News Roundup — Circle earns license to issue USDC and EURC under Europe's MiCA regulatory framework

Major news stories this week;

1. Circle earns license to issue USDC and EURC under Europe's MiCA regulatory framework
2. Sony plans to launch its own crypto exchange in Japan
3. The German and U.S. governments move $150M in crypto
4. Robinhood to start crypto futures trading in U.S. and Europe
5. PayPal Ventures-backed fintech Mesh partners with Italy's crypto wallet Conio

Story Summaries;

1. Circle has become licensed and approved to issue stablecoins under the Markets in Crypto Assets (MiCA). Circle is the first global stablecoin issuer to become compliant with MiCA effective July 1, CEO Jeremy Allaire said in a Paris-based press conference. Circle will be able to issue its stablecoins USDC and EURC under the regulatory framework. The move comes after Circle's incremental steps to adhere to regulatory compliance in the stablecoin space. In December, Circle received a digital asset regulatory license in France and appointed a Head of French Operations. The firm will now launch its MiCA-compliant stablecoins in Europe under its French entity.
2. The German and United States governments have drawn significant attention after transferring millions of dollars of crypto holdings. The German government has made substantial Bitcoin transfers, while the U.S. government has transferred Ether from seized funds. On July 1, the German government moved 1,500 BTC worth roughly $95 million to multiple crypto exchanges, while the U.S. government moved 3,375 ETH worth $11.75 million to an unknown address. According to data from the onchain analytics platform Arkham Intelligence, the German government has transferred 2,700 BTC to multiple exchanges over the last two weeks. The exchanges include Bitstamp, Coinbase and Kraken. The German government currently holds 44,692 BTC worth approximately $2.82 billion.
3. Sony Group, one of Japan’s biggest and most influential companies, has jumped into the cryptocurrency market by acquiring Amber Japan. Sony, known for its ventures in games, music, and cameras, has a market value of over $100 billion. This new move shows a big shift in their strategy. Amber Japan wasn’t always Amber Japan. In early 2022, Singapore’s Amber Group bought Japan’s regulated cryptocurrency trading platform DeCurret and renamed it. But things went south when FTX collapsed. This left Amber Group in deep trouble, leading to a suspected debt-to-equity transaction with Fenbushi. Amber Group’s investors include big names like Temasek, Sequoia China, Pantera, Tiger, and Coinbase. Now Sony is leveraging its massive resources and expertise to revitalize Amber Japan under the new name, S.BLOX.
4. Financial giant Robinhood is planning to offer cryptocurrency futures in the U.S. and Europe soon. The company aims to make these services available after completing its $200 million acquisition of Bitstamp next year. Bitstamp holds licenses that Robinhood wants to use to offer perpetual futures for Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies in Europe. In the U.S., it wants to introduce CME-based futures for Bitcoin and Ether. This expansion strategy comes despite no immediate plans to launch these offerings, as stated by a Robinhood spokesperson. Talks are ongoing, and final plans may still change.
5. Mesh, a U.S. fintech whose investors include PayPal Ventures, will provide customers of Italian digital asset wallet Conio access to several leading crypto exchanges, such as Binance or Coinbase, the two companies said on Monday. The partnership will allow Conio's 430,000 Italian customers to access 10 leading crypto currency trading platforms through the Conio App, the companies said. Customers will be able to instantly transfer any bitcoin they buy on the exchanges into their Conio wallet, rather than having to scan a QR code or go through other measures as at present. Conio is backed by Italian postal service Poste Italiane and asset manager Banca Generali.

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And that’s all for last week’s news! Wishing you a great week ahead!

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