Autor Cointelegraph by Christina Comben

Tokyo-listed Metaplanet has issued 8 billion Japanese yen ($50 million) in zero-interest bonds to EVO FUND, with the proceeds earmarked for additional Bitcoin purchases, according to a Thursday filing.According to the filing, the 20th series of ordinary bonds matures in April 2027 and is unsecured, giving Metaplanet another source of zero-interest funding as it expands one of the largest corporate Bitcoin treasuries in the market.EVO FUND, a Cayman-based fund at the core of Evolution Financial Group, specializes in structured financings for digital asset-focused companies and is the main subscriber to Metaplanet’s zero-interest bonds used to fund Bitcoin purchases.Under the terms of the deal, the bonds will be redeemed at par on maturity, though EVO FUND can request early redemption with five business days’ notice. Metaplanet may also redeem part or all of the bonds if it completes future financings with the same investor.Related: Nakamoto sells $20 million in Bitcoin and cuts Metaplanet stakeThe latest raise extends a financing strategy Metaplanet has used repeatedly as it leans further into its Bitcoin treasury model, tapping capital markets rather than relying solely on operating cash flow.Metaplanet’s share price was down around 3.69% at the time of writing, according to data from Yahoo! Finance.Metaplanet expands Bitcoin holdings with debt-funded strategyThe latest raise follows an aggressive first quarter in which Metaplanet added 5,075 BTC, lifting its total holdings to about 40,177 BTC and cementing its position as the third-largest publicly listed Bitcoin holder.Metaplanet Issues $50 million in 0% Ordinary Bonds to Purchase Additional $BTC. Source: MetaplanetThat expansion has made the company one of the clearer examples in Asia of a public firm using debt and equity financing to accumulate Bitcoin as a treasury asset, drawing frequent comparisons to MicroStrategy’s balance sheet strategy in the United States.With the new issuance, Metaplanet is signaling that it intends to keep buying even after a volatile stretch for crypto markets, with BTC trading around $77,000 in recent sessions.The company said in the filing that the bond sale is expected to have only a minimal impact on its consolidated results for fiscal 2026, and that, if “any material impact” on its financial performance or other matters arises, it will provide an update promptly.Magazine: AI-driven hacks could kill DeFi — unless projects act nowCointelegraph is committed to independent, transparent journalism. This news article is produced in accordance with Cointelegraph’s Editorial Policy and aims to provide accurate and timely information. Readers are encouraged to verify information independently.

The European Union’s Markets in Crypto Assets Regulation (MiCA) transition period is entering its final stretch, forcing smaller crypto firms across the EU to either secure authorization quickly or prepare to shut down regulated services. The transitional period ends across the bloc on July 1, after which any crypto asset service provider operating without a MiCA license must stop serving EU clients.Early movers like United Kingdom-based exchange CoinJar, which said it secured MiCA authorization in Ireland in 2025, call the regime a necessary maturation that rewards compliance-first players, but founders in markets like Poland warn thousands of virtual asset service providers (VASPs) could fall off a regulatory cliff as deadlines hit.Companies face a hard stop of July 1 for the longest 18-month grandfathering window, with some national regimes already closing. For smaller companies and hybrid crypto projects, the same regime may prove a breaking point. The cost of authorization, governance upgrades and ongoing reporting is raising the barrier to entry just as MiCA leaves only narrowly defined, fully decentralized services outside its scope, setting up a likely wave of consolidation across Europe’s crypto market.EU supervisors maintain the rules are proportionate and designed to support innovation alongside stronger investor protection, but whether MiCA cements Europe as a trusted crypto hub or drives the next generation of builders offshore remains to be seen.MiCA’s hard reset for small firmsPolish crypto exchange Ari10 secured a MiCA licence in the Netherlands in February. Founder Mateusz Kara told Cointelegraph that, to his knowledge, of the roughly 2,000 registered VASPs in Poland, only his group holds a MiCA licence so far; a gap he believes will force many local firms to close.For Kara, MiCA’s cost and organizational requirements leave “no room for small players,” and the market will consolidate, a view echoed by Matthew Pinnock, chief operating officer at Altura decentralized finance platform.He told Cointelegraph such an environment favors larger exchanges and custodians, mirroring patterns seen in countries like Japan, where stricter post-2018 licensing pushed smaller firms out of business.Decentralized impact investment platform Kula’s head of digital assets, Taran Dhillon, made a similar point, telling Cointelegraph that “one-size-fits-all” authorization, governance and reporting requirements risk pushing early-stage teams and experimental projects to other hubs. Related: Poland stalls on crypto law, forcing local companies to move abroadDeFi in the gray zoneMiCA’s exemption for fully decentralized services in Recital 22 is one of the main pressure points for protocols trying to comply without abandoning their designs.Pinnock said Altura runs non-custodial strategies where users retain control, but elements like unified vaults and coordinated front ends may still attract scrutiny. Many DeFi systems, he expects, will be treated as hybrids, with factors like upgradeability and whether there is an identifiable operator influencing outcomes determining their classification.Related: ECB paper questions if DeFi DAOs are decentralized enough to sit outside MiCATo adapt, Altura is building a model where core functions remain onchain while regulated exchanges, custodians and wallets act as access points for EU users. Dhillon, meanwhile, says the decentralization exemption remains too ambiguous, leaving most protocols in “regulatory limbo,” with prolonged uncertainty that could push responsible innovation offshore.Regulators and the centralization debateEU supervisors insist MiCA was designed to balance innovation with investor protection, not drive out smaller firms. A European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) spokesperson told Cointelegraph the framework supports innovation and fair competition, and the transitional period was deliberately structured to give existing providers time to adapt. Requirements are proportionate to risk, they stressed, with smaller firms not expected to meet the same bar as systemically important players.ESMA supports the Commission’s proposal on market integration. Source: ESMAESMA fully backs the European Commission’s push to centralize supervision of major cross-border exchanges at the EU level, arguing a single supervisor would reduce forum shopping and streamline oversight. Others, such as Malta’s Financial Services Authority (MFSA), see that move as premature given how recently MiCA came into force, and warn that local knowledge remains crucial for proportionate supervision in smaller markets.MiCA a filter, not a threatIf smaller founders see MiCA as an existential hurdle, early movers like CoinJar frame it as a filter that will strengthen the market. CEO Asher Tan told Cointelegraph the rules do not create an unlevel playing field so much as bring crypto in line with “serious financial frameworks.”Tan views Europe as a core growth market and says MiCA gives it a clear, passportable path to scale across the bloc. He claims MiCA is nudging the industry away from speculative, poorly understood tokens toward selective listings and long-term value — even if that accelerates consolidation and makes life harder for lightly capitalized newcomers.Magazine: Will the CLARITY Act be good — or bad — for DeFi?Cointelegraph is committed to independent, transparent journalism. This news article is produced in accordance with Cointelegraph’s Editorial Policy and aims to provide accurate and timely information. Readers are encouraged to verify information independently. Read our Editorial Policy https://cointelegraph.com/editorial-policy

