Significant regulatory news has emerged simultaneously from the US and Europe. First, the US regulatory authorities missed the July 18 deadline for finalizing the GENIUS bill, which includes regulations for payment stablecoins, causing the implementation date to be automatically postponed to January 18 of next year. Meanwhile, France's National Gaming Authority (ANJ) has intensified pressure on the prediction market platform Polymarket by ordering national ISPs to block access to the site.

While delays in finalizing specific rules in the US are giving issuers a bit more time to prepare, Europe appears to be further tightening enforcement against unauthorized platforms under the MiCA regulatory framework. In particular, this French move goes beyond simple financial transaction restrictions by blocking access at the source, which is expected to have a significant impact on the prediction market ecosystem.

Compounded by the recent incident where BONK DAO lost $20 million from its treasury in an attack exploiting a governance loophole, it seems the crypto market is facing a harsh test this summer on both regulatory and security fronts. For now, we will need to keep a close watch on the market response to the US proposal for a stablecoin Customer Identification Program (CIP) and the actual effectiveness of France's Polymarket ban.

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