Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, has signed three memorandums of understanding with key entities and institutions in Kazakhstan.

 

In a blog post announcing the agreements, Binance said the MoUs focus on key sectors of Kazakhstan’s economy and were signed with the Ministry of Artificial Intelligence and Digital Development, the National Bank of Kazakhstan, and the Astana International Financial Centre (AIFC).

 

Under the memorandum signed with Kazakhstan’s Ministry of Artificial Intelligence and Digital Development, Binance will cooperate on digital assets, digital and computing infrastructure, and innovative payment solutions, while exploring the possibility of issuing a stablecoin backed by the Kazakhstani tenge.

 

The second memorandum, signed with the National Bank of Kazakhstan, focuses on building payment and digital financial infrastructure, with Binance and the National Bank potentially exploring opportunities to position Kazakhstan as a regional payments and fintech hub.

 

To ensure the initiative is practically implemented and moves beyond a paper plan, Binance and the National Bank of Kazakhstan have already created a roadmap outlining the different phases for building payment infrastructure, obtaining licenses, and launching new payment products.

 

The third memorandum, signed between Binance and the Astana International Financial Centre (AIFC), is aimed at strengthening cooperation under the Investment Tax Residency Programme and expanding the potential use of digital assets as part of Kazakhstan’s modern investment infrastructure.

 

According to Renat Bekturov, Governor of the Astana International Financial Centre, the expansion will enable investors to better access new opportunities within the AIFC ecosystem and contribute to the further development of Kazakhstan’s digital asset market.

 

Standard Chartered, the British multinational banking and financial services group, has expanded its presence in the UAE by launching institutional spot trading for Bitcoin and Ether.

 

While this is not the first time institutional BTC and ETH spot trading has been launched in the UAE, Standard Chartered’s launch is unique, as it is the first Global Systemically Important Bank (G-SIB) to offer institutional Bitcoin and Ether deliverable spot trading in the region and is currently the only global bank offering such capabilities in the Emirates.

 

By launching these institutional grade spot trading services, Standard Chartered enables eligible institutional clients to access deliverable Bitcoin and Ether spot trading through its electronic trading channels.

 

“The UAE has developed a clear digital assets regulatory framework that supports institutional participation and innovation,” Rola Abu Manneh, Chief Executive Officer, UAE, Middle East and Pakistan at Standard Chartered, said.

 

“Extending our Bitcoin and Ether spot trading capability to institutional clients is a significant step in broadening our regulated digital asset proposition in the market. By combining execution with secure custody, governance and the connectivity of a global bank, we are providing clients with a more integrated way to participate in digital asset markets.”

 

The launch of Standard Chartered’s institutional spot trading service came just a few days after the bank became the first authorized bank distributor of the HKD-backed stablecoin developed by Anchorpoint Financial Limited.

 

Standard Chartered has also been involved in several pro crypto and tokenization friendly moves, launches and partnerships. Notable among these was its acquisition of Zodia Custody in May, a move designed to support institutional clients.

 

A consortium of 21 banks and financial institutions has formed a joint venture to potentially launch a stablecoin in the first half of 2027.

 

The consortium, which was first announced in October 2025 and initially comprised just 10 banks, has grown to include 21 major banks across multiple jurisdictions, including North America, Europe, Africa, East Asia and the Middle East.

 

Some of the financial institutions that make up the consortium include Bank of America, Citi, Goldman Sachs, Wells Fargo, Capital One, PNC, Fidelity Investments, WisdomTree, Deutsche Bank, BBVA, MUFG Bank and Standard Bank, among others.

 

With its member institutions now fully established, the consortium plans to launch a yet to be named company in the second half of this year, subject to fulfilling various regulatory requirements.

 

Once established, the company will launch a stablecoin backed by the U.S. dollar for cross border payments and settlements across wholesale, retail and institutional markets in early 2027. Euro pegged stablecoins will follow, paving the way for the launch of stablecoins denominated in other G7 currencies.

 

The formation of this 21 institution consortium comes at a time when other financial institutions are coming together to support the launch of their own stablecoins.

 

Notable among these consortia is Qivalis, a consortium made up of 37 banks targeting the launch of a euro pegged stablecoin before the end of the year.

 

There is also the Open Standard consortium, made up of 140 companies supporting the launch of Open USD, a recently launched stablecoin that allows its members to share in the earnings generated from its reserves.

 

The California Senate and Assembly have unanimously passed a bill that would restrict public officeholders from issuing memecoin tokens.

