Bitcoin Group SEは、ドイツ連邦金融監督庁(BaFin)が子会社futurum bank AGによる暗号資産市場規則(MiCA)に基づく暗号資産サービスプロバイダーとしての認可申請を拒否したことを受け、bitcoin.deプラットフォームの代替運営モデルを模索していると発表した。 同社は10月6日の発表で、BaFinの決定は後退を意味するものの、申請が拒否される可能性に備えていたと述べた。現在、決定を精査しており、異議を申し立てるか、将来、新たな申請を提出する機会があるという。
Affluent investors seen boosting crypto exposure: Survey
A majority of affluent investors across seven of the biggest economies hold digital assets, with crypto accounting for around 10% of their portfolios on average, according to a new CoinShares survey. The survey covered 2,230 investors with at least $500,000 in investable assets across the US, UK, France, Germany, Italy, Sweden and Switzerland. Digital asset ownership ranged from 54% in Sweden to about 70% in the US, UK, Germany and Switzerland. At least 85% of current digital asset investors in five of the seven countries said they planned to increase their exposure in 2026, with as much as 91% in the US, UK and Germany. CoinShares survey of affluent investors across seven countries. Source: CoinShares The February 2026 crypto market downturn did little to dampen that appetite. In all seven countries, more respondents said the sell-off made them more likely to invest in digital assets than less likely. That resilience appears to reflect a longer-term view of the asset class. Long-term appreciation and diversification were the leading reasons respondents gave for investing in crypto, while speculation ranked last. Just 6% identified primarily as short-term traders. Bitcoin (BTC) remained the most widely held digital asset, owned by 80% of digital asset investors on average, though 89% of BTC investors also held other digital assets. Meanwhile, 77% of respondents believed BTC would play a significant role in the future global financial system, while 79% supported increased regulation of digital asset markets. Crypto exposure was particularly high among younger investors. That cohort allocated more to digital assets than older investors in all seven countries and roughly twice as much in four of them. Advisers lag crypto investors The survey also found signs of a disconnect between affluent investors and their financial advisers. Roughly four in 10 respondents in Switzerland, France, the US and Germany who worked with an adviser said they found them overly cautious about digital assets. The respondents’ view on advisers was echoed by Ric Edelman, founder of the Digital Assets Council of Financial Professionals and Edelman Financial Engines. Edelman told Cointelegraph that financial advisers remain slow adopters of digital assets, with many lacking the knowledge or incentive to learn about the asset class. He said: Advisors are busy; they are already operating a successful practice filled with happy clients — so why bother learning something new? — and most are getting little to no encouragement from their firms. He added that some firms prohibit advisers from discussing crypto or offering crypto-related investments to clients. As a result, he said advisers may not know which of their clients own crypto and could be missing opportunities to provide tax, estate-planning and philanthropic services around those holdings. How much crypto should investors hold? Edelman challenged CoinShares’ finding that crypto allocations among affluent investors average around 10%, saying his own research suggests allocations of 2% to 5% are far more common. Despite questioning the survey’s figure, Edelman recommends allocations ranging from 10% to 40%, depending on risk tolerance. He recommends 10% for conservative portfolios, 25% for moderate portfolios and 40% for aggressive portfolios. “As the asset class matures, 10% allocations or higher will become the norm,” Edelman said. “The sooner people do that, the better off they will be.” Edelman’s recommended allocations stand in contrast to broader skepticism about using crypto for retirement savings. An August survey from the National Institute on Retirement Security found that 77% of Americans considered cryptocurrency in workplace retirement plans risky, including 46% who viewed it as very risky. Americans view of crypto in retirement plans. Source: National Institute of Retirement Security Magazine: Peter Brandt says Bitcoin may hit $600K by 2029, calls XRP a ‘fool coin’
ECB policymaker warns of fragmentation without digital euro
A member of the European Central Bank’s (ECB) executive board has warned that other entities could provide alternatives without the central bank’s introduction of a digital euro, potentially weakening Europe’s “resilience and monetary sovereignty.” ECB executive board member Piero Cipollone said on a Monday MNI Connect Webcast that without a “pan-European digital payment solution that caters to every type of day-to-day transaction,” the potential for fragmentation could increase across tokenization platforms. He said that the central bank’s goal should be to create a digital euro exchangeable across banks for day-to-day transactions. “Our objective is not to take over the role of banks,” said Cipollone. “On the contrary, the digital euro would equip banks with the infrastructure they need to compete in the digital age and help them expand the reach and use cases of their own solutions.” According to Cipollone, the ECB has not decided whether to issue a digital euro, but plans to conclude the legislative process by the end of 2026. Should the central bank move forward with the project, it will run a 12-month pilot program starting in the second half of 2027, with the potential for issuance in 2029. The ECB first proposed introducing a digital euro in October 2020 as a central bank digital currency (CBDC) to complement cash as a digital payment option. Critics of the CBDC argue that the digital currency could give EU officials the means to surveil and potentially control bloc residents’ spending. Cipollone said in September 2025 that “the digital euro will ensure that all Europeans can pay at all times with a free, universally accepted digital means of payment, even in case of major disruptions.”
