Oct 2, 2026
The US Securities and Exchange Commission proposed a regulatory framework that would permit investment advisers and regulated funds to self-custody crypto assets under certain conditions, while also allowing the use of state trust companies as custodians.
Crypto exchange Bitget confirmed unauthorized transfers affecting approximately $351.6 million in assets from hot wallets on September 24, temporarily suspending withdrawals across all assets while investigating the security breach.
Coinbase is building post-quantum custody infrastructure to protect digital assets against future quantum computing threats, with Head of Cryptography Yehuda Lindell outlining plans to support multiple signature schemes beyond traditional Multi-Party Computation methods.
The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency has given preliminary conditional approval to both Catena and Agora to establish national trust banks. The proposed banks would custody and manage digital assets, stablecoins, fiat, and securities, pending fulfillment of capital, liquidity, and preopening requirements.
Four hooded men broke into a family home in Vendin-le-Vieil, northern France, and restrained a cryptocurrency worker, his wife, and their two children, forcing the father to transfer €40,000 in digital assets before fleeing. The incident is part of a growing trend of violent "crypto-rapts" targeting cryptocurrency holders in France.
The UK's Financial Conduct Authority has announced that crypto firms can apply for authorization from September 30, 2026 to February 28, 2027, ahead of the new regulatory regime taking effect on October 25, 2027. The authorization applies to overseas firms dealing, arranging, or safeguarding crypto assets for UK clients.
Italian bank UniCredit is in discussions with external technology providers to build infrastructure for digital asset trading, custody services, and access to tokenized investment products as part of plans to expand its digital asset offerings.
UK challenger bank Monument Bank has postponed the rollout of its retail tokenized deposit product, originally planned for earlier this year, now targeting a November launch. The delay stems from custody-related regulatory issues in the UK, affecting the bank's plan to offer tokenized deposits via public blockchain using Midnight's zero-knowledge technology.
Canada's Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions (OSFI) has locked in a 3% capital buffer until June 2028 and finalized new 2027 capital rules that provide relief for banks on cross-exchange crypto hedging positions, specifically for tightly matched qualifying Group 2a positions.
Jack Dorsey's financial technology company Block has submitted an application to the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency to establish Builders Bank & Trust, a federally regulated national trust bank that would provide custody and fiduciary services for Bitcoin and stablecoins.
Self-described white-hat hackers returned 3,400 of nearly 4,000 bitcoin stolen from the Liquid Network's federation reserves on September 6, but retained approximately 598.5 BTC worth $47 million. The sidechain remains frozen as Blockstream prepares a restart.
Malone Lam, 22, is expected to plead guilty in federal court to orchestrating a $240-245 million Bitcoin theft by impersonating Google and Gemini staff to trick a Washington investor. A Singaporean co-conspirator also pleaded guilty.
Better Mortgage and Coinbase are offering bitcoin-backed mortgages that allow buyers to pledge bitcoin at a 250% ratio to fund home down payments, with the lenders able to reuse the collateral. Borrowers must still meet standard income and credit requirements for the main mortgage.
Chilean crypto exchange Orionx, backed by Tether, is permanently closing after a forensic audit uncovered more than $7 million in customer assets moved to wallets outside the exchange's control. The company announced it is beginning a permanent shutdown process.
Orionx, one of Chile's largest cryptocurrency exchanges, has permanently halted operations and suspended customer withdrawals after a forensic audit uncovered over $7 million in customer assets that were transferred to external wallets. The exchange has accused individuals of unauthorized transfers, while Chile's financial regulator states it lacks authority to oversee the closure or order customer repayments.
The Silicon Ethereum Layer 2 network is shutting down permanently, giving users a four-month window until December 31, 2026 to withdraw nearly $10 million in assets before they become unrecoverable as liquidity disappears and the chain closes.
Crypto wallet maker Ledger has been hit with a $500 million class action lawsuit alleging the company failed to prevent multiple data breaches and adequately protect customers. Plaintiff Douglas Kim claims he lost $1.9 million after attackers exploited compromised customer data from a December 2023 breach, with a former employee's lingering access enabling malicious code injection.
Webull is launching cryptocurrency trading services in Canada, partnering with Coinbase to provide crypto infrastructure and custody capabilities. The expansion adds Canada to Webull's existing crypto footprint in the United States and Australia.
