ESMA Launches First MiCA Crypto Custody Review: What Firms Face Next

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

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 shutdown: Uncertainty over withdrawals as hot wallets lack funds appeared on BitcoinEthereumNews.com. Crypto exchange AscendEx has announced the cessation of its operations “with effect from 1 July 2026.” In a letter dated July 6, it cited a lack of an EU Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA) licence, “as well as broader regulatory, financial and operational considerations affecting the platform.” However, towards the end of the letter, AscendEx reveals that it “relied on an agreed strategic transaction… and the counterparty did not perform.” The news comes almost two weeks after pseudonymous blockchain investigator ZachXBT voiced concerns over disruption to user withdrawals. In a June 26 message to his Telegram channel, he noted that the exchange’s “reserves appear to lack large cap tokens such as ETH, USDT, USDT, SOL, etc indicating they likely are facing liquidity issues.” Read more: SecondFi is shutting down after Cardano wallet exploit AscendEx-labelled addr

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

The post ESMA Crypto Custody Review Marks New Enforcement Phase appeared on BitcoinEthereumNews.com. Europe’s crypto industry is about to face its most rigorous operational stress test yet. On 8 July 2026, the European Securities and Markets Authority launched a Common Supervisory Action targeting crypto custody — the function at the very heart of how firms protect client assets — marking a decisive shift in the ESMA crypto custody review from regulatory theory into hard enforcement reality. Key takeaways ESMA launched a coordinated Common Supervisory Action on 8 July 2026, placing crypto custody services under direct scrutiny across the EU. The review runs from the second half of 2026 through the first half of 2027, with a consolidated report expected in the second half of 2027. National competent authorities will conduct risk-based reviews of a sample of the 280 authorised providers now registered under MiCA. Ripple received full CASP authorisation from Luxembourg’s CSSF on 6 July 20

The post Tether Bets $20M on Mercado Bitcoin to Accelerate Tokenization in Latin America appeared on BitcoinEthereumNews.com. Key highlights: Tether has invested $20 million in Latin America’s Mercado Bitcoin The investment is part of the company’s vision to expand crypto services across the region The move comes amid Tether’s MiCA challenges in Europe Tether is strengthening its presence in the Latin American crypto market with a $20 million bet on Mercado Bitcoin, the largest on-chain financial services platform in the region. With this huge investment, Mercado Bitcoin could expand its tokenization business, payments infrastructure, lending services, and global operations. Tether to Invest $20 Million in Strategic Financing Round for Mercado Bitcoin to Accelerate Onchain Financial Infrastructure in Latin AmericaLearn more: https://t.co/HImBaiwaX3 — Tether (@tether) July 7, 2026 It is worth noting that the development comes amid Tether’s regulatory challenges in the European Union. Un

The post Criticism follows as South Korea police picks Dunamu for crypto custody appeared on BitcoinEthereumNews.com. Firms that sent competing proposals to South Korea’s National Police Agency to win the contract to become the official crypto custodian of the agency’s seized crypto have gone off on a criticism tangent again after Dunamu emerged as the top bid at the end of the process. The complaints point to how the firm running Upbit, South Korea’s largest crypto exchange, winning the bidding process as vindication for earlier observations that the tender’s terms gave larger exchanges a decisive advantage over custody-first upstarts. As Cryptopolitan reported in June, pure-play crypto custody firms noted that insurance and loss coverage clauses listed in the procurement database effectively undermined their bids. Who won the bid for South Korea’s police agency’s seized BTC? Local reports put Dunamu at the top of the Public Procurement Service’s Nara Jangteo as of Wednesday, July 8.