The United Kingdom’s financial regulator lifted a ban on crypto exchange-traded notes (cETNs) for retail investors in a move welcomed by industry leaders as a step toward aligning the UK with global crypto markets as a digital asset hub. On Friday, the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) reversed the ban on retail access to cETNs, with regulatory…

Tokenized stocks may be approaching a tipping point as investor demand for blockchain-based financial products surges, potentially accelerating the adoption of traditional assets onchain. Tokenized stocks, which are part of the growing real-world asset (RWA) tokenization sector, reached a $370 million market capitalization by the end of July, according to a Wednesday Binance Research report shared with…

Laser Digital, the digital asset subsidiary of Japan’s investment bank Nomura, has become the first company licensed under Dubai’s Virtual Asset Regulatory Authority (VARA) pilot framework to offer regulated over-the-counter (OTC) crypto options. The “limited license” will allow Laser Digital to offer OTC crypto options to institutional clients under strict oversight, the company said Wednesday. OTC desks…