BitcoinKE

MiCA’s crackdown on Tether’s USDT is reshaping Europe’s stablecoin market but global demand for the world’s largest stablecoin remains largely intact.
European platforms have accelerated USDT restrictions after the EU’s MiCA transition period ended on July 1 2026 with Revolut among the latest to announce a delisting for EEA users.

REGULATION | Leading European Fintech, Revolut, to Delist USDT from August 2026 Over Regulatory and Risk Concerns

Yet Artemis Analytics said the data shows no noticeable shift in USDT supply or demand directly linked to MiCA, nor a major migration across trading venues or blockchains.
Instead, stablecoin adoption continues to expand in emerging markets where USDT is increasingly being used for payments, cross-border transfers, and access to dollar-denominated financial services.
Daily users on BNB Smart Chain rose to about 1.56 million by July 2026 from roughly 318,000 in June 2024, while TRON daily users climbed 44% to around 908,000, according to Artemis data.

MILESTONE | TRON Stablecoin Supply Hits Record High as USDT Dominates the Chain in Q2 2026

The trend suggests MiCA is changing how Europe accesses USDT rather than weakening global demand for dollar stablecoins.
Europe may be closing one gateway but USDT’s role as global crypto financial infrastructure continues to grow.



REGULATIONS | OKX Prompting Users to Convert USDT to USDC Amid MiCA Requirements




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Capital.com is preparing to launch spot cryptocurrency trading in the United Arab Emirates after its affiliate, Capital Vault, secured a virtual-asset licence from the UAE Capital Market Authority.
The licence allows Capital Vault to act as an agent or matched principal in virtual-asset transactions and provide custody services.
Once launched, UAE customers will be able to buy and hold actual cryptocurrencies through the Capital.com app, moving beyond the platform’s existing contracts-for-difference (CFD) offering, which provides price exposure without ownership of the underlying assets.
Capital Vault will handle execution, custody and settlement as a separately regulated entity.
The move comes as the UAE continues to expand its regulatory framework for digital assets and attract regulated crypto and financial-services firms.


PRESS RELEASE | After Kenya, Capital.com Enters South Africa Under Dual FSCA Regulatory License to Offer Crypto CFDs




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NoOnes, the peer-to-peer crypto platform that surpassed 2.5 million users globally earlier in 2026, is winding down operations after government sanctions and resulting regulatory restrictions from financial and crypto-service providers made continued operations unsustainable.
The company said its P2P marketplace would close on August 22 2026 with users advised to withdraw their funds by August 23 2026. It warned that transfers from NoOnes could be delayed, rejected, or restricted by other exchanges and services because of the sanctions.


The sanctions have also placed NoOnes under scrutiny in Europe and the UK highlighting the growing impact of sanctions compliance on crypto platforms operating across borders.
As reported by BitKE in April 2026, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) of the UK carried out its first coordinated crackdown on illegal peer-to-peer (P2P) crypto trading by raiding eight sites across London in a joint operation with law enforcement and tax authorities.

CRYPTO CRIME | The United Kingdom Regulatory Watchdog Carries Out First Crackdown on Illegal P2P Crypto Trading

Authorities said the crackdown aimed to prevent unregulated trading channels from being used to move and conceal illicit funds, warning that such activity poses a financial crime risk.
The development is particularly significant for Africa where NoOnes had built a substantial user base among P2P crypto traders.
BitKE previously reported on the NoOnes platform surpassing 2.5 million users underscoring its rapid growth in emerging markets.

MILESTONE | P2P Crypto Marketplace, NoOnes, Surpasses 2.5 Million Users Globally

The platform was also mentioned in BitKE’s July 2026 reporting on a Kenyan court order freezing USDT linked to NoOnes for money laundering.
According to court documents filed by the Assets Recovery Agency (ARA), investigators traced what they describe as a sophisticated money laundering network involving more than KES 300 million (about $2 million) that moved funds through cryptocurrency exchanges and Kenya’s banking system before attempting to disguise their origin.

