Today in crypto, Australia’s financial regulator has granted licensing exemptions for intermediaries distributing AFS-licensed stablecoins, Coinbase’s Brian Armstrong is confident a crypto bill will pass through Congress, and Wormhole released updated tokenomics for its native token, introducing a reserve and higher yields for stakers.
ASIC eases licensing rules for stablecoin distributors in Australia
The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) has introduced licensing exemptions for intermediaries involved in the distribution of stablecoins issued by licensed entities.
Under the newly published ASIC Corporations (Stablecoin Distribution Exemption) Instrument 2025/631, intermediaries distributing a stablecoin issued by an Australian financial services (AFS) licensee are no longer required to hold their own AFS, market or clearing and settlement facility licenses.
“ASIC is committed to supporting responsible innovation in the rapidly evolving digital assets space, while ensuring important consumer protections are in place by having eligible stablecoins issued under an AFS licence,” the regulator said in a Thursday announcement.
According to ASIC, the exemption only applies to stablecoins classified as financial products under the current Corporations Act and issued by eligible AFS-licensed entities.
The exemption covers a range of financial services related to secondary stablecoin distribution, including providing general advice, making a market, dealing in (but not issuing) the stablecoin and custodial services.
Crypto Clarity Act a “freight train leaving the station” — Coinbase CEO
Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong said on Wednesday that legislation to define who polices crypto in the US has “a good chance of getting done” after witnessing strong bipartisan support for the crypto market structure bill this week.
Armstrong had met with lawmakers over the last few days over the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act, saying it was “how we ensure the crypto industry can be built here in America, driving innovation and protecting consumers, and making sure we never have another Gary Gensler trying to take your rights.”
I was in DC the last few days working to get MARKET STRUCTURE legislation passed for crypto. This is how we ensure the crypto industry can be built here in America, driving innovation and protecting consumers, and making sure we never have another Gary Gensler trying to take your… pic.twitter.com/UqCH8jCNU8
— Brian Armstrong (@brian_armstrong) September 18, 2025
“The Senate is strongly supportive of getting this done; the members I met with on both sides of the aisle are ready to get this legislation passed,” he added, noting that the draft bill is being exchanged back and forth before it heads to the industry participants for public input.
The Digital Asset Market Clarity Act would clarify the roles of the Securities and Exchange Commission, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission and other financial agencies in regulating the crypto market, especially non-stablecoins such as tokenized stocks.
“I think this has a good chance of getting done, I’ve actually never been more bullish on the market structure [bill] getting passed; it’s a freight train leaving the station,” said Armstrong.
Wormhole token soars following tokenomics overhaul, W reserve launch
Wormhole, an interoperability protocol facilitating asset transfers between blockchains, announced updated tokenomics to its native Wormhole (W) token, including a token reserve and more yield for stakers. The changes could affect the protocol’s governance, as staked Wormhole tokens allocate voting power to delegates.
According to a Wednesday announcement, three main changes are coming to the Wormhole token: a W reserve funded with protocol fees and revenue, a 4% base yield for staking with higher rewards for active ecosystem participants, and a change from bulk unlocks to biweekly unlocks.
“The goal of Wormhole Contributors is to significantly expand the asset transfer and messaging volume that Wormhole facilitates over the next 1-2 years,” the protocol said. According to Wormhole, more tokens will be locked as adoption takes place and revenue filters back to the company.
Founded in late 2020 as a bridge to transfer tokens between Ethereum and Solana, Wormhole launched its native token on April 3, 2024.
The token price jumped over 6.3% on the tokenomics revision on Wednesday.
cointelegraph.com