The European Systemic Risk Board (ESRB) published a report on Thursday outlining the top 3 nightmare scenarios in which a crypto industry crisis could bleed in and pose “systemic risk” to the broader financial system. The top risk listed is a potential run on a “large reserve-backed stablecoin,” such as Tether (USDT) or USD Coin...Read More
Markets in Crypto Assets (MiCA) is being hailed as the world’s first comprehensive set of rules that aims to bring the largely unregulated cryptocurrency markets under government regulation. It is part of a broader digital finance package, aka ‘Digital Operational Resilience Act (DORA),’ which aims at protecting the financial services sector from fraudulent activities and...Read More
The Economic and Financial Affairs Council of the European Union unanimously favored the Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) regulation during a voting process on May 16, 2023. The Finance Ministers of the 27 member states approved the MiCA bill, including amendments to several rules related to the new crypto legislation. EU Council Approves MiCA Bill Approval...Read More
Austrian cooperative banking company – Raiffeisenlandesbank Niederösterreich-Wien (RLB NÖ-Wien) – has partnered with Bitpanda to roll out crypto investment services through the latter’s software as a service (SaaS) offering. With this collaboration, RLB NÖ-Wien has become the first major traditional bank in the European Union to move into digital assets. The Partnership Alongside crypto investment,...Read More
In a landmark ruling, Hong Kong’s High Court declared crypto as property that can be held in trust. This marks the first time such a decision regarding asset class has been made in the city-state. The ruling, which was handed down in liquidation of a case involving the now-defunct crypto exchange Gatecoin, essentially puts crypto...Read More
The Parliament of the European Union gave its official blessing to the Market in Cryptoassets (MiCA) – a regulatory framework that could set clear standards in the industry. The approval comes approximately five months after the infamous FTX collapse and aims to protect investors from such failures. ‘Stringent Rules are Very Much Needed’ The EU...Read More
Societe Generale’s crypto arm – SG Forge – has announced the launch of a stablecoin pegged to the euro on Ethereum, dubbed EUR CoinVertible. The latest offering will be accessible to only those institutional investors qualified on the basis of Know Your Customer (KYC) and Anti-Money Laundering (AML) procedures. The EURCV Stablecoin According to the...Read More
In the letter, Polygon’s board requests amendments to Article 30 of the EU Data Act, which the board fears could stifle blockchain development in its current format. The company behind Polygon, a Proof-of-Stake multi-chain blockchain platform around its ERC-20 token MATIC, has sent an open letter to representatives of the EU Parliament regarding Article 30...Read More
Crypto exchange Binance announced the opening a new blockchain hub in Georgia. The establishment of this new “Web3 outpost” is expected to help Binance strengthen blockchain education and accelerate the adoption of crypto in the region. Binance had forged several strategic partnerships, initiatives, as well as community events in the transcontinental country that is known...Read More
European regulators and policy experts are dismayed by how American watchdogs handled the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank last weekend.Certain policymakers take issue with the Fed’s “systemic risk exception,” which they believe could undermine the credibility of banking globally. Critiques of the Bailout According to the Financial Times, a senior eurozone official said the Federal...Read More
There has been a tremendous transformation in the Bitcoin mining landscape since. Different countries have become the new harbors of miners. One European country has emerged as the world’s largest hash rate producer per capita. Owing to cheap electricity, Iceland is one of the first countries to see industrial-scale Bitcoin mining. According to Bitcoin mining...Read More
The EU is working hard to push through tough capital rules for banks that hold crypto assets. The global Basel Committee of banking regulators from the world’s leading financial centers has set a January 2025 deadline. The rules are for capital requirements for banks that have exposure to cryptocurrencies and stablecoins. According to a Feb....Read More
The FTX Group of companies undergoing bankruptcy proceedings extended the preliminary bid deadline for its Japan and Europe affiliates as administrators scramble to raise funds to help pay back creditors. According to the Bloomberg report, the court filing said the new deadline has been set for March 8, while the auction date has been moved...Read More
The central bank of the Netherlands – De Nederlandsche Bank (DNB) – reportedly fines Coinbase 3.3 million euros ($3.6 million) for failing to comply with local rules. The exchange recently announced its second wave of layoffs and said it will stop operating on the Japanese market. As reported by Reuters, the central banking institution of the...Read More
The world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange – Binance – announced its services in Poland are now fully compliant with domestic regulatory standards for virtual asset service providers (VASPs). Polish users are required to sign new Terms and Conditions with Binance Poland to continue using the company’s products. In a recent blog post, Binance said the update comes...Read More