CRYPTO CRIME | Kenyan Court Freezes Over $2 Million in USDT in a Binance Wallet for Money Laundering

That connection is important.
Kenya has become a major P2P crypto market while authorities have increasingly focused on the risks surrounding money laundering, fraud, and terrorism financing. Kenyan investigators have previously linked account restrictions on Binance to law-enforcement investigations, reflecting the broader regulatory pressure on P2P crypto activity.

REGULATION | Binance Reportedly Freezing P2P User Accounts in Kenya at the Request of Law Enforcement
Under the hashtag, #BinanceUnmasked, a number of users have complained that their @binance accounts have been frozen at the request of law enforcement. The law enforcement… pic.twitter.com/ekZgbUrqMh
— BitKE (@BitcoinKE) April 20, 2026
Following money laundering accusations, Binance has also gone ahead and blocked transactions coming from multiple exchanges including NoOnes in order to remain compliant.

REGULATION | Binance to Block Transactions With 14 Crypto Platforms Following Regulatory Review

NoOnes’ shutdown shows how sanctions can affect a crypto business even without a conventional exchange closure. Once counterparties and service providers treat a platform as high risk, access to liquidity, withdrawals, and settlement can quickly become constrained.
For users, NoOnes has advised them not to wait until the deadline to withdraw funds, warning that external providers may restrict transfers from the platform.
The collapse of a platform with more than 2.5 million users is another sign that sanctions compliance is becoming a critical operational risk for global P2P crypto businesses — particularly those serving emerging markets where P2P trading remains a key route into dollar-linked assets.


REGULATION | Binance Was Reportedly Cut Off from The European Union Due to a ‘History of Financial-Crime Violations’




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Social media platform, X, is reportedly exploring the use of the USDC stablecoin to pay royalties to influencers and content creators, according to a person familiar with the discussions.
The talks are ongoing and no final decision has been made. X did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

REGULATION | X (Twitter) Acquires 7 Currency Transmitter Licences in the United States

The move comes as X revamps its creator compensation model replacing its Revenue Sharing programme with an Original Content Rewards Programme.
Stablecoin payments could offer X a faster and potentially cheaper way to make cross-border payouts to creators, particularly those outside traditional banking markets.
Musk’s SpaceX already uses stablecoins for some cross-border payments linked to its Starlink service.

African Neobank, Payday, Becomes Official Payment Processor for SpaceX Starlink in Rwanda

If adopted, stablecoin payouts could further extend crypto’s role from trading into everyday payments and creator economies.


STABLECOINS | YouTube Quietly Adds PayPal Stablecoin Payouts to Its $100 Billion Creator Economy




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Two Binance employees were detained in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in recent weeks as authorities investigated possible financial crimes linked to the cryptocurrency exchange, the New York Times reported, citing four people familiar with the matter.
Binance said the employees were questioned over routine inquiries into third-party fund flows through a client money account. The company said neither employee was a target of the investigation and that both had been cleared and released.
The detentions add to regulatory scrutiny facing Binance as it expands its operations in the UAE. The exchange said it remains committed to cooperating with Dubai Police and other authorities as rules governing cryptocurrency and institutional client accounts continue to evolve.
In July 2026, the Wall Street Journal reported that the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) privately advised national regulators against approving Binance’s application because of concerns over the exchange’s history of financial-crime compliance, including its 2023 U.S. anti-money laundering settlement.

REGULATION | Binance Was Reportedly Cut Off from The European Union Due to a ‘History of Financial-Crime Violations’




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Blockradar, the wallet-as-a-service provider, says it has officially crossed the $1 billion milestone in total transaction volume. This achievement highlights the platform’s rapid rise as a critical infrastructure layer for stablecoin payments in emerging markets.
While the company has not disclosed additional information around the milestone, previous coverage of its growth on BitKE point to a rapid growth in its uptake.
In December 2025, BitKE reported that Blockradar had crossed $300 million in total transaction volume, having processed nearly 500, 000 transactions.
By then, the company had successfully created and managed ~100, 000 non-custodial wallets for its over 100 fintechs across Africa, Latin America, the Middle East, and Southwest Asia.

