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Gate Europe CEO Dr. Giovanni Cunti posted on LinkedIn that with the rapid proliferation of on-chain financial activities, the technological paradigm of blockchain is expanding from a singular digital asset to the underlying infrastructure of financial markets. In core scenarios such as clearing and settlement, process automation, and cross-market connectivity, blockchain can integrate transaction data into a unified shared ledger and endow it with programmable features, significantly reducing the connection costs between systems and redundant operational processes.Dr. Giovanni Cunti emphasized that the potential of blockchain is by no means limited to the assets themselves. As technology becomes deeply intertwined with the financial system, its empowerment in clearing, automation, and connectivity will drive the construction of a more efficient and closely-knit global financial ecosystem. In the face of investors' growing demand for diverse asset classes and cross-border allocations, financial infrastructure must possess stronger cross-market interoperability. Blockchain can achieve efficient collaboration among market participants and business processes by sharing data and logical code while being compatible with existing financial facilities.He also pointed out that Europe's increasingly clear regulatory framework for digital assets provides solid support for the integration of blockchain into the mainstream financial system. Relying on the MiCA and dual licensing system for payment institutions (PI), Gate Europe will continue to explore the pathways for blockchain to empower real financial activities, creating more compliant and inclusive digital asset services for the European market.

According to Cointelegraph, the cryptocurrency exchange MEXC has chosen Bybit EU, which has obtained MiCAR authorization, as the recommended alternative platform for Dutch users before exiting the Dutch market. MEXC is preparing to cease its related services in the Netherlands and guide local users to migrate to compliant exchanges.Bybit EU has obtained authorization under the EU Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCAR) to provide compliant services in the relevant jurisdictions. This move aims to help Dutch users continue to access trading services after MEXC's exit while complying with local regulatory requirements.

Morphic Financial Group founder and CEO Mateusz Kara wrote in CoinDesk that the MiCA transition period ended on July 1, and the Polish Ministry of Finance confirmed that existing virtual currency registrations no longer constitute a legal basis for VASP or CASP operations. Crypto services can only be provided by entities holding valid MiCA authorization. Poland previously had about 2,000 registered virtual asset service providers, but a domestic political deadlock prevented the establishment of a viable authorization pathway. Germany issued 57 licenses, France and the Netherlands each issued 26, while Greece, Hungary, Poland, and Romania collectively issued zero.Kara stated that Polish investors hold about 9.4 billion euros in digital assets, and the relocation of businesses will lead to the loss of compliance teams, capital, and investments, with rebuilding the ecosystem potentially taking years. The compliance costs for MiCA can reach up to 700,000 euros, and serious violations could face fines of several million euros, narrowing the space for small participants. However, he believes that MiCA will be beneficial for the European crypto industry in the long term, as accelerated consolidation will eliminate weak operators and create a safer market. The UK's FCA is also launching a similar system, but Poland may become a sales market for others rather than an active participant in European digital finance construction.

According to Gate Europe CEO Dr. Giovanni Cunti's latest LinkedIn post, the next phase of digital asset adoption may no longer focus on guiding users to crypto platforms, but rather on integrating digital asset capabilities into the financial services that users are already using. Through embedded finance, scenarios such as payments, commerce, and fund transfers can directly connect to digital asset infrastructure, allowing users to access digital asset-related services without changing their existing financial service usage.Dr. Giovanni Cunti also pointed out that this trend is reshaping the competitive logic of the digital asset industry. Liquidity and product capabilities will still be important foundations, but whether payment channels, asset custody, risk management, and compliance systems can achieve synergy in different markets and regulatory environments will become increasingly critical. Europe has significant advantages in this development process, as MiCA is gradually establishing a more unified regulatory framework for digital assets, and the continuous evolution of payment infrastructure is creating new opportunities for compliant digital asset companies to collaborate deeply with the traditional financial system.For Gate Europe, the integration of digital assets and payment systems is becoming an important direction for business development. Relying on the compliance foundation established by the dual licensing system of MiCA and payment institutions (PI), Gate Europe will further promote the connection between digital assets and payment services, as well as a broader financial ecosystem. As digital assets gradually integrate into daily financial activities, they are expected to evolve from independent financial products into a core component of a new generation of financial infrastructure that is more open, interconnected, and programmable.

