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East African central bank governors have renewed their commitment to establishing a single regional currency by 2031, but significant economic, institutional, and political hurdles continue to threaten the latest deadline.
At their 29th Ordinary Meeting of the East African Community (EAC) Monetary Affairs Committee in Kampala in July 2026, governors agreed to accelerate implementation of the East African Monetary Union (EAMU) roadmap. The renewed push comes despite uneven progress among member states toward the economic conditions required for monetary union.
The original EAMU plan envisaged a common currency by 2024.

East African Community (EAC) Dither on Monetary Union, Casting Doubt on a Regional CBDC

That deadline was pushed to 2031 after countries failed to achieve the required convergence and became embroiled in a dispute over where to locate the East African Monetary Institute (EAMI), a key institution intended to precede a regional central bank.

The economic challenge remains substantial.

The EAC convergence framework requires member states to maintain
headline inflation below 8%,
fiscal deficits below 3% of GDP,
public debt below 50% of GDP, and
foreign-exchange reserves equivalent to at least 4.5 months of imports.
None of the partner states currently meets all four primary criteria.
Data presented to the EAC show how far the bloc remains from uniform convergence.
Only 4 of the 8 member states currently meet the public-debt threshold,
3 meet the fiscal-deficit requirement,
2 meet the reserve-cover requirement, and
half meet the inflation ceiling.
The divergence is particularly significant because a monetary union would require countries to surrender substantial control over their individual monetary policies.
Public finances have been a major obstacle.
Infrastructure spending, higher debt-servicing costs and external borrowing have left several governments with deficits and debt levels above the agreed thresholds. The EAC Secretariat has also faced staffing shortages in areas responsible for fiscal and monetary affairs, slowing implementation and monitoring of the monetary-union roadmap.

The institutional architecture remains incomplete.

EAST AFRICA | Somalia Formally Becomes 8th Member of the Ever Expanding East African Community Bloc

The EAMU protocol provides for institutions including
the EAMI, an EAC statistics body,
the East African Financial Services Commission, and
the East African Surveillance, Compliance and Enforcement Commission.
While legislation has advanced for several of these bodies, their full operationalisation has lagged behind the original timetable.
The dispute over the EAMI illustrates that the obstacles are not purely economic.
A regional verification exercise ranked Tanzania as the most suitable host, with a score of 86.3%, ahead of
Uganda at 82.42%,
Burundi at 78.1%, and
Kenya at 77.35%.
The results, however, failed to settle the political disagreement over the institution’s location.
The governors are meanwhile looking beyond traditional foreign-exchange reserves. They have called for greater diversification through domestic gold purchases and stronger efforts to attract remittance inflows. The strategy reflects concerns over
geopolitical tensions,
higher energy costs, and
the vulnerability of external reserves to global shocks.
The reserve strategy comes as the region attempts to strengthen its broader monetary resilience. Despite the challenges, EAC economies are projected to grow by 5.2% in 2026, above the projected 4.3% average for sub-Saharan Africa. Average regional inflation also declined to 6.7% in the 2025/26 financial year from 9.6% a year earlier.
The bloc is also pursuing integration through payments before a common currency becomes reality. The EAC Cross-Border Payment System Masterplan is being implemented to reduce transaction costs and settlement times, improve interoperability, and address fragmented payment infrastructure. The initiative could deepen regional financial integration even without an immediate monetary union.
That distinction is important. A functioning regional payments system can deliver some of the practical benefits associated with a common currency, particularly cheaper and faster cross-border transactions, while governments continue working toward the much more demanding task of aligning fiscal and monetary policy.
For the 2031 target to remain credible, however, the EAC will need to resolve more than technical convergence. Stronger fiscal discipline, functioning regional institutions, credible macro-economic surveillance and political agreement over the monetary union’s architecture will all be necessary.
The renewed commitment therefore represents less a guarantee that East Africa will have a common currency by 2031 than an attempt to put the project back on a credible institutional and economic track after years of delays.


‘I am Confident that One Day the African Continent will have a Single Currency,’ Says Secretary General, AfCFTA




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Malicious actors are increasingly likely to use artificial intelligence to identify even the smallest software vulnerabilities, the maker of Coldcard Bitcoin hardware wallets has warned following a theft of over $100 million in cryptocurrency.

MILESTONE | ColdCard Bitcoin Losses Surpass $100 Million

The incident has raised fresh concerns about the security of hardware wallets which are physical devices designed to store the private keys needed to access cryptocurrency. Such wallets have long been regarded as safer than keeping digital assets on exchanges because they can remain disconnected from the internet.
However, users of some Coldcard wallets had their funds recently drained in a series of attacks. The attackers appear to have exploited a weakness in the way certain versions of the wallet generated cryptographic keys.
The devices themselves were not physically compromised or connected to the internet. Instead, the flaw meant that the wallets’ algorithms did not produce sufficiently random numbers allowing attackers to work out some of the keys.

Rodolfo Novak, CEO of Canadian ColdCard maker, CoinKite, described the incident as evidence of a changing cybersecurity environment.
“We believe this is a sober reality of the new AI paradigm,” Novak wrote in an apology over the flaw.
“AI-assisted code review can now find latent bugs at a speed that is outpacing even the industry’s most seasoned experts.”