2025 RECAP | Africa-Founded Stablecoin Startup, Blockradar, Crosses $300 Million in Transaction Volume With ~100,000 Wallets Created in 2025

Going by the above figures, the recent milestone would likely point to over one million ransactions and over 200, 000 wallets under management.
Blockradar’s infrastructure allows fintechs to offer stablecoin products – such as cross-border B2B payments, on/off ramps, and non-custodial savings – without needing internal blockchain engineering teams. By hitting the $1 billion mark, Blockradar has demonstrated that stablecoin-based financial services are no longer experimental but are becoming a primary rail for global commerce in 2025.
We have officially processed our first $1B in transaction volume!
What started with a single idea, to build scalable stablecoin infrastructure, has grown into infrastructure supporting hundreds of fintechs across 20+ countries.
Here’s what that volume looks like in practice: a… pic.twitter.com/oXzjXvhvjx
— Blockradar (@BlockradarHQ) August 20, 2026
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Bitcoin just climbed above its 200-day moving average for the first time since November 2025, a technical signal that could point to a weakening of its months-long downtrend.

$BTC crosses $75K
The $BTC price has reclaimed its 200-day moving average for the first time in nine months as its rally gained momentum after the U.S Treasury expanded its bond buybacks.https://t.co/00e9zSvmcZ#Bitcoin #BTC pic.twitter.com/PWgJPQ2urK
— BitKE (@BitcoinKE) August 21, 2026
BTC rose above $75,000 extending gains of more than 13% after the U.S. Treasury announced it would at least double the size of its liquidity-support buybacks for longer-dated Treasuries to at least $4 billion per operation.

CRYPTO MARKETS | Here is Why Crypto Markets Saw Bitcoin Rise 8%, Ether Gain 18%

The move initially pushed long-term Treasury yields lower and helped improve risk appetite across financial markets.
Standard Chartered’s Geoff Kendrick said the shift could help fuel a broader Bitcoin rally toward $100,000 by year-end.
Bitcoin’s break above the widely watched 200-day moving average is now being closely monitored for confirmation of a broader trend reversal.


BITCOIN | ‘Bitcoin Could Hit $1 Million If it Captures 17% of the Gold Market Over the Next 10 Years,’ Says Bitwise CIO




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Ghana’s Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC Ghana) has expanded its virtual asset regulatory sandbox to 20 firms, up from 11 when the programme launched in March 2026.
The SEC added nine companies in an updated list published on August 19 2026, broadening the sandbox to cover crypto trading, brokerage, tokenisation, trade finance and commodities markets.

REGULATION | SEC Ghana Announces 11 Participants in Virtual Asset Regulatory Sandbox

The 20 participants are:
Africoin
The Blue Penguin Company Limited (Blu Penguin)
Ghana Gold Board (Goldbod)
HanyPay
Hyro Exchange
HSB Global
KoinKoin
WhiteBit
Vaulta
XChain
Bsystem
GFX Brokers
One Africa Securities
WeWire Ghana
Sage Advance Global Services
Mojo Pay Ghana
Yellow Card Ghana
Ghana Commodities Exchange
Mamoru Digital Ghana
BSystems
The new entrants include:
Yellow Card Ghana, one of Africa’s largest crypto platforms, as well as
GFX Brokers, which is testing tokenised Treasury bills;
One Africa Securities, focused on tokenised bonds; and
WeWire Ghana, which is testing trade-finance tokenisation.
The expansion comes as Ghana prepares to move from its sandbox-based approach toward permanent, activity-based licensing under the Virtual Asset Service Providers Act, 2025 (Act 1154).

REGULATION | Ghana Launches Crypto Regulatory Sandbox and Admits 6 Entities to ‘Validate Proposed Regulatory Frameworks’

The 12-month sandbox is designed to give regulators real-world data on crypto exchanges, brokerage, custody and tokenisation before finalising the licensing framework. Firms that demonstrate market readiness and meet regulatory requirements can transition to full licences after six months.
Ghana is therefore moving beyond simply regulating crypto exchanges. The latest cohort shows a broader regulatory focus on tokenised securities, Treasury bills, gold, trade finance and commodities, pointing to an attempt to build a regulated digital-asset market around both crypto and traditional financial assets.

