Happy Crypto Week! In today’s Crypto for Advisors newsletter, Beth Haddock of Warburton Advisers provides a mid-year check-in on the advancements in the crypto industry and what this means for advisors.
Then, Chris Jenkins of Pocket Networks Foundation answers questions about regulatory changes for investors in Ask an Expert.
Crypto Week: What Does it Mean for Advisors?
Now well into the second half of 2025, crypto’s trajectory is clear: it’s evolving from excitement into core financial infrastructure. Stablecoins are gaining legitimacy, regulators are actively engaging with the industry, and persistent cybersecurity threats persist. These shifts require advisors to reassess strategies, educate clients, and prepare for a more structured and scrutinized market.
Crypto Week captured the momentum and underscored a key message: financial professionals must understand the role of crypto in the broader system and decide how to engage responsibly. Three developments stand out.
1. Stablecoins: From Fringe to Financial Infrastructure
Stablecoins are moving firmly into the financial mainstream. This week’s anticipated vote on the proposed GENIUS Act, coupled with prior statements from the SEC, Federal Reserve, and FDIC, signals a turning point. The Act outlines a regulatory regime governing reserves, redemption rights, and public disclosures, bringing long-awaited clarity to compliant issuance. Institutional adoption is accelerating. Major banks are developing stablecoin or tokenized alternatives. Corporate treasurers are piloting stablecoins for payments and working capital management. Cross-border payments — historically a pain point — with stablecoins can be faster, cheaper, and more transparent. For advisors, this represents a fundamental shift in financial infrastructure. Exposure to regulated stablecoins could soon be as routine as managing money market allocations. As infrastructure shifts, liquidity strategies and treasury operations will evolve. Stablecoins are no longer fringe — they’re becoming foundational.
2. A New Era of SEC Engagement & Institutional Scaling
After years of friction, the SEC has taken a more proactive — but still cautious — approach. Through public roundtables, the agency is engaging stakeholders to better understand digital assets, staking, custody, and DeFi. These are not enforcement forums; they are opportunities to shape policy. Commissioners Peirce and Uyeda have emphasized the importance of collaboration and regulatory clarity. Under its Crypto 2.0 initiative, the SEC’s Crypto Taskforce has published guidance on decentralized protocols, exchange-traded products, and custody standards.
However, this shift doesn’t mean due diligence is easier — it means it matters more. The SEC continues to examine how registrants are managing risk, controls, and disclosures. Growth from players like Robinhood and JPMorgan signals institutional scale, but not necessarily fiduciary alignment. Advisors must anchor diligence in the core duties of loyalty and care. This includes verifying the distinction between tokenized wrappers and underlying assets, understanding conflicts of interest, and assessing whether operations align with regulatory expectations. What appears compliant today could be scrutinized under future SEC leadership or litigation.
3. Security and Responsible Innovation
As regulatory frameworks mature with efforts like the GENIUS Act and anticipated market structure reforms, misconduct persists. From AI-generated scams to pump-and-dump schemes, familiar fraud risks have evolved, often targeting less sophisticated investors or exploiting cybersecurity gaps.
The SEC and CFTC continue to issue investor alerts, focusing not only on product design but also on marketing practices, cybersecurity, and fraud controls. The bar is rising—and firms that fail to meet it risk reputational damage and enforcement action.
This creates a leadership opportunity. Advisors can protect clients by minimizing conflicts, applying rigorous due diligence, and steering capital toward products with real utility, transparent governance, and robust security protocols. This includes evaluating how incentives are structured and whether operational resilience is built into platforms.
In today’s environment, overlooking cybersecurity, governance, or fraud red flags isn’t just careless — it may be seen as enabling misconduct.
From Innovation to Trust
The second half of 2025 marks a shift from momentum to maturity for the crypto industry. With regulatory clarity improving and institutional adoption rising, the groundwork is being laid for a more resilient and trustworthy financial system.
Advisors who stay informed, ask hard questions, and embed client-first principles into their digital asset strategies will lead the transition toward responsible innovation. This isn’t just about early adoption — it’s about building lasting trust in the next generation of finance.
- Beth Haddock, managing partner and founder, Warburton Advisers
Ask an Expert
Q. Beyond the disbanding of the National Cryptocurrency Enforcement Unit, what changes in enforcement priorities are affecting investors?
A. The stablecoin reserve requirements make sure that issuers actually have the assets needed to back the stablecoins being held, and giving stablecoin holders priority recovery in the case of insolvency adds a significant layer of confidence.
Q. How should advisors around the world look at US regulatory changes and the effect on their businesses and clients' money?
A. There is finally some much-needed clarity emerging around how to approach digital assets for investment. No one wants to operate in a high-risk environment where there is the chance of sudden, unexplained losses. Degens may accept the risk of rug pulling, but institutional investors will not. This opens up digital asset investing to the mainstream.
Q. Are there any categories of tokens that benefit more than others with the current administration
A. Tokens which fit easily into institutional financial frameworks, and their underlying utility tokens, will benefit strongly from the continuing emergence of institutional adoption.
Q. Are the regulatory changes around digital assets helping to guarantee investor safety?
A. Frameworks are being established that are similar in nature to the protections offered to consumers in traditional banking, thereby helping to increase investor safety across the board. Privacy tokens may continue to face regulatory headwinds as enforcement agencies seek transparent reporting and accounting features to ensure compliance.
- Chris Jenkins, head of operations, Pocket Networks Foundation
Keep Reading
- Bitcoin reached a new all-time high of just over $123,000 this week.
- Ripple applies for Charter Bank License in U.S.
- U.S. federal agencies provided further clarifications for banks to offer crypto services and custody.
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