According to Cointelegraph, the European Commission is assessing whether to include crypto lending (including DeFi vaults) in the Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA). The relevant targeted consultation was launched on May 20, 2026, with a feedback deadline of September 30. MiCA originally excluded crypto lending and completely decentralized activities, but Brussels is currently reviewing these gaps.EU digital asset lawyer Yuriy Brisov stated that there is no category of "vault" in EU law, and lawyers need to define by function rather than label. Vaults decentralize economic functions such as lending across smart contracts and multiple participants (such as owners, curators, distributors, and sentinels in Morpho Vault V2), making it difficult to correspond to a single regulated entity. Cahill partner Jonathan Galea cautioned against treating "DeFi lending" as a single label, as products with different structures may be subject to a one-size-fits-all approach. Curve founder Michael Egorov noted that if included in regulation, they should be treated differently, as DeFi does not require all the protections of traditional lending and may need different rules.

The Hungarian Parliament passed Bill XXXVIII of 2026, which abolishes legal provisions related to cryptocurrency asset conversion services, including the verification requirements that European exchanges must pass to operate legally in Hungary. The bill was voted on and passed on July 31 and came into effect on August 7.This abolition simultaneously cancels two charges related to cryptocurrency assets: unauthorized trading of high-value cryptocurrency assets can result in a maximum of 5 years in prison, and violating verification obligations when providing cryptocurrency exchange services can result in a maximum of 8 years in prison. The relevant provisions were criticized for overlapping with the EU MiCA framework.

According to Decrypt, the Irish government has released its first national anti-money laundering (AML) strategy, which plans to strengthen the review of digital asset transfers involving self-hosted wallets and increase due diligence requirements for crypto companies when cooperating with overseas institutions.According to the announcement from the Irish Department of Finance, this strategy implements the remaining requirements of the EU's Transfer of Funds Regulation, which will require crypto asset service providers (CASP) to perform "enhanced checks" on transfers involving private wallets, while implementing stricter customer due diligence when conducting business with overseas crypto companies.The related measures are based on the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) Travel Rule, which requires the inclusion of sender and receiver information in digital asset transactions to enhance the transparency of fund flows. Ireland stated that the new regulations will be advanced in parallel with the EU's Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA).MiCA establishes a unified regulatory framework for crypto asset service providers, while Ireland previously granted a 12-month transition period for its domestic crypto companies, which is shorter than the maximum 18 months allowed by the EU. The transition period is set to end at the end of December 2025, so the new requirements will directly apply to companies that have obtained formal authorization.

ChianCatcher news, Circle's Senior Director of Strategy and Policy for the EU, Patrick Hansen, pointed out in a tweet that among the approximately 23 authorized electronic money token (EMT) issuers in the EU, only 9 have been granted permission to provide crypto asset services (CASP). This means that only these 9 can offer custody and transfer services for the stablecoins they issue, while the remaining 14 can only mint or burn tokens directly to customer wallets and cannot hold or send stablecoins on behalf of customers. This greatly limits the range of services that issuers can provide.Hansen stated that Circle has obtained the necessary CASP approval through the MiCA Article 60 notification procedure to provide custody or payment services related to USDC and EURC for institutional clients. He expressed surprise that more EMT issuers have not taken this step. The 9 that can currently offer some crypto asset services include Circle, Société Générale - Forge, CACEIS Bank, Banking Circle, Bridge, Fiat Republic, Newrails, Blue EMI, and Stable Mint.

The Monaco government submitted Bill No. 1131 to the National Council, intending to replace Law No. 1.528 passed in 2022, and to align the regulatory framework for crypto assets more closely with the EU's Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA) and the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) standards.The proposed regulation will clarify the crypto asset services that can be conducted in Monaco and enhance corporate governance, prudential safeguards, and professional conduct requirements. Service providers must obtain prior approval from the Commission de Contrôle des Activités Financières (CCAF), and the relevant licenses must also be jointly reviewed by the Autorité Monégasque de Sécurité Financière and the Agence Monégasque de Sécurité Numérique. The bill also expands the supervisory and enforcement powers of the CCAF. If approved by the National Council, Monaco will further develop supporting implementation rules; Monaco has been placed on the FATF grey list starting in the summer of 2024 and has been included in the European Commission's list of high-risk countries for money laundering.

