DUP ‘in position’ to return to Stormont – if government sticks to its word
The Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) are “in a position” to restart the executive in Northern Ireland after a near two-year absence – if ministers keep to the “agreed timeline” over a fresh deal on post-Brexit trade, their leader has said.
The power-sharing agreement between the main parties at Stormont collapsed in 2022, with the unionist party refusing to return over its opposition to the government’s deal with the EU – which left a trade border down the Irish Sea and additional checks on goods travelling between Great Britain and Northern Ireland.
Sinn Fein also won the election for the first time, meaning the return of executive would see Northern Ireland’s first nationalist first minister installed – Michelle O’Neill – with the DUP taking the deputy first minister role.
Politics live: Stormont set for historic first minister as post-Brexit deal struck
The DUP and UK government have been at loggerheads over trade arrangements and the impact of the direct border with the EU on the island of Ireland.
But in the early hours of Tuesday morning, it was revealed an agreement had now been reached, paving the way for the assembly to get up and running again.
Leader of the DUP, Sir Jeffrey Donaldson, told reporters on Tuesday afternoon that the deal offered “further legal change that will be of real benefit to businesses in Northern Ireland [and] ensures that Northern Ireland benefits in full from UK free trade deals”.
He added: “These were key elements in our requirements in our negotiations from the government.”
The president of Sinn Fein, Mary Lou McDonald, told Sky News’ Politics Hub With Sophy Ridge that it was a day of “very great hope” and “some relief”, saying: “Of course there are some final matters to be concluded before the assembly is recalled, but it’s very positive here today in Belfast and right across Ireland.”
Sinn Fein’s Mary Lou McDonald (left) and the incoming first minister Michelle O’Neill (right). Pic: Sky News
Ms McDonald also pledged that her colleague, Ms O’Neill, held a “deeply sincere commitment to act as a first minister for all”.
She added: “We will look to find the common ground, the high ground… and so I would say to the unionists in particular to take heart from the fact that we now have the chance for change and a platform to advance everybody’s standard of living, everybody’s life experience.”
The full details of the deal have yet to be released, with Sir Jeffrey saying they were set to come tomorrow.
But he did reveal the so-called “green lane” for goods being sent across the Irish Sea would be replaced by the UK internal market system that “reflects the reality that the UK is part of the United Kingdom”.
The DUP leader continued: “Goods flowing within the UK will flow freely – that was our core, key objective, and I believe what we have secured is real change and everybody will be able to see it for themselves.”
EU throws Sunak a bone over NI
So the government has produced a rabbit out of the hat, just as we teeter on the edge of a deal to restore Stormont.
Suddenly they’ve revealed the fruits of months of secret negotiation with the EU, to change the legal text governing the way trade operates in Northern Ireland.
After some speculation that the UK was prepared to rewrite the rules unilaterally, it’s emerged that the EU not only knew, but were prepared to throw the UK government a bone in order to assist Rishi Sunak getting the Northern Ireland Assembly up and running.
Hard-line unionists will no doubt say it does not deal with the fundamental, quite existential questions raised by the Windsor Framework likely to play out over the next 20 years.
Nevertheless, the EU has been prepared to extend the range of goods it is content to see going into Northern Ireland without checks.
The change means the EU has agreed to expand the “not at risk” category of stuff that can use the goods Green Lane, which doesn’t require checks.
Supporters are claiming this means Northern Ireland can properly take advantage of free trade agreements struck by post-Brexit Britain.
Northern Ireland Secretary Chris Heaton-Harris says that it means a cut to food tariffs to goods like New Zealand lamb and Australian beef. We shall see.
Critically, politically, it has allowed Jeffrey Donaldson to strike a note of vindication against critics who say the “deal” the DUP has agreed to is meaningless.
“This demonstrates that the naysayers are wrong. There will be legal changes,” he trumpeted on social media.
