Autor Cointelegraph by Amin Haqshanas

Cryptocurrency platform Paybis has received two licences from Latvia’s central bank, including one for crypto-asset services under the European Union’s Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA) and another for payment institution operations under Payment Services Directive 2 (PSD2).The licences were issued by the Supervision Committee of Latvijas Banka on May 12 to SIA Paybis Europe, the company’s EU entity, according to an announcement from the central bank. Paybis is the third company in Latvia to receive a MiCA CASP licence, the central bank said.The MiCA licence covers custody and administration of crypto assets on behalf of clients, exchange of crypto-assets for funds or other crypto assets, execution of orders, transfer services and crypto asset advisory, Latvijas Banka said. The central bank added that the PSD2 payment institution licence enables Paybis’s EU entity to execute payments and make transfers to payment accounts.Paybis CEO and co-founder Innokenty Isers said the dual licensing allows the firm “to make a broad, future-focused offering, including working with stablecoins.”Related: MiCA has made euro stablecoins safe but weak, new report arguesPaybis eyes B2B crypto infrastructure pushKonstantins Vasilenko, co-founder and chief business development officer of Paybis, told Cointelegraph that Paybis is targeting business clients with a white-label crypto infrastructure stack, covering on/off-ramps, buy/sell/swap, payment acceptance and stablecoin payouts. These services would be delivered through a single API, allowing companies to offer crypto services to their own customers without building their own regulated setup.“This is where the combination of MiCA CASP authorisation and PSD2 PI licensing is particularly important, because it allows us to connect crypto asset services with regulated payment rails,” he added.Source: Viktors Valainis, Minister of Economics of LatviaFounded in 2014, Paybis supports 90 cryptocurrencies and serves seven million users across 180 countries. It also holds money services business licences in the US and Canada.Related: MiCA-licensed Banking Circle joins bank stablecoin settlement race in EuropeEU weighs “MiCA 2” amid rising scrutinyIn April, a European Commission adviser said the EU’s MiCA crypto regulation is likely to evolve over time, with the Commission planning a public consultation to assess whether the rules are working for market participants. Speaking at Paris Blockchain Week 2026, Peter Kerstens said it would be “rather unusual” if there were no “MiCA 2” at some point, noting that EU financial legislation typically develops in stages.The comments came amid growing scrutiny and opposition from the crypto industry. Stablecoin issuer Circle has pushed back on euro stablecoin thresholds, while policymakers debate whether supervision of major crypto firms should be centralized under the European Securities and Markets Authority.Magazine: Singapore isn’t a ‘crypto hub’ — it’s something better: StraitsX CEO

EToro reported first-quarter net income of $82 million, up 37% from a year earlier, as a surge in commodities trading offset weaker crypto activity.Net income rose 37% year-over-year to $82 million, compared to $60 million in Q1 2025, the company announced Tuesday. Adjusted EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization) climbed 35% to $109 million, from $80 million a year earlier, while net contribution grew 19% to $258 million.The upbeat results were driven largely by commodities trading, which accounted for roughly 60% of trading commissions in the quarter, with volumes up nearly fourfold year-over-year. The company also expanded its equities offering, adding Japanese stocks to bring its exchange coverage to 26 and activated its BitLicense to launch crypto trading in New York.Net revenue and income. Source: EToroFunded accounts grew 12% to 4.02 million, while assets under administration rose 15% to $17 billion. The company held $1.3 billion in cash, cash equivalents and short-term investments as of March 31.Related: Deutsche Börse invests $200 million in Kraken parent PaywardCrypto trading volumes tumbleDespite the surge in commodities trading, crypto volumes took a hit. April data released alongside the earnings showed crypto trade volumes fell 32% year-over-year to two million trades, while the invested amount per trade dropped 22% to $207.On the product side, eToro launched an AI-powered Agent Portfolios feature and deepened its partnership with xAI, embedding Grok 4.2-powered market sentiment into Tori, its AI investing agent.EToro shares dip. Source: Yahoo! FinanceThe company also closed its acquisition of Zengo, a self-custodial crypto wallet provider, on April 30, a move CEO Yoni Assia said advances eToro’s strategy of bridging traditional finance with on-chain infrastructure.Assets under administration climbed further to $18.7 billion in April, up 19% year-over-year, while total money transfers for the month hit $1.4 billion, up 53%.Related: Block Inc rises 8% as Q1 gives ‘earnings surprise’ despite Bitcoin dipCrypto exchanges see lower trading volumesAs Cointelegraph reported, Coinbase posted a net loss of $394.1 million in Q1, its second straight quarterly loss, swinging from a $65.6 million profit a year earlier.Revenue came in at $1.41 billion, missing analyst estimates of $1.5 billion, as transaction revenue slumped 40% and subscription and services revenue fell 13.5% year-over-year. Total crypto market cap and trading volume were both down more than 20% quarter-over-quarter.Magazine: Guide to the top and emerging global crypto hubs — Mid-2026

