The European Central Bank, or ECB, laid the foundation for the criteria it would be considering when harmonizing the licensing requirements for crypto in Europe. In a Wednesday statement, the ECB’s banking supervision division said it would be taking steps to regulate digital assets given “national frameworks governing crypto-assets diverge quite extensively” and seemingly differing approaches to harmonization following the passage of the Markets in Crypto-Assets, or MiCA, and the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision issuing guidelines for banks’ exposure to crypto. The ECB said it would apply criteria from the Capital Requirements Directive — in effect since 2013 — …

In an article I wrote for Cointelegraph, I commented on how the European Union has moved forward to regulate the crypto-asset market through Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) and Transfer of Funds Regulation (ToFR). With this subject as a background, I had the privilege of interviewing one of the people who knows the most about regulating new technologies: Eva Kaili, vice president of the European Parliament. She has been working hard on promoting innovation as a driving force for the establishment of the European Digital Single Market. Check out the interview below, which covered key points about MiCA, some proposed legislative …

There’s a ferment brewing with regard to central bank digital currencies (CBDCs), and most people really don’t know what to expect. Varied effects seem to be bubbling up in different parts of the world. Consider: China’s e-CNY has already been used by 200 million-plus of its citizens and a full rollout could happen as early as February — but will a digital yuan gain traction internationally? Europe’s central bank has been exploring a digital euro for several years, and the European Union could introduce a digital euro bill in 2023. But, will it come with limitations, such as a ceiling …

The United Kingdom is paving the road for cryptocurrency services, courting startups and established players alike while leading the way in pioneering regulation on stablecoins and nonfungible tokens. But a lot has changed. After two years of deliberations, European Union lawmakers achieved agreement on the Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) regulation, marking a pivotal moment for harmonized supervision of the sector on such a scale. This followed United States President Joe Biden’s executive order recommending a whole-of-government approach toward the responsible development of digital assets within the United States. The U.K. has also seen major political shifts during this period, including …

Major European cryptocurrency investment firm CoinShares is expanding its exchange-traded products (ETP) with a new physically-backed ETP based on Algorand. CoinShares on Thursday announced the listing of its physically-backed staked Algorand ETP on Xetra, the electronic trading platform run by Germany’s exchange operator Deutsche Boerse. Named the CoinShares Physical Staked Algorand, the new crypto investment product will be trading on Xetra under the ticker RAND. The ETP is enabled through CoinShares’ proprietary technology platform Galata, allowing investors to benefit from the 2% staking rewards associated with participating in Algorand's blockchain security. The new Algorand ETP joins a family of CoinShares’s …

Banking Circle, a European bank focused on cross-border payments, is adopting a major U.S. dollar-pegged stablecoin for payment rails. The firm officially announced on Friday the adoption of the USD Coin (USDC) on its platform as a payment acceptance, processing and settlement method. The new payment feature is enabled as part of Banking Circle’s new service targeting banks and payment providers, allowing them to facilitate payments outside traditional bank rails. Coinbase, a major cryptocurrency exchange in the United States, will be one of the crypto liquidity providers for Bank Circle, the announcement notes. The USDC adoption by Banking Circle is …

Major cryptocurrency exchange BitMEX is working to increase compliance with the European sanctions against Russia by preparing to enforce major restrictions for its Russian users. BitMEX is changing its restricted jurisdictions policy to be compliant with various restrictive measures of the European Union, Cointelegraph has learned. The BitMEX crypto exchange notified a group of potentially affected users about the upcoming changes via email on Monday. According to an email seen by Cointelegraph, Russian citizens or residents will no longer be able to access BitMEX services from the European Union after July 11, 2022. That means that such users will not …

According to European parliament member and rapporteur for the Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) regulation Stefan Berger, the deal on landmark pan-European Union regulation has finally been struck amid the Tripartite negotiations. It “will put an end to the crypto wild west,” as French Minister for the Economy Bruno Le Maire hopes. Still, while raising a modest optimism among some stakeholders, MiCa’s final draft will surely make life harder for others. A prime example here is the case with stablecoins, which would get a daily transaction cap of 200 million euros under the new regulation. With Tether (USDT) and USD Coin’s …

Major European digital asset manager CoinShares is finalizing the acquisition of the French fintech firm Napoleon Group despite the ongoing market decline. CoinShares announced on July 4 that the firm has acquired Napoleon Asset Management, a digital asset management subsidiary of Napoleon Group. CoinShares previously entered into a sale and purchase agreement (SPA) to acquire the entire issued share capital in Napoleon Crypto SAS for 13.9 million euros ($14.5 million) in November 2021. The latest acquisition came shortly after the French financial regulator, the Autorité des Marchés Financiers (AMF), authorized the acquisition of Napoleon AM on June 28. CoinShares subsequently …

European Union officials recently agreed on a landmark law called the Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCa) framework that provides guidance for crypto asset service providers (CASPs) to operate within the Europe region. Following this, experts reacted with varying opinions, from supporting the decision to explaining how it would have adverse effects. According to Richard Gardner, CEO of trading technology firm Modulus, the new development provides a clearer picture for CASPs as to what is expected by the authorities. Gardner explained that: “Not everything contained in it is going to appeal to all the players, but, at this point, the industry just …

Officials from the European Union have agreed on a landmark law that will make life tougher for crypto issuers and service providers under a new single regulatory framework. Stefan Berger, European Parliament member and rapporteur for the MiCA regulation — the person appointed to report on proceedings related to the bill — broke the news on Twitter, saying that a “balanced” deal had been struck, which has made the EU the first continent with crypto-asset regulation. MiCA Trilog: Durchbruch! Europa ist der erste Kontinent mit einer Krypto-Asset Regulierung. Parlament, Kommission & Rat haben sich auf ausgewogene #MiCA geeinigt. Für mich …

Coinbase is expanding its operations into various countries in Europe amid a "crypto winter." Despite laying off numerous employees and rescinding job offers, Coinbase's vice president Nana Murugesan revealed intentions to register in Italy, Spain, France and the Netherlands. In Switzerland, the United States-based cryptocurrency exchange has already hired its first employees and is already licensed to trade cryptocurrencies in the United Kingdom, Ireland and Germany. In an interview on June 29, Murugesan stated that the firm is now looking to expand into Europe. Furthermore, amid the cryptocurrency market slump, the company is also open to acquisitions in the region. …