Blocknox, a subsidiary of Boerse Stuttgart Digital Ventures GmbH that has provided cryptocurrency custody service on an escrow basis, is looking to expand the service to its institutional clients. Boerse Stuttgart revealed the plans in a Feb. 18 tweet, detailing that Blocknox’s crypto custody offer will also be available to fintech companies, banks and asset managers. In a separate announcement on the exchange’s website, managing directors at Blocknox Raphael Polansky and Dr. Ulli Spankowski said: “With regard to the new legal regulation of crypto custody in Germany as of 1 January 2020, blocknox has already announced its intent to the …

Soccer fans in Europe will join the ranks of early blockchain adopters thanks to a new initiative by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA). According to a Feb. 17 announcement, UEFA will distribute over one million soccer match tickets via a blockchain-enabled mobile application. The organization claims that this new ticketing system will make “entry into the stadium smooth, safe and secure.” The new blockchain-based mobile ticketing solution is meant to prevent the duplication and replication of tickets by “QR codes only being activated by Bluetooth once fans are in close proximity to the stadium.” The app will be …

The European Union lately has been a hotbed for political and regulatory developments that could have a considerable impact on the day-to-day operations of the continent’s financial service providers. While the United Kingdom finally following through on its pledge to leave the bloc introduced political uncertainty for businesses with U.K. operations, implementation of new EU-wide Anti-Money Laundering legislation brought about regulatory certainty — along with the compliance burden that invariably comes with it. On another note, European financial authorities are increasingly vocal about their intentions to create a new regulatory framework for digital assets that would balance robust security measures …

Ukrainian authorities said that crypto mining does not require regulatory activity from governmental oversight bodies or other third-party regulations. In its manifest on virtual assets published on Feb. 7, the Ministry of Digital Transformation of Ukraine stated that mining does not require regulation by state authorities as this activity is regulated by the protocol itself and network members. The regulator’s contribution to the industry The agency further outlined that it will contribute to the development and implementation of decentralized technologies, as well as establish sandboxes for their evaluation and verification, and assessment of potential risks to the market. The agency …

Major digital asset financial services firm BitGo is expanding its global reach by setting up two new regulated custodial entities in Europe. BitGo, a United States-based firm that claims to process over 20% of all Bitcoin (BTC) transactions, has established new custodial subsidiaries in Switzerland and Germany, the company announced Feb. 10. As the two new entities are regulated by different financial authorities, BitGo intends to allow its clients to choose the jurisdiction that is best suited to their business. As such, BitGo GmbH, the Swiss entity of BitGo, is a member of the country’s major self-regulatory organization, the Financial …

Binance, one of the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchanges, is planning to further bolster its fiat-to-crypto gateways by hiring a former TradingView exec. Iskander Malikov, a former chief operating officer at major trading chart analysis service TradingView, has joined Binance as the new director of fiat, the exchange announced Feb. 6. Former TradingView COO to focus on fiat-to-crypto gateways in Europe and CIS After serving for over three years at TradingView, Malikov will be now focused on fiat-to-crypto channels in regions across Europe and the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS). The former TradingView executive will primarily work on establishing new gateways …

Six major central banks will meet in April to discuss the development of central bank digital currencies (CBDC). The Japan Times reported on Feb. 6 that — according to a source familiar with the matter — the meeting will see the governors of several central banks discuss joint research on CBDCs. Furthermore, the group will share considerations on possible challenges such as cross-currency settlement and cybersecurity. The central banks of the European Union, the United Kingdom, Canada, Japan, Sweden and Switzerland will reportedly meet in Washington D.C., when the participants will be there for an International Monetary Fund conference. The …

European researchers writing for the Oxford University Faculty of Law blog argue that the distinction between utility and security tokens is less important than most assume when it comes to regulation. In a Feb. 3 blog post and their paper, “Blockchain Startups and Prospectus Regulation,” Dmitri Boreiko, Paolo Giudici and Guido Ferrarini claim that the conceptual difference between the two types of crypto-assets “should be at least partially abandoned.” Dmitri Boreiko is an assistant professor of corporate finance and the Free University of Bolzano-Bozen, where Paolo Giudici is a professor of business law. Guido Ferrarini, for his part, is emeritus …

As the United Kingdom exits the European Union, a new ad campaign by French crypto hardware wallet firm Ledger is reviving one of the most divisive pro-Brexit slogans, “Take Back Control,” to ambiguous effect. An email shared with Cointelegraph on Jan. 30 revealed Ledger’s mock-up of a planned billboard for an installation in London’s Canary Wharf, one of the capital’s prime financial districts. Ledger’s plans for a digital billboard in London’s Canary Wharf. Shared with Cointelegraph via email The billboard reads ”Let’s Take Back Control For Real” — a modified version of the 2016 pro-Brexit campaign’s notorious “Take Back Control” …

Binance, the second-largest cryptocurrency exchange by 24-hour volume, has hired an exec from one of its foremost competitor exchanges, Huobi. According to an announcement shared with Cointelegraph on Jan. 30, Binance has hired Josh Goodbody as its new director of European and Latin American growth and institutional business. Prior to joining Binance, Goodbody worked as head of Europe and Americas at Huobi, where in November 2019 he formed the Global Institutional Business department — a team and line of products specifically targeting institutional products, under which the exchange recently launched its Huobi Brokerage platform. Before Huobi, Goodbody worked as a …

BCB Group, a European crypto-focused payment processor for the likes of major global crypto firms like Coinbase, has secured a license from British regulators. The United Kingdom’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has officially approved the firm’s core subsidiary, BCB Payments, as an authorized payment institution (API), BCB Group announced on Jan. 29. The company is now officially regulated both in the U.K. and Switzerland Having secured an API license from the FCA, BCB Group now holds two regulatory approvals to offer cryptocurrency-related services in Europe. BCB Payments sister firm, BCB OTC Trading SARL, is already regulated in Switzerland as it’s …

The municipality of Zermatt, Switzerland — home to the iconic Matterhorn — is now the second location in Switzerland where taxpayers are officially allowed to pay their taxes in Bitcoin (BTC). In order to unlock the new tax payment option, the authorities of the Zermatt have partnered with Switzerland’s major crypto financial services company Bitcoin Suisse. Bitcoin Suisse to convert Bitcoin into Swiss francs According to an announcement by Bitcoin Suisse, Zermatt started accepting Bitcoin as a means of payment for local taxes and transactions on Jan. 28, 2020. By partnering with Bitcoin Suisse, the authorities of Zermatt are now …