license

The cryptocurrency market maker Flowdesk, supported by Coinbase, has obtained a full brokerage license issued by Dubai VARA, allowing it to provide compliant services to local institutional investors.

Coinbase posted on the X platform stating that the company has designated the Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM) as its international tokenization center. After obtaining the new FSRA license, the company can now offer global securities to any user with a wallet.Coinbase stated that the next frontier of global finance is the on-chain space, and the company is advancing related developments from the UAE.

The fintech company and crypto-friendly bank Revolut announced that it has obtained a banking license in France, becoming the second full banking license the company has acquired in the EU after Lithuania. The license was jointly reviewed by the French Prudential Supervision and Resolution Authority (ACPR) and the European Central Bank, and approved by the Governing Council of the European Central Bank. After obtaining the license, Revolut Bank S.A. will be able to offer a wider range of banking services in France, including loans, mortgages, and regulated savings products. France is one of Revolut's largest markets in Western Europe.Previously, the company primarily operated in France under its Lithuanian banking license, mainly providing payment and financial services. Following this licensing, Revolut will gradually migrate its French operations to the new French banking entity and plans to subsequently expand to Germany, Ireland, Italy, Portugal, and Spain. Revolut stated that it has invested over 1 billion euros in the Western European market over the past few years and has created over 600 new jobs locally, with plans to establish its Western European headquarters in Paris by 2027. However, the license comes with regulatory conditions. Reports suggest that the European Central Bank may impose restrictions on new products for Revolut's French operations, similar to the regulatory measures previously implemented on its Lithuanian entity, which may affect the speed of launching loan and savings products.This year, Revolut has continued to advance its global regulatory expansion. The company obtained a full banking license in the UK in March 2026 and a full banking license in Australia in July. Currently, Revolut covers 40 markets, with its valuation rising to $115 billion after secondary stock trading in 2026.

According to Cointelegraph, cryptocurrency service company Blockchain.com has obtained a Virtual Asset Service Provider (VASP) custody license issued by the Cayman Islands Monetary Authority (CIMA), allowing it to provide regulated crypto custody services in the Cayman Islands. The license was approved on July 22, 2026, after CIMA granted conditional approval in December 2025.The license also allows Blockchain.com to offer cryptocurrency to fiat exchange and exchange services between cryptocurrencies. Blockchain.com has held VASP registration in the Cayman Islands since May 2022.Blockchain.com Co-CEO Lane Kasselman stated that the CIMA license continues the company's recent regulatory progress, including obtaining a license under the Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA) in Europe and completing registration with the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) in the UK.

Circle Internet Group (NYSE: CRCL) announced its Q2 2026 financial report, with total revenue and reserve income of $701 million, a year-on-year increase of 7%; adjusted EBITDA of $143 million, a year-on-year increase of 8%; and net profit of $48 million, a year-on-year increase of $530 million (mainly affected by last year's IPO equity incentives). The circulation of USDC reached $73.3 billion, a year-on-year increase of 19%, with on-chain transaction volume of $14.8 trillion for the quarter, a year-on-year increase of 151%.In terms of business, Circle received approval from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) to establish Circle National Trust, a federal trust bank, becoming one of the first stablecoin issuers to hold a federal banking license. The Arc public blockchain will launch its mainnet on September 16, with more than ten institutions including BlackRock, DTCC, Visa, Mastercard, and Standard Chartered serving as founding third-party verification nodes. BlackRock plans to deploy the BUIDL fund on Arc, while DTCC will promote the tokenization of DTC custodial assets. The Circle Payment Network (CPN) achieved an annualized transaction volume of $14.7 billion in the past 30 days, a quarterly increase of 76%, with 175 institutions onboarded, a quarterly increase of 29%. The Agent Stack now offers over 900 paid services.