REPORT | AI is 2x More Effective at Exploitation Than Detection in Crypto, Says Binance Research

Novak warned that developers should assume publicly available firmware can be scrutinized by both attackers and defenders.

A Crypto Tool That Helps Hackers Hijack GitHub Accounts

CoinKite initially warned customers to update affected firmware, which was originally released in March 2021, and transfer their Bitcoin to new wallets generated with fresh recovery seeds.
The company urged users to treat the situation as urgent and migrate their funds while the attacks were still ongoing.
Within a few days, blockchain intelligence firm, Galaxy, said it had identified three separate waves of attacks targeting ColdCard users. The attacks had resulted in the theft of over 2,000 BTC, worth over $100 million as of this writing.
Galaxy subsequently warned of a possible 4th wave estimating that total losses could potentially reach roughly $130 million.

The incident highlights a fundamental risk of hardware wallets:
Keeping private keys offline does not eliminate vulnerabilities in the software used to generate or protect those keys.

CASE STUDY | Why This Cold Wallet Exploit Exposes a Big Bitcoin Hardware Security Vulnerability

It also challenges the assumption that self-custody is automatically safer than centralized cryptocurrency storage.
The Coldcard incident therefore points to a broader shift in cybersecurity. As AI systems become increasingly capable of reviewing software and identifying subtle vulnerabilities, flaws that remain undiscovered for years may become much easier for attackers to find.
For crypto users and wallet developers, the episode underscores that security depends not only on keeping devices offline, but also on the integrity of the firmware, cryptographic libraries, and key-generation processes that underpin them.


AI | AI Agents Should Be Treated as ‘Untrusted’ Systems, Say Google and Meta Researchers





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Malicious actors are increasingly likely to use artificial intelligence to identify even the smallest software vulnerabilities, the maker of Coldcard Bitcoin hardware wallets has warned following a theft of over $100 million in cryptocurrency.

MILESTONE | ColdCard Bitcoin Losses Surpass $100 Million

The incident has raised fresh concerns about the security of hardware wallets which are physical devices designed to store the private keys needed to access cryptocurrency. Such wallets have long been regarded as safer than keeping digital assets on exchanges because they can remain disconnected from the internet.
However, users of some Coldcard wallets had their funds recently drained in a series of attacks. The attackers appear to have exploited a weakness in the way certain versions of the wallet generated cryptographic keys.
The devices themselves were not physically compromised or connected to the internet. Instead, the flaw meant that the wallets’ algorithms did not produce sufficiently random numbers allowing attackers to work out some of the keys.

Rodolfo Novak, CEO of Canadian ColdCard maker, CoinKite, described the incident as evidence of a changing cybersecurity environment.
“We believe this is a sober reality of the new AI paradigm,” Novak wrote in an apology over the flaw.
“AI-assisted code review can now find latent bugs at a speed that is outpacing even the industry’s most seasoned experts.”

REPORT | AI is 2x More Effective at Exploitation Than Detection in Crypto, Says Binance Research

Novak warned that developers should assume publicly available firmware can be scrutinized by both attackers and defenders.
CoinKite initially warned customers to update affected firmware, which was originally released in March 2021, and transfer their Bitcoin to new wallets generated with fresh recovery seeds.
The company urged users to treat the situation as urgent and migrate their funds while the attacks were still ongoing.
Within a few days, blockchain intelligence firm, Galaxy, said it had identified three separate waves of attacks targeting ColdCard users. The attacks had resulted in the theft of over 2,000 BTC, worth over $100 million as of this writing.
Galaxy subsequently warned of a possible 4th wave estimating that total losses could potentially reach roughly $130 million.

The incident highlights a fundamental risk of hardware wallets:
Keeping private keys offline does not eliminate vulnerabilities in the software used to generate or protect those keys.

CASE STUDY | Why This Cold Wallet Exploit Exposes a Big Bitcoin Hardware Security Vulnerability

It also challenges the assumption that self-custody is automatically safer than centralized cryptocurrency storage.
The Coldcard incident therefore points to a broader shift in cybersecurity. As AI systems become increasingly capable of reviewing software and identifying subtle vulnerabilities, flaws that remain undiscovered for years may become much easier for attackers to find.
For crypto users and wallet developers, the episode underscores that security depends not only on keeping devices offline, but also on the integrity of the firmware, cryptographic libraries, and key-generation processes that underpin them.


AI | AI Agents Should Be Treated as ‘Untrusted’ Systems, Say Google and Meta Researchers





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South Africa’s stablecoin market shows why emerging-market regulators need to move beyond simply deciding whether to allow or ban digital dollars.
The country has seen rapid growth in stablecoin use alongside the emergence of multiple rand-pegged alternatives. Yet the regulatory framework remains incomplete, creating uncertainty over issues such as consumer protection, redemption rights, reserves and the treatment of foreign-currency stablecoins.

EXPERT OPINION | The South African Stablecoin Landscape

The key policy lesson is that regulatory ambiguity can be as problematic as weak regulation. It can
leave consumers exposed,
create regulatory arbitrage, and
discourage investment in legitimate innovation.

REGULATION | South Africa Could Unlock ~$30 Million in Tax Revenue in 5 Years by Modernizing Crypto Rules, Says Luno

The IMF’s policy approach calls for regulators to address stablecoins according to their functions and risks, particularly where they begin to resemble money. South Africa shows why: a general crypto licence does not necessarily resolve questions around reserve quality, redemption rights, liquidity and issuer risk.