 

The bill, coded AB 2409, was introduced by Assemblymember Avelino Valencia on February 20 this year. It passed the California Senate with a 40-0 vote and the Assembly with a 78-0 vote.

 

By passing the bill, California lawmakers aim to prevent public officials from using the authority bestowed upon them by virtue of their public positions for personal gain. The bill states that all public officeholders are to exercise their authority solely for the benefit of the people of California.

 

The bill further states that the issuance or promotion of financial instruments, including memecoins, could undermine public confidence in government and create opportunities for conflicts of interest and pay-to-play arrangements. These arrangements could potentially be exploited by foreign elements seeking to interfere in the affairs of the state.

 

Although the bill has been passed by lawmakers, enforcement will begin on January 1, 2027. From that date onward, digital asset providers will be prohibited from listing for sale any memecoin linked to a public official or facilitating the purchase of such memecoins by California residents.

 

To enable enforcement, the bill allows the California attorney general, a district attorney, city attorney, or county counsel to file a civil action against any digital asset service provider.

 

TRUMP Coin as a Case in Point 

 

Although the TRUMP memecoin profited a relatively small group of people, the losses it caused investors were significant, with approximately $3.2 billion to $3.81 billion in realized and unrealized losses recorded.

 

According to The New York Times, two-thirds of investors who purchased the TRUMP token ended up underwater, with Nansen projecting that about 988,900 to 1 million wallets out of roughly 1.6 million total wallets were in the red. 

 

Dunamu, the parent company of the South Korean cryptocurrency exchange Upbit, has entered into a strategic partnership with global payments company Visa to develop next generation stablecoin based payments and AI driven financial services.

 

The partnership, which was signed at Visa’s Global Market Support Center in San Francisco, USA, this Thursday in the presence of key figures from both companies, including Dunamu CEO Oh Kyung seok and Visa Global President Oliver Jenkyn, will leverage the existing infrastructure of both companies to create new stablecoin based payment and global remittance services.

 

According to Dunamu, the partnership will aim to ensure the secure and reliable use of digital assets and next generation payment technologies based on stability, transparency, interoperability, and regulatory compliance.

 

“The spread of AI, stablecoins, and tokenization is a key trend that will transform how finance and commerce operate,” said Oh Kyung seok, CEO of Dunamu. “Through collaboration with Visa, which has led global payments, we will connect digital assets with traditional finance and create a new global financial experience that users can truly experience.”

 

As part of the two companies’ initial exploration of stablecoins, the Open USD (OUSD) stablecoin will be further explored, including the potential expansion of its use cases across areas such as global remittances, payments, and settlements.

 

Over time, the partnership could expand to include the utilization and integration of AI for payments and other stablecoin based payment and settlement services, Dunamu said. It could also explore the use of AI in agentic commerce and the handling of certain user tasks, such as purchases and payments. 

 

Kostas Chalkias, co-founder and chief cryptographer of Mysten Labs, the company behind the Sui blockchain, has announced Havenex, an exchange designed for institutional clients.

 

Announcing Havenex, which is currently in the development and pre-launch stage, Chalkias said the exchange is not intended to become another Coinbase, Binance, Bybit, or Kraken.

 

According to the Sui co-founder, Havenex is designed to enable financial institutions to offer digital and traditional financial assets to their customers while meeting high standards of regulation, security, and transparency.

 

 

Giving a hint about the exchange's infrastructure, Chalkias said Havenex will have multisig enabled by default, quantum safe keys, hardware 2FA wallets, 100% multichain support, verifiable custody, as well as self custody and key loss protection mechanisms.

 

Despite Havenex still being in the development stage, the exchange is currently undergoing the necessary authorization process with Austria's Financial Market Authority (FMA). Once it receives the green light from the FMA, Havenex will have the legal basis to offer regulated financial services, including institutional custody, trading, and other related digital asset services.

 

Havenex is also currently conducting its first Series A funding round. 

 

Although details regarding how much is being raised and the investors involved remain undisclosed, several reports have speculated that the round could be oversubscribed, particularly given Chalkias’ involvement as a co-founder of Mysten Labs, which raised $336 million to support the development of the Sui blockchain.

 

JPMorgan Chase, the largest bank in the United States, has signaled its interest in the possibility of launching its own stablecoin, the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported.

 

Although the bank has made no official announcement and has no active plans to launch a stablecoin at present, a JPMorgan spokesperson reportedly told the WSJ that the bank recently held a preliminary discussion about the possibility of creating its own stablecoin.

 

“While we have no plans to issue a stablecoin, depending on customer demand and the evolution of the regulatory landscape, we would of course evaluate all options in the future.”

