A lot changed this quarter, starting with the biggest crypto rulemaking the SEC has attempted in years. AI and tokenized markets have been feeling the same pressure, both operating for a while without much clear guidance. But all of that started to shift this quarter, with a landmark SEC proposal and a couple of notable enforcement actions.

Let’s kick things off with the biggest and most interesting regulatory development we have seen in years: the SEC’s proposed Regulation Crypto Assets. Announced on August 18th, the proposal is the agency’s first real attempt at a dedicated framework for crypto investment contracts, rather than the case-by-case approach that has defined the space for years. In short, the rule creates two new registration exemptions: (i) up to $5 million over four years for startups; and (ii) up to $75 million per year for general fundraising, along with a safe harbor for issuers to show a crypto asset is no longer tied to an investment contract. It would also preempt state securities registration for qualifying offerings, a meaningful change for issuers navigating a patchwork of state rules. All three sitting Commissioners issued statements in support of the proposed rule. The comment period runs 60 days from the announced date and a lot could still change, but the direction seems pretty clear. If you want to dig in deeper on the new framework, check out the most recent installment of our Crypto Current, Vol. 4, crafted by Silver’s resident crypto expert, Josh Burton, Director, Compliance. Josh’s analysis was also featured in Law360: SEC’s Long-Awaited Crypto Rule Is 1st Piece of Larger Puzzle.

Crypto is not the only topic drawing regulatory attention this quarter. AI governance and greenwashing are just as much in focus right now, and this quarter’s two featured pieces tackle them head on, asking the same underlying question: can a firm actually prove its compliance program works, or does it just look good on paper?

Mike Regan, who leads Silver’s Cybersecurity Compliance team, takes on the AI side of that question in “AI Governance for Investment Advisors: A Regulatory Lens and Best Practices,” wherein he argues that AI is already governed by the rules firms operate under today, such as the Compliance Rule and Regulation S-P, and what a defensible program looks like, including documented vendor oversight and human review. Mike made a similar point in a recent Law360 article, discussing how AI adoption among wealth managers is amplifying financial crime risk. His advice there tracked closely with the piece: address the underlying data and verification gaps first before adding on a new AI tool.

Our SRS team makes a parallel argument about greenwashing in “Anti-Greenwashing: What Investors Can Learn from Recent Enforcement Activity,” which compares enforcement approaches in Germany, the UK, and the EU.  The team lays out how to build compliance infrastructure that holds up no matter which jurisdiction is regulating it. The tools and philosophies differ across the three jurisdictions, but the message is the same: regulators are testing greenwashing claims against evidence, and firms that cannot back them up are landing in the crosshairs.

But this scrutiny is not just limited to greenwashing claims. The SEC’s enforcement docket applied the same scrutiny elsewhere, recently filing charges against Adit Ventures over undisclosed related-party transactions and fees, alongside a parallel SEC and CFTC case alleging a $425 million crypto Ponzi scheme. These actions are a reminder that no matter how new the product or the technology, conflicts of interest and misuse of  investor assets still get regulators’ attention. It is a fitting bookend to a quarter that has been about whether firms can show if their programs hold up under real scrutiny, not just on paper.

Regulators were not the only ones busy this quarter. We had a few big announcements of our own. In case you missed it, we launched Silver’s AI Governance Program, powered by Clairier and expanded our portfolio company cybersecurity offering with Advisor Armor, giving clients more to work with as they build out programs that can hold up to the kind of scrutiny we have covered above.

We also took that work on the road, meeting clients and peers at conferences across the country for much of the first half of the year. If you are curious how these events shaped our thinking, our Silver On-Site recap has the full rundown. That momentum carries into the fall: in October, I will moderate a panel on prediction markets, tokenization, and new market structures at GAIM Ops West in Dana Point, California. Trysha Daskam-Smith, Silver’s Head of Sustainability Risk & Strategy, will be hosting a table talk on “What Investment Managers Need to Know About Sustainability Regulation in 2026,” at the 100 Women in Finance Impact Investing Symposium on October 8 in NYC.

As you can see, these last few months have been some of the most active we can remember for our industry and our firm, and honestly, we cannot wait to see what the rest of the year brings. The full Q3 Regulatory Recap will be in your inbox shortly! If any of of our comments raise questions for your firm, we would love to hear from you at [email protected].

Thanks for tuning in!