The first half of 2025 brought significant developments in the regulation of digital and cryptoassets in the UK and EU. In this half-year update, we review these and look ahead to likely developments in the UK and EU in the...more
7/9/2025
/ Banking Sector ,
Blockchain ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Digital Assets ,
EU ,
European Banking Authority (EBA) ,
European Commission ,
European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) ,
Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Regulatory Reform ,
FinTech ,
HM Treasury ,
Technology ,
UK
The Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA) has now been in full effect for six months. This landmark piece of legislation, which is designed to create a harmonized regulatory framework for cryptoassets across the EU,...more
AIM Consultation Paper -
7 April 2025 / LSE -
The London Stock Exchange (LSE) initiated a significant consultation on the Alternative Investment Market (AIM). The discussion paper sought feedback from market participants...more
7/8/2025
/ Acquisitions ,
Capital Markets ,
Corporate Governance ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) ,
Investment Management ,
Mergers ,
Private Equity ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Shareholders ,
UK
Companies are increasingly viewing bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies as strategic reserve assets, establishing dedicated corporate entities to hold cryptoassets on their balance sheets and raising capital specifically to...more
7/2/2025
/ Acquisitions ,
Bitcoin ,
Capital Markets ,
Corporate Finance ,
Cryptoassets ,
Digital Assets ,
Investment ,
Mergers ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
Securities ,
Special Purpose Acquisition Companies (SPACs)
In this article, we reflect on key trends in ESG over the first half of 2025 and look ahead at what to watch in the second half of 2025. We analyse developments, including the following major themes:
- EU Omnibus Proposals...more
6/26/2025
/ Climate Change ,
Corporate Governance ,
Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Environmental Policies ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
EU ,
Financial Reporting ,
Legislative Agendas ,
New Legislation ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Supply Chain ,
Sustainability ,
UK ,
United Arab Emirates (UAE)
Following the publication by HM Treasury of the draft legislation establishing a financial services regulatory regime for cryptoassets in the UK, on 28 May 2025 the UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) published Consultation...more
6/6/2025
/ Cryptoassets ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) ,
Financial Regulatory Reform ,
HM Treasury ,
New Legislation ,
New Regulations ,
Proposed Rules ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Stablecoins ,
UK
In October 2024, HM Treasury (HMT) published a consultation paper amid perceived concerns related to the “buy now, pay later” (BNPL) sector, including uninformed consumer decisions, affordability checks and levels of...more
As part of the UK government’s aim to create legislation establishing a regulatory framework for cryptoassets, on 2 May 2025 the UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) published Discussion Paper DP25/1....more
Since December 2024, cryptoassets and related services are regulated in the European Union by the Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA). Although the regulation provides a comprehensive set of rules for issuers of...more
5/5/2025
/ Blockchain ,
Corporate Governance ,
Cryptoassets ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Digital Assets ,
EU ,
European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) ,
Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) ,
Financial Institutions ,
FinTech ,
Investment Management ,
MiFID II ,
Regulatory Requirements
On 29 April 2025, HM Treasury published near-final draft legislation establishing a financial services regulatory regime for cryptoassets in the UK, along with a policy note explaining the intended policy outcomes of the...more
On 3 April 2025, the European Parliament overwhelmingly voted to delay the implementation of the EU Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) and the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CS3D). The...more
Below is our quarterly briefing covering the most important developments for UK PLCs, UK equity capital markets and UK public M&A.
In this issue, we review:
- Primary Market Bulletin 54 — Strategic leaks and unlawful...more
On 26 February 2025, the European Commission (the EC) adopted a new package of proposals aimed at simplifying the EU’s ESG reporting and compliance requirements. The EC published two separate proposals for directives to make...more
3/3/2025
/ Compliance ,
Corporate Governance ,
Corporate Social Responsibility ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
EU ,
European Commission ,
Popular ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Sustainability
On 5 February 2025, Skadden hosted a series of panel discussions looking at the evolving EU, UK and US crypto-asset landscape... The discussion explored how market participants and investors can best anticipate and prepare...more
2/13/2025
/ AML/CFT ,
Blockchain ,
Compliance ,
Corporate Governance ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Digital Assets ,
Enforcement Priorities ,
EU ,
Financial Crimes ,
Financial Regulatory Reform ,
FinTech ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Sanctions ,
UK
There have been a number of notable recent developments in SEC regulation of foreign private issuers (FPIs), including disclosure trends and rule changes that impact the annual report on Form 20-F for fiscal year 2024.