PRESS RELEASE | National Treasury, South African Reserve Bank Invite Comments on the Crypto Assets Manual for Cross-Border Activities Draft

South Africa also highlights a second challenge:
Dollar-backed stablecoins can provide useful payments and savings functionality while simultaneously increasing pressure on domestic currencies and monetary control.

Dollar-denominated tokens can give users access to a more stable store of value and improve cross-border payments, but widespread adoption can also accelerate currency substitution and weaken monetary-policy transmission.

STABLECOINS | Africa’s Largest Crypto Exchange Processed Over $20 Billion in Stablecoins in the Last 12 Months

For other emerging markets, the takeaway is not to shut down stablecoins, but to build rules that distinguish between their different risks and uses. That means
clear definitions,
appropriate licensing,
strong reserve and disclosure requirements,
enforceable redemption rights, and
specific consideration of the implications of foreign-currency stablecoins.
South Africa’s experience suggests that the policy race is not simply about controlling stablecoins. It is about creating enough regulatory certainty to capture their benefits without allowing new forms of money to undermine financial stability or monetary sovereignty.


Stablecoins: Promise, Risks, and Policy Choices for Emerging Markets – IMF Deputy Managing Director





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T. Rowe Price has included memecoins in its actively managed cryptocurrency exchange-traded fund (ETF) arguing that excluding established tokens simply because of their reputation would run counter to the fund’s investment strategy.
The $1.9 trillion asset manager launched the T. Rowe Price Active Crypto ETF (TKNZ) in July 2026 as the first actively managed multi-token spot crypto ETF giving portfolio managers discretion to rotate between 5 and 15 cryptocurrencies based on
fundamentals,
adoption, and
market momentum.

INSTITUTIONAL | T. Rowe Price Launches First Actively Managed Multi-Token Crypto ETF

The decision to hold memecoins such as Dogecoin is therefore less a bet that internet-driven tokens have fundamental value and more a test of what active management can offer in a market where investor sentiment can move prices as quickly as technology or adoption.

“We wanted true active management,” T. Rowe Price’s Head of Digital Assets and Lead Portfolio Manager, Blue Macellari, said.
“I’m not going to stand on principle and say, ‘I’m going to be an intellectual snob,’ and if a memecoin performs, my investors aren’t going to participate.”

That philosophy marks a significant departure from the traditional approach to crypto investing which has largely focused on Bitcoin and, more recently, Ethereum and a small number of large-cap assets.
Rather than deciding in advance that a category of tokens is uninvestable, T. Rowe Price says its managers should assess individual assets on their merits and determine whether they can contribute to portfolio performance.
That does not mean the fund is making a large structural bet on memecoins.
Dogecoin currently accounts for about 1.26% of the portfolio, while
roughly 60% is allocated to Bitcoin and Ethereum.
Binance Coin is the third-largest holding.

The small allocation is important:
the strategy gives the manager permission to own memecoins without making them the centre of the portfolio.

MARKET ANALYSIS | MemeCoins Outperformed All Crypto Categories in 2024

Memecoins as a Test of Blockchain Infrastructure
T. Rowe Price’s argument also goes beyond price performance.
Macellari views periods of intense memecoin activity as a way of testing whether a blockchain can cope with unusually high demand. Networks that attract large waves of speculative trading must process transactions quickly and cheaply while remaining reliable during congestion.

“When we look at a chain that has had a memecoin season, it’s the closest we can get to seeing a true stress test of a network,” Macellari said.

That makes memecoin activity relevant even to investors who have little interest in the tokens themselves. A blockchain capable of handling intense speculative activity may also be better positioned to support other applications as usage expands.
Macellari linked that directly to the development of stablecoin payments arguing that blockchain infrastructure ultimately needs to support transactions of radically different sizes.

“It needs to be cost-effective to send $100 million in stablecoins,” she said.
“But it also needs to be cost-effective to send $3.”

The argument reflects a broader shift in how institutional investors are assessing crypto networks. Instead of evaluating blockchains only through their stated technological capabilities, asset managers can increasingly look at what happens when those networks encounter real economic activity and extreme demand.

CASE STUDY | This MemeCoin Collapse Reveals Why Base May Have an Identity Problem

Active Management is the Real Bet
The more consequential part of T. Rowe Price’s strategy may therefore be its decision to treat crypto as an asset class in which security selection can materially affect returns.
The firm’s managers assess tokens across three broad areas:
blockchain technology and token economics,
ecosystem growth and adoption, and
market momentum.
Macellari said the combination matters because crypto markets can reward assets before conventional fundamental analysis catches up.

“You can be right on the fundamentals,” she said.
“But if crypto Twitter doesn’t see it or doesn’t agree with you, you kind of stand in their way at your peril.”

That creates a market in which sentiment itself becomes an investment variable.

