Crypto News

How Policy, Innovation, and Market Dynamics Are Driving Institutional Crypto M&A

The financial services industry is at a crossroads, with an indisputable trend of financial services moving into crypto. Digital assets built on the blockchain are transforming the financial ecosystem and shaping its future. Digital assets are no longer living on the fringe of the global financial system — they are becoming central to its future and to the movement of value through the capital markets and payments rails.The relatively small size of the crypto market pales to traditional financial markets, belying the enormous opportunity for digital assets and their growth trajectory. The total cryptocurrency market cap is approaching $3.8 trillion, approximating one segment of the MSCI World Index and dwarfed by the global market cap for equities, projected to reach...

Meta Removes 6.8 Million WhatsApp Accounts Linked to Pig Butchering Scam Rings

Tech giant Meta touts new anti-scam features as platforms face growing pressure to tackle organized fraud networks stealing crypto from users.Source link

The Layer 1 Fallacy: Chasing Premium Without Substance

In financial markets, startups have long sought to market themselves as "tech firms" hoping investors will value them with tech-company multiples. And often, they do — at least for a while.Traditional institutions learned this the hard way. Throughout the 2010s, many corporations scrambled to reposition themselves as technology companies. Banks, payment processors and retailers began calling themselves fintechs or data businesses. But few earned the valuation multiples of true tech firms — because the fundamentals rarely matched the narrative.WeWork was among the most infamous examples: a real estate company dressed up as a tech platform that eventually collapsed under the weight of its own illusion. In financial services, Goldman Sachs launched Marcus in 2016 as a digital-first platform to rival...

Bakkt Targets Japan With Marusho Hotta Deal and Domain Acquisition

Bakkt Holdings Inc. (NYSE: BKKT) announced Wednesday it will acquire roughly 30% of Tokyo-listed MarushoHotta Co., Ltd. (TSE: 8105), becoming the company’s largest shareholder and advancing its multinational bitcoin treasury strategy. Bakkt Expands Into Japan The share purchase agreement with RIZAP Group Inc. positions Bakkt to influence MHT’s direction, with Phillip Lord, president of BakktSource link

Philippines SEC Cracks Down on Unregistered Crypto Exchanges as New Rules Kick In

The Philippines Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) said it may take action against crypto exchanges including OKX, ByBit and Bitget for operating without appropriate registration and warned the public against using the platforms.In a notice dated Aug. 4, the commission also named Mexc, Kucoin and Kraken as being accessible without being registered and, in some cases, actively marketing their services to residents. Other platforms it didn't identify are also active in the country, it said.The agency's rules for the crypto sector came into effect on July 5. The regulations require firms to have the necessary authorization before offering crypto asset services, including appropriate anti-money laundering systems, suspicious transaction reporting and customer due diligence.In March last year, the agency blocked local...