A man posing as a delivery driver allegedly tried to extort a crypto investor at gunpoint in a suburb of Montpellier, in what local media describe as the first reported crypto-motivated home invasion in France’s Hérault region. According to French outlet Actu.fr, the suspect gained access to the family home in Saint-Jean-de-Védas on April 11, pulled out a handgun and forced the parents and their children into a room before the father overpowered him during a struggle in which a shot was fired. No one was injured, and investigators from the Montpellier research section of the Gendarmerie later identified and arrested a 25-year-old suspect, who has since been charged and remanded in custody while police examine whether he acted alone.The case comes amid a surge in so-called “wrench attacks,” in which criminals use threats or violence to force crypto holders to hand over funds or seed phrases, bypassing digital safeguards. France has emerged as one of the countries worst hit by these assaults, with at least 41 crypto-linked kidnappings and home invasions so far this year. France emerges as wrench attack epicenterFrance’s wrench attack incidents amount to roughly one every 2.5 days, after such attacks jumped 75% in 2025 to 72 global cases in a single year and millions of dollars in confirmed losses, with France recording the highest number for a single country. Related: Crypto execs ramp up security as wrench attacks increaseFrench tech outlet Generation-NT reported on Tuesday that, beyond victims’ social media footprints, police and cybersecurity specialists increasingly suspect some gangs are compiling target lists from leaked customer data, giving them information on who holds significant crypto and where they live. Those concerns have been sharpened by recent leaks at crypto companies. In January, hardware wallet manufacturer Ledger said a breach at its payment partner Global‑e had exposed names, contact details and order information for some hardware wallet buyers, effectively creating a new, high-quality list of confirmed crypto users tied to physical addresses.Total wrench attacks per country. Source: Gart.ioKidnappings span fake raids and ransom plotsRecent French cases have ranged from fake police raids to ransom kidnappings. In February, police arrested six suspects over the abduction of a magistrate and her mother in a plot to extort crypto from the magistrate’s partner, a digital asset entrepreneur. Another investigation in March detailed assailants posing as officers who forced a French couple to transfer close to $1 million in Bitcoin (BTC) under threat of violence.French officials say crypto crime is shifting from code-based exploits to physical coercion. At Paris Blockchain Week, French minister Jean-Didier Berger said the government had launched a prevention platform for crypto holders and was working with the Interior Ministry on wider measures in response to the wave of kidnappings and home invasions tied to digital assets.Magazine: Bitcoin will not hit $1M by 2030, says veteran trader Peter BrandtCointelegraph is committed to independent, transparent journalism. This news article is produced in accordance with Cointelegraph’s Editorial Policy and aims to provide accurate and timely information. Readers are encouraged to verify information independently. Read our Editorial Policy https://cointelegraph.com/editorial-policy

