Regulatory Roundup #3

📰 Weekly Summary

Viral online, vetoed on TV: Coinbase’s musical grabbed clicks while Clearcast kept it off air - a reminder that the joke is optional but risk warnings are not. In Washington, the White House told bank examiners to retire “reputational risk” and nudged 401(k) plans toward alternative assets, even as Senate Democrats branded the GOP’s crypto draft a “superhighway” for avoiding rules. Do Kwon’s guilty plea brought the Terra saga one step closer to closure. In the Gulf, SCA and VARA mapped a route toward one framework across the UAE. Otherwise, August behaved like August.

🔦 Spotlight

🎥 Coinbase’s musical number meets the UK’s small print

The two‑minute musical “Everything Is Fine” arrived on 31 July with tap‑dancing inflation, property‑price side‑eye and a jaunty chorus about muddling through. Online, it made waves faster than a cuddle at a Coldplay concert. It never made it to television: Clearcast, the body that checks TV ads for UK broadcasters before they air, did not approve the cut, so networks declined to run it. Coinbase said it was satire, not a sales pitch, and that broadcasters jumped the gun.

Here the rulebook is less Monty Python, more Companies House. In the UK it is the effect that matters. If an ad from a crypto firm could reasonably be read as encouraging investment, a combination of the FCA regime and the BCAP/CAP - the UK advertising rules for broadcast and non-broadcast media - as overseen by the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA), apply. That means clear risk warnings that stay on screen long enough to read, and a section 21 approver (an authorised firm that signs off financial promotions) involved early in the process. The broadcast version did not show the required risk warnings. Clearcast reached for the red pen. The internet reached for the share button.

A quick semantic tidy‑up. Despite the "banned" headlines, there was no formal prohibition from the ASA. Clearcast told broadcasters it could not approve the TV cut as submitted, so the TV companies chose not to air it. Meanwhile, the ad remains on YouTube and on Coinbase’s own channels, racking up millions of views across social media platforms.  Coinbase told press the ad "hasn't been banned"; it was rejected for broadcast. Duller than censorship, yes, but important: a pre‑clearance rejection can usually be fixed by adding compliant risk warnings and resubmitting. Less Ministry of Truth, more "come back when your homework’s done". Online platforms do not require Clearcast pre‑approval, but the ASA can still investigate online ads after complaints.

One wrinkle: the film ends with a Coinbase logo but no product pitch. That is deliberate brand work. Under UK ad rules, brand ads from a crypto firm can still count as financial promotions if the likely effect is to encourage investment. In practice, that means a revised TV cut with a compliant end‑frame carrying the standard risk warnings and signposting could, in theory, get approved.

Reactions fell into familiar lines. Marketers called it sharp, memorable and very shareable. Compliance officers quietly booked annual leave. Brian Armstrong criticised UK networks for pulling the spot, while critics of the ad argued the dystopian tone misread the public mood. Supporters replied that the public mood is, in fact, dystopian. None of the above troubles the only test that matters to the TV ad checkers: what a normal viewer would take away in the 120 seconds available.

So in short: the spot about everything being fine was rejected because everything was not fine in the small print. Sounds about right to this Brit.

🌍 Global Developments

🇺🇸 United States

Democrats call GOP market‑structure draft a 'superhighway for dodging regulation'

A memo from Democratic staff on the Senate Banking Committee criticised the latest GOP market‑structure discussion draft, arguing it opens AML loopholes for offshore stablecoins like Tether, permits Big Tech to issue their own coins, and leaves conflicts around the President’s crypto ties unaddressed. In parallel, Senator Elizabeth Warren signalled she will rally Democratic opposition to the House‑passed CLARITY Act when the Senate returns in September. (Cointelegraph) 

Why it matters 

The Senate fight over market structure is now squarely about AML guardrails and conflicts of interest. Expect Democrats to push amendments on foreign‑issuer access, DEX trading of non‑compliant stablecoins, and limits on commercial firms issuing tokens, while Republicans lean on the RFI process to keep momentum. Timelines point to September for movement, so stakeholder redlines need to be ready now.