INSIGHTS | What the Latest Spectacle Reveals About the Growing MemeCoin Craze UnderBelly

A token can have attractive technology but fail to attract users, liquidity or attention. Conversely, a token with limited conventional utility can become economically significant because of its community, liquidity, and market participation.
For T. Rowe Price, refusing to consider the latter simply because it is labelled a memecoin would undermine the very active-management model the fund is designed to provide.
The approach also helps explain why the firm did not simply launch another Bitcoin or Bitcoin-and-Ether product. Its objective is to give portfolio managers room to move capital as the crypto market changes.
The fund’s eligible universe can expand as more assets meet regulatory requirements while the portfolio can change as the managers reassess the investment case for individual tokens.
That makes the memecoin allocation less significant as a standalone portfolio position than as a statement about how traditional asset managers increasingly intend to approach crypto.
T. Rowe Price is effectively betting that the value of an active crypto manager lies in being willing to examine the entire investable market, including assets that conventional finance may find difficult to classify, and then deciding how much, if anything, belongs in the portfolio.

REPORT | Top MemeCoins Emerge as Only Profitable Crypto Sector in H1 2025, Research Shows

For investors, the experiment is not whether Dogecoin or another memecoin can become a conventional financial asset. It is whether professional portfolio management can consistently identify when crypto’s most unconventional assets deserve exposure and when they do not.
That distinction could become increasingly important as the ETF market moves beyond single-asset products toward actively managed, multi-token, and sector-specific funds.

“We think good judgment and good decision making and active management probably matters more in crypto than any other asset class,” Macellari said.

T. Rowe Price’s memecoin exposure is therefore ultimately a bet on that judgment – not on the idea that every memecoin is a sound investment.


INSTITUTIONAL | Leading Global Brokerage Firm with $12 Trillion in Client Assets Outlines 2 Approaches to Crypto Allocation




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Australia’s financial crime regulator has suspended the registration of crypto ATM operator, Cryptolink, for three months, ordering its 96 machines offline after the company failed to meet basic anti-money laundering reporting requirements.
The Australian Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre (AUSTRAC) said Cryptolink failed to submit required threshold transaction reports and did not respond to requests for information.
The suspension follows an enforceable undertaking agreed with AUSTRAC in October 2025 after the regulator identified late reporting of large cash transactions and weaknesses in Cryptolink’s anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing risk assessments. The company also paid a A$56,340 ($36,700) infringement notice.

REGULATION | Second U.S State Bans Crypto ATMs Due to Fraud

AUSTRAC CEO, Brendan Thomas, said the regulator remained concerned about Cryptolink’s ability to manage high-risk transactions through its crypto ATMs.
The action highlights growing regulatory scrutiny of crypto ATM operators in Australia where authorities have identified the machines as a significant money-laundering and scam risk.
AUSTRAC said its Crypto Taskforce found that 85% of transactions involving the 90 most frequent crypto ATM users were linked to scams or money-mule activity.

“As part of our continued focus on digital currency as a money laundering risk, AUSTRAC has ongoing concerns about the company’s ability to manage high-risk transactions through its CATMs,” Mr Thomas said.
“While Cryptolink met the conditions stipulated in its enforceable undertaking, it subsequently failed to meet basic reporting obligations, particularly for threshold transaction reports.
The company failed to submit these required reports or respond to AUSTRAC’s request for information, thus we’ve deemed it too high risk to continue operating at present.”

Mr Thomas said AUSTRAC would monitor Cryptolink to ensure it complies with the suspension.
“Cryptolink was given the opportunity to comply but could not meet its obligations despite the enforceable undertaking.
We will continue to keep a close watch on the cryptocurrency sector, particularly businesses operating crypto ATMs, and will take action where we identify serious risks or non-compliance.”
.
The suspension took effect in early August 2026 and is due to last three months.


CRYPTO CRIME | Canada Proposes Banning Crypto ATMs Due to Fraud and Money Laundering





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Banco Central do Brasil (BCB), which is the Central Bank of Brazil, will require crypto service providers to delay certain transfers by up to 24 hours under new anti-fraud rules, adding to a growing push by regulators to slow the movement of digital assets when transactions show signs of risk.
The rules, which take effect on January 1 2027, cover transfers above $10,000 to overseas virtual-asset providers or self-custody wallets. The threshold can also apply based on a customer’s total transfers during a day, while other transactions may be held for review under a provider’s risk-management procedures.
Interestingly, the delay requirement applies both to virtual assets and Reais, the Brazilian currency, which covers the entire virtual assets value chain.



Crypto platforms will have to notify customers when a transfer is placed on hold and maintain records of fraud attempts, incidents and corrective measures. Providers can release a transaction before the 24-hour period expires if their risk assessment meets parameters set by the central bank.
The move reflects a growing regulatory concern that the speed and cross-border reach of cryptocurrencies, including stablecoins, can be exploited to move funds obtained through scams before banks, exchanges or law enforcement can intervene.


CRYPTO CRIME | Japan’s Financial Regulator Asks Crypto Exchanges to Delay Withdrawals to Combat Scams




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Efforts by emerging markets to develop local-currency stablecoins could inadvertently increase demand for U.S. dollar-backed tokens, the IMF said, as users may favor dollar stablecoins because of their deeper liquidity, stronger network effects and wider acceptance.
The issue is particularly relevant in emerging markets where stablecoins can provide easier access to foreign currency while also weakening traditional controls over capital flows and increasing dollarization.

South Africa offers an early case study.

