Hong Kong Industry Group Pushes to Soften CARF Rules
Hong Kong’s Securities & Futures Professionals Association (HKSFPA) has urged the government to soften key elements of the OECD’s Crypto Asset Reporting Framework (CARF), warning that uncapped penalties and personal liability could create operational and compliance risks. While supporting mandatory registration and expanded reporting for crypto service providers, the lobby calls for penalty caps, stronger data‑privacy safeguards, and the ability to outsource record‑keeping when firms cease operations. Hong Kong is among 76 markets committed to CARF, with first cross‑border data exchanges slated for 2028. The debate unfolds as the city seeks to cement its status as a regulated crypto hub.
Kazakhstan Limits Crypto Trading to Central Bank-Approved Coins
Kazakhstan's President Kassym‑Jomart Tokayev signed legislation creating a regulatory framework for digital assets. The law gives the National Bank of Kazakhstan authority to license crypto exchanges, approve which cryptocurrencies may be traded, and set trading limits. It classifies digital assets...
Why Wrench Attacks Are Becoming One of the Most Violent Forms of Crypto Crimes
Wrench attacks are physical coercion crimes that force cryptocurrency holders to reveal credentials or authorize transfers, bypassing technical defenses. The phenomenon gained headlines after the 2025 kidnapping of Ledger co‑founder David Balland and has accelerated as crypto market capitalisation climbs, with...
Binance Australia Brings Fiat Back After Being Debanked for 2 Years
Binance Australia has reinstated direct fiat bank transfers and PayID deposits after a two‑year banking shutdown, partnering with Bolt Financial Group to provide secure payment rails. The phased rollout, initially limited to a small user cohort, is now available to...
Traveling? ‘Evil Twin’ WiFi Networks Can Steal Crypto Passwords
Evil Twin attacks clone legitimate Wi‑Fi hotspots, luring travelers to connect and exposing them to credential theft. The method is prevalent in airports, cafés, hotels and conference venues, where attackers intercept traffic and harvest exchange logins, 2FA codes, or seed...
Bitcoin Down, Gold Futures up as Europe Threatens ‘Trade Bazooka’
Bitcoin plunged 3.6% on Monday, dropping nearly $3,500 to just under $92,000 as Europe signaled retaliatory trade measures against U.S. tariffs targeting eight EU nations. The sell‑off triggered about $750 million in long‑position liquidations within four hours, pushing 24‑hour crypto liquidations...
Crypto Miner Manufacturer Canaan Receives Nasdaq Delisting Warning
Canaan Inc., a crypto‑mining hardware manufacturer, was warned by Nasdaq after its share price stayed below $1 for 30 consecutive business days. The exchange gave the company until July 13—180 days—to lift its closing bid to at least $1 for ten...
Crypto’s Decentralization Promise Breaks at Interoperability
Crypto’s promise of decentralized value transfer is undermined by the current interoperability model, which relies on a handful of centralized bridges and messaging services. Industry leaders like Casper Network’s Michael Steuer argue that users must navigate complex network choices, fees,...
80% of Hacked Crypto Projects Never ‘Fully Recover,’ Expert Warns
Nearly four out of five crypto projects hit by a major hack never fully recover, according to Immunefi CEO Mitchell Amador. He attributes the low survival rate to operational paralysis, lack of incident‑response plans, and breakdowns in communication that erode...
Adapt or Die: Solana Labs CEO Opposes Buterin’s Approach to Blockchain Longevity
Solana Labs CEO Anatoly Yakovenko argued that Solana must remain a constantly evolving network, contrasting with Vitalik Buterin’s vision of Ethereum as a self‑sustaining, hands‑off blockchain. Yakovenko emphasized community‑driven updates and even suggested future AI‑assisted development funded by network fees. Buterin...
Crypto Bank Anchorage Digital Eyes $400M Raise with IPO in Sight: Report
Anchorage Digital, the first federally chartered crypto bank, is targeting a $200‑$400 million capital raise ahead of a planned 2025 IPO. The funding will support its expanding stablecoin issuance platform and broader institutional services. CEO Nathan McCauley aims to double the stablecoin...
DOJ Didn't Sell Bitcoin Forfeited From Samourai Case: White House Advisor
The U.S. Department of Justice confirmed that the Bitcoin seized from the Samourai Wallet case has not been liquidated and will stay in the Strategic Bitcoin Reserve (SBR). The confirmation, relayed by White House crypto advisor Patrick Witt, quashes rumors...
