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Odaily News: Payment company Visa is seeking settlement and over-the-counter (OTC) trading partners with cryptocurrency exchange licenses in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, and Singapore. The partner will also be responsible for settlement of the newly launched Open USD stablecoin project, which plans to support multiple stablecoins. (CoinDesk)
Odaily News – Regulators from the United States and the United Kingdom, at the 13th US-UK Financial Regulatory Working Group meeting held in London on July 8, reaffirmed their commitment to strengthening financial regulatory cooperation. The two sides discussed stablecoin regulation, the US digital asset market structure, tokenization, and the UK's digital strategy for the wholesale financial market. A joint statement released on August 4 showed that US officials briefed the UK side on the progress of the GENIUS Act implementation and work related to the digital asset market structure. Participants also discussed payment modernization and the G20 cross-border payments roadmap, which aims to improve cross-border payments. The meeting did not yield new policy measures. Both sides stated that they would coordinate regulation in key areas of the digital asset industry and support responsible digital asset innovation within the framework of financial stability and international regulatory cooperation. On July 14, the Transatlantic Taskforce for Markets of the Future, a joint US-UK initiative focused on financial innovation and capital market cooperation, released preliminary recommendations and simultaneously issued a joint statement on stablecoins. The two governments stated that these measures would lay the foundation for continued cooperation between the US and the UK in the digital asset and capital market sectors.
Odaily News Digital asset prime broker FalconX has laid off approximately 10% of its global workforce. Before the layoffs, FalconX had around 350 employees across the United States, the United Kingdom, Singapore, and Hong Kong. FalconX is adjusting its Singapore strategy, shifting focus toward crypto derivatives trading, and plans to withdraw its local license application submitted to the Monetary Authority of Singapore. The company intends to maintain its Asian business presence while expanding its European operations.
the United States, the European Union, and the United Kingdom have jointly announced sanctions against a group of individuals involved in state-sponsored hacking organizations, cybercriminal groups, and their infrastructure providers. The targets are accused of causing billions of dollars in losses to global enterprises, critical infrastructure, and government agencies. Among them, the most notable is the EU's sanction against Russian cybercriminal Vitaly Nikolayevich Kovalev, also known as "Stern." The EU identified Stern as one of the core managers of the notorious Trickbot Group ransomware syndicate, which is behind high-risk ransomware variants such as Conti ransomware and Ryuk.On-chain analysis shows that wallet addresses linked to Stern have collectively received over $300 million in ransom payments, potentially making him the most prolific ransomware operator ever identified.According to the analysis, the $300 million figure represents only Stern's personal gains, while the total illicit income of the Trickbot Group could be significantly higher. On-chain fund flows indicate that Stern had transactional ties with multiple ransomware ecosystems, including Ryuk, Conti, Diavol, Karakurt, Royal, and Quantum.The investigation reveals that Stern played a role similar to a "CEO" within the Trickbot organization, responsible for budget management, personnel recruitment, infrastructure procurement, and attack planning. (Chainalysis)