This is further than many expected, and takes us even closer to a restoration of Stormont that feels closer than it has ever been so far.
The deal also has sign off from the EU, with a document being published from a joint committee with the UK showing the bloc was happy for more goods to head to Northern Ireland without being checked.
“We believe this represents a significant change,” said Sir Jeffrey. But he did appear to issue a thinly veiled warning to UK ministers.
“On the basis that the government continues to deliver the strength of the agreed timeline that we reached with them, then we will be in a position to convene a meeting of the assembly and proceed with the restoration of the political institutions,” he said.
Sir Jeffrey also confirmed that along with the civil service, Northern Ireland parties from all sides had already been meeting to discuss the issues at hand, including an ongoing dispute over public sector pay.
Earlier, the UK government’s Northern Ireland Secretary, Chris Heaton-Harris, welcomed the agreement, telling reporters: “I believe that all the conditions are now in place for the Assembly to return, and I look forward very much to the restoration of the institutions at Stormont as soon as possible.”
He also did not reveal specifics of the deal – saying other parties needed to be briefed first – but confirmed a financial package of £3.3bn will be available to the incoming executive.
However, Ms McDonald said: “The north of Ireland has been underfunded for a very, very long time.
“Although the headline figure of £3bn sounds like a lot, the reality is that it is still going to be a huge, huge challenge to fund this place correctly.”
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Meanwhile, in her interview with Sky News, the Sinn Fein president also said “the days of partition are numbered”.
Ms McDonald’s party wants to see Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland united as one country – unlike the unionists, who want Northern Ireland to remain part of the UK.
She told Sophy Ridge: “The reality is that so long as Ireland is partitioned, we will face very, very significant economic challenges and disadvantages here in the North and all along the border.”
The South African Reserve Bank issued its second financial stability report for 2025, identifying digital assets and stablecoins as a new risk as the number of users in the country continues to grow.
In a report released on Tuesday, South Africa’s central bank identified “crypto assets and stablecoins” as a new risk for technology-enabled financial innovation. The bank reported that the number of combined users on the country’s three largest crypto exchanges reached 7.8 million as of July, with about $1.5 billion held in custody at the end of 2024.
“Due to their exclusively digital – and therefore borderless – nature, crypto assets can be used to circumvent the provisions of the Exchange Control Regulations,” said the report, referring to regulations to control the inflows and outflows of funds to South Africa.
In addition to crypto assets like Bitcoin (BTC), XRP (XRP), Ether (ETH), and Solana (SOL), the central bank said that there had been a “structural shift” in the adoption of stablecoins based on a significant increase in trading volume since 2022:
“Whereas Bitcoin and other popular crypto assets were the main conduit for trading crypto assets until 2022, USD-pegged stablecoins have become the preferred trading pair on South African crypto asset trading platforms […] This is due to the notably lower price volatility of stablecoins compared to unbacked crypto assets.”
Related: South Korea stablecoin framework stalls as regulators split over banks’ role
The Financial Stability Board, a financial watchdog for entities in the G20, reported in October that South Africa had “no framework in place” for regulating global stablecoins, and only “partial regulations in place” for cryptocurrencies. The central bank said that “risks may build up undetected” from crypto, posing a threat to the country’s financial stability until an appropriate regulatory framework is established.
Different story with South Africa’s government on crypto
The central bank’s warning echoed similar sentiments from 2017, when deputy governor Francois Groepe said issuing digital currencies would be too risky for the country.
However, among policymakers in South Africa’s government, the sentiment may be slightly more bullish.
In 2022, the country’s Financial Sector Conduct Authority designated cryptocurrency as a financial product and subsequently issued licenses for crypto companies to conduct business.
Magazine: Ethereum’s Fusaka fork explained for dummies: What the hell is PeerDAS?
Prediction platform Polymarket has received regulatory approval from the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission to operate an intermediated trading platform.