STABLECOINS | ‘Ghana, Rwanda, Namibia, Senegal, Côte d’Ivoire Among Strongest Candidates for Local-Currency Stablecoins,’ Says StanChart



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The U.S. national debt has surpassed $40 trillion for the first time underscoring growing pressure on the federal government’s finances as spending continues to outpace revenue.
The debt has doubled since January 2017 when President Donald Trump first took office, rising from $19.95 trillion, according to Treasury Department data.
About one-third of the increase came during the two years following the COVID-19 pandemic when the Trump and Biden administrations borrowed heavily to fund economic relief and recovery measures. U.S. debt has risen by $3.8 trillion since Trump returned to office in January 2025, while it increased by $8.4 trillion during Joe Biden’s presidency.
The federal government reported a $432 billion budget deficit in July 2026, its 4th-largest monthly shortfall on record. The deficit for the first 10 months of the 2026 fiscal year has already exceeded the total gap recorded in fiscal 2025.

2025 RECAP | U.S National Debt Grew By $2.2 Trillion to Hit $38.5 Trillion in 2025

Interest payments are also becoming an increasing burden.
The United States is spending about $1.1 trillion annually on interest, with debt-service costs surpassing Pentagon spending in fiscal 2025. Interest payments have since overtaken Medicare spending to become the second-largest federal budget item after Social Security.
The $40 trillion debt load is equivalent to about $117,000 per person in the United States and $297,000 per household, according to figures cited by the Peter G. Peterson Foundation.
The Congressional Budget Office estimates Trump’s flagship second-term tax and spending package, known as the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, will add another $4.7 trillion to the national debt.
The rising debt has renewed debate over Washington’s fiscal sustainability with mandatory programmes such as Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid accounting for about 60% of annual federal spending.


EXPERT OPINION | No, Stablecoins Will Not Erase $35 Trillion of U.S. Debt




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Two more global cross-border payment firms have stopped cash transfer services to and from Kenya, adding to growing pressure on the country’s financial sector amid heightened scrutiny over money laundering and illicit financial flows.
U.S.-based Sendwave and
UK-based money transfer company, Wise,
have suspended cash transfer services for most Kenyan users since August. Sendwave has attributed the disruption to technical difficulties.
They join crypto firm, Kolan (formerly HuruPay), which has frozen its Kenya operations following AML scrutiny, while U.S. payments giant, PayPal, suspended services for some Kenyan users.

CASE STUDY | Lessons from HuruPay’s Exit from Kenya Amid Crypto AML Scrutiny

Kenya has faced increased scrutiny over illicit financial flows and was added to the Financial Action Task Force’s (FATF) “grey list” of jurisdictions subject to increased monitoring for weaknesses in measures to combat money laundering and terrorist financing.

REALITY CHECK | Fintech Restrictions Begin to Bite as Kenya Remains on the FATF Grey-List

The heightened checks require international payment firms to invest heavily in transaction monitoring and other compliance measures, increasing the cost and risk of operating in affected markets.
For some providers, the growing compliance burden can make suspending or exiting services preferable to risking regulatory breaches and potentially heavy penalties.

CRYPTO CRIME | Kenyan Court Freezes Over $2 Million in USDT in a Binance Wallet for Money Laundering





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Ethiopia has spent about $2.2 billion in 2026 supporting the Birr but the currency has continued to weaken highlighting persistent pressure on the country’s foreign exchange market.
The birr has fallen 3.2% against the U.S. dollar in 2026 to nearly 162 per dollar making it the weakest-performing currency over the past year among 23 African currencies tracked by Bloomberg.
The pressure has intensified as higher oil prices have raised Ethiopia’s import costs and increased demand for scarce foreign currency. A recent central bank intervention attracted bids for roughly four times the amount of dollars offered, underscoring the strength of demand for hard currency.