Bull, Base or Bear? Three Possible Paths for Crypto in 2026
Bitcoin’s 2026 outlook centers on a tightening supply curve that could push the price past $95,494, with the next rally potentially driven by institutional capital rather than retail demand. Ether is targeted at $3,295, reflecting growing institutional adoption and a...
US Lender Newrez to Accept Crypto Holdings in Mortgage Approval
Newrez will treat eligible cryptocurrency holdings—including Bitcoin, Ether, spot ETFs and US‑dollar‑backed stablecoins—as qualifying assets in its mortgage underwriting, beginning in February for non‑agency home purchase, refinance and investment loans. The assets must be held on US‑regulated exchanges, fintech platforms,...
From Memecoins to Machines: Why Web3’s ‘Real Economy’ Narrative Is Relevant in 2026
In 2025 the crypto sector pivoted from meme‑driven speculation to measurable fundamentals, driven largely by decentralized physical infrastructure networks (DePIN). Projects began reporting on‑chain revenue, making protocol earnings the new benchmark for valuation. This shift underpins the emerging "machine economy,"...
Web3 Revenue Shifts From Blockchains to Wallets and DeFi Apps
Revenue in crypto is increasingly captured by user‑facing DeFi applications rather than base‑layer blockchains. Data from Real Vision and DeFiLlama shows DeFi fees are five times higher than blockchain fees, with stablecoin issuer Tether alone generating $563 million in the last...
Huione-Linked Tudou Guarantee Winds Down Amid $130M USDT Refunds: Bitrace
Tudou Guarantee, a Telegram‑based escrow tied to Cambodia’s Huione Group, has refunded more than $130 million in USDT since early 2026 and announced it is winding down operations. The refunds, which peaked at $18.1 million in a single day, signal a retreat...
Trump Says ‘Venezuela Leaker’ Jailed as Polymarket Accounts Go Quiet
President Donald Trump announced that the "leaker on Venezuela" has been arrested, reigniting scrutiny of prediction‑market platforms. Blockchain analysts linked the leaker to a cluster of Polymarket wallets that posted outsized bets on Venezuelan political outcomes just before the news...
Belarus Creates Legal Framework for ‘Cryptobanks’ in New Presidential Decree
Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko signed Decree No. 19 establishing a legal framework for “cryptobanks,” which are joint‑stock companies that can combine token‑based operations with traditional banking services. The decree requires cryptobanks to obtain resident status in the state‑backed Hi‑Tech Park and to register with...
Crypto Exchanges Face Ban in South Korea as Google Play Updates Rules
Google announced that, starting Jan. 28, crypto exchange and custodial wallet apps on Google Play in South Korea must upload proof of acceptance of their Virtual Asset Service Provider registration with the country’s Financial Intelligence Unit. The rule targets offshore platforms,...
Moldova Moves to Regulate Crypto Under EU-Style MiCA Rules
Moldova announced plans to adopt its first comprehensive cryptocurrency law by the end of 2026, mirroring the European Union’s Markets in Crypto‑Assets Regulation (MiCA). The draft, being prepared by the finance ministry, the National Bank, the market regulator and the...
Polygon Trims Workforce Amid $250M Stablecoin Payments Pivot
Polygon Labs announced a strategic pivot toward a payments‑first model, centered on stablecoin rails and an "Open Money Stack." The shift follows a $250 million acquisition of crypto‑ATM firm Coinme and developer platform Sequence. Sources indicate up to 30% of staff...
KBC Bank to Launch Bitcoin and Ether Trading in Belgium Under MiCA
KBC, one of Belgium’s largest banks, will begin offering Bitcoin and Ether trading to retail investors on Feb. 16 via its Bolero platform, using a proprietary custodial solution. The service complies with the EU’s Markets in Crypto‑Assets Regulation (MiCA) and follows...
US Housebuilder to Launch Crypto Rewards After SEC ‘No-Action’ Letter
US homebuilder Megatel Homes announced the launch of MegPrime, a crypto‑rewards platform that issues MP Tokens for rent payments. The SEC issued a no‑action letter, allowing the program to proceed provided MegPrime follows the outlined compliance plan. Users can earn...
State Street Rolls Out New Crypto Tokenization Tools
State Street announced a new institutional digital‑asset platform designed to tokenise traditional assets such as money‑market funds, ETFs and stablecoins. The service combines blockchain connectivity, custody, and tokenisation tools for large‑scale investors. It builds on prior collaborations, including a Solana‑based...