Better Mortgage and Coinbase have made their token-backed conforming mortgage product generally available to Coinbase One members, allowing eligible borrowers to use crypto assets in the underwriting process without selling their holdings. Coinbase is offering $10,000 in support for closing costs.
Copper, a cryptocurrency custody firm that was previously seeking a sale at $500 million, now has two or three acquisition offers at approximately $200 million amid depressed market conditions.
Authorities in Dubai and Sharjah detained Binance employees for questioning as part of an investigation into a bank account the cryptocurrency exchange uses to hold customer funds. The incident echoes a similar 2023 probe involving US regulators and associates of former CEO Changpeng Zhao.
Capital.com's affiliate Capital Vault obtained a virtual asset dealing and custody license in the UAE, while BitGo Korea became the first foreign crypto firm to receive approval as a virtual asset service provider in South Korea.
BitGo Korea has received virtual asset service provider (VASP) registration from South Korea's Financial Intelligence Unit, becoming the first overseas crypto company to build a local entity from scratch and complete the registration process directly. The joint venture is backed by Hana Financial Group and SK Telecom.
BitGo Korea received virtual asset service provider registration from Korea's Financial Intelligence Unit, becoming the first foreign custody provider to build a VASP-registered entity from scratch rather than acquiring a local firm.
People claiming to be BitMart employees took control of the exchange's Chinese X account, demanding the CEO provide answers by August 19 about frozen user funds and unpaid wages after the exchange shut down.
A South Korean court sentenced Delio CEO Jeong Sang-ho to 15 years in prison after finding him guilty of defrauding customers of approximately $50 million in cryptocurrency assets. The Seoul Southern District Court also convicted him of using false documents to register as a virtual asset provider.
The SEC's Division of Investment Management issued a no-action letter allowing Franklin Templeton's traditional registered funds to invest in and hold shares of the Franklin OnChain U.S. Government Money Fund (FOBXX) through an affiliated blockchain-integrated custody system, subject to 12 conditions.
Coinbase has received a Financial Services Permission from Abu Dhabi's financial regulator to establish an international tokenization hub in the emirate. The license covers arranging deals in investments and custody of tokenized securities.
The Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC) will conduct on-site inspections and desk-based reviews of authorized crypto asset service providers from the second half of 2026 through mid-2027 as part of ESMA's EU-wide supervisory action examining digital resilience and custody infrastructure.
Bitcoin miner MARA Holdings secured $600 million in loans from Coinbase Credit and Two Prime Lending on August 4, 2026, pledging 18,750 BTC (valued at approximately $1.2 billion) as collateral to finance expansion into artificial intelligence infrastructure and power generation. The move comes amid concerns after the company sold nearly all its mined Bitcoin and MARA stock dropped 10.9% following the announcement.
Dunamu, the parent company of Upbit cryptocurrency exchange, has secured a one-year contract to take custody of digital assets seized by South Korea's National Police Agency after winning the agency's public tender process.
Blockchain.com secured a definitive Virtual Asset Service Provider custody license from the Cayman Islands Monetary Authority on July 22, 2026, upgrading from conditional approval granted in December 2025. The license authorizes the company to offer regulated custody services, crypto-to-fiat exchange, and other virtual asset services.
German exchange operator Boerse Stuttgart Digital and institutional crypto trading firm Tradias have finalized their merger after receiving regulatory approval, forming a combined digital asset infrastructure platform with nearly 300 employees offering trading, custody, staking, and tokenization services.
BNY, the largest custodian bank in the US, announced a partnership with Galaxy Digital to add cryptocurrency staking services to its digital asset custody platform, allowing institutional clients to earn staking rewards without moving assets off the platform, pending regulatory approval.
Nasdaq-listed crypto treasury company ZeroStack disclosed in a regulatory filing that substantial doubt exists about its ability to continue operating over the next year, reversing its assessment from three months earlier following significant cryptocurrency losses.
Industry experts and auditors are analyzing the effectiveness of Proof of Reserves mechanisms in the cryptocurrency sector, highlighting what these transparency measures reveal and what critical information they omit about exchange solvency.