REGULATION | Binance Birr (ETB) Trading Suspension Triggers Backlash, Exposes Ethiopia’s Hidden Crypto Economy

The birr has been under pressure since Ethiopia allowed a major devaluation in 2024 as part of IMF-backed economic reforms. Higher fuel and fertiliser costs linked to the Iran conflict, along with weaker remittances from Ethiopians working in Gulf countries, have added to the strain.
The gap between official and parallel-market rates has also widened. The dollar was trading at around 180 birr in Addis Ababa, about 15% above the official rate.
Continued intervention risks putting further pressure on foreign-exchange reserves. The central bank has not disclosed its reserves in dollar terms, but the IMF estimated them at about $5.9 billion in July 2026.
The government is also expecting a wider budget deficit in the fiscal year that began in July 2026 partly because of additional spending on fuel subsidies.


REGULATION | Ethiopian Central Bank Expands Crypto Ban to Include Exchange, Transfer, Custody, and Issuance




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A Washington state judge has ordered prediction market operator, Kalshi, to stop offering most of its event contracts in the state, ruling that the products likely constitute illegal gambling under state law.
The preliminary injunction is the latest setback for Kalshi as U.S. states challenge the company’s argument that its federally regulated event contracts fall under federal commodities law rather than state gambling rules.
The ruling requires Kalshi to restrict Washington users from trading the affected contracts escalating a broader regulatory fight over whether prediction markets should be treated as financial products or gambling services.

“We’re holding Kalshi accountable for running an illegal gambling operation,” Washington Attorney General Nick Brown said, citing a recent court ruling.

REGULATION | ‘Gambling by Another Name is Still Gambling,’ Says New York as It Sues Coinbase, Gemini Over Prediction Markets Offerings

The ruling bars Kalshi from offering contracts tied to
sports,
elections,
politics,
entertainment,
culture,
tech and science, and
“mentions.”
Contacts exempt from the ruling including:
commodities,
climate,
economics, and
finance.
Kalshi has faced similar challenges in other states, including Nevada, where the company is disputing regulatory action over its failure to fully geofence its platform.

MARKET ANALYSIS | This Prediction Markets Valuation Hits $40 Billion Leveraging Compliance Over Competitors

The disputes come as prediction markets have expanded rapidly beyond politics into sports, economic indicators and other real-world events, drawing growing scrutiny from state regulators and lawmakers.
The Washington case could have wider implications for Kalshi and rivals such as Polymarket as U.S. authorities continue to debate the boundary between federally regulated event contracts and state-regulated gambling.


REGULATION | CFTC Invokes Emergency Powers Ordering Kalshi to Continue Operating amid New York Lawsuit




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Israel’s largest crypto broker, Bits of Gold, said hackers stole personal data belonging to roughly 200,000 customers after gaining unauthorized access to a third-party data analytics network.
The exposed information includes
names,
national ID numbers,
email addresses,
phone numbers,
IP addresses,
bank account details, and
public wallet addresses.
The company said no funds, private keys, passwords, CVV codes, or scanned ID documents were exposed.

“Upon detection of the incident, we blocked access and disconnected the system from the information sources, so this access ended,” Bits of Gold said.
“Our security team has begun a comprehensive investigation of the incident, with the assistance of a company specializing in cyber incident investigation and response,” it added.
“It is important to emphasize: your digital assets and funds are safe and were not involved in the incident.”

Bits of Gold was founded in 2013 and became the first crypto company in Israel to receive a permanent Financial Services Provider (FSP) license and holds SOC 2 Type 2 certification. The company has more than 250,000 customers.
Bits of Gold said the breach appeared to be part of a wider global attack affecting multiple companies.


DeFi | Crypto Wallet, SafePal, Data Breach Exposes Order Information of Nearly 40,000 Customers



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Binance’s disclosure of customer information to Russian authorities underscores the exchange’s position that it applies a global compliance framework when responding to lawful law-enforcement requests, regardless of jurisdiction.
Reuters reported that Binance provided Russian investigators with personal and transaction data belonging to Yuri Belenkiy, a Russian IT specialist accused of sending more than $700 in cryptocurrency to the Ukrainian military and Azov Brigade, also referred to as the Azov Regiment, which Moscow designates as a terrorist organisation.
Binance said it cooperates with law-enforcement agencies globally, subject to applicable legal, privacy and regulatory requirements. Its current privacy policy similarly allows disclosure of customer information in response to legally valid law-enforcement and regulatory requests, while requiring such disclosures to comply with applicable data-protection laws and internal legal review.

