AscenDex shutdown: Uncertainty over withdrawals as hot wallets lack funds

EU officials reportedly plan to consider changes to the Markets in Crypto-Assets framework, dubbed by some as “MiCA 2.0,” in response to a US stablecoin law and rules on tokenized payments and deposits.

The post ESMA Starts First MiCA Crypto Custody Review. appeared on BitcoinEthereumNews.com. ESMA reviews CASPs to assess custody security, governance, and operational resilience under MiCA rules. EU regulators will examine key management, incident response, and third-party service risks. Crypto custody firms face stricter oversight as MiCA shifts toward active market supervision. The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) has launched its first major review of crypto custody providers under the Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) framework, targeting operational resilience and asset protection standards across the European Union. ESMA Begins MiCA Review of Crypto Custody Operations On July 8, ESMA announced the launch of a Common Supervisory Action (CSA) focused on crypto-asset service providers (CASPs), with particular attention on custody services and digital operational resilience. The initiative will be conducted alongside national competent authorities across the European Un

ESMA reviews CASPs to assess custody security, governance, and operational resilience under MiCA rules. EU regulators will examine key management, incident response, and third-party service risks. Crypto custody firms face stricter oversight as MiCA shifts toward active market supervision. The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) has launched its first major review of crypto custody […] The post ESMA Launches First MiCA Crypto Custody Review: What Firms Face Next appeared first on Live Bitcoin News.

The halt at AscendEX underscores the growing regulatory challenges for crypto exchanges, potentially impacting market confidence and asset stability. The post AscendEX halts operations, freezes withdrawals amid EU MiCA regulation appeared first on Crypto Briefing.

The post AscendEX Halts Operations, Freezes Automated Withdrawals appeared on BitcoinEthereumNews.com. Crypto exchange AscendEX ceased operations effective July 1, 2026, and moved all withdrawal requests to manual review starting July 6, according to a notice posted on its website addressed to retail account holders. Crypto exchange AscendEX ceased operations effective July 1, 2026, and moved all withdrawal requests to manual review starting July 6, according to a notice posted on its website addressed to retail account holders. The exchange cited the European Union’s Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA), which took full effect July 1 and under which AscendEX holds no authorization, alongside broader “regulatory, financial and operational considerations,” the notice said. Customers can no longer open accounts, deposit, trade, swap, stake or lend on the platform; access is now limited to offboarding tasks such as withdrawal requests, KYC updates and transaction-history exports. Wi

Crypto exchange AscendEX ceased operations effective July 1, 2026, and moved all withdrawal requests to manual review starting July 6, according to a notice posted on its website addressed to retail account holders.

The post Bull Bitcoin Files Landmark Legal Challenge To Annul France’s DAC8 Crypto Data Surveillance Rules appeared on BitcoinEthereumNews.com. Bull Bitcoin exchange, recently licensed under MiCA, is challenging the European directive in French courts that sets up a mass surveillance database, putting millions of crypto users at risk.  Bull Bitcoin, the world’s oldest Bitcoin-only and non-custodial exchange, recently licensed under MiCA by France’s financial markets regulator AMF, has filed a legal challenge before the Conseil d’État, France’s supreme administrative court. The challenge seeks to annul Decree No. 2025-1276, the main measure transposing the European DAC8 directive into French law, on the grounds that it creates a massive surveillance grid and database that institutions can not secure from leaks and data hacks, ultimately putting civilians at risk of kidnapping and physical harm.  Alongside the legal action, the company is making dac8.com public: “a complete, fully source

The post AscendEX Exchange Collapse Hands Europe Its First MiCA Test  appeared on BitcoinEthereumNews.com. The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) launched its first supervisory sweep of licensed crypto firms on July 8, putting custody resilience under EU-wide review. It comes days after MiCA took full effect and popular crypto exchange AscendEX (formerly BitMax) collapsed. ESMA has not connected the two events. However, the timing hands regulators a live example of what failed crypto custody costs users. ESMA Custody Review Targets Crypto’s Weakest Point In its July 8 release, ESMA said the Common Supervisory Action (CSA) will assess how crypto-asset service providers (CASPs) manage custody risks. National regulators will examine a risk-based sample of authorized firms from late 2026 into early 2027. The exercise targets risks specific to distributed ledger technology (DLT). Reviewers will test governance, key and storage management, transaction controls, incident detecti