license

Vietnam plans to issue licenses to the first batch of cryptocurrency service providers under a pilot legal framework in 2026, allowing the first digital asset platforms to begin operations. Nguyen Duc Chi, Deputy Minister of Finance of Vietnam, met with Mariana Kuhnel, Executive Director of the Austrian Financial Market Authority (FMA), in Vienna to discuss bilateral cooperation and the exchange of financial regulatory experiences.Vu Thi Chan Phuong, Chairwoman of the State Securities Commission of Vietnam, stated that the regulatory mechanism will cover service providers and investor transactions, focusing on risk management, investor asset protection, and anti-money laundering. Kuhnel proposed that both parties hold an online technical seminar and strengthen coordination through the International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO).

Stablecoin infrastructure company Bastion announced that the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) has granted it preliminary conditional approval for a national trust bank charter. This charter allows Bastion to incorporate stablecoin issuance, custody, and exchange products under the same federal regulatory entity, adding OCC federal oversight on top of its existing state licenses. The company will operate under the name Bastion Platforms National Trust Company, providing stablecoin custody and wallets, payment infrastructure, and white-label issuance services.Bastion previously obtained a New York trust license in February 2025. Under the new charter, the company will offer custodial services for USDC and other digital assets compliant with the GENIUS Act, as well as white-label stablecoin wallet and issuance services (minting, redemption, and exchange), and continue to provide technology and operational infrastructure to other regulated issuers. Bastion itself does not issue stablecoins but primarily provides technology, operations, and compliance stacks for enterprise stablecoin projects.Bastion also appointed four new advisors: Colleen Taylor (Board, former President of American Express U.S. Merchant Services), Michael Patterson (Board, former Chief Compliance Officer of Genesis), Stuart Breslow (Advisor, former Chief Compliance Officer of Morgan Stanley), and Gabriella Fitzgerald (Advisor, former CEO of Optum Financial Medical Payments).

According to Cointelegraph, in response to a previous report by The Wall Street Journal regarding European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde pressuring Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis to block Binance's MiCA license application, a Binance spokesperson told Cointelegraph that they "do not comment on speculative reports" and reiterated their intention to seek long-term compliance under the EU MiCA framework.Previously, Binance applied for a MiCA license in Greece in January 2026. In mid-June, reports indicated that the Hellenic Capital Market Commission (HCMC) planned to reject the application. Binance subsequently withdrew the application a few days before the MiCA deadline on July 1, stating that they would seek authorization from other EU member states. The European Central Bank and the Hellenic Capital Market Commission have not responded to the related reports.

Cointelegraph cited a report from The Wall Street Journal stating that European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde personally intervened to prevent Binance from obtaining a license across the European Union.

Uniswap founder Hayden Adams retweeted a comment letter from U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Commissioner Hester Peirce supporting autonomous decentralized systems, pointing out that the most favorable news for automated market makers (AMM) today is Hester Peirce's view that truly decentralized systems driven by autonomous software do not need to obtain exemptions, which corresponds to the permissionless nature of Uniswap.Adams stated that the SEC's innovative exemption applies to permissioned liquidity pools on Uniswap v4, providing a pathway for assets and users with relevant compliance needs to conduct transactions in the U.S., which is expected to promote the adoption of AMM. Uniswap will submit a comment letter with suggestions for improvements.

German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius will meet with U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin in Washington to discuss deepening defense industrial cooperation. The two sides are expected to sign an agreement that will allow European companies to produce some U.S. weapon systems in Europe through licensing. Pistorius stated that this will enhance the readiness capabilities of Germany, the United States, and NATO allies.

After successfully obtaining the Money Transmitter License (MTL) in Florida in July, Gate US has now received the MTL license in Massachusetts this month. So far, the platform has obtained 37 state-level compliance licenses in the United States, covering 47 states and regions. Areas without licenses can conduct related business without such qualifications. This approval further solidifies Gate US's regulatory foundation in the U.S. market and marks another important milestone in its implementation of a global compliance strategy and deepening localized operations.Massachusetts requires money transmission institutions to meet strict standards in financial condition, compliance controls, and operations. Gate US has met these requirements and has been granted the license. Currently, Gate US has established a comprehensive compliance service system in key jurisdictions such as Massachusetts, Florida, Illinois, Ohio, and Pennsylvania.Globally, multiple entities under Gate have obtained regulatory registrations, authorizations, and related compliance licenses in various countries and regions, including Malta, the Bahamas, Japan, the United States, Australia, and Dubai. In the future, Gate US will continue to uphold the principles of safety, transparency, and long-term development, deepen compliance efforts in the U.S. market, and continuously provide trustworthy digital asset services to global users.