Stablecoins: Promise, Risks, and Policy Choices for Emerging Markets – IMF Deputy Managing Director

Dollar-based stablecoins have so far gained limited traction, but Rand-linked stablecoins have attracted even less demand, IMF First Deputy Managing Director, Dan Katz, said in remarks at the University of Cape Town.
The divergence suggests that simply creating a Rand stablecoin may not be enough to shift users away from dollar tokens.

PRESS RELEASE | ZARU, the First Institutional-Grade Rand Stablecoin, Gets Listed on Luno Crypto Exchange

Once local- and dollar-denominated stablecoins operate on the same blockchain infrastructure, users can potentially convert between them directly through
decentralized exchanges,
liquidity pools, or
peer-to-peer markets,
reducing reliance on banks and traditional foreign-exchange intermediaries.
That could make the local stablecoin an on-ramp to dollarization rather than a barrier to it.

STABLECOINS | Africa’s Largest Crypto Exchange Processed Over $20 Billion in Stablecoins in the Last 12 Months

The IMF estimates that nearly 99% of stablecoins are denominated in U.S. dollars. Stablecoin market capitalization has remained around $300 billion over the past year while payment-related stablecoin flows reached an estimated $390 billion in 2025.

For South Africa, the IMF says the experience also highlights a broader regulatory challenge.

The South African Reserve Bank has used data from major crypto exchanges to gain insight into the market finding household holdings to be predominant, but the exercise also exposed significant gaps outside the regulatory perimeter.

REALITY CHECK | South African Crypto Exchange Bitcoin Volumes Tank by 95% in Less Than 5 Years

The IMF says policymakers should therefore focus less on simply creating domestic stablecoins and more on strengthening macro-economic fundamentals, improving data collection, and bringing exchanges, custodians, and on- and off-ramp providers into the regulatory framework.
The bigger implication is that stablecoin competition may increasingly be a competition over currency networks, not just payment technology. A local stablecoin with weaker liquidity and fewer use cases could end up making the dollar stablecoin next to it easier to access.



CASE STUDY | Why Liquidity is Becoming the Most Valuable Asset in Cross-Border Stablecoin Payments




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Debt is no longer a peripheral source of capital for African startups. It is becoming a structural part of how the continent’s more mature technology companies finance growth reflecting both the development of local credit markets and a venture ecosystem that has become more selective about equity.
The shift is significant.
Venture debt reached a record $1.8 billion across Africa in 2025, up 91% year-on-year, according to the African Private Capital Association. Partech separately put technology-sector debt at $1.6 billion, up 63%, accounting for roughly 40% of total tech funding. The difference in estimates reflects methodology, but both point to the same direction: debt is taking a much larger role in startup financing.

FUNDING | Ghanaian Fintech, ZeePay, Secures $18 Million Debt to Scale Cross-Border Payments – A TradFi Model for Crypto Remittances?

This is more than a response to the venture capital downturn.
Debt offers companies that already have revenues, receivables, or tangible assets a way to finance expansion without continuously selling equity.
For fintechs, that can mean borrowing against loan books or receivables;
for clean-energy and mobility companies, it can finance equipment and customer assets;
for other businesses, it can fund working capital and extend runway.
That makes debt particularly suited to Africa’s increasingly capital-intensive technology businesses.
Fintech and cleantech accounted for the overwhelming majority of debt funding in 2025, according to Partech, with $716 million and $627 million respectively. Cleantech was particularly dependent on debt reflecting business models built around physical assets and predictable cash flows.


But the rise of debt should not be mistaken for easier access to capital.
Debt imposes a different test on a startup. Equity investors can finance a company on the expectation that future growth will eventually justify today’s valuation. Lenders need greater visibility on how and when they will be repaid. That naturally favours companies with established revenues, predictable collections, collateral, or institutional-quality financial reporting.
The result could be a widening financing divide across Africa’s startup ecosystem. Growth-stage companies with proven business models are gaining another financing option, while pre-revenue and early-stage startups remain overwhelmingly dependent on equity. Briter Intelligence has already identified this unevenness, describing growth capital as increasingly concentrated while early-stage and middle-market financing remains fragmented.
For founders, therefore, the strategic question is shifting from simply raising the next equity round to building a capital structure appropriate to the business. Equity remains the natural instrument for experimentation, product development, and early expansion. Once revenues become predictable, however, debt can finance working capital, inventory, receivables, or infrastructure without imposing the same dilution as another equity round.

FUNDING | Senegalese B2B Lending Fintech, RubyX, Secures $440,000 in Debt Funding from Proparco, a Major Player in Financial Inclusion in Africa

That evolution is important for Africa because the continent’s funding constraints are not simply about the amount of capital available. They are also about whether the right type of capital is available at the right stage. Debt can help solve the growth-financing problem for companies that have already achieved commercial traction, but it cannot replace the risk capital required to create those companies in the first place.
The deeper shift, then, is not that African startups are replacing venture capital with debt. It is that the ecosystem is developing a more differentiated capital stack. Companies that can demonstrate durable revenues and cash flows increasingly have access to multiple forms of financing. Those that cannot will remain exposed to the availability and risk appetite of equity investors.
That could ultimately make the ecosystem more sustainable, but it also raises the importance of reaching product-market fit, building reliable revenue, and maintaining strong financial controls. In Africa’s next phase of startup financing, the ability to become financeable may matter almost as much as the ability to become investable.
The strongest supporting data point is probably Partech’s finding that debt represented 41% of African tech capital deployed in 2025, versus 17% in 2019 – that makes the argument structural rather than cyclical.