In a Tuesday notice, Polymarket said the CFTC issued an Amended Order of Designation, which will allow the company to “operate an intermediated trading platform subject to the full set of requirements applicable to federally regulated US exchanges.” According to Polymarket, the approval will result in the platform onboarding brokerages and customers directly and facilitating trading on US venues.
“This approval allows us to operate in a way that reflects the maturity and transparency that the US regulatory framework demands,” said Polymarket founder and CEO Shayne Coplan.
The regulatory approval came about five months after the CFTC and the US Department of Justice closed an investigation into Polymarket regarding whether the platform accepted trades from US-based users. The FBI reportedly raided Coplan’s home as part of the probe into the prediction platform, seizing his electronic devices.
Related: US regulator moves to drop appeal against Kalshi
The predictions platform is subject to oversight and regulation from the CFTC while operating in the United States. A market structure bill moving its way through Congress could also expand the CFTC’s authority over digital assets.
CFTC leadership in flux
The CFTC notice under acting chair Caroline Pham came as the US Senate is expected to soon vote on the nomination of SEC official Michael Selig as the next chair of the commodities regulator. Lawmakers in the Senate Agriculture Committee voted along party lines to advance Selig’s nomination.
Even if Selig were to be confirmed, the CFTC would continue to have four empty commissioner seats. As of Tuesday, US President Donald Trump had not announced any potential replacements for the regulator’s leadership.
Magazine: Sunny Lu: Getting scammed for 100 Bitcoin led him to create VeChain
Key takeaways:
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The SEC introduced new post-shutdown guidelines that explain how registration statements, including crypto ETF filings, progress through Sections 8(a) and 461 of the Securities Act.
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Generic listing standards approved in September 2025 removed the need for individual 19(b) approvals for qualifying crypto ETPs.
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The government shutdown created a backlog of more than 900 filings, pushing issuers to rely on the automatic 20-day effectiveness mechanism under Section 8(a).
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The new SEC instructions allow issuers to choose between automatic effectiveness or requesting accelerated effectiveness under Rule 461 for faster launches.
After years of slow progress and periodic regulatory pauses, the US Securities and Exchange Commission has released new guidelines that may speed up the approval timeline for cryptocurrency exchange-traded funds (ETFs).
These updates follow an extended, record-long government shutdown that halted progress on more than 900 pending registration filings across financial markets. As federal operations resumed, the SEC issued technical guidance outlining how issuers can advance ETF applications under Sections 8(a) and 461 of the Securities Act of 1933.
This article explains what changed, why it matters and how the updated procedures could shorten timelines for new crypto ETF launches in the US.
The regulatory freeze: A look back
For most of 2025, ETF issuers, especially those focused on crypto, were already dealing with a heavy procedural load. Following the approval of spot Bitcoin ETFs in January 2024 and Ether ETFs in May 2024, the filing activity has surged, coming from firms seeking to list products tracking altcoins such as Solana (SOL), XRP (XRP), Chainlink (LINK), Dogecoin (DOGE) and others.
The regulatory process for many of these products still required individualized review under Section 19(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. This meant issuers depended on the SEC to publish proposed rule changes, open public comment periods and issue approval or denial orders. Timelines varied widely.
Pathway to generic listing standards
On Sep. 17, 2025, the SEC approved generic listing standards for commodity-based trust shares on Nasdaq, the Chicago Board Options Exchange BZX Exchange and the New York Stock Exchange Arca. This changed the regulatory process by removing the need for individual Section 19(b) rule change approvals for every qualifying crypto ETF.
The new standards were announced alongside the approval of the first multi-crypto asset ETF, the Grayscale Digital Large Cap Fund, which holds Bitcoin (BTC), Ether (ETH) and other coins.
This streamlining removed the years-long bottleneck that had previously stalled products, but the immediate push to launch was halted by the government shutdown.
The shutdown backlog
During the 43-day shutdown, more than 900 filings were submitted but could not be processed. ETF issuers were left with no review mechanisms, no staff communication and no way to advance pending filings.
