFTC intends to be a co-author of U.S. market-structure rules, not a bystander to the SEC.
United States — AI Copyright Docket: The Big Rulings Are Overdue (ongoing)
No new AI copyright ruling landed in this period — and that absence is itself the news.Two decisions the field is waiting on are now conspicuously late: the S.D.N.Y. summary-judgment ruling in the consolidated OpenAI MDL has been outstanding roughly four and a half months since briefing closed on April 2, and the Third Circuit has entered no opinion in Thomson Reuters v. Ross Intelligence (No. 25-2153) ten weeks after June 11 argument. Meanwhile the Bartz v. Anthropic aftermath continues: following final approval of the record $1.5B settlement on July 20 (covering roughly 482,460 works at about $3,109 each), the ~350 claimants who opted out are litigating separately toward the up-to-$150,000 statutory ceiling per work. Expect one of these rulings to reset the fair-use conversation on short notice.
China / Hong Kong — An AI Access-Policy Flashpoint
Vendor and regional AI-access policies are becoming a real operational issue. The OKX and Claude episode shows how a model provider’s geographic restrictions can suddenly affect employee access, internal workflows and business continuity.
Summary Table — New and Ongoing
Shaded rows marked “NEW” are from the August 13–26 period. “Ongoing” items were reported earlier and are kept for tracking.
Aug 26, 2026 · U.S. — N.D. Cal.
Meta agrees to proposed $17B child-safety settlement (33 states consolidated suits)
Status：NEW — settlement
What it means：Record tech payout; enforceable youth design changes; court approval pending
Aug 13→21, 2026 · U.S. — Fed
SEC pulls Aug 14 vote, then proposes “Regulation Crypto Assets” (Fed. Reg. Aug 21)
Status：NEW — comment period
What it means：60-day clock; comments due Oct 20; assess which pathway fits and file
Aug 18, 2026 · U.S. — Fed
FASB proposes stablecoins as cash equivalents (proposed ASU)
Status：NEW — comment period
What it means：Comment by Nov 19; changes balance-sheet treatment of stablecoins
Aug 20, 2026 · U.S. — Fed
CFTC Innovation Advisory Committee — first meeting
Status：NEW — active
What it means：CFTC eyeing crypto/prediction-market role; “mention market” risk
China / HK · Asia
OKX restricts staff from Anthropic Claude (regional-access policy)
Status：NEW — update
What it means：Check vendor-AI access policies for CN/HK-based teams
Oct 20, 2026 · U.S. — Fed
Reg Crypto Assets comment deadline
Status：Upcoming
What it means：Draft and file comment letters; address CLARITY interplay
Sept 15, 2026 · U.S. — Fed
CLARITY Act — first procedural vote
Status：Ongoing
What it means：2026 passage ~33–37%; run SEC-rulemaking track in parallel
Ongoing · U.S. — Courts
OpenAI MDL (SDNY) summary judgment; Thomson Reuters v. Ross (3d Cir.)
Status：Ongoing — pending
What it means：Both overdue; either could reset the fair-use test
Ongoing · U.S. — Courts
Bartz v. Anthropic aftermath (~350 opt-outs)
Status：Ongoing
What it means：Opt-outs pursue up to $150k/work statutory ceiling
Aug 2, 2026 · EU
AI Act — GPAI enforcement powers live
Status：Ongoing — in force
What it means：Commission can fine GPAI providers; finalize documentation
Jul 15, 2026 · China
AI Anthropomorphic Interactive Services Measures
Status：Ongoing — in force
What it means：Companion-app human disclosure; minor protections; consent
Jul 1, 2026 · EU
MiCA authorization deadline
Status：Ongoing — in force
What it means：Unauthorized CASPs must exit; fines up to 12.5% of turnover
H2 2026 · Hong Kong
First stablecoin issuer licences (HSBC; Anchorpoint)
Status：Ongoing
What it means：HKD-referenced stablecoin launches expected H2 2026
Call for Compliance
For AI Companies
Child-safety design is criticial.The $17B Meta settlement — on top of this year's ~$942M New Mexico ruling — shows states forcing product-level change: default time limits, overnight-use blocks liftable only by a parent, age assurance, and parental controls. If you build AI companion or chatbot products used by minors, assume the same playbook will be aimed at you: build and document youth-safety defaults, robust age assurance, and honest safety claims now, because the exposure is injunctive design mandates plus damages.
