The Rapidly Evolving Crypto Asset Legal Landscape
American Bar Association, Business Law Section Spring Meeting 2025
Hosted by Financial Services Technology Subcommittee (Business Law Section)
Chanté Eliaszadeh — Panelist
Discussion
At the ABA Business Law Section's 2025 Spring Meeting in New Orleans, I joined co-panelists from Wachtell, BakerHostetler, Rutgers Law, and Cahill on the Financial Services Technology Subcommittee panel surveying the most consequential shifts in U.S. crypto regulation since the prior year — the GENIUS Act's federal stablecoin framework, the CLARITY Act's market-structure taxonomy, and the SEC's retreat from post-Howey token enforcement.
My focus was the practitioner-level question: what does the pivot from enforcement-driven regulation to statutory frameworks mean for deal work right now? I discussed how the new federal regime reshapes due diligence for tokenized securities, why Circle's June 2025 OCC trust-bank application (First National Digital Currency Bank) signals where custody infrastructure is going, and what the $10 billion federal-transition threshold in GENIUS actually means for state-registered issuers planning for scale. The panel also addressed the practical tension between the U.S.'s increasingly clear framework and international issuers who have spent three years building compliance around MiCA, Singapore's Payment Services Act, and Dubai's DIFC Digital Assets Law.
Panel Roster
- Moderator
- David M. Adlerstein — Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz
- Panelists
- Teresa Goody Guillén — BakerHostetler
- Prof. Yuliya Guseva — Rutgers Law School
- Sarah Chen — Cahill Gordon & Reindel
Topics Covered
- GENIUS Act
- CLARITY Act
- SEC crypto enforcement
- Digital asset taxonomy
- Stablecoin regulation
- Tokenized securities
- OCC trust bank chartering
- Cross-border crypto compliance
Related Analysis on astraea.law
The CLARITY Act (H.R. 3633) Explained: How It Would Split SEC and CFTC Jurisdiction
The CLARITY Act --- H.R. 3633, the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act of 2025 --- passed the House and is now before the Senate. It would give the CFTC authority over digital commodities, including spot markets, and turn on a "mature blockchain" test rather than a named Bitcoin/Ether carve-out. Here is what the actual bill says, and what it does not.
GENIUS Act Stablecoin Compliance: A 2027 Roadmap for Issuers
The GENIUS Act became law in July 2025, but its compliance cliff is January 18, 2027 --- and the implementing rules are still in proposed form. Here is what stablecoin issuers should be doing now, and the facts the early commentary got wrong.
When the SEC Won't Act: Private Litigation Options for Crypto Investors
The SEC dropped 12+ crypto cases in 2025. Private litigation is now the primary accountability tool. Here's the legal toolkit for investors.
SEC Crypto Enforcement Defense: What to Do When You Get a Wells Notice
Received an SEC Wells Notice? This 2026 guide covers the response window, the Wells submission, settlement-versus-litigation frameworks, and what a Wells Notice means now that registration-theory crypto enforcement has substantially receded. By Chanté Eliaszadeh, who worked in the SEC's crypto unit as a summer Honors Program intern and now defends crypto companies.
Stablecoin Reserve Requirements: Attestations, Custody, and Liquidity Management
The GENIUS Act sets a 1:1 reserve mandate for payment stablecoins — cash and short-dated Treasuries, monthly examinations, qualified custody — but it is enacted, not yet effective, with implementing rules still in proposed form as of mid-2026. This guide explains what the statute will require once effective, how today's attestation practice differs, and how to build a compliant reserve program.
Work with Chanté
Astraea Counsel represents blockchain, AI, and fintech founders on the regulatory and transactional questions discussed in this session.
Talk to an Attorney