EU Expands Cross-Border Crypto Bans as Hong Kong Finalizes Licensing Framework
This article covers key developments across regulation, security, markets, and international crypto news, with a focus on the EU’s tightening cross-border compliance requirements and Hong Kong’s newly finalized licensing framework.
Regulation
The EU has expanded its trading ban to 14 crypto service platforms operating in loosely regulated jurisdictions including Panama, the UAE, and Georgia, further tightening cross-border digital asset compliance requirements. Meanwhile, the one-year statutory deadline for GENIUS Act stablecoin rules in the US has passed, with the Treasury and key regulators’ rules on AML compliance and sanctions compliance still at the proposal stage; progress on the CLARITY Act’s market structure legislation also remains stalled over conflict-of-interest provisions for officials.
Security
Crypto lost over USD 47 million to hacks over the past week: the AFX Trade cross-chain bridge was drained of roughly USD 24.15 million, Wanchain lost about USD 10 million, and the Verus Ethereum bridge was breached for the second time in two months. Most of these incidents stem from access-control vulnerabilities in cross-chain bridge contracts, underscoring the need for institutions to strengthen institutional-grade custody security at the custody layer.
Markets
Bitcoin is trading near USD 65,000, up about 0.89% over 24 hours; Ethereum is around USD 1,935, up roughly 3.37%. Meme coins led gains as sentiment improved on expectations for the CLARITY Act vote, though the Fear & Greed Index remains in “Fear” territory.
International
Russia’s largest bank, Sberbank, plans to launch a crypto trading platform and digital custody system; the EU’s MiCA stablecoin rules have taken effect and may be revised to cover non-EU issuers; Hong Kong’s SFC is advancing mandatory “anti-phishing login” requirements and a full licensing regulatory framework. As cross-border regulatory complexity grows, institutional demand for MPC self-custody solutions continues to rise.
About Safeheron
Safeheron is a security infrastructure provider focused on institutional-grade digital asset custody. Built on MPC (multi-party computation) technology, it offers seedless, single-point-of-failure-free private key management and risk control for exchanges, market makers, funds, and enterprise clients, helping them manage digital assets securely and in compliance with regulations. The team is composed of engineers with deep, long-standing expertise in cryptography and financial security, continuously tracking global regulatory and security developments to provide institutional clients with custody security and compliance expertise.