 

If JPMorgan ever decides to move ahead with a stablecoin launch, the stablecoin will be very different from JPM Coin, a digital deposit token the bank launched on its permissioned Kinexys blockchain in 2019 to modernize institutional payments and settlements.

 

Growing Stablecoin Interest Among U.S. Banks

 

Like JPMorgan, several other U.S. banks and financial institutions have also been considering launching their own stablecoins.

 

Bank of America, Wells Fargo, and Santander have formed a global stablecoin venture comprising more than a dozen financial institutions.

 

Through this venture, the financial institutions plan to launch a dollar backed stablecoin, with possible expansion to stablecoins pegged to the euro and other G7 currencies over time.

 

Stablecoins have seen growing adoption among large financial institutions in recent times. 

 

According to a recent Fireblocks survey covering about 295 executives from banks and financial institutions, about 49% of these institutions actively use stablecoins for payments, while 23% are reportedly in the pilot phase and 18% plan to integrate stablecoins soon.

 

BitGo Korea, the South Korean entity of global digital asset infrastructure company BitGo, has secured a Virtual Asset Service Provider (VASP) license from the country’s regulator.

 

The license, issued by the Korea Financial Intelligence Unit, an entity under the Financial Services Commission, allows BitGo to operate as a recognized virtual asset service provider in the country, offering services such as virtual asset custody, transfers, and management.

 

 

“For a global company seeking to operate its business in Korea over the long term, it is essential to have its technology and systems validated within Korea’s regulatory framework,” said Chen Fang, CEO of BitGo Korea and chief revenue officer at BitGo.

 

“We believe BitGo’s VASP registration will go beyond being simply a case of an individual company entering Korea and serve as a model for establishing standards of regulatory compliance and accountability for foreign companies entering the Korean market.”

 

While BitGo is not the only virtual asset service provider in the country, with approximately 29 registered virtual asset providers operating in South Korea, its VASP registration is significant because it marks the first time a foreign company has secured a VASP registration directly.

 

Unlike the usual approach taken by foreign VASPs, which often acquire a local Korean operator, BitGo entered the market directly by securing a VASP registration from South Korea’s Financial Intelligence Unit.

 

In entering the Korean market, BitGo had the support of Hana Financial Group, one of South Korea’s five largest financial holding companies, and SK Telecom, one of the country’s largest telecommunications companies.

 

As major shareholders, Hana Financial Group acquired a 25 percent stake in BitGo, while SK Telecom acquired a 10 percent stake in BitGo Korea.

 

BitGo’s entry into the Korean market comes at a time when the country maintains strict regulations for digital asset firms, with authorities cracking down on violators. This was evident on Monday when South Korean authorities restricted access to Polymarket over the company’s alleged violation of the country’s sports promotion laws.

 

Bitwise Asset Management has laid off 14% of its global staff, leaving the firm with a workforce of 155, down from about 180 employees before the layoffs.

 

While the firm did not explicitly state the reason for the layoffs, the move comes at a time when companies continue to navigate a severe downturn in the crypto market.

 

Responding to news outlets, Bitwise Chief Executive Officer Hunter Horsley said the adjustment equips the firm for the ongoing growth it has experienced this year. He added that he expects the growth to continue as crypto becomes further integrated into the global economy.

 

Bitwise’s recent layoffs come at a time when several other crypto-focused companies have also had to trim their workforces, with some citing the ongoing crypto market downturn as the reason, while others have reduced their staff as part of a strategic pivot toward artificial intelligence.

 

According to a report tracking layoffs in the crypto industry, more than 5,000 jobs have reportedly been lost in layoffs across several crypto companies, notable among them Robinhood, Crypto.com, Dune, Algorand, and Block.

 

About Bitwise 

 

Bitwise is a leading crypto-focused asset management firm that provides investors, financial advisers, and institutions with exposure to digital assets through a diverse range of investment products, including exchange-traded funds (ETFs), index funds, and private funds.

 

Despite the widespread downturn in the crypto market this year, Bitwise has achieved a number of notable milestones, including the acquisition of Chorus One, an institutional staking provider, for $2.2 billion, as well as the launch of the spot Hyperliquid ETF and Avalanche ETP.

 

 

Circle Internet Group, the global financial technology company and issuer of the USDC stablecoin, has secured a limited purpose trust charter from the New York Department of Financial Services (NYDFS).

 

Image credit: x.com

 

With this approval, Circle Internet Trust Company LLC, Circle's trust subsidiary, can now operate as a regulated New York trust company, providing fiduciary, custody, and asset management services.

