Značka: latest news

Dollar stablecoins could improve access to foreign currency in economies with fixed or heavily managed exchange rates, but may also amplify currency runs when pressure on the domestic currency becomes severe, according to a new paper published by the International Monetary Fund (IMF). The findings come from a working paper by economist Brandon Joel Tan. Titled “Stablecoins and Fragility in Fixed Exchange Rate Regimes,” the paper modeled how stablecoins affect parallel foreign-exchange (FX) markets when official dollar access is rationed. The findings highlight that stablecoins can help people get access to dollars when banks or official exchange channels cannot meet demand. However, during a currency crisis, the same widely watched stablecoin price could prompt many people to abandon the local currency simultaneously, suggesting that regulators may need temporary limits on unusually large or panic-driven transactions. Tan argued that stablecoins make “dollar-like claims easier to access” while creating a visible, high-frequency price for dollar demand. When a country’s official exchange rate is far from the market rate, that price can signal growing dollar scarcity and prompt more people to move out of the local currency at the same time. Stablecoins emerge as parallel FX benchmarksThe paper’s argument reflects how stablecoins are already being used in countries where official access to dollars is limited. On June 9, 2025, Bolivian airport retailers were seen pricing goods using USDT as a reference, while still accepting US dollars or bolivianos. In 2024, Cointelegraph reported that Argentines were using underground “crypto caves” to exchange pesos for dollar-stablecoins at rates closer to the unofficial market. The practice gave residents another way to preserve savings as the peso lost value and currency controls restricted access to the dollar. Related: Tokenization makes finance more efficient but introduces risks: IMFWhile these uses highlighted the benefits of stablecoins, regulators have also recently warned about broader risks. On March 24, the Financial Stability Board (FSB) said dollar stablecoins could expose emerging economies to currency substitution, weaker monetary policy and the circumvention of capital-flow measures. The FSB urged lawmakers to assess how the stablecoin sector develops to understand and respond to liquidity and operational risks as stablecoins interlink with the broader financial system. Magazine: Will the crypto lobby’s $189M campaign get CLARITY over the line?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.

Robinhood said eligible US-based customers will soon be able to connect third-party AI agents to make crypto trades on their behalf, marking the latest expansion in autonomous trading after the company rolled out a similar product to equities and options traders in May.“You can work with an agent to create a strategy with specific guardrails and not need to be constantly monitoring your account,” a Robinhood executive said during a presentation on Friday.Robinhood didn’t set a date for when it would roll out the product to eligible US crypto traders but noted that its UK customers would be next in line to access the offering.Equities traders can already ask AI agents to invest in crypto mining stocks on their behalf. Source: RobinhoodThe push for autonomous crypto trading adds to Robinhood’s broader crypto strategy, which has primarily focused on real-world asset tokenization and the company’s Ethereum layer 2 Robinhood Chain, which launched earlier this month.Robinhood’s senior vice president and general manager of crypto, Johann Kerbrat, said the new blockchain processed 17 million transactions from nearly 350,000 wallet addresses in its first week.Meanwhile, over 70,000 agentic accounts have already been created by Robinhood equities and options traders since late May, when the platform launched a beta version of the product.AI agents serve to even the playing fieldDuring the presentation, the Robinhood executive said the AI agents would enable retail users to base trades on data that they would have otherwise missed, putting them on a more equal playing field with institutions:“This is another big step towards giving retail investors every advantage that institutions have enjoyed for decades.”Robinhood offers the agentic accounts through several third-party AI companies, including Anthropic, OpenAI and SpaceX’s Grok.Robinhood is also enabling eligible users to have credit card purchases made on their behalf by AI agents.It comes as crypto industry executives like Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong and Circle CEO Jeremy Allaire have tipped that AI agents will become the dominant users of blockchain payments in the next few years. AI agent crypto payment integrations are also taking placeSeveral notable integrations advancing AI agent-driven stablecoin spending have emerged in recent months, including one by Amazon Web Services in May when it integrated Coinbase’s x402 payments protocol into Amazon Bedrock AgentCore, allowing agents to transact in the USDC (USDC) stablecoin. Related: Robinhood Venture Fund invests $75M in OpenAI In April, crypto wallet startup Oobit launched a Visa-supported virtual card for AI agents to make online purchases in USDt (USDT) on behalf of businesses. AI agent payments adoption laggingDespite the integrations, data shows that AI-agent transaction activity on the blockchain remains relatively small, with Artemis data showing that only $2 million in transaction volume was facilitated through the AI agent-supported x402 protocol in June.Features: The 5 types of real world assets being tokenized fastest onchain 