2025 RECAP | Africa Tech Funding Grew 25% in 2025 Driven by Record Debt Activity, Says 2025 Partech VC Report




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A vulnerability in BTCPay Server, an open-source Bitcoin payment processor, has been exploited to drain funds from merchant Lightning Network nodes prompting an urgent security warning from developers.
BTCPay urged users running the LND Lightning implementation to update their servers to version 2.4.2 or take them offline after attackers gained access to credentials that could control connected Lightning wallets and move funds.


If you use LND:
Check for payments you did not make.
Look for unexpected channel closures or unfamiliar peers.
Compare your on-chain and channel balances with your own records.
Investigate any activity you do not recognize.

MILESTONE | The Bitcoin Lightning Network Surpasses $1 Billion in Monthly Transaction Volume in November 2025

The incident adds to a string of recent security problems affecting Bitcoin infrastructure highlighting risks beyond the Bitcoin blockchain itself as merchants increasingly rely on third-party software and Lightning nodes to process payments.

MILESTONE | ColdCard Bitcoin Losses Surpass $100 Million




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The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) has warned prediction-market operators against using American-style ‘moneyline’ betting odds, as the regulator seeks to reinforce its oversight of the rapidly expanding sector.
The CFTC told regulated entities to comply with the law and avoid ‘deceptive’ practices when listing, advertising or soliciting contracts, according to a letter obtained by Bloomberg. The agency also cited research suggesting that American-style odds can encourage greater risk-taking in sports betting.
Prediction markets typically quote contracts in cents with prices corresponding directly to implied probabilities. Moneyline odds instead use positive or negative figures to indicate potential returns on a $100 wager.
Kalshi said it would comply with the CFTC’s guidance.

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

CFTC Chair, Michael Selig, has argued that the agency has exclusive federal jurisdiction over prediction markets and has moved to defend that position against states seeking to apply their gambling and sports-betting laws to the platforms.

REGULATION | Prediction Markets Fall Under Our Federal Mandate, Says Chairman, CFTC

The dispute has intensified as prediction markets such as Kalshi and Polymarket have expanded rapidly. The platforms have backed federal CFTC oversight while some states and tribal gaming regulators argue that sports-related contracts should remain subject to state gambling laws.
Lawmakers and tribal gaming interests have also pressed Congress to clarify the boundary between federal derivatives regulation and state control of sports betting.

REGULATION | Leading Prediction Markets Platform Losses Court Case Handing Power to States




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A Nairobi court has approved the extradition of three Kenyans to the United States, where they are wanted to face charges over an alleged multi-million-dollar cyber fraud scheme.
The three
Peter Omari,
Francis Asanyo, and
Elvis Obaigwa
face charges including conspiracy to commit computer intrusions, wire fraud and aggravated identity theft under US law.
The Milimani court endorsed arrest warrants issued by the US District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia on November 15, 2023, clearing the way for the suspects to be transferred to the US to face prosecution.
The suspects were arrested in Kenya following a joint operation involving
the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI),
Interpol and
the US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).

CRYPTO CRIME | FBI, Kenya Step Up Joint Fight Against Crypto Crime and Money Laundering

According to investigators, the three were allegedly part of a syndicate involved in business email compromise and vendor account compromise schemes targeting US state and local government entities from April 2019.
The suspects allegedly registered internet domains resembling those of legitimate companies, created fraudulent email accounts and used social engineering tactics to redirect payments to bank accounts under their control.
Investigators further allege that the group recruited U.S-based money mules to receive millions of dollars before transferring the funds to Kenya.

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

The suspects had remained in custody as extradition proceedings progressed. Prosecutors argued that the seriousness of the charges and potential penalties in the US created a risk that they could flee.
The defence had opposed continued detention, arguing that the suspects had not been interrogated by Kenyan or US investigators.
The court’s decision clears the way for their extradition to the US, where they will face the charges brought against them.


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




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Cryptocurrency exchange, Bybit, has sued North Korea, its intelligence agency, and the Lazarus Group over the theft of about $1.5 billion in digital assets in February 2025 seeking to recover funds linked to the record hack.
The Dubai-based exchange filed the civil case in a U.S. federal court and secured a preliminary injunction preventing unidentified defendants holding assets traced to the theft from transferring or selling them while the litigation proceeds.
The February 2025 attack, which involved the theft of more than 400,000 Ether and staked Ether, was attributed by the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) to North Korea. The FBI has described the operation as TraderTraitor.

2025 RECAP | Crypto Losses Increased by ~40% YoY in 2025

Bybit said the civil action is separate from ongoing U.S. criminal investigations and that it would seek further relief from the court. The case gives the exchange another route to pursue stolen funds as blockchain tracing allows investigators to identify and track assets across wallets and platforms.


