Archive:October 2025

1
Europe: ESMA’s Draft RTS on Open-Ended Loan-Originating AIFs-AIFMD II in Practice
2
United States: NFA Updates Digital Asset Obligations
3
Europe: European Commission Delays “Non-Essential” Level 2 Measures Concerning AIFMD II and the UCITS Review
4
United States: Giddy-Yup: SEC Approves Y’all Street’s Hometown Exchange
5
United States: No-Action Relief Issued for Crypto Custodied with State Trust Companies

Europe: ESMA’s Draft RTS on Open-Ended Loan-Originating AIFs-AIFMD II in Practice

By: Susanna Güven and Mathieu Volckrick

On 21 October 2025, the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) published its draft Regulatory Technical Standards (RTS) on open-ended loan-originating alternative investment funds (AIFs). This marks a key step in the implementation of Directive (EU) 2024/927 (AIFMD II), which updates the Alternative Investment Fund Managers Directive (AIFMD) and Undertakings for Collective Investment in Transferable Securities (UCITS) frameworks to strengthen rules on delegation, liquidity risk, supervisory reporting, depositary services, and loan origination.

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United States: NFA Updates Digital Asset Obligations

By: Sarah V. Riddell, Cheryl Isaac, and Gustavo De La Cruz Reynozo

On 17 October 2025, the National Futures Association (NFA) announced that it will be eliminating interpretive guidance requiring digital assets-related disclosure obligations for NFA members. The NFA Board unanimously concluded that NFA Interpretive Notice 9073 (Disclosure Requirements for NFA Members Engaging in Virtual Currency Activities), which was originally adopted by the NFA to require members to disclose specific risks associated with their digital asset activities and inform customers that the NFA does not have jurisdiction over spot digital assets, was outdated and should be reevaluated. The NFA expects to propose updated disclosure requirements in the future after it receives input from impacted members. In the meantime, commodity pool operators (CPOs) and commodity trading advisors (CTAs) remain obligated to appropriately disclose material risks related to their offerings (regardless of asset class).

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Europe: European Commission Delays “Non-Essential” Level 2 Measures Concerning AIFMD II and the UCITS Review

By: Gayle Bowen, Shane Geraghty, Mathieu Volckrick, and Dr. Philipp Riedl

In a letter dated 1 October 2025, the European Commission has announced that it will not adopt any non-essential Level 2 acts in respect of AIFMD II or the UCITS review, before 1 October 2027 at the earliest. The list of “non-essential” measures now postponed includes technical standards (i) for loan-originating funds to maintain open-ended features and (ii) on information exchange between national regulators and EU institutions.

It is further reported that the Commission has considered amending, or even repealing, certain acts via an Omnibus package dedicated towards Level 2 measures.

The European Securities and Markets Authority was due to deliver the final draft measures on open-ended loan-originating funds to the Commission this month following their earlier consultation on this topic. It is unclear whether this will now happen.

The Commission letter comes as EU Member States are preparing for AIFMD II implementation.

In Ireland, the Department of Finance issued a Feedback Statement exercising a number of discretionary provisions provided to Member States under the Level 1 Directive. The Central Bank has also commenced a consultation on a complete overhaul of the Irish private funds regime, proposing a copy-out approach to AIFMD and relaxing a number of its requirements, to align with other EU jurisdictions.

On 3 October, Luxembourg published its draft transposition legislation implementing the AIFMD/UCITS review into national law. According to an initial assessment, the Bill implements the provisions of the AIFMD review on a one-to-one basis, without gold plating and exercises several options provided to Member States under the Level 1 Directive.

Germany published its draft legislation implementing AIFMD/UCITS review on 9 July and has also adopted a copy out approach without any gold plating.

United States: Giddy-Yup: SEC Approves Y’all Street’s Hometown Exchange

By: Jennifer R. Gonzalez, Jessica D. Cohn, and William F. Cole

On 30 September 2025, the eve of the government shutdown, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) issued an order granting the Texas Stock Exchange LLC’s (TXSE) registration as a national security exchange (the Order). TXSE, headquartered in Dallas, is the first national securities exchange to receive SEC approval in decades. 

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United States: No-Action Relief Issued for Crypto Custodied with State Trust Companies

By: Keri E. Riemer, Richard F. Kerr, and Win Gustin

On 30 September 2025, the SEC’s Division of Investment Management (Staff) issued a no-action letter confirming that, with respect to the placement and maintenance of crypto assets, it would not recommend enforcement action if investment advisers, registered investment companies and business development companies (BDC) treated as a “bank” (and thus permitted to custody assets) a trust company organized under state law that is (i) supervised and examined by a state authority with supervision over banks, and (ii) permitted to exercise fiduciary powers under applicable state law (State Trust Company). The relief is subject to various conditions, including the following:

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