In this environment of regulatory paralysis, the only path forward for some issuers was to use an existing mechanism: the automatic 20-day effectiveness provision under Section 8(a) of the Securities Act of 1933. This allowed registration statements filed without a delay-in-time clause to automatically become effective after 20 days if the SEC did not take action or object. This mechanism was helpful for the launch of several funds, including Canary Capital’s spot XRP ETF.
The crisis and the reliance on a technical workaround highlighted the need for a more efficient and formal review process.
This approach was referenced directly in the SEC guidance published after operations resumed. Once the SEC reopened, staff was instructed to resume work promptly and orderly. Issuers immediately requested clarity on how filings submitted during the shutdown would be sequenced or amended.
What the SEC’s new guidelines actually change
On Nov. 13, 2025, the SEC published a detailed set of technical clarifications explaining how it would process the shutdown-period backlog.
The SEC’s new guidance was applied to issuers such as Bitwise, which had an XRP ETF filing pending but had not yet completed the Section 8(a) process.
The post-shutdown guidance created two primary mechanisms to move stalled applications toward launch.
Automatic 20-day effectiveness
As a remedy for filings submitted during the shutdown, the guidance confirmed that registration statements filed without a deferral would gain automatic effectiveness after 20 days under Section 8(a). The SEC also clarified that staff would not recommend enforcement action even if the filing does not include Rule 430A information.
Request for acceleration via amendment
For issuers who want a faster approval timeline or who want to restore active regulatory oversight, the SEC guidance clarified that it may add an amendment deferral and then formally request acceleration under Rule 461. This allows issuers to move beyond the automatic 20-day countdown and seek accelerated effectiveness. The SEC also noted that the division would review filings in the order in which they were received.
Did you know? The generic listing standards apply only to exchange-traded products (ETPs) that hold an underlying commodity, such as digital assets, that trades on an ISG-member exchange or is subject to a regulated futures market with appropriate surveillance sharing.
What this means for crypto ETF issuers moving forward
The SEC’s guidance does not guarantee faster approval for every crypto ETF. Substantive legal review remains unchanged. What has changed is the friction in the process. The automatic-effectiveness mechanism under Section 8(a) now plays a larger role because filings submitted without a delay clause during the shutdown can become effective after the standard 20-day period unless the SEC intervenes.
Rule 461 allows an issuer to request that the SEC accelerate the effective date of its registration statement to a specific time. To do this, an issuer must first amend its filing to return it to the standard delayed status and then submit a formal Rule 461 request to the SEC. This request is not a mere formality. It serves as confirmation that the issuer, underwriters and advisers are fully aware of, and accept, their legal and antifraud liabilities under the Securities Act.
By combining a Rule 461 acceleration request with the new generic listing standards, which bypass the older Section 19(b) delays, issuers have streamlined the entire process. This combination makes the path for compliant altcoin ETPs quicker and more predictable, allowing managers to target specific launch windows with greater certainty.
Why speed doesn’t mean safety
While the SEC has accelerated the timing of approvals, it has also emphasized that core investor protection rules have not been relaxed.
The primary takeaway for issuers is that fast approval does not reduce their legal responsibility. The SEC’s post-shutdown guidance clarifies that the liability and antifraud provisions of the federal securities laws still apply to all registration statements, including those that become effective automatically under Section 8(a).
This is backed by the core of the Securities Act of 1933: Section 11 and Section 12(a)(2). These rules impose strict liability under Section 11 and a heightened liability standard under Section 12(a)(2) for any material false statements or omissions in the registration documents. In simple terms, if the prospectus is misleading, the issuer is liable, and investors do not have to prove that the company acted carelessly or intentionally.
The burden of ensuring accuracy remains with ETF providers, who must conduct thorough internal checks and due diligence to meet this high standard, especially when timelines are compressed.
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