CASE STUDY | How Recovered Funds from this DeFi Exploit Could Cover Compensation for Non-Crypto Claims




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Crypto derivatives exchange, BitMEX, failed to find a buyer after potential acquirers, including payments platform, Exodus, raised concerns about its
founder-led ownership structure,
declining business, and
lingering reputational issues,
according to a person familiar with the matter.
BitMEX spent about two years exploring a sale, with investment bank, Broadhaven, advising the Seychelles-based company. Its co-founders Arthur Hayes, Ben Delo and Samuel Reed still controlled a large majority of the company despite stepping away from management after U.S. criminal charges in 2020, the source said.
The ownership structure complicated negotiations because buyers typically seek to retain management through acquisition incentives, the person said.
BitMEX also continued to lose market share as trading activity shifted toward larger centralized exchanges and decentralized derivatives platforms making it harder to justify the growth valuation sought by the company.

REALITY CHECK | Why Protocols Generating Over $10 Million in Monthly Fees Fell by Half YoY in H1 2026

BitMEX, which pioneered crypto perpetual futures, subsequently announced plans to wind down operations on September 23 2026 after an 11-year run.

REALITY CHECK | Crypto Leverage and Perpetuals Pioneer, BitMEX, to Wind Down Operations After 11 Years in Operation

Lessons
The collapse also highlights the importance of ownership and governance structures in crypto businesses, particularly when founders retain significant control after stepping away from day-to-day operations. A clean separation between founders, management and shareholders can make a company easier to govern, finance and ultimately sell, while reducing uncertainty for prospective buyers.
Regulatory compliance is equally important.
Building a crypto exchange around robust licensing, governance, risk controls and transparent ownership can preserve strategic options as the business matures. For exchanges operating across multiple jurisdictions, regulatory shortcomings or unresolved legal issues can become liabilities during a sale, potentially narrowing the pool of buyers just as declining volumes put additional pressure on valuations.
The BitMEX case shows that building a successful trading platform is only one part of creating a durable financial business. Strong corporate governance, regulatory compliance and a structure that can accommodate new investors or owners can be as important to preserving value as trading volumes and market share.


CASE STUDY | This Leading DAO Exploit Shows the Biggest Risk to On-Chain Governance is Governance Itself




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Circle has launched native USDC and its Cross-Chain Transfer Protocol (CCTP) on X Layer, OKX’s Ethereum layer-2 network, giving users and developers access to Circle-issued USDC without relying on bridged tokens.
CCTP enables USDC to move between supported blockchains without wrapped assets or conventional liquidity pools.
CCTP enables USDC transfers between X Layer and supported blockchains by burning USDC on the source chain and minting an equivalent amount on the destination chain. The integration brings native USDC to 36 blockchains while CCTP is now available across 26 networks.
The move strengthens USDC’s role as infrastructure for cross-chain payments, DeFi, trading and automated transactions involving AI agents.
This latest development also comes after OKX Europe introduced a feature allowing users to convert Tether’s USDT into Circle’s USDC as the exchange continues adapting to the European Union’s Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) regulations.
USDC is among the stablecoins that comply with MiCA’s requirements and has become one of the primary alternatives available to European users.


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




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The Federal Security Service (FSB) of Russia has shut down nine unregistered cryptocurrency exchanges in Moscow over alleged money laundering linked to fraud proceeds, the agency said.
More than 20 employees were detained during raids at the Moscow International Business Center, known as Moscow City. The FSB said the exchanges converted money stolen from Russian victims of telephone scams into cryptocurrency and transferred the funds to accounts linked to Ukraine-based operators.
The operation, conducted with Russia’s Interior Ministry, also targeted couriers who authorities said collected cash from victims and delivered it to the exchanges for conversion into crypto.
Russia’s Interior Ministry has opened a criminal investigation into large-scale fraud with authorities continuing to identify victims and assess potential compensation.
Under the Russian crypto law, individuals and entities involved in organizing or facilitating crypto transactions without registration with the central bank could face criminal penalties. These include fines of up to about $4,000 and prison terms of up to four years for basic violations.

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

Harsher punishments are proposed for large-scale offenses or cases involving organized groups. In such instances, penalties could rise to as much as seven years in prison or compulsory labor for up to five years, along with fines of up to roughly $13,100 or equivalent income-based penalties.
The crackdown comes as Russia moves to bring cryptocurrency trading under a formal regulatory framework, with new rules taking effect in 2026.

REGULATION | Russian President Signs Russia’s First Comprehensive Crypto Law




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Bitcoin trading on Binance is becoming increasingly dominated by futures, with derivatives volume reaching nearly eight times spot trading.

Bitcoin spot demand is weakening.


CryptoQuant data shows Binance recorded $57.8 billion in daily Bitcoin futures volume, versus just $6.1 billion in spot. Spot demand has been weakening since June, while futures activity remains relatively stronger.
The record shift signals a market increasingly driven by leverage, hedging and short-term positioning rather than outright Bitcoin buying. With BTC stuck in a narrow range, traders appear to be positioning for a larger move with options markets leaning toward a potential downside resolution in September.

MARKET ANALYSIS | ‘There is No Retail Interest in Crypto Right Now,’ Say Analysts

According to a CryptoQuant analyst:
“This trend reflects a shift in market activity, with more investors and traders preferring to use futures for leverage, risk management, and short-term trading strategies.”

The bigger signal:
Binance’s Bitcoin market is being driven less by buyers taking ownership of BTC and more by traders positioning around its price.