The US Department of Justice is reportedly moving to drop charges against the founder of BitClub Network, a purported crypto mining platform that allegedly defrauded investors of $722 million between 2014 and 2019.A court filing shows Matthew Goettsche’s attorneys wrote to New Jersey district court Judge Claire Cecchi on Wednesday, stating that the parties “reached an agreement in principle” to resolve the pending charges “but need time to finalize the terms.”Goettsche’s attorneys’ letter to New Jersey district court Judge Claire Cecchi. Source: Bloomberg LawThe filing came after the deputy attorney general’s office in Washington reportedly ordered the New Jersey attorney general’s office to dismiss the case against Goettsche with prejudice, according to a report on Friday from Bloomberg Law, citing two sources familiar with the matter. Goettsche was indicted in December 2019 and was set to face trial in October for conspiracy to commit wire fraud and selling unregistered securities. A reversal would mark one of the more notable changes in US crypto enforcement history, particularly given that three of his former colleagues, Silviu Balaci, Joseph Abel and Gordon Beckstead, have pleaded guilty for their involvement in the scheme.The potential reversal follows an April 2025 memo from Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche, who directed the DOJ to end its “regulation by prosecution” strategy against the digital asset industry.Cointelegraph reached out to the DOJ for comment but didn’t receive an immediate response.BitClub operated from April 2014 to December 2019, claiming to be a Bitcoin mining pool where investors could buy shares and earn passive returns. BitClub allegedly falsified earnings values to investors and fabricated mining data to entice more investors into the scheme.Related: Acting AG Todd Blanche confirms ‘code is not a crime’ in DOJ pivot Past court filings show Goettsche once described his model as one built “on the backs of idiots.”DOJ is still taking down crypto’s bad actorsIn April, California man Evan Tageman was sentenced to 70 months in prison for his role in a criminal enterprise that stole about $263 million worth of crypto from victims through social engineering scams and burglary. The DOJ also froze over $700 million in crypto tied to investment scammers targeting Americans in April, while in February, it seized nearly $580 million in crypto linked to a criminal scam group operating in Southeast Asia.Features: Will the crypto lobby’s $189M campaign get CLARITY over the line? 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.

Crypto exchange Kraken is adding AI-powered financial tools to its mobile app as exchanges increasingly compete to offer personalized investing tools beyond basic trading features.According to a company announcement, users will begin by setting financial goals and preferences, allowing the app to tailor its interface and recommendations around those objectives rather than requiring customers to navigate complex trading tools. The company said the redesigned platform will help users pursue goals such as buying a home, saving for retirement or building an emergency fund.Kraken said its “financial intelligence” continuously monitors markets, identifies investment opportunities and recommends trades, but does not execute transactions autonomously. Every recommendation requires the user’s approval before a trade is placed, with the company positioning the technology as a decision-support tool rather than an automated trading system.According to CNBC, the app then uses that information, along with a user’s risk tolerance, funding preferences and financial profile, to generate a suggested portfolio for users to review and adjust before investing. Once invested, it provides personalized portfolio updates and investment suggestions tailored to each user’s holdings.Speaking to CNBC, Kraken chief data officer Kamo Asatryan said the technology is designed to give everyday investors the same market awareness as the exchange’s most active traders by continuously monitoring markets, identifying opportunities and recommending trades. “[T]here’s an opportunity for everyday people to become high-frequency traders and do so using plain English,” he said.Related: Bitcoin miners’ AI pivot faces investor scrutiny over insider salesAI agents spread across crypto platformsCrypto exchanges and fintech firms are increasingly embedding AI into their trading platforms, allowing users to analyze markets, manage portfolios and place trades through conversational interfaces.In June, OKX launched a beta marketplace where AI agents can transact autonomously, complete onchain tasks and build blockchain-based reputations. In the same month, Coinbase introduced a tool that lets AI agents make payments and trade cryptocurrencies on behalf of users using its x402 payments protocol.Adoption is also accelerating. Last month, Chainalysis reported that agentic payment activity on Coinbase’s Base network had surpassed 100 million transactions. The report found that while transaction growth has stabilized, higher-value transfers have become more common, suggesting AI-driven payments are moving beyond micropayments and early experimentation.Source: CoinbaseOn Friday, fintech firm Revolut launched an upgrade to its Revolut X exchange, allowing customers to connect AI assistants, including Claude, Gemini, Cursor and OpenClaw, to analyze markets, backtest trading strategies and place orders through natural-language prompts. Like Kraken’s platform, users must review and approve every trade before execution.Magazine: Bitcoin’s quantum dilemma: Bigger blocks or STARK proofs?

