Opinion by: Mike Haley, CEO of Cifas While the crypto industry is revolutionizing the world of finance, there’s an underlying reality bubbling beneath the surface. Hitting record levels, cryptocurrency scams reportedly accounted for $9.9 billion in 2024 — with 2025’s forecast making for even bleaker reading. Whether in the form of “old wine in new bottles” frauds…
Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin threw his support behind Ether treasury companies, but warned that the trend could spiral into an “overleveraged game” if not handled responsibly. In an interview with the Bankless podcast released on Thursday, Buterin said the growing number of public companies buying and holding Ether was valuable because it exposes the token to a…
The United Arab Emirates (UAE) took a significant step toward harmonizing its approach to crypto regulation. The country’s Securities and Commodities Authority (SCA) and the Dubai Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (VARA) announced a strategic partnership to unify the UAE’s approach to crypto regulations. Last September, the regulators expressed their intention to work together toward unifying crypto frameworks…
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…