INSIGHTS | The World’s Largest Spot Bitcoin ETF is Emerging as a Key Signal for Bitcoin Market Sentiment




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Europe’s MiCA regime now covers 323 distinct crypto-asset service providers (CASPs) in the latest register data, according to a BitKE analysis of the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) database.
ESMA says its register is updated weekly.
Germany is by far the largest licensing hub, accounting for 69 of the 323 entities, followed by
France with 34,
the Netherlands with 29,
Cyprus with 25, and
Malta with 22.
Together, those five jurisdictions account for more than half of all entities in the dataset.
The list also shows how deeply traditional finance has moved into regulated crypto. At least 55 bank or bank-branded institutions can be identified in the register, including
BBVA,
Commerzbank,
DekaBank,
DZ Bank,
KBC,
CACEIS,
CaixaBank,
BNY,
Standard Chartered,
N26,
Trade Republic Bank and
Scalable Capital Bank,
alongside numerous German cooperative banks.

STABLECOINS | Financial Institutions and Corporate Treasury Teams Driving Stablecoin Adoption in Europe

But the strongest signal is not simply the number of exchanges.
Custody is the most widely authorised MiCA service, appearing for 201 of the 323 entities.
Transfer services follow at 193, while
exchange of crypto-assets for fiat is authorised for 166, and
order execution for 155.
That makes MiCA’s first regulated cohort look less like a collection of crypto exchanges and more like an emerging financial-services infrastructure market spanning banks, brokers, exchanges, custodians, payments companies, and asset managers.

REGULATION | Europe’s Crypto Market is About to Look Very Different

Major crypto names on the list include
Coinbase,
Kraken,
OKX,
Bybit,
Crypto.com,
Bitpanda,
Bitstamp,
Bitvavo,
Robinhood, and
WhiteBIT,
while newer infrastructure players such as Bridge are also appearing alongside established financial institutions.

INSIGHTS | Why a MiCA Licensing Setback for the World’s Largest Exchange Matters

The concentration in Germany is particularly striking: more than one in five entities in the dataset has Germany as its home member state.
MiCA therefore appears to be doing more than licensing Europe’s existing crypto industry. It is creating a regulated market in which banks and traditional financial firms are becoming a substantial part of the crypto-service landscape.


NB: This BitKE Analysis is based on the attached ESMA CASP dataset. The file contains 329 records representing 323 entities when consolidated by LEI. One Spanish entity has no LEI in the file.


REGULATION | Why the World’s Largest Stablecoin Issuer is Refusing to Comply With Europe’s MiCA Stablecoin Rules




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Crypto market maker, Wintermute, has secured U.S. broker-dealer status giving the firm a regulated route into Wall Street as crypto and traditional securities markets move closer together.
Wintermute USA LLC has registered with the SEC and joined the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) allowing it to
trade U.S. stocks and equity options,
provide liquidity to exchanges and OTC counterparties, and
act as an authorized participant for ETFs, including crypto-linked funds.
The New York-based unit will operate as a proprietary trading firm rather than a retail broker giving it registration to also seek market-making roles on exchanges, including NYSE and the Nasdaq.

REGULATION | United States SEC Clears World’s Second Largest Stock Exchange for Tokenized Securities

Wintermute plans to initially focus on crypto-linked markets, with tokenized stocks a potential area for expansion pending regulatory approval.
Wintermute processed about $3.5 trillion in trading volume last year and currently handles roughly $10 billion in daily trades across more than 60 venues, according to the Wall Street Journal.
The firm has already signed ETF issuers as clients and aims to compete with established market makers including
Jump Trading,
Jane Street, and
Citadel Securities
within three to five years.


The move comes as crypto firms increasingly seek access to traditional financial infrastructure and diversify beyond volatile digital-asset markets. Wintermute’s expansion also positions it for a potential convergence between crypto markets, ETFs and tokenized securities.
For Wintermute, the broker-dealer registration marks a shift from operating largely around crypto-market liquidity to seeking a direct role in the broader U.S. financial system.


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




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AVAX One, a Nasdaq-listed digital asset treasury company, has agreed to tougher debt terms with an institutional lender that exclude its nearly 14 million AVAX tokens, worth about $88 million, from a new minimum liquidity requirement.
AVAX One’s lender has tightened the terms of its debt agreement refusing to count the company’s Avalanche (AVAX) tokens toward a new minimum liquidity requirement.
The lender has also accelerated capital recovery, increasing monthly redemptions to one-tenth of the original principal from one-twenty-fifth.
The amended terms require AVAX One to maintain at least $3.5 million in liquidity, with only cash and Bitcoin eligible to meet the threshold. This means the company’s large AVAX treasury cannot be used to meet the requirement regardless of its market value.

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

The company also paid $1.3 million to secure a waiver of a default and agreed to faster debt repayments, with monthly redemptions rising to one-tenth of the original principal from one-twenty-fifth.

The tighter terms highlight a key distinction between crypto treasury assets and liquid reserves:
While AVAX One’s AVAX holdings represent a substantial asset base, its lender does not regard those tokens as equivalent to cash or Bitcoin for meeting near-term liquidity obligations.

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
AVAX One’s shares have fallen about 42% since July’s departure of CEO, Jolie Kahn.
The move underscores the gap between AVAX and more liquid assets such as cash and Bitcoin in the eyes of institutional lenders, despite AVAX One holding millions of tokens.


REPORT | 80% of AI Agents Choose Bitcoin as a Long-Term Store of Value




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