Exodus Movement reported a net loss of $32.1 million for the first quarter of 2026, more than double the $12.9 million loss recorded in the same period last year, as the crypto wallet company liquidated the bulk of its Bitcoin treasury to fund acquisitions.Total revenue came in at $22.7 million for the three months ended March 31, down 36.8% from $36 million a year earlier, the company announced Monday.  Exchange aggregation, the company’s main business line, drove most of the decline, sliding $13.8 million, or 40.8%, as user trading volumes dried up.Monthly active users dipped to 1.5 million from 1.6 million a year ago, while quarterly funded users fell more sharply, dropping 22.2% to 1.4 million from 1.8 million.The company cited macroeconomic pressures, including the Federal Reserve’s revised growth outlook and uncertainty around the administration’s tariff policy, as primary drivers of the market-side damage. “The Company expects that volatility in digital asset prices will continue and may result in significant fluctuations in the Company’s results of operations in future periods,” it added.Related: How AI became crypto’s favorite reason to cut staffExodus sells 63% of its Bitcoin stashExodus held 1,704 BTC at the end of December 2025. By March 31, that position had been cut to 628 BTC, a reduction of roughly 63% in unit terms. The company raised $73.2 million through the sales during the quarter, nearly all of which was earmarked to fund its push to acquire W3C Corp., the holding company behind fintech firms Monavate and Baanx.The company’s broader digital asset portfolio swung to a net loss of $36.4 million, reflecting $76.8 million in unrealized losses partly offset by $40.4 million in realized gains on asset exchanges.At the end of the quarter, the company held $72.9 million in cash and cash equivalents, up from $4.9 million at year-end 2025.Exodus shares drop. Source: Yahoo! FinanceExodus shares fell 5.75% to $7.71 on May 12 and slipped a further 3.11% to $7.47 in pre-market trade.Related: Bitcoin exchange reserves fall to two-year low after $8B exodusExodus launches XO Cash in push into AI agentsAs Cointelegraph reported, Exodus has rolled out XO Cash, a Solana-based stablecoin toolkit built with MoonPay that lets AI agents spend money through Visa’s payment rails without exposing a user’s private keys.Developers can spin up agent-linked wallets, cap daily spending, restrict merchants and issue virtual debit cards through Exodus Pay balances. Payments settle automatically in USDC (USDC) or USDt (USDT) via infrastructure from Monavate, and transactions carry no fees.Magazine: AI-driven hacks could kill DeFi — unless projects act now

