Crypto Regulation Reportage
First Edition, July 2026
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Today, we bring you a complete round-up of all things crypto policy that have come up in the industry globally, since the month of July began.
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Developments in Global Regulatory Frameworks
President Tinubu signs Executive Order harmonising Nigeria's virtual asset regulation
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has signed the Presidential Executive Order on Virtual Assets Coordination, 2026, pursuant to Section 5 of the 1999 Constitution the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended), to harmonise the regulation of virtual assets and strengthen cooperation among Nigeria's financial, revenue, and capital markets agencies, as announced by Mr. Bayo Onanuga, the Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy on 17 July 2026.
The Order responds to a fragmented regulatory environment in which virtual assets increasingly blur the boundaries between currencies, commodities, and securities, exposing Nigerians to money laundering, terrorism financing, cybersecurity, fraud, and revenue-loss risks from unregistered operators. Rather than creating a new regulator or transferring powers between agencies, the Order establishes a Virtual Asset Council — chaired by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), with the Nigeria Revenue Service (NRS) and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) as vice-chairs, and comprising the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU) and the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA) — to provide policy direction and coordinate supervision.
A Virtual Assets Office, domiciled at the CBN, will handle day-to-day coordination of information-sharing, applications, and reporting among the agencies via an integrated supervisory technology platform. Registration will follow the nature of the activity: security-like activities will be registered by the SEC, while payment, settlement, custody, and related services involving non-security virtual assets will be registered by the CBN, with the Council resolving unclear cases.
The CBN is separately proceeding with a regulatory sandbox for virtual assets to test products and blockchain-based solutions under supervision before wider market release, while the NRS will release a tax policy operationalising Nigeria's tax laws for the virtual assets sector. The Federal Government is also finalising a comprehensive Virtual Assets White Paper to set out the country's longer-term policy direction, and the Council has been directed to develop a Harmonised Implementation Framework within 30 days.
Japan’s Parliament passes landmark bill recognising crypto as financial assets
Japan's National Diet (Parliament) passed a landmark amendment on 15 July 2026 that formally reclassifies cryptocurrencies as "financial assets" under the country's securities framework, marking one of Japan's most significant digital asset policy shifts in recent years. According to Japanese lawmakers, this change reflects the reality that crypto has outgrown its role as a payment method and now functions primarily as an investment product for millions of retail users.
The bill amends the Financial Instruments and Exchange Act (FIEA) and the Payment Services Act (PSA) of Japan, moving crypto out of its prior payments-focused regime and into the framework governing stocks, bonds, and investment trusts, in recognition that crypto has outgrown its role as a payment method and now functions primarily as an investment product.
Under the revised law, more than 105 cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin, become subject to securities-style rules, including stock-market-style insider trading bans, expanded disclosure requirements for issuers and exchanges, and an investment cap for regular investors in unaudited token projects. Penalties for unregistered crypto operators rise sharply, with the maximum prison term increasing from three to ten years and the maximum fine from 3 million yen ($18,500) to 10 million yen. The Financial Services Agency (FSA) linked the reform to explosive retail adoption, noting Japan now has over 14 million open crypto accounts, roughly 70% held by users earning under 7 million yen ($43,600) annually.
The law also clears a key legal obstacle to future spot crypto exchange-traded funds (ETFs), though no ETF products were approved in this round, as the FSA will reportedly develop an ETF framework with the Japan Exchange Group reportedly eyeing listings around 2027.
Lawmakers separately approved cutting the top tax rate on crypto income from as high as 55% to a flat, separately reported 20%, with three-year loss carry-forwards, another good catalyst that Japan may be attaining frontrunner status in the crypto policy race. The FIEA/PSA amendments take effect in 2027, while the lower tax rate is not expected until 2028.
CLARITY Act stalls as Senate window narrows
The fate of the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act (CLARITY Act) has grown more uncertain this month as the Senate's window to act before the August recess continued to shrink. A House Financial Services Subcommittee hearing titled "Building the Future of Finance: How the CLARITY Act Unlocks Innovation" was held in New York on 17 July to build legislative momentum, even though the field hearing itself could not advance the bill.
Several Senate Democrats have begun publicly branding the market-structure bill "corrupt," citing unresolved conflict-of-interest concerns tied to elected officials' crypto holdings. The Senate is now reportedly prioritising the National Defense Authorization Act over CLARITY, pushing floor consideration toward the weeks of 23 and 27 July — the only realistic windows before recess.
This prolonged delay may cause regulatory uncertainty for players in the industry. Separately, the Federal Law Enforcement Officers Association wrote to the Senate Banking Committee on 10 July expressing support for the CLARITY Act while urging refinements on decentralised-protocol accountability and anti-money-laundering standards.
GENIUS Act deadline lands as California licensing regime takes hold
18 July 2026 marked the statutory deadline for federal and state regulators to finalise implementing rules under the GENIUS Act of the covering stablecoin issuer licensing, capital requirements, custody standards, and anti-money-laundering provisions. The rulemaking process has already proven contentious, with community banks urging the OCC to deny Coinbase's national trust charter application and to close a perceived "loophole" allowing stablecoin issuers to offer yield, while the Blockchain Association has pushed back on proposals it says would undermine a “carefully negotiated compromise”.