A consortium of 12 European banks led by Qivalis has selected digital asset custody provider Fireblocks to provide infrastructure for a Markets in Crypto Assets Regulation (MiCA)-compliant euro stablecoin, according to a Tuesday release shared with Cointelegraph. Qivalis’s stablecoin is intended to support institutional use cases such as settlement, treasury and tokenized assets. Fireblocks said it will provide tokenization technology, wallet infrastructure, custody, and other important tools and features to support compliance, such as identity verification and sanctions screening.Qivalis, launched in 2025, is a Netherlands-based venture backed by major banks including BBVA, BNP Paribas, ING and UniCredit, which plans to issue a fully regulated, 1:1-backed euro token structured as an electronic money institution under Dutch supervision. The group says it is targeting a launch in the second half of 2026, subject to approval from the Dutch central bank, De Nederlandsche Bank, under the European Union’s MiCA regulatory framework.European banks push euro stablecoin to counter dollar dominanceThe project comes as dollar-denominated stablecoins dominate the global stablecoin market. According to DeFiLlama data, the total global stablecoin market capitalization is around $320 billion, with roughly 99% of supply tied to the US dollar and only a small share denominated in euros.Total stablecoin market capitalization. Source: DeFiLlamaEuropean banks and policymakers are stepping up efforts to reduce reliance on dollar stablecoins in digital payments and settlement, and European banks and corporates are selecting partners and infrastructure providers to accelerate euro stablecoin initiatives across the region.A spokesperson from Fireblocks told Cointelegraph that the project is being designed as a “regulated euro-native settlement instrument” for European institutions, rather than relying on dollar-based alternatives or smaller euro tokens without comparable banking backing.Related: French finance minister backs euro-pegged stablecoins to compete with USThe news also follows warnings from the Bank for International Settlements and other regulators that some dollar stablecoins may function more like investment vehicles than money due to their reliance on short-term securities. On Monday, BIS general manager Pablo Hernández de Cos repeated that warning, urging for greater global coordination on stablecoin regulation to address cross-border risks and prevent gaps in oversight.Earlier this month, Bank of France first deputy governor Denis Beau urged the European Union to limit the use of non-euro-denominated stablecoins in everyday payments to reduce regulatory arbitrage in times of stress.Magazine: Singapore isn’t a ‘crypto hub’ — it’s something better: StraitsX CEOCointelegraph is committed to independent, transparent journalism. This news article is produced in accordance with Cointelegraph’s Editorial Policy and aims to provide accurate and timely information. Readers are encouraged to verify information independently. Read our Editorial Policy https://cointelegraph.com/editorial-policy

Japan Securities Clearing Corporation (JSCC), part of Japan Exchange Group (JPX), said Monday it will launch a proof of concept with Mizuho Financial Group, Nomura Holdings and Digital Asset to test the use of Japanese government bonds as digital collateral on the Canton Network.The project will examine whether Japanese Government Bonds (JGBs) can be transferred and managed onchain while maintaining the legal status of the bonds under the Book-Entry Transfer Act and the Financial Instruments and Exchange Act.The trial will also test whether integrating existing systems with Canton’s blockchain infrastructure can support more sophisticated, real-time collateral transactions on a 24/7 basis, including in cross-border use cases.Japan’s Financial Services Agency selected the initiative in February for support under its Payment Innovation Project, which is part of the FinTech PoC Hub, the announcement states.The trial puts one of the world’s biggest sovereign bond markets into the live debate over whether collateral can move more efficiently across digital market infrastructure without breaking existing legal and supervisory frameworks.PoC trial for digital collateral management using JGBs. Source: JPXThe companies said the trial comes as the use of digital assets accelerates in the United States and other markets, with momentum also building in Japan, and that the outcome is expected to inform discussions on how JGBs might be used in digital collateral processes, though no commercial rollout has been specified.Related: Japan approves bill to classify crypto as financial instrumentsCanton expands government bond testsAn earlier Canton pilot in December 2025 saw tokenized US Treasuries reused as collateral in real time between major dealers and market participants, including Bank of America and Société Générale. Those tests highlighted the potential to reuse high-grade government securities onchain across multiple participants, and the new JGB trial extends that approach to Japan’s government bond market. Separately, in February, the United Kingdom’s government appointed HSBC’s Orion platform to host issuance for its Digital Gilt Instrument pilot in the Bank of England’s Digital Securities Sandbox as it explores distributed ledger technology for sovereign debt. Cointelegraph reached out to JSCC and Digital Asset for comment, but had not received a response by publication. Magazine: Should users be allowed to bet on war and death in prediction markets?Cointelegraph is committed to independent, transparent journalism. This news article is produced in accordance with Cointelegraph’s Editorial Policy and aims to provide accurate and timely information. Readers are encouraged to verify information independently. Read our Editorial Policy https://cointelegraph.com/editorial-policy