Opinion by Andrew M. Cuomo, former governor of New York The digital asset revolution is here, and it’s already transforming our financial system. We’re no longer questioning if it will continue to develop. It will. The issue is whether the United States will establish clear, durable rules for it to develop here. Right now, the answer is no. The CLARITY Act was intended to solve this problem. It would have provided a national framework for digital assets, clarified the roles of federal agencies including the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), and given businesses, investors and consumers a clear understanding of the rules. The House passed the CLARITY Act in 2025, but Congress has yet to send a bill to the president. The Senate failed to advance the Act in September, leaving most to wonder: what happens now? Those same federal agencies have rushed in with new regulations that significantly restructure the market. Both the SEC and CFTC have been hyper-aggressive in promulgating new rules, filling the void left by Congress, proposing a new federal framework for crypto trading platforms and a bespoke regulatory regime for certain crypto assets. In the short term, this is great, and we’ll see many new market opportunities as a result. But the reality is that these rules have been adopted in the absence of a market structure law enacted by Congress and rely on agencies’ existing statutory authority, lacking the durability of a new law. More poignantly from the Democrats’ point of view, they were adopted despite congressional opposition. That means the rules are politically vulnerable from the start. And hell hath no fury like a Congress scorned. The next election could upend the rules If prediction markets and current electoral trends are to be believed, Democrats will control one, if not both, houses of Congress after the midterms. And the power of Congress to derail and disrupt agency action should never be underestimated. Democrats have a 64% chance of controlling the Senate. Source: Kalshi I lived this dynamic when I was in the Clinton administration at the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). The 1994 midterm elections swept Republicans into control of the House and Senate. The department’s power was greatly impeded. Oversight intensified, funding became leverage, and Congress used every tool at its disposal to challenge and constrain the administration. It’s what Congress does when it believes the executive branch has gone too far. Democrats will be looking to prove their claims that the Trump administration was corrupt and that agency actions were designed to benefit individuals personally and political donors collectively. Whether those claims are fair or not, they will drive the politics. And the politics will drive the oversight. The legislature has many tools at its disposal. Agencies must submit new rules and regulations before they take effect, allowing lawmakers to weigh in. They can limit funding for agency programs, pass legislation overriding agency actions, or use the Congressional Review Act to repeal certain regulations. Congress also has the power to investigate and issue subpoenas that can wreak havoc when coupled with public hearings. Just ask Anthony Fauci and Jack Smith! Congress must put politics aside The overall challenge is that private sector technological innovation must be reconciled and aligned with intelligent government regulation. When the CLARITY Act failed, ambiguity prevailed. It’s bad for business, bad for investors, bad for consumers and bad for America. Companies should not have to guess whether the rules in place today will survive the next election. They should not have to decide whether to build and invest in the United States based on which party controls Washington. They should know what is legal, what is prohibited, who regulates what and how the rules will be enforced. America deserves a system that encourages innovation while protecting consumers and investors. It deserves rules that prevent illicit activity and protect market integrity. It deserves a framework that companies can rely on when they choose where to hire, invest and build. Other countries understand this. They are establishing their frameworks, like Europe’s Markets in Crypto Assets (MiCA) regulation or Singapore’s Payment Services Act, providing regulatory certainty and setting standards. The United States cannot afford to let political gridlock determine the future of financial innovation. It is essential that a top priority for the next Congress is to put politics aside — even for a moment — and pass bipartisan legislation authorizing digital asset activities, so that companies can invest safely and intelligently in the US. About the author: Andrew M. Cuomo served as governor of New York from 2011 to 2021 and previously served as New York attorney general and US secretary of Housing and Urban Development. He currently serves on the board of OKX and co-chairs OKXICE, a joint venture between OKX and Intercontinental Exchange focused on tokenized and digitally native financial products. Opinion: A single market worth protecting: Getting the MiCA review right
Hong Kong officials double down on end-2026 deadline for crypto licensing bill
The Hong Kong government reaffirmed its plans to submit an amendment bill before the end of 2026 to establish licensing regimes for digital asset trading, custody, advisory and management services as part of its broader crypto licensing bill. Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury of Hong Kong, Christopher Hui, told a Monday policy briefing that the government will submit an amendment bill “within this year” to establish a broader framework for digital asset activities, according to a statement released by the Hong Kong government. The secretary said the amendment bill covering the four categories will come in response to the “innovative developments” in financial technology. In January, Hui revealed that regulators planned to submit a draft proposal related to crypto asset regulation before the end of 2026. He also said that the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) had begun processing license applications for stablecoin issuers. In April, the HKMA granted its first stablecoin issuer licenses to Anchorpoint Financial and the Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation.