Bitcoin (BTC) shifted higher on Aug. 18 as the latest data confirmed the European Union’s highest ever inflation. Support and resistance close in on BTC spot price Data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView showed BTC/USD passing $23,500 at the time of writing, having preserved $23,000 as support overnight. Concerns over a deeper risk asset drawdown had become widespread over the week, with Bitcoin and Ether (ETH) notably unable to crack long-term resistance levels. With bulls seemingly on the back foot, the mood among analysts was naturally wary. “BTC did break down from this huge rising channel/wedge everyone seems to …

In an article I wrote for Cointelegraph, I commented on how the European Union has moved forward to regulate the crypto-asset market through Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) and Transfer of Funds Regulation (ToFR). With this subject as a background, I had the privilege of interviewing one of the people who knows the most about regulating new technologies: Eva Kaili, vice president of the European Parliament. She has been working hard on promoting innovation as a driving force for the establishment of the European Digital Single Market. Check out the interview below, which covered key points about MiCA, some proposed legislative …

The United Kingdom is paving the road for cryptocurrency services, courting startups and established players alike while leading the way in pioneering regulation on stablecoins and nonfungible tokens. But a lot has changed. After two years of deliberations, European Union lawmakers achieved agreement on the Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) regulation, marking a pivotal moment for harmonized supervision of the sector on such a scale. This followed United States President Joe Biden’s executive order recommending a whole-of-government approach toward the responsible development of digital assets within the United States. The U.K. has also seen major political shifts during this period, including …

The European Central Bank (ECB) has released a report analyzing the growth of the cryptocurrency market over the past decade and the risks it poses to the existing financial system. A section of the report dedicated to stablecoins discussed the central role that it plays in the current ecosystem. Stablecoins are increasingly used to interlink various blockchain networks and play a critical role in offering liquidity to the decentralized finance (DeFi) ecosystem. The report further analyzed whether these stablecoins could find a place in the traditional financial system, but concluded that a lack of regulatory oversight added to the recent …

The Financial Services and Markets Authority (FSMA), the Belgian regulator, is seeking comments on its communication on the classification of crypto assets as securities, investment instruments or financial instruments. Aimed at issuers, offerors and service providers, the agency’s communication will serve as guidance to the existing order until European regulatory harmonization is achieved. The communication is meant to address frequently asked questions and is not exhaustive. It is accompanied by a stepwise chart to help its readers determine the classification of an asset. Crypto assets that are incorporated into an instrument, as is generally the case for assets that are …

Major cryptocurrency exchange BitMEX is working to increase compliance with the European sanctions against Russia by preparing to enforce major restrictions for its Russian users. BitMEX is changing its restricted jurisdictions policy to be compliant with various restrictive measures of the European Union, Cointelegraph has learned. The BitMEX crypto exchange notified a group of potentially affected users about the upcoming changes via email on Monday. According to an email seen by Cointelegraph, Russian citizens or residents will no longer be able to access BitMEX services from the European Union after July 11, 2022. That means that such users will not …

According to European parliament member and rapporteur for the Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) regulation Stefan Berger, the deal on landmark pan-European Union regulation has finally been struck amid the Tripartite negotiations. It “will put an end to the crypto wild west,” as French Minister for the Economy Bruno Le Maire hopes. Still, while raising a modest optimism among some stakeholders, MiCa’s final draft will surely make life harder for others. A prime example here is the case with stablecoins, which would get a daily transaction cap of 200 million euros under the new regulation. With Tether (USDT) and USD Coin’s …

The European Central Bank, or ECB, will reportedly be preparing to implement a new law by warning European Union member states about the necessity of harmonizing regulations for crypto. According to a Sunday report from the Financial Times, the ECB was concerned about the possible regulatory overlap between respective central banks in the EU and crypto companies as officials prepare to implement the Markets in Crypto-Assets, or MiCA, framework. The European Parliament, European Commission and European Council reached an agreement on June 30 to bring crypto issuers and service providers within their jurisdictional control under a single regulatory framework. Regulators …

Officials from the European Union have agreed on a landmark law that will make life tougher for crypto issuers and service providers under a new single regulatory framework. Stefan Berger, European Parliament member and rapporteur for the MiCA regulation — the person appointed to report on proceedings related to the bill — broke the news on Twitter, saying that a “balanced” deal had been struck, which has made the EU the first continent with crypto-asset regulation. MiCA Trilog: Durchbruch! Europa ist der erste Kontinent mit einer Krypto-Asset Regulierung. Parlament, Kommission & Rat haben sich auf ausgewogene #MiCA geeinigt. Für mich …

The European Council has reached an agreement to form an Anti-Money Laundering (AML) body that will have the authority to supervise certain crypto asset service providers, or CASPs. In a Wednesday announcement, the council said it had agreed on a partial position of a proposal to launch a dedicated Anti-Money Laundering Authority, or AMLA. According to the regulatory body, the AML body will have the authority to supervise “high-risk and cross-border financial entities” including crypto firms — “if they are considered risky.” European Parliament member Ondřej Kovařík said European Union officials had also reached a “provisional political agreement” on the …

A week after the major American crypto lending platform Celsius had to freeze the withdrawal option for its users, European Central Bank (ECB) president Christine Lagarde voiced her conviction on the necessity of tighter scrutiny over this part of the crypto market. During a testimony before the European Parliament on Monday, Lagarde expressed her thoughts not only about the looming inflation in Europe and around the globe but also about the increasing activities of crypto-asset staking and lending. In Lagarde’s opinion, this trend demands additional regulatory efforts from the European Union. Referring to the major regulatory package making its way …

After Norway and Liechtenstein, Ukraine became the third country outside the European Union to join the European Blockchain Partnership (EBP), an initiative derived by 27 member states to deliver cross-border public services. The Ministry of Digital Transformation of Ukraine announced the country’s move to join the EBP as an observer on Friday. With the ultimate goal of integrating its digital economic space with the EU, Ukraine plans to expand its interstate blockchain network partnership with other countries. Ukraine’s intent to join the EBP dates back to July 2021, when Oleksii Zhmerenetskyi, head of parliamentary group Blockchain4Ukraine, and Konstantin Yarmolenko, founder …