Legal strategy matters more than ever for your crypto startup in the UAE

    Opinion by: Irina Heaver, crypto lawyer. Founders who treat regulatory structuring as a central part of their go-to-market strategy are the ones who thrive in the UAE. Unfortunately, many founders view licensing as an afterthought. The UAE is not a place where you can cut corners. It is, however, a place where thoughtful, well-prepared founders…

    Hong Kong reveals new stablecoin rules and tokenized bond plans

    Hong Kong’s latest digital asset blueprint places stablecoin regulation and asset tokenization at the heart of its strategy to become a global crypto and fintech hub. The policy statement, issued on Thursday, introduces a framework known as “LEAP,” targeting legal clarity, ecosystem expansion, real-world applications and talent development. It builds on the foundation laid by the government’s first…

    Trump-backed World Liberty to release stablecoin audit, make WLFI transferable

    World Liberty Financial, the crypto venture linked to US President Donald Trump, is preparing to release an audit of its stablecoin and hinted that its governance token, WLFI, may soon be transferable. Speaking at the Permissionless conference in Brooklyn on Wednesday, co-founder Zak Folkman told Blockworks’ Jason Yanowitz that the company’s stablecoin had recently received its first…

    UAE company invests $100M in Trump family-backed crypto business

    World Liberty Financial, the cryptocurrency company backed by US President Donald Trump and his family, has reported that a United Arab Emirates-based company purchased $100 million worth of the platform’s governance token, WLFI. In a Thursday notice, World Liberty and Aqua1 Foundation — self-described as a “Web3-native fund” — said the $100-million deal was “intended to help…

    Crypto exchange Kraken secures MiCA license in Ireland

    Cryptocurrency exchange Kraken announced that it can now expand its offerings and across European Union’s member states after securing a license under the Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) framework. In a Wednesday notice, Kraken said it had received the MiCA license from the Central Bank of Ireland, allowing the exchange to offer regulated services to residents in the…

    BIS says stablecoins fail as money, calls for strict limits on their role

    A new report from the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) challenged the notion that stablecoins can serve as money in a modern financial system. According to the BIS Annual Economic Report 2025, stablecoins fail the fundamental tests of “singleness,” “elasticity” and “integrity,” three critical criteria that define effective monetary instruments. The BIS described stablecoins as “digital…