Uniswap Lands on OKX’s X Layer as Exchange Deepens DeFi Strategy
Uniswap has launched on OKX’s X Layer, becoming the network’s preferred decentralized exchange. The integration lets X Layer users trade Uniswap’s token pairs and liquidity pools with layer‑2 gas costs and no fees from Uniswap Labs. X Layer, an EVM‑compatible...
West Virginia Lawmaker Introduces Bill to Allow State Crypto Investments
West Virginia Senator Chris Rose introduced the Inflation Protection Act, allowing the state treasury to allocate up to 10% of its portfolio to precious metals, Bitcoin and other digital assets that exceed a $750 billion market‑cap, as well as to regulated...
Bitcoin Whale Balances See 21% Bounce After Fastest Sell-Off Since 2023 Ends
Bitcoin whale addresses added roughly 46,000 BTC this week, marking a 21% rebound and the first positive one‑year net change since November 2025. The surge follows the steepest weekly drawdown for whales since early 2023, which saw a 220,000‑BTC loss....
Galaxy Closes First $75M Blockchain-Based Loan Deal on Avalanche
Galaxy Digital closed its first tokenized collateralized loan obligation on Avalanche, financing roughly $75 million and anchored by a $50 million allocation from Grove, an institutional credit protocol. The CLO, named Galaxy CLO 2025‑1, backs Arch Lending’s over‑collateralized Bitcoin and Ether consumer loans...
Short Squeeze Hits Top 500 Cryptos as Traders Unwind Bearish Bets
The crypto market endured its largest short‑squeeze since the October 10 crash, erasing about $200 million in short positions across the top 500 tokens. Glassnode data shows Bitcoin led the unwind with $71 million liquidated, followed by Ether and Dash. The rapid...
Sygnum Sees Tokenization and State Bitcoin Reserves Taking Off in 2026
Sygnum predicts that US regulatory breakthroughs such as the CLARITY Act and a prospective Bitcoin Act will unlock sovereign Bitcoin reserves, with at least three G20 economies likely to add Bitcoin to their treasuries by 2026. The firm estimates that...
Lemon Launches Bitcoin-Backed Credit Card in Cash-Hoarding Argentina
Lemon, one of Argentina’s biggest crypto exchanges, has introduced the nation’s first Bitcoin‑backed Visa credit card, allowing users to obtain peso‑denominated credit without liquidating their BTC holdings. Customers lock up 0.01 Bitcoin—about $960—as collateral to receive an initial limit of one...
DeFi Quietly Breaks up with Discord as Scams Overwhelm Public Channels
DeFi protocols are pulling back from public Discord servers as scam activity overwhelms community channels. Morpho announced its Discord is now read‑only and redirected users to ticket‑based tools like Intercom, while data platform DefiLlama is shifting to live chat and...
Crypto Slump Hits ARK ETFs in Q4, Coinbase Becomes Top Detractor
A crypto market pullback in Q4 2025 dragged down Cathie Wood’s ARK ETFs, with Coinbase emerging as the top detractor. Coinbase’s shares fell roughly 35%, outpacing Bitcoin’s 22% loss and Ether’s 28% decline, while spot‑trading volumes on centralized exchanges slipped 9%...
Blockchain Firm Eyes $200M in Tokenized Water Projects Across Asia
Blockchain firm Global Settlement Network (GSN) announced a pilot to tokenize eight Jakarta water‑treatment sites. The pilot aims to raise up to $35 million for upgrades and test rupiah‑stablecoin settlement rails. GSN and Globalasia Infrastructure Fund plan to expand the effort...
Crypto Fear & Greed Index Flips to ‘Greed’ for First Time Since October
The Crypto Fear & Greed Index rose to 61 on Thursday, marking the first "greed" reading since the October $19 billion liquidation. The jump follows a two‑month Bitcoin rally that pushed the price to $97,704, its highest level since November. At...
Solana Mobile to Airdrop 1.8B SKR Tokens to Users, 141M to Devs
Solana Mobile announced a 1.819 billion SKR token airdrop to 100,908 eligible users and a 141 million SKR allocation to 188 developers, representing roughly 20% of the 10 billion token supply. The distribution is tied to ownership of the second‑generation Seeker phone, which...
