As the US delays crypto laws and Europe enforces MiCA, markets face regulatory gaps, capital shifts and uneven compliance costs for global firms. Europe has moved from drafting to enforcing crypto rules under MiCA, giving companies clear timelines, licensing paths and compliance milestones across all EU member states. The US still relies on a multi-agency, enforcement-led framework, with major questions about token classification and market structure waiting on new federal legislation. MiCA’s single-license model allows crypto firms to operate across the EU after approval in one country, encouraging companies to base early expansion strategies in Europe. Read more
A new UK Cryptoasset Business Council report found that almost all major banks are imposing blanket limits or blocks on transfers to crypto exchanges, effectively debanking crypto users. A new survey by the UK Cryptoasset Business Council (UKCBC) found that transfers between United Kingdom bank accounts and crypto exchanges are frequently blocked, delayed or refused, even when customers are trying to use regulated platforms. The survey, titled Locked Out: Debanking the UK’s Digital Asset Economy, draws on responses from 10 of the UK’s largest centralized exchanges, which collectively serve millions of UK consumers and have processed hundreds of billions of pounds in transactions. It aims to replace anecdotes with hard numbers on how current banking practices affect the sector. The UKCBC argues that widespread restrictions are a major obstacle to growth and are already undermining the UK’s ambitions to be a leading hub for digital assets. Read more
A researcher uncovered a 149 million-credential dump from infostealer malware, including 420,000 Binance logins, exposing growing risks to crypto users. A cybersecurity researcher uncovered a massive, publicly accessible database containing millions of stolen login credentials harvested from malware-infected personal devices, including accounts linked to major social media platforms and the crypto exchange Binance. The dataset, uncovered by cybersecurity researcher Jeremiah Fowler, contained about 149 million usernames and passwords from personal phones and computers, according to a Friday blog post published on ExpressVPN. The records were tied to services including Facebook, Instagram, Netflix and Binance, with at least 420,000 credentials associated with Binance users. The leak contained 48 million Gmail accounts, four million Yahoo accounts, 17 million Facebook accounts, 6.5 million Instagram accounts, 3.4 million Netflix accounts and 780,000 TikTok accounts, among others. Read more