The case is notable because Binance announced a complete exit from Russia in 2023, saying operating there was incompatible with its compliance strategy.

CRYPTO CRIME | Russia Shuts Down 9 Crypto Exchanges Over Alleged Fraud Links

That does not necessarily mean the exchange abandoned its compliance obligations toward Russian authorities.
Rather, the case highlights Binance’s broader approach:
Compliance requirements are applied across jurisdictions, with customer information potentially shared when the exchange determines that a request meets applicable legal and regulatory standards.

Binance’s compliance regime has undergone a major overhaul since its 2023 U.S. settlement, which included
a $4.3 billion penalty,
enhanced anti-money-laundering controls, and
a five-year independent monitorship.

REGULATION | Binance Admits to Wrongdoings, to Pay $4 Billion Penalty as Founding CEO Steps Down

U.S. authorities said the reforms included
stronger sanctions controls,
dedicated law-enforcement teams, and
expanded compliance resources.
A crypto regulatory lawyer told Reuters that Binance may have faced restrictions under European data protection rules if Belenkiy was registered as an EU resident. Russia is not considered to provide an adequate level of personal-data protection under EU law.

Binance disputes this view.

“Binance does not make or enforce the laws of any jurisdiction, determine charges, or decide how any government uses information in legal proceedings,” a Binance spokesperson said in an emailed statement. “Like other global financial institutions, we cooperate with lawful information requests from law enforcement globally, ​subject to applicable legal, privacy and regulatory requirements. Those decisions rest solely with the relevant Authorities.”

REGULATION | Binance Was Reportedly Cut Off from The European Union Due to a ‘History of Financial-Crime Violations’

The central question in the Russian case is therefore not whether Binance follows different compliance standards in different countries, but whether the specific disclosure satisfied the competing legal requirements governing law-enforcement cooperation and data protection.
Binance has declined to comment on the individual case, saying it does not discuss confidential law-enforcement requests.


REGULATION | Russia Introduces Crypto Bill With Severe Criminal Penalties and Prison Time for Unregistered Operations




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Austria’s financial regulator has fined crypto platform, Bitpanda, €70,000 ($82,000) for breaching the European Union’s Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA) marking the country’s first published final penalty under the new framework.

REGULATION | Europe Now Has Over 300 MiCA-Approved Crypto Firms – Custody Services Dominate at ~70%

The Financial Market Authority (FMA) said Bitpanda failed to submit a required crypto-asset white paper at least 20 working days before its publication. The company also distributed marketing material before the white paper was published.
Another marketing communication lacked mandatory disclosures stating that it had not been reviewed or approved by a regulator and that Bitpanda was responsible for its contents. It also omitted required contact details.
The proceedings were concluded under an expedited procedure and the penalty is final.
The fine highlights the increasing enforcement of MiCA as EU regulators move from establishing the framework to policing compliance. Bitpanda has been authorised by Austria’s FMA as a MiCA-regulated crypto-asset service provider since April 2025.
The penalty comes about a month after Gate Europe CEO, Giovanni Cunti, said that crypto firms that have secured licenses under the European Union’s Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) framework may still struggle to survive as the cost of staying compliant continues to rise.

“I think there are going to be quite a few more of the ones that acquire MiCA license that will not be capable to sustain the cost and the resources that are needed to carry on this business in the long term,” said Cunti.


REALITY CHECK | ‘Long-Term Survival Not Guaranteed for MiCA-Licensed Firms Due to Compliance Costs,’ Says CEO, Gate Europe




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The blockchain forensics battle is moving into court.
Chainalysis is challenging a $94.7 million ICE contract awarded to rival TRM Labs, arguing the U.S. government improperly used a sole-source process.
The dispute is more than a procurement fight. Chainalysis and TRM Labs are the two leading names in crypto investigations, competing to provide the tools governments use to trace illicit funds, identify wallets and support financial-crime cases.
Chainalysis has the longer track record and deeper penetration across U.S. law enforcement. TRM, meanwhile, has emerged as a serious challenger and is now winning major government mandates.