Sui Back Online After 6-Hour Outage that Halted Transactions
The Sui layer‑1 blockchain experienced a six‑hour consensus outage that halted transactions worth over $1 billion. The Sui Foundation announced the issue at 3:24 pm UTC, and core developers restored full functionality at 8:44 pm UTC, roughly 5 hours 52 minutes later. This marks the second...
Bitpanda Targets Frankfurt IPO with up to $5.5B Valuation: Report
Bitpanda, the Austria‑based crypto trading platform, is preparing a Frankfurt‑listed IPO in the first half of 2026, targeting a €4‑5 billion valuation. The company, which serves over 7 million European users, is working with Citigroup, Goldman Sachs and Deutsche Bank on the offering....
Bitwise Lists Bitcoin, Ether and Solana ETPs on Nasdaq Stockholm
Digital asset manager Bitwise has introduced seven SEK‑denominated crypto exchange‑traded products on Nasdaq Stockholm, giving Swedish investors regulated exposure to Bitcoin, Ether, Solana and a diversified digital‑asset index. The lineup features spot Bitcoin and Ether ETPs, staking‑linked Ether and Solana...
Zcash Foundation Says SEC Closed 2023 Probe Into Privacy Coin
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has closed its 2023 investigation into the Zcash Foundation, deciding not to pursue any enforcement action. The probe, triggered by an August 2023 subpoena, focused on certain crypto asset offerings but concluded without recommendations...
Ether’s Price Vs. Fundamentals Gap May Signal a 2026 Opportunity
Ethereum’s price lagged behind its underlying fundamentals, prompting concerns about relevance but also highlighting a potential mispricing. Vivek Raman, CEO of Etherealize, points to a widening sentiment‑fundamentals gap that could create a sizable upside by 2026. He notes Ethereum’s dominance...
Figure Technology Unveils Blockchain Platform for Direct Stock Lending: Report
Figure Technology Solutions launched the On‑Chain Public Equity Network (OPEN), enabling companies to issue real equity directly on its Provenance blockchain. Unlike synthetic tokenized stocks, OPEN shares represent actual ownership and can be lent or pledged on‑chain, removing custodians, exchanges...
Bitnomial Opens First US-Regulated Futures Market for Aptos
Chicago‑based Bitnomial has launched the first U.S.‑regulated futures contracts tied to Aptos’ native token APT. The monthly contracts settle in either U.S. dollars or APT and are initially available to institutional clients through Bitnomial’s clearing members, with retail access expected...
Mantra Restructures After OM Token Collapse and Tough Year
Mantra, a blockchain focused on real‑world assets, announced a restructuring after a tumultuous year highlighted by a sharp OM token collapse and strained exchange relations. The token fell from an $8.99 peak in February 2025 to roughly $0.59 by mid‑April,...
Crossmint Gets MiCA Nod to Provide Stablecoin Infrastructure Across EU
Crossmint obtained MiCA authorization from Spain's CNMV, allowing it to operate as a regulated stable‑coin infrastructure provider across the EU. The licence covers fiat‑to‑crypto exchange, custody, and cross‑chain wallet transfers, subject to bank‑style AML and CFT standards. With the EU...
Bitcoin ETFs on Rollercoaster as Traditional Funds Pull in $46B in 2026
Bitcoin ETFs have had a volatile start to 2026, posting only $660 million in net inflows year‑to‑date and a brief $753 million two‑day surge after a four‑day losing streak. In stark contrast, traditional equity ETFs attracted $46 billion in the first six days...
Perp DEXs Will ‘Eat’ Expensive TradFi in 2026: Delphi Digital
Perpetual decentralized exchanges (DEXs) saw their trading volume triple to $12.09 trillion in 2025, pushing market share from 2.1 % to 11.7 % of futures activity. Delphi Digital predicts that by 2026 perp DEXs will further erode traditional finance by offering integrated brokerage,...
Backpack Exchange Launches Beta Testing of Prediction Market Platform
Backpack, the crypto exchange founded by former Alameda and FTX staff, has begun private beta testing of its Unified Prediction Portfolio, a native prediction‑market platform. The system tokenizes positions and integrates risk profiling, allowing traders to place bets and hedge...
Animoca Buys Somo as NFT Market Rebounds Early in 2026
Animoca Brands announced the acquisition of Somo, a developer of playable and tradable digital collectibles, to broaden its blockchain gaming portfolio. The company plans to weave Somo’s assets into its existing ecosystem using shared infrastructure and partner networks, though financial...