Alpaca, a custody provider, now holds over $1.5 billion in shares backing tokenized equities, representing approximately 94% of the tokenized stock market. This concentration emerges as crypto exchanges increasingly offer tokenized securities products that allow traders to access traditional assets without opening conventional brokerage accounts.
Western Alliance Bank, a national commercial bank with over $90 billion in assets, has formally launched WA VenueX, an institutional financial platform designed to provide liquidity and banking services for blockchain-based digital assets and the on-chain economy.
Sberbank, Russia's largest bank, plans to build cryptocurrency trading infrastructure and launch a digital depository by December 1, 2026, following Russia's passage of its first comprehensive crypto market law.
Galaxy Digital launched Galaxy Curator, a Morpho-based vault curation service distributed via Fireblocks Earn, giving over 2,400 institutional clients access to curated onchain stablecoin yield strategies without managing DeFi infrastructure directly.
Crypto exchange AscendEX ceased operations effective July 1, 2026, citing lack of EU MiCA license compliance. The platform moved all withdrawal requests to manual review starting July 6, with reports indicating hot wallets lack sufficient funds to process user withdrawals.
Multiple users reported stuck withdrawals from cryptocurrency exchange AscendEX, with blockchain investigator ZachXBT stating the platform's known hot wallets hold insufficient funds to cover user balances, suggesting possible liquidity issues.
A wallet linked to US government holdings of seized FTX assets moved 98,590 LINK tokens worth approximately $768,000 to Coinbase Prime on Wednesday, raising speculation about a potential sale of the cryptocurrency.
Morgan Stanley Wealth Management announced a partnership with Galaxy Digital allowing eligible high-net-worth clients to lend Bitcoin, Ethereum, or Solana as collateral in exchange for shares of spot crypto exchange-traded products.
Zodia Custody obtained a payment institution license from Luxembourg's financial regulator to expand EU stablecoin services, while CEO Julian Sawyer confirmed Standard Chartered's full acquisition is targeting completion by end of August 2026.
Anchorage Digital CEO Nathan McCauley revealed that as many as 20 financial institutions and large tech companies are waiting to issue their own stablecoins with the U.S.-regulated custody firm, indicating significant institutional interest in stablecoin issuance.
BNY, the world's largest custodian bank with nearly $59 trillion in assets, is expanding its digital asset custody services into the UAE through local partnerships as institutional demand for secure custody in the region surges.
South Korean prosecutors are seeking a 20-year prison term for Delio CEO Jeong Sang-ho over allegations of embezzling $168.8 million from nearly 2,800 crypto deposit users through what they describe as 'active deceptive acts.'
MoonPay has acquired crypto key management firm Sodot in a $100 million stock deal and launched a new institutional business division led by former CFTC Acting Chair Caroline Pham. The acquisition provides security infrastructure for MoonPay's expansion into serving banks, asset managers, and trading firms.
Block Inc. revealed it holds 28,355 BTC ($2.2 billion) including $1.5 billion in customer Bitcoin and $692 million in corporate treasury, adding 114 BTC in Q1 and committing to regular third-party audited reports.
The CEO of troubled Polish exchange Zonda revealed a Bitcoin wallet holding approximately 4,500 BTC (worth over $330 million) is inaccessible because private keys were never transferred during a company handover.
The UK's FCA launched a consultation on proposed crypto regulations covering stablecoins, trading platforms, custody, and staking, with rules set to take effect by October 2027. The regulator is seeking industry feedback on its interpretation of regulated cryptoasset activities under the upcoming framework.
The U.S. SEC issued new guidance indicating that certain user-facing interfaces used in crypto securities trading may not need to register as broker-dealers if they allow users to transact using their own wallets without intermediation.
EDX Markets, backed by Citadel and Charles Schwab, applied for a national trust charter from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency on April 1, 2026, to offer regulated custody and asset services separate from its trading operations. EDX joins at least eight other crypto firms pursuing similar federal banking charters.
Coinbase received conditional approval from the U.S. Office of the Comptroller of the Currency to operate as a national trust bank, enabling it to offer federally regulated crypto custody services. The approval moves Coinbase closer to operating as a federally regulated custodian pending final compliance review.
Australia has passed legislation mandating that digital asset platforms and tokenized custody platforms obtain an Australian Financial Services Licence within six months. The bill establishes a formal regulatory framework for crypto exchanges and custody services.