Crypto Regulation in 2025: GENIUS Act, MiCA, and New Rules

2025 has become a turning point for the cryptocurrency industry. Transfers in USDT can hardly be called anonymous transactions between wallets anymore. Today, it is a process that increasingly resembles a bank transfer. Exchanges require KYC even for minimal amounts, providers exchange your data with each other, and issuers are obliged to publish reports on reserves.

In this article you will learn:

• which cryptocurrency and stablecoin laws came into effect in 2025;
• how the GENIUS Act in the US and MiCA in the EU are changing the market;
• what this means for USDT TRC-20 holders and transfers on the Tron network;
• what to expect in the future, when CBDCs and new requirements appear.

Next, let’s look at which digital asset laws actually came into force in 2025.

In June 2025, FATF announced that the Travel Rule had already been implemented in 99 countries. Now, any licensed service must transmit client data in transfers. For users, this means that familiar seamless transfers are no longer anonymous.

Jurisdictions have formalized this in specific laws:

• United States: in July 2025, the president signed the GENIUS Act.
• EU: rules for ART, EMT, and CASP are in effect. In 2025 this led to exchanges beginning to delist tokens without licenses. Bitstamp and Kraken removed EURT and PYUSD stablecoins. Coinbase EU restructured operations and limited listings of “dubious” coins.
• Hong Kong: as of August 1, 2025, HKMA licenses issuers. The first applications were submitted by Circle and HashKey.

Even Pakistan is now playing by the rules, creating in 2025 a new body — PVARA.

The GENIUS Act 2025, signed by the president in July 2025, became the first federal law on US stablecoins. It established:

• issuance only by banks and licensed organizations;
• mandatory 1:1 backing with liquid assets (USD, Treasuries);
• public audited reports;
• compliance with AML and BSA;
• the ability to freeze tokens by court order.

The law was lobbied by major banks and Circle, hoping to strengthen USDC’s position against USDT. Tether had to publicly confirm that its reserves met the new requirements, although the company is registered outside the US.

For users this means: your transfer on an American exchange will be checked almost like a bank transfer. Even $100 may require a passport and proof of funds.

At the same time, Congress is reviewing the CLARITY Act on cryptocurrencies (H.R. 3633). The bill passed the House and is in the Senate. It delineates the powers of the SEC and CFTC, introduces the concept of a “permitted payment stablecoin,” and removes the risk of constant disputes between regulators.

MiCA has become the foundation of cryptocurrency exchange regulation in Europe. Its implementation is phased: ART and EMT from June 30, 2024, CASP from December 30, 2024. A transition period remains until the end of 2025, finishing in 2026.

The consequences are already tangible for European users. Those holding questionable assets faced a problem: tokens turned out to be difficult to exchange. Coinbase EU restricted access to some tokens that did not complete the notification procedure.

For users, MiCA means that experimental coins without a license will disappear from Europe. Only tokens with transparent reserves and licensed issuers will remain.

Cryptocurrency laws in Asia and the Middle East are progressing rapidly.

• Hong Kong: as of August 1, 2025, issuers must obtain a license. Circle and HashKey publicly confirmed they applied. HKMA requires 100% reserves and instant redemption mechanisms.
• Bahrain: on July 4, 2025, the Central Bank launched the Stablecoin Issuance & Offering module. The country positions itself as a crypto hub for the Middle East. Local fintech companies were the first to apply for token issuance licenses.
• Pakistan: in summer 2025, the Virtual Assets Act was adopted, and a new body, PVARA, was created. For a country where a significant part of GDP comes from remittances, stablecoin regulation has become strategic.

Even in regions with different levels of economy, the rules are similar: without licenses and reserves, stablecoins will not survive.

For USDT TRC-20 holders, the new rules are already tangible.

According to Tether and on-chain analytics, from 2017 to 2025 almost $3 billion USDT has been frozen:

• Tron — about $1.5 billion;
• Ethereum — ~ $1.2 billion;
• other networks (Avalanche, Solana) — hundreds of millions.

In June 2025, more than $60 million in Tron addresses were frozen. In 2024–2025, OFAC added more than 150 Tron wallets to sanctions lists.

These numbers translate into concrete stories.

• Case 1: A trader received $1,000 USDT via P2P. When depositing on Binance, the funds were frozen for three days: the counterparty’s address was linked to an investigation. The funds were returned only after verification.
• Case 2: As of March 31, 2025, Binance will remove trading pairs with non-MiCA stablecoins (including USDT) for EEA users. This means many USDT holders in Europe will no longer be able to trade them on spot markets.

Now even a $100 transfer may require a passport, and working with a “dirty” address risks leaving you without access to funds for several days.

The problem is that laws of different countries do not align: what complies with GENIUS in the US may violate MiCA in Europe. Issuers are left to navigate between the US, EU, and Asian markets.

Companies are implementing technical solutions:

• online reserve reports;
• smart contracts with “pause/freeze” functions;
• automatic transaction checks for sanctions risks;
• integration with government APIs.

Even with reports and smart contracts, the question remains: how can one coin comply with the laws of dozens of countries at once?

Tightening will continue. In the EU, rules for stablecoin issuers are under discussion. In the UK, there are proposals to regulate them like bank deposits.

CBDCs are entering mass pilot phases:

• Digital Euro: ECB launches tests in 2026–2027, with several commercial banks and thousands of users participating.
• e-HKD: Hong Kong expands its pilot to retail, involving major fintech companies.
• Digital Yuan: more than 200 million people already use e-CNY for retail payments, including cross-border.

CBDCs may compete with stablecoins but also integrate with them. Official currencies for settlements + stablecoins for flexibility in decentralized services.

2025 has finally taken stablecoins out of the “wild west” into a world of strict rules. The GENIUS Act in the US, MiCA in Europe, licensing in Asia and the Middle East — now USDT and other tokens operate almost like banking instruments.

Regulating USDT means not only new risks — checks, KYC, freezes of “dirty” addresses — but also new guarantees. Your tokens are now truly backed by reserves, and exchanges and services are accountable to regulators.

The main lesson is simple: a couple of minutes checking an address and choosing a licensed platform can save you hundreds of dollars and nerves. The crypto world is maturing, and those who play “by the book” are the ones who win.