The EU’s landmark Markets in Crypto Assets (MiCA) crypto regulations will not see a final vote until April. The delay is also likely to stall the process of pushing the new rules through. According to European Parliament representatives, the delay has been caused by problems translating the almost 400-page file into the 24 official languages...Read More
On November 13, the European Union Agency for Law Enforcement Cooperation (Europol) announced that it had successfully cracked down on a criminal network engaged in online scams through call centers. The network was spread all around Europe. According to Europol, the operation was carried out on January 11, 2023, following an investigation that began in...Read More
The Swedish Financial Supervisory Authority registered the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange – Binance – as a financial institution for management and trading in virtual currency in the Scandinavian country. This is the seventh EU nation where the platform has received such a license, with the previous six being Italy, France, Spain, Poland, Cyprus, and Lithuania....Read More
Dmitry Medvedev – a Russian politician who served as President of the country between 2008 and 2012 – thinks 2023 could see the crash of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank. He suggested that such an event could reduce the power of the euro and the dollar and boost the usage of...Read More
New Twitter boss Elon Musk continues to spark controversies, from firing most of the company’s employees to dabbling with key features and restoring banned accounts. Now, the billionaire is up against regulators in the European Union (EU). Musk has, time and again, said that his mission at Twitter is to maximize free speech. He appears...Read More
The enterprise blockchain provider Ripple wants to strengthen its presence in the European Union by seeking to secure a virtual asset service provider (VASP) license from Ireland’s central bank. Ripple’s General Counsel Stuart Alderoty and CEO Brad Garlinghouse also gave their two cents on FTX’s fiasco, arguing that global regulators should impose comprehensive rules on...Read More
The notorious Co-Founder of Terraform Labs – Do Kwon – is said to be in Europe. He vowed to organize a conference soon and lift the curtain on his mysterious location. The South Korean, who is a primary target for Interpool, even invited law enforcement agents to participate in the event. Terra’s colossal crash in...Read More
The US-based cryptocurrency exchange – Kraken – joined the list of platforms restricting services to Russian consumers. The decision comes as a result of the latest sanctions that the European Union (EU) imposed on the largest country by landmass for its invasion of Ukraine. Other trading venues that have already ended ties with Russian users...Read More
After CryptoCom, the crypto service platform – BlockchainCom – has announced plans to restrict Russia-based users. In an email to its users, the company notified that it will block the accounts of Russians. The move comes after the European Union’s (EU) eighth package of sanctions against Russia. According to the news agency RBC’s latest report,...Read More
The blockchain-based gaming company – Dapper Labs – stopped servicing all accounts with connections to Russia, but they are still able to access and view their non-fungible tokens (NFTs). The move comes as a result of the latest sanctions that the European Union imposed on Russia due to the ongoing military conflict with Ukraine. ‘Consistent...Read More
The Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) regulation passed in the European Council on October 5th. The development is a significant step toward bringing a consistent legislative landscape to the continent that has been, so far, fragmented. The text of the laws was signed off by the representatives of the bloc’s member governments in the EU’s Council....Read More
The California-based cryptocurrency exchange – Coinbase – reportedly appointed at least four Wall Street traders and established a group to use the company’s own funds to trade cryptocurrencies. Undisclosed members of the platform described the activity as “proprietary” trading. On another note, the company received regulatory approval from the Dutch Central Bank to start providing...Read More
Jim Messina – one of Barack Obama’s closest advisers during his presidency reign in the USA – has taken an executive role at the popular cryptocurrency platform – BlockhainCom. The veteran politician is responsible for the firm’s government relations and policy strategy. Another American official who transitioned to the world of crypto is Brian Brooks....Read More
The European Central Bank chose Amazon and other small number of corporations among 54 candidates to assist in the development of its CBDC prototype, the “Digital Euro.” On September 16, the European Central Bank (ECB) announced the five companies chosen to assist in the development of user interfaces for the digital euro, including e-commerce giant...Read More
UK digital bank Revolut has come under the regulator’s scrutiny for inconsistencies in its auditing process. Citing sources familiar with the matter, FT reported that the Financial Reporting Council (FRC) criticized an audit by accountancy firm BDO of an unidentified “financial services provider” as “inadequate.” The FRC further revealed that the “risk of an undetected...Read More