Copyright rulings are pending — stay ready, not complacent.With the OpenAI MDL and Thomson Reuters v. Ross both overdue, either decision could shift the fair-use line overnight. Keep proof that every training dataset was obtained legally, preserve records under the expansive discovery orders in the pending suits, and retire anything tainted — the Bartz settlement rewarded clean provenance and punished pirated copies.
EU AI Act (GPAI): enforcement is live.The Commission's power to demand documentation, run evaluations, order withdrawals and impose fines took effect August 2. Finalize your technical documentation, copyright-compliance policy, training-data summaries and systemic-risk assessments, and make sure Article 50 transparency (chatbot disclosure, AI-content marking, deepfake labeling) is actually implemented.
At the same time, new financial products are testing other regulatory boundaries. Some platforms have introduced perpetual futures linked to Chinese AI-company shares, offering overseas users indirect exposure to assets that may otherwise be difficult to access. Meanwhile, China’s rules governing anthropomorphic AI services are placing greater emphasis on user protection, including clear disclosure that users are interacting with AI, safety and break reminders, stronger protections for minors, and parental-consent requirements for younger users.
U.S.state frontier-AI rules still apply. Keep California SB 53 transparency and whistleblower processes running, and build toward New York's RAISE Act (Jan 1, 2027) with its shorter incident-reporting deadline. Watch the DOJ preemption task force, but assume state laws remain enforceable.
China companion/agent apps.Under the July 15 anthropomorphic-services measures, disclose the bot is not human, add safety reminders, block “virtual partner” features for children, obtain parental consent for under-14s, and apply explicit + implicit AI-content labels (GB 45438-2025).
For Web3 / Crypto Companies
The SEC comment window is the priority — deadline Oct 20.Despite the pulled August 14 vote, “Regulation Crypto Assets” is now in the Federal Register. Evaluate which pathway fits your raise (~$5M startup exemption vs. $75M fundraising exemption vs. decentralization safe harbor), build the matching disclosure/audit/reporting infrastructure, and file a comment letter that also addresses how a September CLARITY Act would interact.
Stablecoin accounting is changing too.FASB's proposed cash-equivalent treatment (comment by Nov 19) will affect how stablecoin holdings appear on the balance sheet. If you hold or issue stablecoins, model both outcomes now and get your auditors aligned before the standard finalizes.
Track CLARITY's Sept 15 checkpoint — but don't bank on it.With 2026 passage priced around a third, plan against the SEC rulemaking as the nearer-term source of federal rules and treat the legislative path as parallel, not primary.
Prediction markets are in the CFTC's sights.If you run or list event contracts, expect scrutiny of self-certification and “mention market” manipulation risk; start documenting listing standards and market-integrity controls ahead of any roadmap.
EU (MiCA).The grandfathering window closed July 1 — if you serve EU customers, hold a MiCA licence or stop. Fines reach up to 12.5% of annual turnover; ESMA is in its enforcement phase (reserve segregation, custody, redemption-at-par, large-stablecoin caps).
Hong Kong / China.Only HKMA-licensed issuers and SFC-licensed platforms may offer fiat-referenced stablecoins (HKD 25M capital, full HQLA reserves); first bank-backed HKD stablecoins are due H2 2026. Treat RMB-pegged stablecoins and RWA tokenization as prohibited onshore and offshore — route legitimate activity through Hong Kong's regulated regime.
This briefing is prepared for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. If you are seeking AI legal governance or Web3 & digital-assets compliance, please reach out to our lawyers.
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*This article is an original article of Mankun Law Firm and represents only the personal views of the author. It does not constitute legal consultation or legal advice on any specific matter. For reprinting and legal consultation, please add our customer service: mankunlawyer / MankunLawFirm (WhatsApp).