Cryptocurrency platform Bybit announced that its local subsidiary Bybit Payments GmbH has been granted an Electronic Money Institution (EMI) license by the Austrian Financial Market Authority (FMA), allowing it to provide regulated electronic money and payment services in Europe through Bybit.eu.Bybit EU GmbH has been authorized as a crypto asset service provider under the EU's Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCAR) since May 2025. Bybit stated that Bybit Payments will be responsible for fiat and electronic money operations, while Bybit EU GmbH will handle digital asset operations. Bybit Payments plans to launch peer-to-peer transfers, open banking features, merchant solutions, card programs, and strong customer authentication tools based on the EMI framework. Company representatives indicated that this license will support its direct collaboration with European financial institutions and payment processors.

According to Bloomberg, digital asset broker FalconX has cut 10% of its global workforce to cope with a prolonged downturn in the crypto market. Sources say that about half of the employees in its Singapore office were laid off, including senior management as well as staff in sales and accounting positions.FalconX is adjusting its business strategy in Singapore, focusing on crypto derivatives trading that does not require relevant licenses, and plans to withdraw its license application submitted to the Monetary Authority of Singapore. The company stated that it will concentrate resources on priority businesses while continuing to maintain its operations in the Asia-Pacific region and expand its regulated business in Europe.FalconX currently has about 350 employees worldwide and has seven offices in locations such as Silicon Valley, New York, London, Singapore, and Hong Kong. Over the past 18 months, the company has acquired derivatives startup Arbelos Markets, crypto exchange-traded product issuer 21Shares, and blockchain trading and network technology company bloXroute.FalconX is the latest crypto company to lay off employees, following Crypto.com, Coinbase, and Gemini. Reports indicate that the industry is facing a prolonged bear market, cost pressures, and the impact of advancements in AI technology. Since its establishment in 2018, FalconX has facilitated approximately $2.5 trillion in trading volume and completed a $150 million Series D funding round in 2022 at a valuation of $8 billion.

Circle announced that the New York State Department of Financial Services has granted its subsidiary Circle Internet Trust Company LLC a limited purpose trust charter. This charter will further strengthen the regulatory foundation of the company and USDC.Circle stated that the New York trust charter reflects the company's commitment to safety, transparency, and compliance standards. In 2015, Circle became the first company to obtain a BitLicense from the New York State Department of Financial Services, thereby establishing a long-term regulatory relationship with the agency.Circle co-founder, chairman, and CEO Jeremy Allaire stated that obtaining the New York trust charter has always been a long-term goal for the company, and the regulatory clarity brought by this charter will place USDC within a strong and recognized regulatory framework as digital dollars increasingly become a core component of the global financial system.

Hyperliquid News posted on platform X that the HIP-4 permissionless deployment has gone live on the testnet.

Cryptocurrency payment company Alchemy Pay recently obtained a Money Transmitter License (MTL) in the state of Michigan, increasing the number of state-level MTL licenses held in the U.S. to 19. Following the acquisition of the MTL in Illinois, this new license further expands Alchemy Pay's compliant payment coverage in key economic regions of the United States.

HashKey Holdings Limited's latest announcement states that its wholly-owned subsidiary HKDAG SG has entered into a non-binding framework agreement with the major shareholders of the Singapore Derivatives Exchange APEX regarding a potential acquisition of all its equity. The acquisition price and payment arrangements have yet to be determined.According to HashKey, APEX holds a recognized exchange license issued by the Monetary Authority of Singapore, and its member company Asia Pacific Clear holds a recognized clearing house license, possessing comprehensive issuance and clearing capabilities. HashKey indicated that if the acquisition is completed, it will help establish a more scalable regulated presence in Singapore.The announcement also emphasizes that the proposed acquisition is subject to the execution of final documents and obtaining approval from MAS before it can be finalized. As of the announcement date, neither party has executed any final documents, nor has MAS approval been obtained, and the transaction may or may not proceed.