Debanking order: regulators told to bin 'reputational risk' and audit past decisions

On 7 August the White House issued the Guaranteeing Fair Banking for All Americans executive order. It tells the Fed, FDIC and OCC to scrub "reputational risk" from guidance and exams, review banks that offboarded lawful industries such as digital assets, and put wrongly debanked customers back on platform. Where religious discrimination is found, cases go to the Attorney General. The Small Business Administration is told to lean on covered lenders to reinstate small firms that were offboarded without a lawful basis. The fact sheet names crypto explicitly. (White House, The Block)

Why it matters 

This narrows the cover for blanket de‑risking, but it does not relax AML, sanctions or fraud controls. Implementation will be patchy until agencies update handbooks, so onboarding standards may yo‑yo for a quarter or two. Watch for OCC and FDIC circulars that clarify how banks should evidence customer‑level risk rather than sector‑level bans.

401(k) order: alternative assets get a look‑in, crypto included

Also on 7 August, a companion executive order “Democratizing Access To Alternative Assets For 401(K) Investors” told the Department of Labor to revisit ERISA guidance so plan fiduciaries have a clear process to include alternative assets in 401(k) menus, in coordination with Treasury and the SEC. The administration pitches this as democratising access for roughly 90 million savers to private equity, real estate and digital assets. Commentators note the familiar frictions for daily‑dealing plans: fees, valuation and liquidity. (White House, The Block)

Why it matters

This could open a regulated distribution channel for crypto exposure, but only via tightly governed wrappers with conservative liquidity and pricing policies. Expect any early moves to sit inside target‑date funds or bespoke sleeves rather than as a standalone "Bitcoin option" next to S&P 500. Timelines hinge on DOL guidance and any follow‑on rulemaking, plus how the SEC and Treasury align disclosure and custody expectations for plan assets.

Do Kwon pleads guilty over TerraUSD collapse

On 12 August 2025, Terraform Labs co-founder Do Kwon pleaded guilty in Manhattan federal court to fraud charges tied to the 2022 TerraUSD/Luna crash that wiped out tens of billions. Prosecutors said he misled investors about the stability of the algorithmic stablecoin and related reserves; the plea follows his extradition from Montenegro earlier this year. Sentencing will follow.

The industry’s largest collapse now has a criminal resolution in the U.S., reinforcing prosecutors’ appetite to use classic fraud statutes for crypto blow‑ups. Expect parallel civil penalties and restitution fights, and renewed scrutiny of disclosures and “stability” claims in yield‑bearing and stablecoin products.

🇪🇺 European Union

🇪🇺 MiCA Authorisations Update (per ESMA)

• 🇩🇪 Tangany GmbH — 08/08/2025
• 🇳🇱 Fiat Republic Netherlands B.V. — 05/08/2025
• 🇳🇱 Decubate B.V. — 31/07/2025

🇦🇪 United Arab Emirates

SCA and VARA move to unify UAE virtual‑asset oversight

The UAE’s Securities and Commodities Authority (SCA) and Dubai’s Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (VARA) have formalised a partnership to harmonise supervision of virtual‑asset service providers across the country. The deal sets up a shared VASP registration framework, mutual recognition of licences, joint supervision and enforcement protocols, real‑time data sharing and a Legislative Review Committee to keep rules aligned with global standards. VARA stresses this is licensing reciprocity, not automatic passporting: a VASP licensed in one jurisdiction can be recognised by the other, but only after coordination checks such as AML/CFT assessments and supervisory alignment. Dialogue with other regulators, including ADGM, is ongoing. (UAE SCA)

🔎 Things to Watch

Coming into view:

• 🏛️ Post-recess progress on the CLARITY Act.
• 🌐 OECD Crypto-Asset Reporting Framework (CARF) implementation timeline across EU and G20 nations ahead of 2026 start
• 🇬🇧 Further FCA consultations on the UK crypto regime
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