Guillotine

The consolidated tape—Brussels' decade-long project to create a single price feed across EU trading venues—has taken another concrete step forward. ESMA launched the selection procedure for the OTC derivatives Consolidated Tape Provider this week, the third and final asset class after bonds and equities/ETFs. With expressions of interest due by mid-February and a decision expected in early July, firms have roughly six months before a winner is chosen to run the tape for five years. Early bidders are already emerging, with Etrading Software announcing a non-profit vehicle to compete on a cost-recovery basis. The consolidated tape provider (CTP) will aggregate real-time trade data from all EU venues, theoretically creating price transparency and reducing the information advantages of the largest banks. In practice, this represents the most significant market structure change since MiFID II, and firms are already calculating the compliance costs.

Meanwhile, across the Atlantic, the CFTC's crypto push continues full throttle under Acting Chairman Caroline Pham, with spot cryptocurrency trading now live on federally regulated exchanges for the first time ever—capped by last month's landmark announcements. This isn't just regulatory theatre—it's the practical realisation of years of industry lobbying disguised as "protecting retail investors from offshore platforms." The CFTC also rolled out its pilot programme allowing bitcoin, ether, and USDC as collateral in derivatives markets, complete with weekly reporting requirements for the first three months. These moves follow the enactment of the GENIUS Act, which Pham has used to justify withdrawing "outdated guidance" that previously restricted crypto integration into traditional markets.

The timing is instructive. Europe continues its methodical approach to financial market infrastructure—building systems that will take years to implement but will fundamentally reshape how price discovery works. America, by contrast, is moving at Silicon Valley speed to capture crypto market share from overseas exchanges. Both approaches reflect their respective regulatory philosophies: Brussels designs comprehensive frameworks; Washington clears obstacles and lets markets sort themselves out. The question is whether either approach actually serves the retail investors both claim to protect, or whether they're simply rearranging the regulatory furniture whilst the same institutions profit from complexity.

• [US] CFTC adds Rob Hadick of Dragonfly Capital Partners to its Global Markets Advisory Committee's Digital Asset Markets Subcommittee (link)
• [EU]ESMA notes that the National Bank of Slovakia has awarded MiCA licence to Firefish Europe s.r.o on 2nd of January 2026 and adds it to its MiCA register.(link)
• [UK] FCA launches consultation on comprehensive crypto rules covering market abuse, trading platforms, staking, and DeFi with responses due 12 February (link)

This week crystallises the fundamental divide in global financial regulation. Europe builds infrastructure projects that take years to complete but reshape entire market structures. America clears regulatory obstacles in real-time to capture market share. Both claim to serve retail investors, but the evidence suggests they're primarily serving their respective financial centres' competitive interests.

The CFTC's crypto moves are particularly revealing. Pham frames spot crypto trading and tokenised collateral as protecting Americans from "offshore platforms that lack basic safeguards." Yet the pilot programme launches with bitcoin, ether, and USDC—hardly the securities that posed the greatest retail risk. This looks less like consumer protection and more like regulatory arbitrage designed to onshore crypto trading volumes before European regulations take full effect.

Brussels, meanwhile, continues its steady march toward comprehensive market surveillance. The consolidated tape will give regulators unprecedented visibility into EU trading activity, whilst MiCA's register creates a public database of every authorised crypto service provider. It's methodical, transparent, and utterly predictable—which may be exactly what institutional investors want, even if retail investors find it bewildering.