Five Democratic senators have called for committee hearings “to investigate the national security implications of President Trump’s cryptocurrency holdings” as the chamber considers digital asset market structure legislation.In a Friday notice, the Democratic ranking members of five US Senate committees and subcommittees asked lawmakers to address President Donald Trump’s 2025 financial disclosure, in which he reported earning about $1.4 billion connected to crypto ventures like his memecoin and family’s World Liberty Financial platform. The lawmakers said that the reports “heighten concerns about the President pushing Congress to pass crypto legislation in favor of the very industry he’s cashing in on,” referring to the Digital Asset Market Clarity (CLARITY) Act, on which the Senate is expected to vote this month.“We call on our respective Committees to hold hearings to investigate the national security implications of President Trump’s cryptocurrency holdings, including the influence of the [United Arab Emirates] or unknown third parties on President Trump’s actions,” said the notice.Senator Richard Blumenthal, one of the Democrats who called for hearings into Trump’s ties to crypto, speaks to CNN’s Anderson Cooper on Thursday. Source: Richard BlumenthalAs members of the minority in both the Senate and House of Representatives, Democrats have less authority to hold their own hearings and oversight without Republican support. However, Senate rules require 60 votes to end a filibuster and advance a bill, meaning that Republicans will need help from some Democrats to pass CLARITY.Related: Donald Trump says ‘nothing wrong’ with $1.4B crypto windfall while in officeSome Senate Republicans, like Cynthia Lummis, continue to push for CLARITY to pass even as many Democrats signal they will withhold support without clear ethics provisions. Representative French Hill, who chairs the House Financial Services Committee and helped the bill pass in the House in 2025, said that Trump’s ties made passing legislation “more complicated.”CBDC ban to become law after Trump’s refusal to sign billThe notice from Democrats came just hours before a bill barring the Federal Reserve from issuing or creating a central bank digital currency (CBDC) until Dec. 31, 2030, is expected to become law on Saturday. Trump canceled the signing ceremony for the bipartisan housing bill containing the CBDC ban and did not issue a veto of the legislation, leaving the measure to automatically become law after 10 days.Magazine: Crypto’s CLARITY Act faces partisan fight over ethics on Senate floorCointelegraph 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.

