- The agency has indicated that crypto rules can advance under its existing authority, even as broader legislation remains unsettled.
- HBAR, BNB, and ALGO have ecosystems covering areas such as payments, decentralized applications, tokenization, and financial infrastructure.
- PEPE is a meme-based token, while QUBIC focuses on blockchain, smart contracts, decentralized computing, and AI-related applications.
The U.S. crypto market is entering another important regulatory phase after the Commodity Futures Trading Commission signaled that new rules can move forward under its existing authority. The development follows the failure of the Senate to approve the CLARITY Act, which focus now needs to be on regulators and the rules they can create under existing legislation. Hedera (HBAR), BNB (BNB), Algorand (ALGO), Pepe (PEPE), and Qubic (QUBIC) are among the five cryptocurrencies that are gaining traction in this context.
The shift is significant, as federal regulations may impact the activities of exchanges, derivatives trading platforms, token issuers, and blockchain-based companies within the U.S. The CFTC has been looking at a framework that is not a zero-sum start and is now ongoing for several months. In August, Selig said CFTC staff had already begun exploring market-structure rules under the agency’s existing powers.
That backdrop creates a different environment for digital assets because regulatory attention is increasingly being directed toward market structure, trading activity, derivatives, token classification, and the use of blockchain networks in financial applications. The effect will not necessarily be identical across cryptocurrencies, since networks have different designs, purposes, governance structures, and levels of market activity.
Hedera (HBAR): Focus on Payments and Tokenization
Hedera is a distributed ledger network designed around high-throughput applications, with HBAR serving as its native cryptocurrency and being used to pay network fees. Its documented use cases include payments, decentralized finance, digital identity, artificial intelligence, and asset tokenization.
Tokenization is particularly relevant to the current regulatory discussion. Hedera provides infrastructure for representing real-world and digital assets on-chain, while its payment infrastructure supports stablecoins and cross-border transactions. The network also promotes predictable fees and fast settlement, features that can be relevant to financial applications where transaction costs and settlement times matter.
BNB (BNB): A Large Utility-Based Ecosystem
BNB functions as the native utility token across the BNB Chain ecosystem. It is used for transaction fees, decentralized applications, staking, governance, and various DeFi activities. BNB Chain includes BNB Smart Chain, opBNB, and BNB Greenfield, covering applications involving smart contracts, scaling, and decentralized data storage.
The network also has activity across decentralized finance, payments, stablecoins, real-world assets, and other applications. Because BNB has several functions across its ecosystem, regulatory developments involving exchanges, trading activity, and blockchain-based financial services could remain relevant to its broader market environment.
Algorand (ALGO): Built Around Financial Applications
Algorand has increasingly focused on payment infrastructure, tokenization, stablecoins, and financial applications. Its network supports tokenized assets through Algorand Standard Assets, allowing issuers to create digital representations of assets directly at the protocol level.
The network’s documented applications include real-world assets such as real estate, gold, funds, bonds, and other financial instruments. Algorand also supports stablecoins and cross-border payments, with features such as instant finality and predictable transaction costs being highlighted for financial use cases.
Recent development has also focused on tokenized debt. In September 2026, an Algorand-based application demonstrated machine-readable financial contracts covering issuance, settlement, transfers, and cash flows for tokenized debt instruments.
Pepe (PEPE): A Different Type of Crypto Asset
Pepe occupies a different position from infrastructure-focused networks such as Hedera and Algorand. It is a meme-based cryptocurrency whose market activity is generally driven by trading demand, liquidity, community interest, and broader sentiment.
That distinction is important when comparing PEPE with blockchain infrastructure tokens. PEPE does not represent a network designed primarily around tokenization, payments, or institutional settlement. Its market profile is therefore more closely connected to speculative trading activity and changing demand for meme assets.
Qubic (QUBIC): Combining Blockchain and AI
Qubic is a Layer-1 network that combines blockchain infrastructure with artificial intelligence-related development. According to its documentation, the network uses Useful Proof of Work and supports instant finality, feeless transactions, and smart contracts. It also incorporates artificial neural networks into its broader decentralized-computing approach.
That places QUBIC within the wider intersection between blockchain and AI, another area receiving attention across the digital-asset sector. Its development is therefore different from both meme-based tokens and networks focused mainly on payments or asset tokenization.
Regulation Becomes the Next Major Crypto Variable
The CFTC’s approach means that crypto-market rules may continue developing even while Congress considers broader legislation. For HBAR, BNB, ALGO, PEPE, and QUBIC, the regulatory environment is only one part of the market picture. Network activity, liquidity, adoption, trading volumes, technology development, and overall investor demand will also remain important factors.
Market participants will be looking for key proposals, definitions, compliance requirements, and implementation dates from the CFTC as they move forward in their proceedings, and from the SEC as well. Those details will likely help to give a better idea of how various classes of digital assets might work under the new U.S. regulatory landscape.
