Tagged: EU

Bulgaria Adopts the Euro

Bulgaria is the latest European country to adopt the Euro as its currency. In July 2025, EU Finance Ministers formally approved Bulgaria to adopt the Euro. The Euro became official on January 1, 1999, as an “invisible” currency in 11 countries, with physical euro notes… Read More

CBDC: European Union Awaits Legislation to Launch Digital Euro

The European Union continues to plow forward with Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC), unlike the US, which has chosen privately issued stablecoins as a preferred option to enable digital dollars as well as fuel innovation. In a Christmas update, European Central Bank (ECB) President Christine… Read More

European Commission, the EU Rule Maker, Says It Needs to Make Fewer Rules

The European Commission (EC) has published a fact sheet outlining its ambition to make regulations clearer and more straightforward. The EC is run by an appointed body of policymakers that aims to establish pan-European rules to build a stronger and more cohesive Europe. This includes… Read More

Archax, TradingStack Partner to Enable FIX Connectivity for Digital Assets

Archax, the UK/EU regulated digital asset platform, and TradingStack.io, the capital markets connectivity provider, announced that they have partnered to offer FIX access to cryptocurrencies and tokenised real-world assets (RWAs) available on the Archax Primary and Secondary markets. By leveraging the Financial Information eXchange (FIX)… Read More

Fintechs Combine: Mollie Acquires GoCardless

Mollie has signed an agreement to acquire GoCardless, a UK-based bank payment company that offers solutions for businesses to collect recurring and one-off payments directly from customer bank accounts using direct debit and open banking. The terms of the deal were not revealed, but reports… Read More

Elon Musk, X, Hit with EU Fine Due to Allegations of Digital Services Act Transgressions

The European Union has fined Elon Musk and his company X €120 million (~$140 million) for claims that X violated the Digital Services Act.  The DSA can impose penalties on platforms and individuals if they are deemed to have enabled “illegal content.”  Platforms must also open up data to amorphous… Read More

EU Capital Markets Union (CMU) Has Not Delivered on its Most Ambitious Promises – Eurocrowd

While lauding various aspects of the European Union’s efforts to promote capitalism and the single market, Eurocrowd has called out the Capital Markets Union (CMU) initiative for failing to deliver on its most ambitious promises. The European Union is a vast market that surpasses the US… Read More

Crypto Compliance in the EU : VASP to CASP Transition Under MiCA Examined in New Report

As this year finally draws to a close, the European Union is said to be entering a somewhat decisive phase in its effort to harmonize digital asset regulation under the Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) framework. This, according to an update from Hacken which also noted… Read More

KuCoin EU Obtains MiCA License to Provide Digital Asset Services

KuCoin, a global crypto platform, announced that its European entity, KuCoin EU Exchange GmbH, has reportedly obtained a Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) license in Austria. This authorization allows KuCoin EU to offer “compliant” digital asset services across 29 countries in the European Economic Area (EEA,… Read More

Dutch Bitcoin Asset Manager Blockrise Receives MiCA Approval from AFM

Blockrise, a Dutch Bitcoin (BTC) focused startup, has been permitted to continue its financial services in the Netherlands and expand to the rest of Europe. The Netherlands Authority for the Financial Markets (AFM) granted Blockrise its license under the new European MiCA (Markets in Crypto-Assets… Read More

Digital Assets Firm Hyphe Obtains MiCA License in Germany

Digital asset liquidity provider, Hyphe, has reportedly received a MiCA (Markets in Crypto-Assets) license from German regulator, Bundesanstalt für Finanzdienstleistungsaufsicht (BaFin). MiCA is intended to be a comprehensive EU framework for harmonizing crypto-asset rules across its member states. Its goals and objectives are to provide… Read More

Equity Crowdfunding Stumbles in Europe but Debt More Resilient

Investment crowdfunding has gone through various iterations since its inception. Too frequently confused with rewards offerings, which are really ecommerce with a delay, securities issued in an online offering are a financial ecosystem that will continue to persist and thrive over time. At the same… Read More

Ondo Finance Secures EU Approval for Tokenized Stocks and ETFs

Ondo Finance has received formal regulatory approval in the European Union, clearing the way for its tokenized versions of stocks and exchange-traded funds (ETFs) to be offered legally across the entire EU and European Economic Area (EEA). The green light broadens the potential investor base… Read More

USA Dominates Artificial Intelligence (AI) Start Up Funding, Europe Will Suffer Due to Lack of Access to Capital for Early Stage AI Firms

The artificial intelligence (AI) sector is red hot. Sure, some are predicting a bubble, but this is no dot.com bomb from the 2000s. The technology is real, and expectations are that just about every business will benefit from AI. This is a multi-decade transition to… Read More

Sanctions Activity Moderated in 1H2025: LexisNexis Risk Solutions

A new report from LexisNexis Risk Solutions suggests sanctions activity has moderated since a flurry caused by Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine. The Sanctions Pulse analyzes data from the United Nations (UN), European Union (EU), Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) and the UK Office… Read More

Nordic Challenger Bank Lunar Obtains MiCA License to Offer Digital Assets Services

European challenger bank Lunar recently announced that it has been authorized as a Crypto-Asset Service Provider (CASP) under the EU’s new Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) regulation, making its crypto platform Lunar Block one of the “first” in Scandinavia to operate under this particular license. According… Read More

European Fintech Groups, Crowdfunding Advocates Send Letter to Policymakers Regarding Financial Data Access Regulation (FIDA)

A large group of European Fintech associations, including some crowdfunding groups, has signed a letter advocating on behalf of the Financial Data Access Regulation (FIDA). The letter has been addressed to the European Commission, the European Parliament, and the Council of the EU. According to… Read More

Digital Euro: Some Worry About Government Intrusion and Abuse Regarding CBDCs, Digital IDs

While the United States has turned away from the concept of a retail central bank digital currency (CBDC), other jurisdictions, such as Europe and China, have embraced it. As has been reported, a digital Euro is in the works with the European Central Bank (ECB)… Read More

BPCE Payment Services and Fintech Mambu to Support PSPs Entering the EU Market

Building on a collaboration powering SEPA payments for over 10 French fintechs and banks — including Natixis CIB Luxembourg, Xpollens, Spendesk, and Swile — BPCE Payment Services and Mambu are expanding their partnership to help global financial institutions access the European Union market. With this… Read More

Digital Euro: Will Europe Flub Stablecoin Opportunity?

The European Union is charging forward to offer a digital Euro. A Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) is in the queue to be in use by 2026. Currently, both institutional use and consumer access are anticipated. This contrasts with the US, where a CBDC or… Read More

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