A bipartisan housing bill containing a ban on a central bank digital currency (CBDC) in the United States is set to become law as the deadline approaches for President Donald Trump to sign it.Just after midnight on Friday, the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act will have been in Trump’s hands for 10 days, excluding Sundays, the maximum amount of time a bill can be on the president’s desk without a veto or a signature. Under the US Constitution, the legislation will automatically become law without action from Trump, who canceled the signing ceremony for the bill on Jun 24.In a Friday social media post, Trump confirmed that he would not sign the housing bill, calling Republicans in Congress who voted on the legislation “dumb” and urging the Senate to instead prioritize a controversial voting bill, the SAVE America Act. The legislation, which would require people to provide proof of US citizenship in person to register, has received widespread criticism for claims that it would disenfranchise citizens already eligible to vote.Source: Donald TrumpThe housing bill, passed by the House of Representatives and Senate in June with support from Democrats and Republicans, included language barring the Federal Reserve from issuing or creating a CBDC “or any digital asset that is substantially similar” until Dec. 31, 2030. Many analysts saw the digital dollar ban as a political giveaway to gain Republican support. Trump did not address the CBDC ban in his Friday post.Related: Trump backs CFTC authority over prediction markets“[H]e’s refusing to sign the biggest housing bill in 30 years,” said Senator Elizabeth Warren, who co-sponsored the bill, on Trump’s actions. “The good news: it’s going to become law anyway.”Could Trump’s inaction also affect crypto market structure?Although the US president said in May that he intended to “future-proof” digital asset regulations, his refusal to sign legislation unrelated to the SAVE America Act has raised questions about whether the Digital Asset Market Clarity (CLARITY) Act under consideration in the Senate could face a similar situation as the housing bill.The CLARITY Act, considered by many to be one of the most significant pieces of legislation affecting digital asset regulation, has already passed the House and two crucial Senate committees. Republican leaders in Congress expect that the bill will be heading to the full chamber for a floor vote in July once lawmakers return from state work periods on Monday.Trump’s ties to the crypto industry have already complicated discussions between Democrats and Republicans over the market structure bill. The president disclosed earning more than $1.4 billion in income from his crypto ventures in 2025, including memecoins and the family’s World Liberty Financial platform.Magazine: Crypto’s CLARITY Act faces partisan fight over ethics on Senate floor

Policymakers in New Hampshire’s executive council voted against a proposal that would have allowed the state to issue $100 million in bonds backed by Bitcoin (BTC).At a Wednesday hearing, the five-member panel voted 3-2 against the New Hampshire Business Finance Authority’s (BFA) proposed issuance of $100 million in BTC-backed bonds. The proposed investments, which the authority approved in November 2025, already had support from Governor Kelly Ayotte.“It was an extremely short-sighted decision,” said state representative Keith Ammon in a Thursday X post after the vote. “I can’t believe I witnessed it in person. They should gather all relevant facts and information and reconsider their vote at a future meeting.”Councilors Karen Liot Hill, Dave Wheeler and Janet Stevens voted against the measure, while Joseph Kenney and John Stephen approved it. The crypto investment vehicles, issued by the BFA and with CleanSpark putting up BTC as collateral, would have marked New Hampshire’s continued approval of digital asset policies, following its May 2025 crypto reserve law. Related: Bank of Korea governor outlines tokenized bond vision, unified ledger planWhile the BTC-backed bonds had support from many in the crypto industry, some experts warned against the proposal, saying it carried “substantial risk” for New Hampshire residents. Moody’s assigned the Bitcoin bond a provisional Ba2 rating in March.New Hampshire to join prediction markets fight against CFTC?With gaming authorities in many US states having already filed lawsuits against prediction market platforms like Kalshi and Polymarket over sports betting, some have speculated that New Hampshire could join the legal fight challenging the Commodity Futures Trading Commission’s (CFTC) authority. State Senator Tim Lang reportedly planned to introduce legislation restricting prediction markets in New Hampshire in April, but as of Friday, the platforms were still live in the state.Magazine: Has Bitcoin bottomed for this cycle? Analysts say ‘not yet’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.

Crypto exchange Backpack has launched 24/7 trading for select tokenized US equities, allowing international investors to trade stocks including SpaceX, Micron and SanDisk around the clock.Under the initial offering, Backpack said that investors would receive direct ownership of the underlying securities rather than synthetic exposure, with trades settling instantly and funded in fiat currency or stablecoins. The initial offering includes a limited selection of US equities, with additional stocks planned.The company also offers Solana-based tokenized versions of the securities, which can be transferred between wallets, used in decentralized finance applications and converted 1:1 into the corresponding shares through Backpack.Backpack said the service is available to investors in more than 150 countries and regions and that trades are backed by liquidity from traditional exchanges.The company added that tokenized SpaceX shares became the most actively traded tokenized version of the private rocket and AI company after launching in June, though it did not disclose trading volumes or provide comparisons with competing offerings.Related: Tokenized stock transfers surge 105% in a month to $8.4BEarlier this year, Backpack unveiled a token distribution model tied to its planned US initial public offering. Users who stake the exchange’s native token for at least one year will be eligible to exchange it for company equity after the IPO, while part of the token supply will remain locked until at least one year after the listing.Traditional finance joins tokenized equities pushBackpack’s launch comes as tokenized equities have become one of the fastest-growing segments of the onchain real-world asset (RWA) market. According to RWA.xyz data, the tokenized stock market has grown from about $379 million to $1.85 billion over the past year. Over the past 30 days alone, distributed value has climbed 28.6%, while monthly transfer volume has surged over 85% to $8.76 billion.Tokenized stocks. Source: RWA.xyz Crypto exchanges have led much of that growth. Kraken, which acquired xStocks developer Backed Finance in late 2025, has expanded the platform across its exchange, while Bybit and Bitget have also integrated xStocks. Coinbase and Binance have likewise rolled out tokenized equity offerings in recent months.Traditional exchanges have also embraced tokenization. In March, the SEC approved Nasdaq’s pilot to trade tokenized stocks alongside conventional securities on the same exchange, while the New York Stock Exchange partnered with Securitize to develop a 24/7 platform for tokenized stocks and ETFs.The following month, the Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation (DTCC) announced plans to launch a tokenized securities service in October after a pilot involving more than 50 financial and crypto firms. Magazine: Will the crypto lobby’s $189M campaign get CLARITY over the line?