According to the official announcement, Bitget has added 25 stock spot rTokens including rHPQ (HP), rRL (Ralph Lauren), rBAP (Credicorp), rCTSH (Cognizant), and rDOW (Dow Chemical), covering multiple sectors such as finance, consumer goods, and utilities. As of now, the Bitget platform supports a total of 660 US stock tokens.It is reported that the rTokens, identified by the letter r + stock code (for example, Nvidia is rNVDA), are issued by Reality, a licensed RWA protocol under Bitget, and are directly connected to global liquidity pools such as Nasdaq and NYSE through collaboration with the compliant brokerage Alpaca. Their features include: 1:1 reserves of underlying assets held by licensed custodians, stock dividends distributed in token form at a 1:1 ratio, support for corporate actions (such as stock splits and consolidations) being mapped in real-time, and positions can serve as joint collateral for unified accounts and U-based contracts, allowing users to flexibly manage funds while holding global stock assets.

According to Cointelegraph, the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) updated the MiCA registration list this Wednesday, with the Slovenian electronic money institution Dinaro officially joining the list of electronic money token (EMT) issuers, becoming the first institution from Slovenia to enter this list. Dinaro is regulated by the Bank of Slovenia and provides payment services including issuing and acquiring, and holds principal membership with Mastercard.After this update, the total number of EMT registrations has reached 43, the asset-referenced token (ART) list remains empty, and the list of non-compliant entities remains unchanged at 167. In terms of crypto asset service provider (CASP) registrations, the Czech Partners Banka and Germany's Volksbank Beilstein-Ilsfeld-Abstatt have been added, bringing the total number of registrations to 325; the Czech company Altlift, which was added to the list in early July, has been removed.

The European Union (EU) has decided to review the current regulatory framework for crypto assets and stablecoins, even as the European Commission's Directorate-General for Financial Stability, Financial Services and Capital Markets Union is still consulting on whether to review the MiCA-related stablecoin provisions. This review aims to address the issue of non-EU stablecoin issuers being unable to obtain licenses due to current requirements.The review will be influenced by the passage of the U.S. GENIUS Act and the Trump administration's push for stablecoin policies. The current framework does not include major foreign stablecoin issuers, including Tether, and Patrick Hansen, Senior Director of Stablecoin Strategy and Policy at Circle, stated that this leaves European crypto users unprotected or isolated. EU diplomats will also assess whether to expand the scope of MiCA to include tokenized payment methods and tokenized deposits. The transition period for MiCA, aimed at crypto asset service providers, ended on July 1, and the framework was approved by the EU Council on May 16, 2023, with some provisions based on market conditions from over three years ago.

According to Cointelegraph, Bridge, a stablecoin infrastructure company under Stripe, has officially joined the EU Crypto Asset Market Regulation (MiCA) registry through its Luxembourg entity, Bridge Building. Previously, Bridge obtained authorization as a Crypto Asset Service Provider (CASP) under the MiCA framework and received an Electronic Money Institution (EMI) license from the Luxembourg Financial Supervisory Authority (CSSF) on July 2.Mai Leduc Blount, Head of Products at Bridge, stated that the aforementioned approvals will allow EU businesses to build stablecoins and payment products within a compliant framework. According to the latest update from the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA), Bridge's inclusion increases the total number of EU-authorized Electronic Money Token (EMT) issuers to 42; during the same period, three institutions from Germany newly obtained CASP authorization, raising the total number of EU-authorized CASPs to 324.