So, who is better?

The ICE decision suggests TRM has gained ground. But Chainalysis taking the fight to court shows just how fiercely the two firms are competing for control of blockchain intelligence.
The winner may ultimately be decided not by marketing, but by whose forensic technology governments trust most.


AI | Blockchain Analytics Firm, TRM Labs, Deploys AI Agents to Assist in Tracking Illicit Crypto Activity




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Altcoins are “basically dead” as competitors to Bitcoin as money, according to Swan Bitcoin Founder and CEO, Cory Klippsten, who argued that the longer-term future of crypto and decentralized finance (DeFi) may be tied to its integration with traditional finance.
Asked which altcoins could outperform the broader market, Klippsten pointed to Hyperliquid while arguing that centralized crypto businesses will ultimately face the same regulatory framework as traditional financial institutions.

“Hyperliquid is a business and it has a token. If it’s a business that’s centralized, it will eventually just get sucked up by TradFi and be thought of as an exchange and a bank,” Klippsten said.

STABLECOINS | 8% of the Entire USDC Circulating Supply is Now Held on One Decentralized Exchange

Hyperliquid generated about $5.9 million in revenue over the past week ranking fifth among DeFi protocols by weekly revenue, according to DefiLlama.
The HYPE token has also significantly outperformed Bitcoin in 2026 rising about 130% year-to-date while Bitcoin has fallen 28%, according to TradingView data.
But the broader altcoin market is showing signs of becoming increasingly selective as institutional capital takes a larger role.

EXPERT OPINION | Crypto Has Split into 4 Major Segments @Bitwise CEO says the crypto market has effectively split into four major segments:
stablecoins and payments, Bitcoin as a macro asset, tokenization and on-chain finance, and blockchain infrastructure.
Bitwise CEO:… pic.twitter.com/fNtxmpOBgD
— BitKE (@BitcoinKE) May 17, 2026
A July 2026 report from crypto market maker, Wintermute, found that institutional counterparties accounted for a record 72% of spot trading flow across all tokens on its OTC desk during the first half of 2026. That was up from 61% in the second half of 2025 and 59% in the first half of 2025.
Wintermute said institutional activity was becoming concentrated in a narrower group of tokens while liquidity across the market’s “long tail” was weakening. The firm also reported that altcoin options notional traded on its desk increased about 3.4 times from the second half of 2025, largely driven by yield strategies.

REPORT | Institutions Accounted for Over 70% of Crypto Trading Volumes in H1 2026, Says Latest Research

The shift suggests that future altcoin rallies may look very different from previous cycles. Rather than capital broadly rotating from Bitcoin into Ethereum and then into smaller tokens, institutional money is increasingly concentrating on assets with deeper liquidity and stronger market demand.
That trend has also been reflected in BitKE’s coverage of institutional crypto adoption, including the growing share of Bitcoin held by institutions and the increasing role of regulated investment products.

INSTITUTIONAL | Europe’s Second-Largest Bitcoin Holder Set to Raise Over $100 Billion in Equity Issuance to Accelerate Bitcoin Holdings

Wintermute’s findings therefore support a broader thesis:
Crypto may not be disappearing, but the market is becoming more institutional. The result could be fewer altcoin winners, narrower rallies and a growing convergence between crypto businesses and traditional financial markets.

Klippsten and his company have been quite accurate and correct in a lot of their analysis before.
Swan published an analysis titled “Dark Moon: The Inevitable Collapse of Luna” before Terra/Luna collapsed in May 2022. Klippsten was openly attacking the sustainability of the Terra ecosystem well before its eventual implosion.
LUNA/UST subsequently went from roughly $50 billion in combined market capitalization to essentially zero.
That was a very strong call.

