Redakteur
Covers crypto markets and regulation from Germany for The BTC Portal.
Data from SUBFROST shows the Alkanes metaprotocol, driven largely by the DIESEL token, generated over 61% of all Bitcoin transactions between late June and September, despite contributing little to network fees or economic value.
A petition to preserve Germany's one-year tax-free holding period for Bitcoin has reached the Bundestag's petitions committee, with a hearing set for 12 October, just two days before the cabinet reviews a draft reform that would scrap the exemption.
With the EU's MiCA transition period over since July 1, 2026, licensing costs and compliance burdens are consolidating the European crypto industry, as Kriptomat, AscendEX and MEXC's Dutch unit shut down.
Isabel Schnabel outlined three possible architectures for integrating central bank reserves with DLT infrastructure, as the ECB advances its Pontes and Appia pilot projects.
More than 50,000 supporters of Stand With Crypto EU have written to the European Commission asking it to lift MiCA's ban on stablecoin interest and rewards, as the European Central Bank pushes to extend the restriction to crypto lending and staking.
Bitpanda GmbH grew adjusted revenue to €371 million in 2025 but posted a net loss of roughly €14 million, reversing last year's €62 million profit, after marketing costs jumped 56% and financial losses widened.
ESMA chief Verena Ross told the European Parliament the agency is moving from drafting MiCA rules to enforcing them consistently, as ESMA published its 2027 work programme detailing new supervisory tools and priorities.
Cathie Wood's ARK Invest is tokenizing its $1.3 billion ARK Venture Fund with Securitize, putting exposure to private AI names like OpenAI and Anthropic on the Ethereum blockchain for the first time.
The European System of Central Banks wants Brussels to drop MiCA's minimum bank-deposit requirements for stablecoin reserves, proposing liquidity-based rules instead and renewing warnings against so-called multi-issuance stablecoin models.
Frank Schäffler is mobilising a letter-writing campaign against a Finance Ministry draft that would scrap Germany's one-year tax-free holding period for bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies.
A new BearingPoint survey of German crypto users shows custody habits closely mirror trading habits, with Trade Republic, Coinbase and Binance leading while traditional banks remain nearly absent.
A coalition including Nasdaq, Börse Stuttgart and Adan has written to EU lawmakers demanding the DLT Pilot Regime's caps on tokenised securities platforms be abolished or lifted to at least €1.5 trillion, arguing the Commission's €100 billion proposal still falls short.
Italian banking group UniCredit is said to be seeking an infrastructure partner to offer crypto trading, custody and tokenized investment products, joining a growing list of European lenders moving into digital assets.
The UK's Financial Conduct Authority is said to be reconsidering its restriction on retail access to prediction markets such as Polymarket and Kalshi, though the regulator has not confirmed any timeline or scope for changes.
Berlin's state government declined to pay a 30 Bitcoin ransom demand, roughly €2 million, after a cyberattack on its network in mid-August. The hackers say they have since published around 1.4 million files.
Russia's largest lender expects regulated crypto trading to reach roughly $46 billion in its first year under new legislation, with volumes potentially nearly doubling by 2029, deputy chairman Anatoly Popov says.