Crypto’s infrastructure is starting to look a lot more like traditional finance. New data from Dune shows that the world’s stablecoin leaders — Tether’s USDT and Circle’s USDC — are no longer competing for the same users, with each now dominating a different corner of the market. Meanwhile, demand for MiCA-compliant euro stablecoins is accelerating, hinting that the stablecoin economy is slowly expanding beyond the US dollar.Elsewhere in Crypto Biz, Strategy reignited debate over its “never sell” philosophy after offloading more than $200 million in Bitcoin (BTC) to fund shareholder dividends, while Vanguard signaled that even Wall Street’s biggest crypto skeptics are embracing tokenization.USDT, USDC use cases diverge as stablecoins become chain-specificUSDT has become crypto’s dominant payments stablecoin while USDC has cemented itself as DeFi’s preferred settlement asset, according to new data from Dune.Rather than competing head-on, the industry’s two largest stablecoins are carving out distinct roles. USDT settled $95 billion in identified commercial payments during the first half of 2026 and continues to dominate business-to-business transfers. USDC, meanwhile, is driving onchain trading and DeFi activity, processing trillions of dollars in monthly transfer volume across Base and Ethereum. The divergence suggests Tether and Circle are strengthening their positions where network effects are already on their side. The supply of USDT is divided almost evenly between Tron and Ethereum, while USDC remains highly active on Ethereum. Source: DuneStrategy sells more than $200 million in BTCStrategy sold 3,588 Bitcoin worth $216 million to fund preferred stock dividends, marking its largest sale since adopting BTC as its treasury asset.The sale trimmed Strategy’s holdings to 843,775 BTC and follows a new capital framework that allows Bitcoin sales to fund dividend payments. Even so, the company kept its $2.55 billion cash reserve intact, suggesting the biggest publicly traded BTC holder isn’t under liquidity pressure but is opting for greater financial flexibility as its preferred shares trade below par.The sale is unlikely to signal a broader shift away from Strategy’s Bitcoin accumulation strategy, according to Bernstein analysts. Still, it has fueled fresh debate over the company’s departure from co-founder Michael Saylor’s long-standing “never sell” mantra, even as Strategy remains the largest corporate buyer of Bitcoin. Strategy’s yearly net Bitcoin purchases. Source: BernsteinEuro stablecoins gain traction under MiCAThe market capitalization of MiCA-compliant euro stablecoins surged 128% in the year leading up to the EU’s July 1 regulatory transition deadline, suggesting the overwhelmingly US dollar-dominated stablecoin market is beginning to diversify, according to payments company Decta.The combined value of eight actively traded euro stablecoins climbed to nearly $674 million, while trading volume increased 43% over the same period. To be sure, euro-pegged tokens remain a niche market, accounting for just 0.22% of the roughly $315 billion dollar-backed stablecoin sector.The growth comes as Europe debates whether its MiCA regime is helping or hindering the bloc’s digital asset ambitions. Industry groups argue the framework has made euro stablecoins safer but less competitive through strict reserve requirements and a ban on yield, while policymakers remain divided over whether loosening the rules would help the euro compete with the dollar.The market capitalization of the eight largest euro-denominated stablecoins. Source: DectaVanguard seeks digital asset executive Vanguard is hiring a head of digital assets to oversee its strategy on tokenization, stablecoins and blockchain infrastructure, signaling a notable shift for one of Wall Street’s most crypto-skeptical asset managers.The new executive will help shape Vanguard’s approach to digital asset products and custody and represent the asset manager in discussions with regulators, according to the job posting. The hiring stands in sharp contrast to the asset manager’s long-standing refusal to offer or even support spot Bitcoin ETFs.The move reflects a broader shift across traditional finance, where tokenization has become a strategic priority regardless of firms’ views on cryptocurrencies. Asset managers, including BlackRock, Franklin Templeton, Fidelity and WisdomTree, have all expanded their tokenized fund offerings as demand for blockchain-based financial products continues to grow.The head of digital assets job posting first appeared on July 6. Source: Vanguardjobs.comCrypto Biz is your weekly pulse on the business behind blockchain and crypto, delivered directly to your inbox every Thursday.

