US securities regulators pressed ahead with crypto rulemaking while the Clarity Act remains stalled in the Senate, and Switzerland's central bank raised concerns about stablecoins and monetary policy. Here is Crypto Valley Journal's weekly review of the most important developments in blockchain and cryptocurrencies.

SEC Advances Custody Proposal After Clarity Act Stalls

The Clarity Act has stalled in the US Senate for now. In September, the bill failed a cloture vote by 49 to 50, short of the 60 votes required. SEC Chair Paul Atkins then announced that the agency would act within its statutory authority.

Later that month, the SEC issued a five-year exemptive order for venues trading tokenized US stocks. This week, the agency followed up with a proposal on crypto custody. Under the proposal, investment advisers and regulated funds could hold crypto assets with state-chartered trust companies. Adviser self-custody, by contrast, would remain the exception where no qualified custodian exists.

The rules matter mainly for asset managers and hedge funds seeking to hold Bitcoin directly rather than through ETFs. The Commission still has to adopt the proposal. Atkins places it alongside guidance on tokenization and the proposed "Regulation Crypto Assets," and he has announced further proposals. Taken together, the exemptive order and the custody proposal show the agency working within its existing statutory toolkit while the legislative route stays blocked.

Full report: SEC proposes crypto custody rules for investment advisers

Senate Report Places USDT at the Center of Iran's Shadow Banking

According to a US Senate report, 84% of 846 Iran-linked wallets used almost only USDT. Tether, for its part, cites nearly USD 550 million in freezes. Senator Blumenthal is seeking probes into the stablecoin issuer over the Iran-linked wallets. Because USDT is the most widely used dollar stablecoin, the findings reach well beyond the 846 wallets documented, and any probes that result would be a separate step from the report itself.

Full report: US senator seeks probes into Tether over Iran wallets

SNB Warns Stablecoins Could Burden Monetary Policy

The Swiss National Bank (SNB) is also examining stablecoins, although from a monetary policy perspective. Governing Board member Petra Tschudin warns of large stablecoins emerging outside the banking system. Her concern is how interest rate decisions reach the economy: if households and firms shift deposits into stablecoins, banks lose refinancing funds. As a result, lending falls, which also affects interest rates. Moreover, she argues, a stablecoin franc is not automatically worth as much as a real franc, which would strain the uniformity of money.

Tschudin describes a scenario, not a current disruption. According to the SNB, stablecoins in Switzerland remain a niche so far and pose no financial stability risk. At the same time, the federal government is drafting rules: under the FinIA revision, only payment instrument institutions licensed by FINMA could issue Swiss stablecoins. Parliament will receive the dispatch in the second half of 2026 at the earliest. Read together with the Senate report on USDT, the week shows stablecoin policy moving onto regulatory agendas in both Washington and Bern.

Full report: SNB sees stablecoins as a burden on monetary policy

Blockstream Fights for USD 50 Million After Liquid Hack

About 600 BTC are still missing from Blockstream's Liquid Network reserve after the hack, and a USD 4 billion deal from Adam Back's circle collapsed, leaving the company fighting for USD 50 million. For readers less familiar with the infrastructure: the Liquid Network is Blockstream's Bitcoin sidechain, built to settle bitcoin transfers between exchanges and traders faster than the base chain allows.

Full report: Adam Back's Blockstream fights for USD 50 million after Liquid hack

Armada Shareholders Clear Evernorth's Path to Nasdaq

Armada shareholders voted on the Evernorth merger on September 30, clearing the way for the XRP treasury to list on the Nasdaq under the ticker XRPN. With the vote passed, the next milestone is the listing itself, which would put Evernorth among a growing group of listed companies structured around digital asset treasuries — vehicles that give stock-market investors indirect token exposure.

Full report: XRP treasury: Evernorth Nasdaq listing moves closer