This Month in Staking: Signals from Global Markets

Newsletter | May 5, 2026 Hello Ali,

TL;DR - News For April On the regulatory front: US Senators Tillis and Alsobrooks dropped draft “compromise” language on stablecoin yield in the CLARITY Act, which is a positive sign that the Senate Banking Committee markup may be scheduled imminently, the UK's FCA announced a broader-than-expected stance, Japan is close to formally re-classifying crypto as financial instruments, Brazil's mandatory digital asset transaction reporting goes live May 4, and Argentina broadens access to crypto investment products.

Protocol upgrades ahead: Solana's Alpenglow consensus upgrade (expected Q3) should cut block finality to ~150ms, a material improvement for settlement-layer applications. On Ethereum, the Glamsterdam upgrade would accelerate validator exits and consolidations. Figment clients won't see disruption from either.

Q1 staking performance: Figment ranked #1 among institutional Solana validators and posted zero slashing penalties on Ethereum.

New Figment products: Pre-finalization Solana data is now available via bloXroute and Figment now offers managed validator services on Tempo's stablecoin network.

GLOBAL REGULATORY PULSE US: On May 1, Senators Tillis and Alsobrooks released draft stablecoin yield language for the CLARITY Act that generally would ban any market participant from paying interest or yield in connection with holding stablecoins or in a manner otherwise equivalent to a bank deposit, but would carve out rewards related to “bona fide activities.” Figment joined the Crypto Council for Innovation, the Blockchain Association, and ~120 additional industry members in a letter urging the committee to move forward and calls for markup are intensifying after Friday’s language release.

On April 13, the SEC confirmed that non-custodial user interface providers, including DeFi front-ends and self-custodial wallet apps, don't need to register as broker dealers when facilitating user directed crypto transactions. The SEC’s relevant staking ruling came earlier this year, with March 2026 interpretive guidance confirming that protocol staking activities don't constitute securities offerings.

UK: The FCA published a new consultation paper (CP26-13 ) on April 15 that could bring certain crypto-related activities, including interfaces or reporting, within the UK regulatory perimeter. It's a surprisingly broader stance that runs counter to both the US and EU approach. Industry response has been swift, with coordinated pushback arguing the guidance contradicts the UK government's own policy goals and risks pushing innovation offshore. Consultation closes June 3. Figment is collaborating in a response to this consultation with the Crypto Council for Innovation and other industry-members.

Japan: Japan’s cabinet approved a bill formally classifying crypto assets as financial instruments on April 10 . The law is expected to pass this summer with enactment from mid-2027.

Brazil: The mandatory Virtual Asset Service Provider (VASP) transaction reporting goes live on May 4. Digital asset transactions must now be reported to the Central Bank on a monthly basis. Separately, firms are now midway through the 270-day VASP compliance window.