Custody

Citi plans to launch bitcoin custody later this year as part of its new Custody+ platform for institutional investors. The move would allow clients to hold BTC alongside traditional assets within the bank’s broader custody and settlement framework.

Coinbase shares fell in after-hours trading after the crypto platform reported second-quarter revenue below Wall Street expectations. Weak digital asset trading, lower transaction revenue and pressure on subscription and services revenue kept investor attention on the company’s push beyond spot trading fees.

Uphold has reduced its global workforce by 17% as the digital asset platform redirects resources toward its enterprise business. The company says offices remain open and customer services continue as demand from banks, fintechs and broker-dealers grows.

Europe’s crypto market is moving from the race for regulatory approval into a phase defined by compliance capacity, balance sheet strength and institutional partnerships. As MiCA takes hold and the U.K. advances its own framework, smaller firms may face pressure to merge, sell or align with banks already built for regulation.

The Clarity Act is being framed by digital asset advocates as a major step toward stronger consumer safeguards in U.S. crypto markets. Its proposed rules would cover registration, custody, disclosures, conflicts of interest, fraud prevention and the treatment of customer assets if a platform fails.

Binance.US is pushing to regain ground in the U.S. crypto exchange market after a prolonged period of regulatory pressure and slower growth. The exchange is leaning on ultra low fees, liquidity rebuilding efforts and a wider regulated product roadmap to compete with major domestic platforms.

Dinari and tZERO are combining technology and regulated market infrastructure to help broker-dealers offer tokenized U.S. equities. The partnership lands as financial firms debate whether blockchain-based stocks should be synthetic, issuer-sponsored or backed directly by underlying shares.

Vanguard is seeking a head of digital assets to build a multi-year roadmap across tokenization, stablecoins, custody and blockchain infrastructure. The move points to a measured evolution in the asset manager’s crypto posture after it began allowing clients to trade crypto ETFs and mutual funds.

Roughly $16.69 billion has been lost to crypto hacks, and investigators say stolen private keys account for about 40% of that total. The industry is now leaning on multi-party computation, account abstraction, and tighter operational controls to reduce single-point failure risk.

IRACE Digital has rebranded from FundBank and acquired Cayman Islands-based Tenet Bank to broaden its institutional banking footprint. The move brings digital asset banking clients and new custody, liquidity and execution ambitions under former Zodia Custody chief John Cronin.

Architect Partners says SBI’s Bitbank acquisition is a bet on regulated scale rather than near-term earnings. The deal expands SBI’s custody footprint, customer base and broader digital asset push in Japan.

SecondFi confirmed three external attacks that drained 16 million ADA from 374 wallets through a flaw in its wallet generation software. The team says it secured another 129 million ADA before attackers could reach it, but losses could still exceed $20 million.

Agora has hired Tanya Denisova, the former COO of Robinhood Crypto, as its new head of operations. The move comes as the stablecoin issuer reports rapid growth for AUSD and expands its licensing footprint.

Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker signed a $56 billion budget that includes a new 0.2% tax on digital asset business activity. The last-minute measure is now drawing scrutiny from crypto firms facing new reporting obligations.

Deutsche Bank will debut its own crypto custody service with Bitpanda next year, expanding its digital asset footprint beyond Swiss custodian Taurus. Learn what this means for crypto investors.