The US Federal Reserve named Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) co-founder Marc Andreessen to help lead a task force studying how artificial intelligence and other new technologies could affect productivity and jobs.Andreessen will serve on the Fed’s Productivity and Jobs task force alongside Charles I. Jones, a Stanford University economics professor currently on leave at Anthropic, and Asha Sharma, Microsoft’s executive vice president and Xbox CEO.The new task force will assess how general-purpose technologies such as AI will affect employment and productivity to better inform the central bank’s policymaking, the Fed said in a Thursday press release.The group is one of five task forces launched under new Fed Chair Kevin Warsh, each responsible for examining important areas of monetary policy conduct. The other task forces will focus on the Fed’s policy communication, balance sheet policy, data quality and inflation frameworks.Andreessen co-founded Andreessen Horowitz, which has become one of Silicon Valley’s most influential venture capital firms and a major backer of crypto and AI startups.Andreessen and Warsh’s ties date back to the early 1990s at Stanford University. During a 2025 interview with CNBC, Warsh said that both Andreessen and Palantir’s Peter Thiel “have been friends from my days in college.” Andreessen publicly supported Warsh’s appointment as Fed chairman. “I’ve known Kevin for 30 years; he combines great insight in economics and finance with keen understanding of technology and business,” he wrote in a Jan. 30 X post following US President Donald Trump’s nomination.Source: Marc AndreessenWarsh launches Fed task forcesWarsh revealed the leadership-driven overhaul and the creation of the five new task forces during a press conference on June 17.“These subjects are timely, consequential, and, in my view, worthy of a fresh look,” said Warsh during the press conference, adding that each of these will be independently led by “some of the very best minds—both inside and outside the economics profession.” Warsh also said that the central bank will strive to publish policy statements and guidance in shorter, clearer language.Related: Hyperliquid shows how onchain perps could challenge Wall Street: PanteraFOMC divided over AI’s economic impactThe Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) is sharply divided over the economic impact of AI and whether it is an inflationary or disinflationary technology. Some view AI as a long-term disinflationary productivity booster, while others argue that the current spending on AI infrastructure is actively increasing inflation.During a May 27 speech, Governor Lisa Cook said that she expects AI to further “boost productivity growth, contributing to my expectation that GDP will grow robustly,” but added that it presents the risk of “higher inflation.” In former Fed Chair Jerome Powell’s statements from March 2026, he said that data center spending is “putting pressure on all kinds of goods and services” and is “probably pushing inflation up at the margin.” Magazine: Strategy sells $216M Bitcoin, Bollinger bullish on BTC: Hodler’s Digest, June 29-July 6, 2026

Getting licensed under the European Union’s Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA) framework is only the beginning for crypto custodians, as regulators turn their attention from authorization to operational resilience.The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) on Wednesday launched a Common Supervisory Action (CSA) to examine the operational resilience of crypto asset service providers (CASPs), placing custody services at the center of the review.“The signal is quite clear: for custodians, a licence is the start line, not the finish,” Sebastien Dessimoz, co-founder and managing partner at digital asset infrastructure firm Taurus, told Cointelegraph.The review comes shortly after MiCA’s transitional period expired, marking one of the first major supervisory exercises under the EU’s new crypto framework.From claiming security to proving itThe ESMA told Cointelegraph that the CSA will apply to a sample of authorized CASPs under MiCA. The review will assess the maturity of CASPs’ digital operational resilience frameworks for custody activities, focusing on risks including key and storage management, transaction controls, incident response and dependencies on third-party providers.According to industry executives, the action marks a significant shift in Europe’s crypto market, where custody providers are increasingly expected to demonstrate, not simply claim, that their operational controls can withstand real-world risks.