 

However, because the charter is limited in purpose, Circle will not be able to accept traditional customer deposits or make loans like a full service commercial bank.

 

"Earning a New York trust charter has been a longstanding objective for Circle given the regulatory clarity that comes with it," said Jeremy Allaire, Circle's co-founder and CEO.

 

"NYDFS is an international standard setter for digital asset regulation, and New York is Circle's global headquarters. This charter reflects more than a decade of regulatory commitment and positions USDC within a strong, respected framework as digital dollars become central to the global financial system."

 

Circle's New York trust charter comes shortly after it received approval for a national trust bank charter from the U.S. Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) last month. The OCC charter allows Circle to establish and operate a national trust bank focused on fiduciary digital asset custody services under federal oversight.

 

Commenting on the national trust bank charter, Allaire said the move was pivotal to bringing blockchain technology and digital assets into the core of the U.S. financial system.

 

"Federal oversight of our trust bank sets a new standard for transparency, governance, and scale for Circle's infrastructure and unlocks a new phase of adoption, where leading financial institutions can build on public blockchains with clarity and confidence," he said.

 

 

The U.S. Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has warned of a fraud campaign in which scammers are impersonating the agency and sending fake IRS letters to cryptocurrency holders in an attempt to steal personal credentials and digital assets.

 

According to the IRS, the fake letters direct unsuspecting recipients to a fraudulent website that closely mimics the official IRS.gov website. Once there, victims are instructed to enrol in a "Digital Asset Compliance Portal" before an urgent deadline.

 

Image credit: x.com 

 

As part of the enrollment process, the website may ask users for personal information, including cryptocurrency wallet details, exchange account credentials, and other sensitive data that could be used to steal their digital assets.

 

"Criminals continue to exploit public trust in government agencies by creating convincing fake websites and official-looking correspondence," said IRS Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI) Chief Jarod Koopman. "Before responding to unexpected requests for personal information, stop, verify the source, and report potential fraud schemes to law enforcement."

 

Regarding the identities of those behind the campaign, the IRS said in a press release that Coinbase and its cyber intelligence partner, Dark Tower, traced the campaign's infrastructure to a domain registered through a Hong Kong registrar, while the fraudulent website was hosted in Romania.

 

The IRS also outlined several measures to help cryptocurrency holders stay safe, including exercising caution when responding to unsolicited letters, emails, text messages, and phone calls from individuals whose identities cannot be verified.

 

The IRS remains one of the most frequently impersonated U.S. government agencies by scammers. According to the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration, victims reported losses exceeding $114 million from IRS impersonation scams between 2013 and mid-2020.

 

 

Uphold, the multi asset digital trading platform, has launched a new equities service that allows its U.S. customers to access more than 4,000 U.S. stocks and ETFs directly through the Uphold platform.

 

Image credit: x.com

 

The launch, which builds on Uphold's vision of becoming a comprehensive all in one multi asset financial platform, gives users access to both traditional investments and digital assets within a single platform, allowing them to manage both asset classes in one place.

 

"People want one app for all of their investing, including crypto," said Nancy Beaton, President of Uphold U.S. "Equities on Uphold is designed to make that real. Uphold customers can now sell Bitcoin to buy Berkshire Hathaway shares in a single step on the app, without clunky currency conversions or the need to transfer funds between stablecoins and cash balances."

 

Compared with other platforms that may require users to convert between fiat currencies and cryptocurrencies or move funds across multiple platforms, Uphold provides a frictionless experience that allows users to trade seamlessly between supported crypto assets, U.S. stocks, and ETFs within a single platform.

 

According to the Uphold team, users can access all of these services without paying any Uphold commissions. They can also purchase fractional shares for as little as $5.

 

Although Uphold's fractional U.S. stocks and ETFs are currently available only during standard U.S. market hours, typically from 9:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. ET, Monday through Friday, the company plans to expand trading availability to around the clock during the Monday through Friday trading week.

 

The launch of Uphold's U.S. equities service coincided with the launch of tokenized U.S. stocks and perpetual markets by Arcus, a decentralized exchange built by the dYdX team, on the Robinhood Chain.

 

The offering includes more than 95 leading U.S. stocks, including Nvidia, Apple, Tesla, Microsoft, Meta, and Amazon, which will be available for trading around the clock on the Robinhood Chain. Although the perpetual market remains in beta, it includes products from more than 35 markets spanning U.S. equities, commodities, cryptocurrencies, and indices.