Coindesk

EToro said it received regulatory approval under the European Union’s Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) framework and will soon be able to provide cryptocurrency trading and custody services across the region. The trading platform announced the approval from the Cyprus Securities Exchange Commission on Wednesday.The MiCA regulation that requires firms to acquire a crypto asset service provider license (CASP) took full effect in December and established a standardized legal framework for crypto services across the 27-nation trading bloc. Approval under MiCA also opens the doors to Iceland, Liechtenstein, and Norway which are not EU members.The company joins crypto exchanges Bitpanda, OKX and Crypto.com among others who have obtained a MiCA license.Israel-based eToro, which offers a mix of traditional and crypto trading...

Wintermute, one of the largest liquidity providers in the cryptocurrency market, is expanding into the U.S. with the opening of a new office in New York and the introduction of over-the-counter (OTC) trading products in the country.Wintermute has plans for a “new added focus on the U.S.,” CEO Evgeny Gaevoy told Bloomberg during Consensus Hong Kong 2025.“We are looking to expand in the U.S. with our OTC offering, and we are looking to expand in the U.S. with derivatives offering as well on the OTC side,” Gaevoy said.The company, which has offices in London and Singapore and employs more than 100 people, is being driven by optimism on potential regulatory changes in the U.S. under the administration of President Donald...

CoinDesk Indices presents its daily market update, highlighting the performance of leaders and laggards in the CoinDesk 20 Index.The CoinDesk 20 is currently trading at 3194.09, up 3.3% (+101.56) since 4 p.m. ET on Tuesday.All 20 assets are trading higher.Leaders: APT (+16.6%) and LTC (+7.3%).Laggards: BTC (+2.4%) and ADA (+2.4%). The CoinDesk 20 is a broad-based index traded on multiple platforms in several regions globally.Source link

Countries targeted by U.S. government sanctions have surged in illicit crypto activity, receiving nearly $16 billion in digital assets last year — about 39% of illicit token transactions — according to a report from Chainalysis released on Wednesday.2024 was a year in which those nations — especially Iran — surged over individuals in sanctions-related activity, noted the report from the crypto-analytics firm."As Western restrictions tighten, sanctioned nations are turning to cryptocurrencies and alternative financial systems to sustain trade and access capital," according to the report, which cited Russian and Iranian financial transactions with trade partners such as China and India, using payment mechanisms that don't rely on U.S. dollars."While cryptocurrency use in sanctioned jurisdictions may be associated with illicit state-controlled...

HONG KONG - Decentralized finance (DeFi) platform MANTRA said it secured a Virtual Asset Service Provider (VASP) license from Dubai’s Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (VARA). The license allows the platform to operate as a virtual asset exchange and offer broker-dealer and investment management services in the region. It positions MANTRA, which focuses on the Middle Eastern region, for global expansion while reinforcing its focus on tokenizing real-world assets (RWAs), the firm said.The firm's Chief Executive Officer John Patrick Mullin described Dubai as a leader in crypto regulation, noting that the approval is a “crucial step” in the platform’s strategy to bridge decentralized and traditional finance. With the license, MANTRA can offer regulatory-compliant financial products tailored to institutional investors, benefiting from...