Policy Event Β· High impact

SEC Reviews Nasdaq PHLX Bitcoin Options Approval After CME Challenge

The SEC accepted CME Group's petition for review of the delegated approval allowing Nasdaq PHLX to list cash-settled QBTC bitcoin index options. The prior approval is stayed while the Commission reviews the challenge, showing that crypto derivatives access can remain unstable even after an initial exchange-rule approval.

High impactπŸ‡ΊπŸ‡Έ United StatesRegulationExchangeBTCSECCME GroupNasdaq

APAC FINSTAB analysis

Although this is outside core APAC, it is relevant because global market-structure, enforcement, and stablecoin precedents often shape licensing expectations for APAC exchanges, issuers, custodians, and DeFi teams. Protocols/assets in scope: BTC. Named institutions or platforms: SEC, CME Group, Nasdaq. Teams should monitor the original source, map the change to licensing, custody, disclosure, and market-access obligations, and update their jurisdiction playbooks before the next compliance review.

Compliance read-through: map this event to entity licensing, market-access, custody, disclosure, token listing, and operational-risk obligations before expanding or marketing in the affected jurisdiction.

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Related policy events

FCA Consults On DeFi Guidance For Regulated Firms

The UK Financial Conduct Authority opened GC26/7 consultation on non-Handbook guidance for regulated firms using DeFi, covering operational resilience, financial-crime controls and Money Laundering Regulations obligations. The guidance would clarify how existing controls apply to DeFi dependencies such as smart contracts, bridges and oracle services.

High impactπŸ‡¬πŸ‡§ United KingdomRegulationAMLDeFi