Circle's Senior Director of Strategy and Policy, Patrick Hansen, stated that after the comprehensive implementation of the EU's Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA), licenses have been issued for 35 electronic currency tokens from 21 issuers, and local issuers are making good progress. Patrick Hansen pointed out that the strict regulations of MiCA have made it impossible for most major stablecoin issuers, including Tether, to meet operational requirements. Currently, only USDG, USDC, and EURC comply with the framework requirements, while other stablecoins fall outside the regulatory scope of MiCA, leaving EU users unprotected or unable to access services.He believes that the upcoming review of MiCA should address this issue and provide a more pragmatic operational pathway for foreign issuers. The EU's Directorate-General for Financial Stability, Financial Services, and Capital Markets Union launched a public consultation on May 20 to assess whether the current framework is still applicable, with the consultation continuing until September 30.

According to the Financial Times in the UK, scammers are exploiting the new EU MiCA regulations to target users who are forced to withdraw assets from unlicensed crypto platforms after the licensing deadline. The fraudsters impersonate regulatory agencies and crypto exchanges to lure users into transferring funds to fake accounts.

On July 31, the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) updated the registration list for the Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA), adding 12 companies. This is the fourth update since the transition deadline on July 1, bringing the total number of authorized Crypto Asset Service Providers (CASP) under MiCA to 321.The newly added entities include three cooperative banks from Germany: Volksbank Raiffeisenbank Oberbayern Südost, VR Bank Schleswig-Holstein Mitte, and VR-Bank Landau-Mengkofen; Spain's Basque Pay and Fintech Payments; as well as France's Finary, Woorton, Blockchain Process Security, and Shares Financial Assets. ESMA also added Cervo Rendisco, Flandenzo, and Corona Fondenza to the list of non-compliant entities, with the relevant markings coming from the Italian securities regulator Commissione Nazionale per le Società e la Borsa (CONSOB). The non-compliant entity list currently contains 167 items.This update did not involve any other changes to the MiCA-related registration lists. The number of authorized Electronic Money Token (EMT) issuers remains at 41, and there are currently no entities on the registration list for Asset-Referenced Tokens (ART).

According to Bitcoin.com, Fireblocks released the 2026 "Financial Grid" survey report, which covered over 600 executives. The report shows that 99% of institutions on the European continent and 100% of institutions in the UK expect regulatory policies to support the development of digital assets. Influenced by the clarity of the MiCA regulatory framework, 53% of European institutions have completed funding commitments before 2026, higher than the global average of 42%; in the UK, due to the regulatory framework still being developed, this figure is only 36%, but another 59% of UK institutions plan to complete budget allocations within 2026.In terms of product layout, European institutions lead in tokenized money market funds (62% vs 45%) and tokenized securities; the UK is more aggressive in stablecoin issuance, with 50% of institutions planning to issue stablecoins independently, higher than Europe's 40%. Both major markets list around-the-clock settlement and real-time payments as primary application scenarios.

Circle's Senior Director of Strategy and Policy for the EU, Patrick Hansen, pointed out that since the implementation of the EU's Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA), approximately 35 electronic money tokens (EMT) from 21 institutions have obtained compliance certification, with banks and electronic money institutions entering the market, showing a good momentum for local issuance.However, among the top 50 stablecoins globally, currently only USDC, USDG, and EURC meet MiCA requirements, while the rest remain outside the regulatory framework, leaving EU users facing a dual dilemma of lack of protection or being forced to cut off access. Hansen believes that for MiCA to truly become a global regulatory blueprint, it must achieve two goals simultaneously: first, to promote local EMTs to go global with competitive systems; second, to establish a recognition mechanism for compliant stablecoins from abroad, attracting global issuers into the MiCA regulatory framework, rather than making local issuance the only entry path.

According to Cointelegraph, the Hungarian Parliament voted to abolish the previously mandated cryptocurrency asset verification requirements that were set to take effect on July 1, 2025. This requirement mandated that specific cryptocurrency conversions must be verified by a licensed third party regarding the source of assets, wallet ownership, and customer information before execution. Finance Minister Kármán András stated that the previously stringent regulatory requirements had led to several service providers exiting the Hungarian market, and the market is currently showing signs of recovery.Meanwhile, the Hungarian National Bank (MNB) officially granted the first local license under the EU MiCA framework to Budapest-based cryptocurrency platform CoinCash operator Tiwala Solutions on July 20, authorizing a range of services including custody, cryptocurrency exchange for fiat, cryptocurrency swaps, transfers, investment advice, and portfolio management.