The final rules from the Central Bank of Brazil for Virtual Asset Service Providers (VASP) set the minimum capital requirement based on business and risk at approximately 10.8 million to 37.2 million Brazilian Reais (approximately 2.11 million to 7.2 million US dollars), significantly higher than the 1 million to 3 million Brazilian Reais range (approximately 195,000 to 586,000 US dollars) in the consultation draft, and adds requirements for governance, internal controls, anti-money laundering, auditing, and ongoing reporting.Industry estimates suggest there are currently about 150 to 300 related companies, with around 20 to 25 meeting the conditions or willing to apply, and ultimately only about 10 may obtain licenses. Some small platforms have ended or restructured their retail operations.

The payment service provider license of CoolCash (Xiao Yi Payment), the parent company of Tianxu International Technology Co., Ltd., has been revoked by the National Bank of Cambodia and has entered liquidation proceedings. The company and its director, Pang Weizhi, were included in the UK government's sanctions list in March this year due to alleged ties with the Prince Group.The National Bank of Cambodia announced on the 10th that it revoked the payment service provider license of Tianxu International Technology on August 3. This license was issued on May 27, 2024, and was originally valid until 2030. The bank also appointed Morrison Kak MKA Audit Accounting Firm as the liquidator in accordance with Article 68 of the Law on Banking and Financial Institutions to handle liquidation matters and return relevant funds to the company's clients in accordance with the legal priority order.UK sanction documents indicate that Pang Weizhi holds Cambodian and Chinese nationality, with the Cambodian name Pang Visal, and serves as a director of Tianxu International Technology and the parent company of Elephant Delivery, U-Life KH Super App Company Limited. The UK side claims to have reasonable grounds to suspect his ties with the Prince Group and that he has provided financial services or funds, economic resources, goods, or technology to the group. The UK side alleges that the Prince Group is involved in operating scam centers in Cambodia, which include forced labor and serious human rights violations. Tianxu International Technology and Pang Weizhi have been listed as targets of sanctions in both corporate and personal capacities.

According to BBX data, global listed treasury, well-known exchanges, and cross-border clearing platforms disclosed the latest updates yesterday, with the core information as follows:Strive's preferred stock SATA approaches $1 billion, holding over 24,500 coins: The perpetual preferred stock SATA issued by Strive (NASDAQ: $ASST) has a market value nearing $1 billion. Currently, Strive's balance sheet holds a total of 24,531 Bitcoins (worth approximately $1.96 billion). Thanks to an annualized dividend yield of up to 13%, SATA demonstrates strong financing capabilities, helping the company continuously raise funds to allocate BTC. In contrast, the similar preferred stock STRC under another treasury giant Strategy has an annualized dividend yield of 12%, but its secondary market trading price has consistently underperformed its par value, failing to return to the $100 benchmark since May of this year.Gemini obtains a Major Payment Institution license from the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS): Cryptocurrency exchange Gemini officially announced that its Singapore entity, Gemini Digital Payments Singapore, Pte. Ltd. (GDPSPL), has successfully obtained a Major Payment Institution (MPI) license officially issued by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS). After approval, Gemini will be allowed to compliantly provide digital payment tokens (DPT) and compliant cross-border remittance clearing services within Singapore, further solidifying its compliance center layout in the Asia-Pacific region.OSL Group partners with Waka to facilitate stablecoin settlements for trade corridors between Africa and the world: Hong Kong-listed stablecoin payment and trading platform OSL Group (00863.HK) announced a deep cooperation with the payment platform Waka, which connects emerging market liquidity and clearing networks. OSL will deeply integrate institutional-level infrastructure covering stablecoin to USD and USD-native payment capabilities into Waka's clearing system, focusing on empowering seamless cross-border clearing and corporate settlement needs for major trade corridors between Africa and the world.

Cryptocurrency exchange Gemini announced that its subsidiary Gemini Digital Payments Singapore, Pte. Ltd. (GDPSPL) has obtained a Major Payment Institution (MPI) license issued by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), allowing it to provide digital payment token and cross-border remittance services.

Payment company Block, founded by Jack Dorsey, submitted an application to the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) on Tuesday to establish a non-insured national trust bank named Builders Bank & Trust, N.A. Block stated that if approved, the bank would offer custodial and other trust services, including Bitcoin and stablecoins, and the federal charter would establish a federal regulatory framework for some of the custodial services currently offered by Block.Block's application comes at a time when more and more fintech and crypto companies are seeking federal banking charters. Last week, Revolut received conditional approval from the OCC, following approvals for companies like Coinbase, Paxos, BitGo, Ripple, and Circle. The OCC also recently granted conditional approval to World Liberty Financial, supported by the Trump family, which has raised scrutiny in Washington regarding potential conflicts of interest.Since 2025, the OCC has received 40 applications for new bank charters, of which 21 have been approved and 2 have been denied.

The Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission has listed "Jingang Fund/Jingang Coin Issuance Limited" as an unlicensed company. This entity previously claimed to have an address in Hong Kong and provided a Hong Kong phone number.The entity is suspected of conducting unlicensed activities in Hong Kong and targeting Hong Kong investors for promotion, but it has not been licensed or registered with the Securities and Futures Commission to conduct regulated activities in Hong Kong under the Securities and Futures Ordinance. The Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission pointed out that the entity must not engage in any regulated activities in Hong Kong or actively promote its services to the public in Hong Kong (whether within or outside Hong Kong).

Coinflip and its CEO Benjamin Weiss have been accused by the Washington State Department of Financial Institutions (DFI) of violating the Uniform Money Services Act. The DFI seeks to revoke Coinflip's money transmission license, prohibit the company and its related personnel from continuing to operate, and impose a fine of $1,029,600.The DFI stated that an inspection in 2025 found that Coinflip had insufficient anti-money laundering controls, inadequate transaction monitoring, failure to enforce transaction limits, inaccurate regulatory reporting, and unclear fee disclosures. The agency also accused Coinflip of failing to timely refund at least 15 customers as required. The proposed order requires Coinflip to refund eligible customers in Washington State, with customers aged 60 and above eligible for refunds of transaction fees and markup fees. Coinflip and Benjamin Weiss may request an administrative hearing to contest the allegations, refund requirements, license revocation, fines, and industry bans.

According to Bloomberg, citing informed sources, Binance announced in June plans to exit the European Union, and the market generally expected it to be forced out due to not obtaining a MiCA license. However, the July 1 deadline has passed, and Binance is still maintaining operations in the EU through various means.European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde personally intervened to push for Binance's application, which was not approved, and Binance has withdrawn its license application in Greece. Previously, users in six EU countries with local entities were asked to migrate away from the platform, and some users later regained trading access through "reverse solicitation" clauses. Binance has also routed some EU users' trades to its Abu Dhabi entity, which is under different regulations.Currently, the European Securities and Markets Authority has sent a letter requesting confirmation of its orderly exit progress. Binance stated that it is committed to achieving long-term compliant operations under the MiCA framework. Data shows that its global spot trading volume share exceeds 45%, with the euro-denominated trading share around 3% to 4%, which has not changed significantly from before.

According to Cointelegraph, the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) stated that cryptocurrency companies relying on temporary regulatory exemptions must apply for an Australian financial services license or apply to amend their existing licenses by September 30.Starting from October 1, businesses that do not meet the conditions for ASIC's non-action stance and still require authorization may violate the Financial Services Act and face civil or criminal penalties, with fines of up to 10% of annual turnover. ASIC noted that since updating the relevant guidelines in October 2025, it has received over 45 applications for licenses related to digital assets.

Cryptocurrency exchange platform Luno announced that it has received a Class F digital asset business license issued by the Bermuda Monetary Authority. This license provides Luno with a regulated base outside of its core emerging markets, placing it alongside globally recognized operators such as Coinbase, Circle, and Kraken.Luno stated that for B2B and institutional business, Bermuda can extend its crypto-as-a-service and global settlement products to clients outside of Africa and the Asia-Pacific region, establishing a base in a jurisdiction designed for digital assets and modern payments. The license allows for the provision of cryptocurrency, tokenized stocks and commodities, as well as over-the-counter trading of the rand-backed stablecoin ZAR Universal, which is issued by Luno's sister company BlockTowerTech and aimed at institutional use; the global spot market can access all tradable assets from Luno; and wallet infrastructure for secure custody and transfers.Luno claims that for 13 years, by prioritizing regulation and security, it has built trust with millions of customers, and Bermuda is the next step.

The Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission has listed Star Bridge Capital, Star Bridge Capital Group, SBCFX, Star Bridge Capital Group, Star Bridge Capital Pty Limited, and Topical Wealth International Ltd as unlicensed companies, prohibiting them from engaging in any regulated activities in Hong Kong or actively promoting their services to the public in Hong Kong (whether within or outside Hong Kong).Previously, it was reported that Star Bridge Capital experienced an abnormal liquidation incident in London gold trading, and after the incident, the Hong Kong office of the platform was empty. Due to some funds being deposited through USDT stablecoin, tracking the funds has become more difficult. The Hong Kong police have accepted the case and temporarily classified it as fraud, but no arrests have been made yet.