Crypto regulation and crime are in sharp focus today as New Zealand bans crypto ATMs and tightens overseas transfer rules in a sweeping anti-money laundering overhaul, while US authorities charge two men in the $650 million OmegaPro fraud case. Meanwhile, North Korea escalates its use of Europeans as fronts in crypto hiring scams, and South Korea considers granting venture company status to crypto firms, potentially unlocking new government support.
New Zealand has banned crypto ATMs and imposed a $5,000 cap on overseas cash transfers as part of a major overhaul of its anti-money laundering regime. The country, which had 221 crypto ATMs nationwide, is joining other nations in restricting crypto kiosks amid growing concerns about financial crime and money laundering.
US federal prosecutors have charged two men for allegedly operating the OmegaPro cryptocurrency investment scheme, which promised investors 300% returns. The scheme is accused of defrauding victims of more than $650 million, with funds vanishing into crypto and foreign exchange trading.
North Korea is increasingly hiring Europeans to act as fronts during job interviews with cryptocurrency firms, according to warnings from companies and recruiters. The trend is reportedly worsening, raising concerns about the scale and sophistication of these hiring scams.
South Korea's startup ministry is seeking to reclassify crypto trading and brokerage firms as "venture companies," a move that would allow these firms to register for government benefits and subsidies.
Huione-linked wallets have transferred nearly $1 billion in USDT to centralized crypto exchanges since the U.S. Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) imposed restrictions on U.S. financial institutions interacting with the group.
ReserveOne, a cryptocurrency holding company backed by industry veterans and a former U.S. commerce secretary, announced it will go public on the Nasdaq through a blank-check (SPAC) deal expected to raise more than $1 billion.
Shares of bitcoin miner Core Scientific (CORZ) fell sharply after CoreWeave (CRWV) announced a $9 billion all-stock acquisition of the company. The deal led broker H.C. Wainwright to downgrade Core Scientific to neutral from buy, citing increased risk exposure and added complexity from the merger. The acquisition has sparked analyst doubts and negative investor reaction, resulting in a significant drop in Core Scientific's stock price.
Japanese investment firm Metaplanet recorded a trading volume of $12.8 billion in June, nearly doubling its May total and surpassing major companies like Toyota Motor and Sony Group on the Tokyo Standard Market. The surge comes as Metaplanet continues to accumulate Bitcoin and explores using its crypto holdings to acquire cash-generating businesses, including a potential digital bank in Japan.
Trump Media & Technology Group has filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission to launch an exchange-traded fund that would invest in multiple major cryptocurrencies, including bitcoin, ether, solana, and ripple. The proposed ETF, linked to the Trump brand and Truth Social platform, aims to track a selection of digital assets as part of the company's expanding digital asset franchise.
Robinhood CEO Vlad Tenev confirmed in a CNBC interview that the platform's tokens offering exposure to OpenAI are not direct equity, but are backed by Robinhood's ownership stake in a special purpose vehicle. Despite OpenAI's objection to the tokenization of its private stock, Robinhood aims to expand this model to include thousands of private companies on its platform.
Robinhood is in discussions with European regulators about its new initiative to offer blockchain-based stock tokens. The company's EU tokenized equity launch has attracted significant interest from private companies as well as increased regulatory scrutiny.
BioSig, a Nasdaq-listed company, and Streamex, a tokenization specialist, plan to merge and launch a gold-backed treasury business, targeting the tokenized commodities market. The companies have arranged $1.1 billion in financing to support this initiative, marking BioSig's recent move into real-world asset tokenization following its merger with Streamex.
BBVA has introduced cryptocurrency trading for retail customers in Spain, enabling millions to buy, sell, and hold bitcoin and ether directly through its mobile banking platform.
Russian companies are successfully using netting, gold, and cryptocurrency to facilitate cross-border payments, according to the head of Russia's financial watchdog, who reported these developments to President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday.
Crypto venture funding reached $10.03 billion in the second quarter of 2025, marking its strongest performance since early 2022. June alone accounted for $5.14 billion of the total raised.
Insurance is described as a core component of financial markets, providing essential risk quantification that enables capital commitment. The discussion highlights that since the 1600s, no major financial ecosystem has succeeded without robust insurance mechanisms, emphasizing the need for similar structures in decentralized finance (DeFi).
R0AR has introduced a multifunctional DeFi platform designed to integrate governance features, AI tools, and yield-related mechanisms within a single interface. Built on R0ARchain, a custom Layer 2 utilizing the Optimism OP Stack, the platform consolidates wallet functionality, trading, staking, and AI-powered insights. This unified, enterprise-grade system aims to streamline the fragmented experiences currently found in decentralized finance, as the DeFi sector approaches a projected $231 billion market value by 2030.
Nereus Finance, a decentralized derivatives trading platform on Polygon, has launched the Nereus Airdrop Campaign, offering users the chance to earn up to $3,000 each in staked NRS tokens (veNRS) by participating in on-chain actions, social quests, and community engagement tasks.
Most blockchain platforms claim to promote financial inclusion, but few are accessible to people without internet access, smartphones, or formal identification. Dr. Philip Blazdell, CEO of Fedrok AG, argues that the industry must urgently address these gaps to truly serve unbanked and offline populations.
Crypto Mining Firm has introduced a new app-based cloud mining platform aimed at making cryptocurrency mining accessible to a broader range of users. The platform, which supports assets such as BTC, XRP, DOGE, SOL, and ETH, is designed to lower the entry threshold for investors by offering simplified participation, efficient mining operations, and advanced technical support.
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