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Societe Generale has reportedly become the first company in France to secure a licence for cryptocurrency services, reflecting a growing trend of mainstream financial firms adopting crypto this year. The French bank’s crypto division, Forge, has been authorised to provide services such as crypto custody, trading and sales, as revealed by France’s market regulator AMF. Although some crypto firms like Binance have already registered with the regulator, licensed institutions are subject to more stringent regulations in areas such as IT, corporate governance, and compliance. Source: https://www.reuters.com

US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has formally acknowledged applications for spot bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) from six firms, including BlackRock. Bitwise, VanEck, WisdomTree, Fidelity, and Invesco have also had their applications accepted by the SEC and appeared on the Federal Register. The US regulator, which has previously denied numerous spot bitcoin ETF applications due to fraud and investor protection concerns, is taking the first steps towards evaluating these new proposals. Source: https://www.reuters.com

Following the US court’s decision on the lawsuit against Ripple (XRP), XRP’s trading volume has risen significantly, making it the most traded cryptocurrency in a month, as per a report by Kaiko. The report shows a 61% increase in XRP trading since the court’s ruling. XRP represented 21% of the global trade volume as of 17 July. In addition, the ruling caused XRP’s market value to increase by $21.2 billion, moving it up to the fourth largest cryptocurrency by market capitalisation. XRP’s trading volume and price have also reached their highest in 10 and 15 months respectively. Source: https://cointelegraph.com

The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) announced on 19 July its decision to revoke FTX Australia’s financial licence. Despite the cancellation, FTX Australia, which had its Australian Financial Services (AFS) licence suspended by the ASIC in November 2022 following FTX’s filing for bankruptcy, is permitted to continue to provide limited financial services until 12 July next year to settle its transactions with clients. The firm is also required to arrange client compensation during this period. Source: https://cointelegraph.com

New York-based venture capital firm CoinFund has reportedly raised $158 million in its fourth seed fund, exceeding its initial fundraising target of $125 million. The fund has already invested in Giza, a startup aiming to introduce artificial intelligence to smart contracts, and Superstate Inc., which plans to merge decentralised finance with mutual funds. CoinFund, which is a registered investment advisor, will also continue to invest in tokens despite regulatory uncertainties. Source: https://www.business-standard.com

The Financial Stability Board (FSB) has reportedly introduced the global regulatory framework for crypto-asset activities. The recommendations, which were released on 17 July, are based on the principle of “same activity, same risk, same regulation”. The FSB proposes segregating clients’ crypto assets from the crypto platform’s own funds and separating functions to avoid conflict of interest. The FSB’s guidelines also focus on strengthening cross-border regulatory cooperation and oversight. Notably, global stablecoin issuers are required to maintain a 1:1 reserve ratio and acquire permits to operate in each jurisdiction. The FSB plans to review the global adoption of these recommendations by 2025 and will submit a joint report on existing policies with the International Monetary Fund to the G20 in September 2023. Source: https://cointelegraph.com

Indonesia’s Commodity Futures Trading Supervisory Agency (Bappebti) is advancing its plans to establish a national cryptocurrency exchange in July 2023. Bappebti’s head, Didid Noordiatmoko stated that all crypto transactions would be conducted exclusively through an integrated application, which has already undergone testing. Didid also indicated the agency’s plan to limit the sale of crypto to local transactions, but with an eye on global market development. If there are no further instructions from the Trade Minister, it is expected that the permits will be issued to authorised traders to join the exchange within a month. Source: https://cointelegraph.com

The world’s largest crypto exchange Binance has reportedly laid off more than 1,000 employees. This follows the recent resignations of several top executives of the exchange, including Chief Strategy Officer Patrick Hillmann. Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao contested these figures, insisting that the company is still recruiting. Binance and Zhao are currently facing a lawsuit filed by the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) last month, which accused them of operating a “web of deception”. Source: https://www.reuters.com

Bitcoin reached its highest level since June 2022 on 14 July, nearing a 13-month peak at $31,818. This comes after a US judge ruled XRP was not a security and thus Ripple Labs did not breach securities law by selling the token on public exchanges. The verdict stimulated optimism among crypto investors, resulting in a 73% rise in XRP’s value on 13 July, and a resumption of its trading on several major exchanges like Coinbase and Bitstamp. However, investor excitement was tempered by news of layoffs at Binance and Coinbase limiting its staking service for retail customers in California, New Jersey, South Carolina and Wisconsin. Source: https://www.reuters.com

Cross-chain protocol Multichain announced on 14 July its decision to halt all operations, citing lack of alternative sources of information and corresponding operational funds. This follows an alarm raised by blockchain analytics company Chainalysis, pointing towards a possible insider “rug pull”. The Multichain team said it has been unable to reach its CEO, Zhaojun since his arrest by Chinese authorities in May 2023. With all operational funds and investments under Zhaojun's control, his detention prompts the decision to cease operations. Source: https://cointelegraph.com

US-based crypto startups account for 45% of all venture capital (VC) investments in the crypto industry in Q2 2023 despite the increasing regulatory scrutiny in the country, with startups in the “trading category” drawing more capital, a recent study by crypto investment firms Galaxy Digital reveals. The UK and Singapore attract 7.7% and 5.7% of the capital investment respectively. However, the overall VC investment in crypto and blockchain firms has seen a declining trend, hitting $720m in Q2 2023, which is the lowest since the onset of the pandemic in Q3 2020. Source: https://cointelegraph.com

Alex Mashinsky, the founder and ex-CEO of bankrupt crypto lending platform Celsius Network, entered a plea of not guilty to several fraud charges brought against him. Mashinsky faces accusations of misleading investors and manipulating the company’s propriety crypto token. The indictment includes charges such as securities, commodities, and wire fraud. He was released on a $40 million bond backed by his Manhattan residence. Source: https://www.reuters.com