$LUNA Crashes by 99% Raising Fears of a Network Takeover

In June 2022, shortly before Celsius froze withdrawals, Klippsten publicly argued that Celsius didn’t have sufficient liquidity to meet customer withdrawals. Reuters quoted him during the crisis describing crypto as essentially a highly leveraged system with contagion risk.
TechCrunch also reported Klippsten warning that Celsius could become insolvent if it had to meet all customer redemption requests.
Celsius subsequently froze withdrawals and filed for bankruptcy. The company’s founder, Alex Mashinsky, later pleaded guilty to fraud.

CASE STUDY | This Crypto Crime Could Set a Precedent Leading to Permanent Financial Ban for Founders

Before FTX collapsed, Klippsten was publicly criticizing Sam Bankman-Fried and FTX. When CoinDesk published its November 2022 investigation into Alameda’s balance sheet, Klippsten pointed to the extraordinary dependence of Alameda’s equity on FTT, a token controlled by FTX itself.
FTX subsequently collapsed, and investigations established that customer funds had been improperly diverted to Alameda.

FTX Token ($FTT) Plummets By Over 90% in 7 Days as FTX Files for Bankruptcy

Swan’s and Klippsten’s strongest track record is in identifying structural risks, not predicting Bitcoin’s price.

For Bitcoin, that may reinforce its position as the industry’s primary monetary asset while other crypto networks increasingly compete on their ability to function as financial infrastructure rather than alternative forms of money.


BITCOIN | America’s Largest Bank Says Bitcoin Dominance as Institutional Crypto Asset is Unlikey to Change




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Cryptocurrency wallet provider, SafePal, has disclosed a data breach that exposed order information belonging to about 39,798 customers, including
names,
addresses,
contact details, and
purchase data.
The breach was caused by an authorization flaw in SafePal’s order-tracking system that allowed users to access another customer’s order information between March 2 2025 – April 11 2026, the company said.

SafePal said the incident did not expose cryptocurrency funds, seed phrases, private keys, wallet passwords, bank account or payment card information, or government-issued identification numbers.

The company warned that the exposed information could nevertheless be used in targeted phishing and impersonation attempts, particularly because customer addresses and purchase details were involved.
SafePal said it has fixed the vulnerability and introduced additional security measures. It also said it had identified and removed more than 30 fraudulent websites and phishing links associated with the incident.
The company plans to retain customers’ personal information in its order-processing system for only 90 days as part of measures introduced following the breach.



DeFi | Another Popular DeFi Platform Warns Users to Avoid the Interface After a Security Breach




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Israel’s largest bank, Bank Leumi, has partnered with Galaxy Digital to offer customers cryptocurrency trading, marking the first such service announced by an Israeli bank.
Customers of Leumi and its digital banking unit, Pepper, will be able to buy, hold and sell Bitcoin, Ether and Solana through the bank’s Leumi Trade investment app, with the service expected to launch in early 2027.
Galaxy will provide the trading and custody infrastructure for the service, according to a statement.
The move will give Leumi customers direct access to digital assets through their existing banking relationship as traditional financial institutions increasingly expand into cryptocurrency services.
The launch is subject to regulatory approval from the Bank of Israel.


REGULATION | Israel Approves Shekel-Pegged Stablecoin After Solana Pilot




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Publicly-traded Bitcoin miners are cutting computing capacity as rising demand for artificial intelligence (AI) and high-performance computing (HPC) makes data-center operations more attractive.
Realized hash-rate among a group of public miners fell 13.4% to 319 exahashes per second (EH/s) in the second quarter from 368.3 EH/s in the fourth quarter of 2025, according to BlocksBridge Consulting.

Excluding Bitdeer, the decline was 21.2%.

The shift comes as miners repurpose power and infrastructure for AI-related workloads. Core Scientific reported $136.7 million in second-quarter colocation revenue, compared with $27.5 million from Bitcoin mining, while TeraWulf generated $31.9 million from HPC leases versus $12.8 million from mining.
Bitcoin’s network hashrate declined 10.6% over the same period, highlighting the faster retreat by some publicly traded miners.


REALITY CHECK | Keel, Formerly BitFarms, Shuts Down U.S Bitcoin Mining Operations After Q2 2026 Revenue Drops Over 50% YoY




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