According to the open-source dataset from NeobankBeat as of July 2026, there are 368 neobanks globally that are still actively operating, serving approximately 1.46 billion users. Among them, Asian users account for 817 million (with WeBank alone serving over 400 million people), and Brazil's Nubank has 131 million customers, surpassing the total of all U.S. neobanks. Out of the 368, only 127 hold a full banking license, with two-thirds relying on partner banks, electronic money licenses, or issuing institutions to operate, leaving customers largely unaware of the actual custodian of their funds.Among the neobanks established in the 2020s that are still alive today, 30% are Web3 native self-custody applications (compared to only 4% in the 2010s). This dataset audits the AI application status of the 368 one by one, revealing that only 67 (18%) have evidence of production-level AI deployment, with leaders mostly being lending institutions from emerging markets like Nigeria, the Philippines, and Mexico. The report warns that 106 infrastructure providers support 368 consumer brands, with a few partner banks and BaaS platforms each supporting dozens of brands, creating concentration risk that could lead to the next Synapse-like event.

According to official news, Raydium announced the launch of permissioned automated market makers (AMM) and permissioned pools, open to asset issuers that need to meet KYC or regulatory requirements.Issuers can directly access the liquidity infrastructure on the Solana chain while maintaining participant access control, establishing a compliant secondary trading market.

According to the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission, Victory Securities Limited has been reprimanded and fined HKD 1.7 million for violating regulatory requirements, and its responsible personnel's licenses have been temporarily revoked.Previously, Hong Kong Victory Securities announced in February this year that it would close all virtual currency trading functions for users with mainland Chinese identities, retaining only withdrawal permissions and no longer supporting deposits and new transactions. The platform's gradual tightening of services for mainland users includes previous measures such as prohibiting purchases and suspending new address verification, aimed at complying with the regulatory requirements of the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission and relevant policies in the mainland.

According to a report by Reuters, the Chief Minister of Johor, Malaysia, stated on Tuesday that the Johor state government has noted and fully supports the decision made at the special meeting of the municipal hall: to revoke the business license of NS0 Malaysia Sdn. Bhd. (Network School) located in Forest City, and to order it to cease all activities starting from July 22, 2026.He stated that this decision was made in accordance with due process and relevant legal provisions, and was ultimately decided after a comprehensive review of the law enforcement inspection report, investigation results, and the statements submitted by the company.Network School had previously attracted widespread attention due to allegations on social media. Some netizens claimed that the project accepted participants from Israel, while Malaysia has not established diplomatic relations with Israel.

Cryptocurrency payment company BitPay announced that it has obtained approval from the Dutch Authority for the Financial Markets to acquire a cryptocurrency asset service provider license, allowing it to operate in EU member states under the regulatory framework for cryptocurrency markets. BitPay stated that this license will support the company's expansion of cryptocurrency payment and stablecoin payment services in Europe.According to relevant requirements, starting from July 1, all entities providing cryptocurrency-related services must be regulated. BitPay's European head, Jonathan Arler, stated that Europe is one of the most important regions for the future development of payments. Previously, Ripple announced that it had obtained a cryptocurrency asset service provider license issued by the Luxembourg financial regulator.

Cryptocurrency trading and liquidity service provider Cumberland announced on platform X that its Singapore subsidiary Cumberland SG Pte. Ltd. has obtained the MPI license issued by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), allowing it to provide Digital Payment Token (DPT) services and cross-border money transfer services.

Cryptocurrency trading and liquidity service provider Cumberland announced on platform X that its Singapore subsidiary Cumberland SG Pte. Ltd. has obtained the MPI license issued by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), allowing it to conduct Digital Payment Token (DPT) services and cross-border money transfer services.

According to Finance Magnates, Webull EU has obtained a MiCA license issued by the Dutch regulatory authority. This is also one of the first significant approvals of cryptocurrency licenses in the market after the transition period ended on July 1. Webull plans to use this license to launch cryptocurrency trading and custody services in Europe by the end of 2026.Webull Securities (Europe) CEO Andries van Luijk stated that this move is an important milestone in the company's expansion in the European market, and Webull will provide users with "secure and compliant digital asset services" under the EU's unified regulatory framework. According to reports, after the implementation of MiCA, the number of licensed cryptocurrency institutions in Europe is now close to 200.