Bakkt swung to a first-quarter loss as crypto services revenue fell 77%, underscoring the digital asset platform’s push to reposition itself around stablecoin payments and AI-enabled financial infrastructure.On Monday, the company reported a net loss attributable to Bakkt of $11.7 million, or 41 cents per basic and diluted share, for the quarter ended March 31. That compares with net income attributable to Bakkt of $7.7 million, or $1.13 per diluted share, a year earlier.Crypto services revenue fell to $243.6 million from $1.07 billion in the prior year’s period, Bakkt said. The company attributed the decline primarily to lower crypto trading volumes. However, nearly all of that revenue figure is offset by crypto costs and brokerage fees, which totaled $242 million in the quarter.Excluding crypto costs, operating expenses held steady at $18.5 million, down slightly from $18.9 million a year ago. The net loss was $11.7 million, compared to net income of $7.7 million a year ago.Bakkt ended the quarter with $82.6 million in cash, including $69.6 million raised through equity offerings during the period. The company also revealed that it carries no long-term debt.Bakkt shares drop in pre-market trading. Source: Yahoo! FinanceShares closed up 0.71% at $9.92 on Monday but fell 9.14% in pre-market trading on Tuesday to $9.00 following the release.Related: US Senator Questions Mark Zuckerberg on Meta’s Stablecoin PlansBakkt goes all in on stablecoinsBakkt’s shrinking revenue comes as the company is in the middle of a major pivot, moving away from crypto trading infrastructure and toward stablecoin payments and agentic AI.The company closed its acquisition of Distributed Technologies Research on April 30, bringing in an AI-native payments engine and stablecoin compliance stack. It has also signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Zoth, a stablecoin provider targeting $1 billion in annualized payment volumes across South Asia, the Middle East and Sub-Saharan Africa.“We believe stablecoin infrastructure represents one of the most significant structural transformations in global finance in decades,” CEO Akshay Naheta said in the earnings release, pointing to the GENIUS Act and CLARITY Act as regulatory tailwinds that could boost the value of Bakkt’s licensed infrastructure.Related: OpenTrade Raises $17 Million to Expand Stablecoin Yield PlatformStablecoin infrastructure draws interestBakkt’s pivot comes as public-market investors show growing interest in stablecoin infrastructure companies.Circle Internet Group shares rose nearly 16% Monday after the USDC (USDC) issuer reported a 20% rise in first-quarter total revenue and reserve income to $694 million and disclosed a $222 million presale of its ARC blockchain token at a $3 billion fully diluted network valuation.Circle’s results showed USDC in circulation rose 28% year over year to $77 billion at quarter-end, while onchain transaction volume rose 263% to $21.5 trillion.Related: Crypto Biz: Wall Street wants more than just Bitcoin

Bitcoin miner CleanSpark (CLSK) recorded a net loss of $378.3 million in its fiscal second quarter, more than doubling the $138.8 million loss reported in the same period a year ago, largely due to a sharp drop in Bitcoin’s price.On Monday, the Las Vegas-based miner disclosed the results for the quarter ended March 31, 2026. It reported a $224.1 million loss tied to the fair value of its Bitcoin holdings, accounting for nearly 60% of the total quarterly loss. The company held $925.2 million worth of BTC at quarter’s end.It reported a fiscal second-quarter net loss of $1.52 per basic share, widening from a loss of $0.49 a year earlier. Revenue for the quarter ended March 31 was $136.4 million, down from $181.7 million a year earlier.Despite the Bitcoin-driven losses, CleanSpark grew its BTC holdings by 14% and increased its average monthly hashrate by 18% year-over-year.CleanSpark shares drop in after-hours trading. Source: Yahoo FinanceShares closed up 0.70% at $14.30 on Monday but fell 9.51% in after-hours trading to $12.94 following the earnings release.Related: Bitcoin Miner Bitdeer Liquidates Entire BTC Treasury, Holdings Fall to ZeroCleanSpark shifts toward AILike many of its peers, CleanSpark is pushing into artificial intelligence and high-performance computing infrastructure. The company doubled its contracted megawatts year-over-year and secured 585 megawatts of ERCOT-approved capacity in Texas, while continuing site development in Sandersville, Georgia.“Our objectives are clear: commercialize our AI/HPC-applicable assets, grow the portfolio, and continue mining efficiently to power CleanSpark’s transformation,” CEO and chairman Matt Schultz said. The company ended the quarter with $260.3 million in cash and $2.9 billion in total assets, per the announcement. However, long-term debt nearly tripled, from $644.6 million to $1.8 billion, six months prior.Related: Saylor signals another Bitcoin buy after hinting at selling in Q1 earnings callMore miners see quarterly lossesAs Cointelegraph reported, MARA Holdings posted a $1.3 billion loss for the first quarter of 2026, widening sharply from $533.4 million a year earlier, as unrealized losses on its 38,689 Bitcoin treasury dragged on results. Revenue fell 18% year-on-year to $174.6 million, missing analyst expectations of $192.7 million.TeraWulf also recorded a net loss of $427 million in the same quarter, up from $61.4 million a year earlier, though its pivot to AI infrastructure showed early results, with HPC revenue hitting $21 million, roughly 60% of total revenue.Magazine: Bitcoin will not hit $1M by 2030, says veteran trader Peter Brandt