France's national gambling regulator ordered internet service providers to block access to Polymarket on July 16, 2026, escalating a nearly two-year enforcement battle against the crypto prediction market platform over unlicensed gambling, missing identity checks, and a criminal probe into allegedly hacked weather prediction markets.
Read full article →The global anti-money laundering watchdog released its seventh annual crypto crime update on July 16, warning that organised criminal groups are exploiting weak regulation across most of the world to funnel illicit proceeds through digital assets.
Spanish investigators have traced a 13-ton cocaine shipment seized in November 2024 through a chain of financial vehicles that includes a Cayman Islands company listed on NASDAQ, a collapsed Dublin fintech, and roughly €21 million in Dubai property.
The SFC's approval of Baillie Gifford's BAGEY fund marks a legal and structural break from earlier tokenisation attempts, with implications stretching from DeFi protocols to emerging-market investors.
Japan's upper house committee approved on July 15 an amendment reclassifying cryptocurrency as a financial asset, a shift that will slash the maximum tax rate on crypto gains from 55% to 20% and create the legal architecture for spot Bitcoin ETFs to list on the Tokyo Stock Exchange. A full chamber vote is expected to follow as a formality given the ruling Liberal Democratic Party's majority.
Chancellor Rachel Reeves confirmed the Digital Gilt Instrument will run on HSBC's Orion platform, setting up London as a test case for government debt modernization.
Tokyo-based fintech firm Perpetuals.com ended acquisition talks with AI Financial Corporation on July 14, just seven days after the two companies signed a non-binding term sheet, raising fresh questions about the viability of companies built around World Liberty Financial's declining token.