In...more
1/20/2025
/ Capital Markets ,
Corporate Governance ,
Cybersecurity ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
Filing Requirements ,
Foreign Private Issuers ,
Form 20-F ,
Investment Management ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Rulemaking Process ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Regulation
On 8 January 2025, the UK’s HM Treasury issued a statutory instrument amending the scope of “collective investment schemes” (the Amendment) under the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (Collective Investment Schemes)...more
In 2024, in line with our predictions from last year, the UK public takeover market saw a sharp increase in the number of megadeals, i.e., those valued in excess of £1 billion. Seventeen such transactions were announced in...more
In this article, we reflect on key trends in ESG over the second half of 2024 and look ahead at trends that may emerge in 2025. We analyze developments in the latter half of 2024, which were similar to those highlighted in...more
1/6/2025
/ Antitrust Division ,
Australia ,
Board of Directors ,
Climate Change ,
COP ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Corporate Governance ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Diversity ,
Diversity and Inclusion Standards (D&I) ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
EU ,
European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) ,
False Claims Act (FCA) ,
Financial Regulatory Reform ,
Green Loans ,
Greenhouse Gas Emissions ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Loan Market Association ,
Member State ,
Modern Slavery Act ,
Nasdaq ,
New Guidance ,
New Legislation ,
Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Sustainability ,
Sustainable Finance ,
Tax Reform ,
UK ,
United Nations
As part of the UK government’s drive to develop legislation for a UK regulatory regime to govern the cryptoassets sector, on 16 December 2024 the UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) published Discussion Paper DP24/4, which...more
12/23/2024
/ Anti-Money Laundering ,
Cryptoassets ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Digital Assets ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) ,
Financial Promotions ,
Financial Services Industry ,
FinTech ,
Market Abuse ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
UK
In her first comments since the July 2024 UK general election, Economic Secretary to the UK Treasury Tulip Siddiq MP delivered a speech at the Tokenisation Summit on 21 November 2024 that outlined the recently elected UK...more
12/4/2024
/ Cryptoassets ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Digital Assets ,
EU ,
Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Regulatory Reform ,
Financial Services Industry ,
FinTech ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Stablecoins ,
UK
On November 14, 2024, the UK government unveiled its National Payments Vision (the Vision), a strategy designed to reshape the UK’s payments ecosystem. This Vision responds to the findings of the 2023 Future of Payments...more
11/27/2024
/ Bank of England ,
Banking Sector ,
Cybersecurity ,
Data Privacy ,
Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Regulatory Reform ,
FinTech ,
HM Treasury ,
Open Banking ,
Payment Systems ,
PRC ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
UK
A new initiative to consolidate various European Union environmental, social and governance (ESG) reporting obligations into a single regulation aims to simplify the regulatory landscape and enhance the EU’s competitiveness....more
What is the EU Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive?
The Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CS3D) is a pivotal European Union directive that mandates human rights and environmental due diligence...more
11/5/2024
/ Climate Change ,
Corporate Governance ,
Corporate Social Responsibility ,
Due Diligence ,
Environmental Policies ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
EU ,
European Commission ,
Human Rights ,
New Regulations ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Supply Chain ,
Sustainability
In the UK, 14 million people used “buy now, pay later” (BNPL) at least once in the six months leading up to January 2023. Frequent users were more than four times as likely as other consumers to have missed a payment on a...more
11/5/2024
/ Borrowers ,
Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL) ,
Consumer Financial Products ,
Consumer Lenders ,
Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) ,
Financial Services Industry ,
FinTech ,
HM Treasury ,
HMRC ,
Lenders ,
Popular ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Temporary Permissions Regime (TPR) ,
UK
On 29 June 2023, the EU’s new Regulation (EU) 2023/1115 restricting sale in the EU of products that may cause deforestation or the degradation of forests (EUDR) entered into force.
The EUDR is expected to have global...more
10/22/2024
/ Corporate Governance ,
Due Diligence ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
EU ,
Legislative Agendas ,
New Regulations ,
Popular ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises (SMEs) ,
Sustainability