“The shift I expect is from asserting security to evidencing it,” Dessimoz said. “This is a healthy development,” he noted, adding that digital assets are moving deeper into regulated financial infrastructure, and that requires the same security, accountability and resilience institutions expect in traditional markets.Related: StanChart features in ESMA’s first MiCA register update since deadlineJody Mettler, chief operating officer of BitGo and president of BitGo Trust, told Cointelegraph that institutional clients have already been asking more detailed questions about how custody providers segregate assets, manage access controls, respond to incidents and maintain business continuity during periods of market stress.“The signal is that regulators are looking more closely at the operational standards behind digital asset services, not just whether firms are licensed,” she added.Markus Levin, co-founder of blockchain infrastructure company XYO, said obtaining a MiCA authorization and demonstrating operational resilience are “two different tests,” adding that CASPs able to prove robust controls before regulators complete their review could gain an advantage as institutional adoption grows.MiCA meets DORA and the debate over centralized crypto supervisionYuriy Brisov, a lawyer at Digital & Analogue Partners, said the review sits under two EU regulatory frameworks at once: the MiCA framework, which establishes custody obligations, and the Digital Operational Resilience Act (DORA), which sets technology risk requirements for financial firms.“Custody technology is concentrated in a handful of vendors, so one weak supplier can hit many firms at once,” the lawyer said, adding: “Proving resilience across that supply chain, under MiCA and DORA simultaneously, is the real challenge for CASPs.”Source: Digital Operational Resilience ActAccording to Brisov, the review could set a benchmark for how regulators assess MiCA-authorized custodians and influence discussions around a more centralized approach to crypto supervision in the EU.“The findings will feed into two live debates: the review of MiCA and the proposal to move supervision of all CASPs from national regulators to ESMA,” he said.Magazine: The biggest blockchain upgrades still to come in 2026

United States prosecutors have charged a man serving a federal prison sentence over the alleged removal and laundering of about $290,000 in crypto assets held in a Kraken account subject to a forfeiture order. The Department of Justice said on Thursday that Rossen Iossifov, a Bulgarian national, conspired in January 2024 to withdraw and transfer crypto that a federal court had ordered forfeited following his 2021 conviction. Prosecutors allege that the assets were moved through illicit mixing services and crypto exchanges before the US could take possession. The case shows how attempts to move crypto after a forfeiture order can trigger fresh criminal charges, even after the underlying conviction.The US Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Kentucky said the cryptocurrency was held in an account registered to Iossifov at Kraken and had been restrained during the investigation. The DOJ announcement did not say how the account was accessed or whether the funds were recovered.Crypto laundering draws wider enforcement scrutiny Iossifov was previously convicted of racketeering conspiracy and money laundering conspiracy for his role in an online auction fraud network that victimized at least 900 Americans.Prosecutors said Iossifov owned and operated a crypto exchange called RG Coins, which converted criminal proceeds into crypto and cash for the network. Earlier evidence showed that he laundered nearly $5 million in crypto in less than three years. The court ordered Iossifov to pay over $2.6 million in restitution and forfeit crypto assets. He is now charged with removing property to prevent seizure, aiding and abetting and conspiracy to commit money laundering. The charges carry a maximum penalty of 25 years if convicted. An indictment is an allegation, and Iossifov is presumed innocent unless proven guilty.Related: US DOJ sentences man to 70 months in prison for role in $263M scam groupThe charges come as authorities intensify scrutiny of crypto infrastructure used to obscure illicit flows. On Thursday, Interpol said that a wallet tied to a suspected romance-scam money launderer processed over $122 million in 10 months, using cross-chain swaps to move proceeds from online fraud. The investigation was part of a broader operation involving 97 countries and territories. The campaign led to 5,811 arrests and the interception of $293 million in assets tied to fraud and money laundering. Magazine: Bitcoin’s quantum dilemma: Bigger blocks or STARK proofs?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.