Meanwhile, California's Digital Financial Assets Law also took effect on 1 July 2026, requiring anyone engaging in "digital financial asset business activity" with a California resident to obtain a licence from the state's Department of Financial Protection and Innovation, subject to certain exemptions.
MiCA's transitional period expires, reshaping Europe's crypto landscape
The European Union's Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA) transition period ended on 1 July 2026, making formal authorisation the sole gateway for firms to access EU crypto markets. This implies that any entity providing crypto-asset services to EU clients without full MiCA authorisation must now cease such activities.
The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) had earlier confirmed in an April 2026 statement that no member state may extend the deadline further, and unauthorised entities were required to have wind-down plans implemented by the cutoff. Notably, more than 1,200 VASP entities held national registrations prior to MiCA, yet the conversion rate to full MiCA authorisation sat under 20% as of May 2026, meaning over 80% of formerly registered entities had not secured licences in time.
Major exchanges including Bitvavo, Bitpanda, Kraken, Coinbase, Binance, Crypto.com, OKX, Bitstamp, and Revolut have secured MiCA licences and stand to benefit from the regulation's EU-wide passporting mechanism. Approximately 70% of EU-based crypto transactions now occur on MiCA-compliant platforms, a figure expected to rise further as unlicensed exchanges wind down.
Crypto Holdings and Acquisitions
Citadel Securities buys into Crypto.com at $20 billion valuation
Crypto.com has secured its first-ever institutional funding round, announcing a $400 million strategic investment from market-making giant, Citadel Securities, that values the exchange at $20 billion, as announced on 16 July. Citadel Securities is one of the world's largest market makers, and its decision to take a direct equity stake, rather than merely providing liquidity services, signals a deepening of ties between traditional Wall Street market infrastructure and crypto-native exchanges.
The investment lands at a moment when Crypto.com has been aggressively expanding its regulatory footprint across multiple jurisdictions, and the capital injection is expected to support further institutional product development.
Metaplanet expands bitcoin treasury to 43,000 BTC
Japan's Metaplanet purchased an additional 2,823 BTC for approximately $170.7 million, lifting its total bitcoin holdings to 43,000 BTC, worth roughly $2.6 billion. This acquisition cements Metaplanet's position as the third-largest publicly traded corporate holder of bitcoin globally, trailing only Strategy and Twenty One Capital.
Alongside the purchase, the firm disclosed that its Bitcoin Income Generation business, which uses bitcoin options to produce recurring income, generated approximately ¥1.75 billion ($10.85 million) in operating revenue for the second quarter of its 2026 fiscal year, bringing first-half revenue to roughly ¥4.72 billion. Metaplanet's stock closed 3.5% higher following the announcement, reinforcing the company's dual strategy of continued accumulation paired with yield generation.
SBI Holdings builds a cross-border digital asset empire in Asia
Japan's SBI Holdings announced a flurry of crypto and blockchain moves this week, positioning itself to control the full digital asset value chain across Asia rather than chase short-term market cycles. On 17 July, SBI Group completed a majority-stake acquisition of Singapore-based crypto platform Coinhako, which holds a Major Payment Institution licence from the Monetary Authority of Singapore, as part of an effort to build a "global corridor for digital assets".
This followed a partnership announced on 16 July with Ondo Finance to tokenise Japanese equities and other assets using SBI's JPYSC yen stablecoin for settlement, and a partnership with the Solana Foundation. These moves build on SBI's agreement, reached in June, to acquire Tokyo-based exchange Bitbank for approximately $289 million (JPY 46.7 billion), a deal expected to close around October 2026 subject to Japan Fair Trade Commission approval and which would give the combined group roughly 2.9 million crypto accounts and $6.8 billion in assets under custody.
MoonPay notches its sixth acquisition of the year
MoonPay acquired Glide, a Y Combinator-backed startup that lets applications accept crypto deposits from any token, wallet, exchange, or card, in an all-equity deal announced 16 July. Glide's four-person team, including co-founders Tushar Soni and Qinyu Tong, would be joining MoonPay.
Glide's technology reportedly supports deposits across more than 100 tokens and 30 blockchain networks, processing over $100 million in annualised transaction volume. The deal marks MoonPay's sixth acquisition of 2026, following Sodot, Decent, DFlow, Entendre, and Dawn Labs.
Strategy breaks its "never sell" pledge again
Michael Saylor's Strategy (formerly MicroStrategy) sold 3,588 bitcoin for approximately $216 million between 29 June and 5 July, reducing its total holdings to 843,775 BTC, according to an SEC filing. The proceeds were used to fund distribution payments on the company's preferred stock and to replenish its US dollar reserve, which stood at $2.55 billion as of 5 July.
The sale was executed under Strategy's newly adopted Digital Credit Capital Framework, which authorises the sale of up to $1.25 billion in bitcoin to fund dividends and buybacks rather than simply accumulating and holding. The implication of this sale is that the company's bitcoin reserve is no longer being treated as an untouchable "diamond hands" position, setting a precedent that traders now expect the firm to routinely tap to service its preferred-stock obligations.
Lawsuits, Court Rulings and Settlements
US CFTC defies Michigan Court order in unprecedented prediction market showdown
The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) has taken its most aggressive action yet against state-level prediction market regulation, invoking rarely used emergency authority to order prediction market operator, Kalshi not to comply with a Michigan state court order that requires it to cancel and refund sports-related trades placed by Michigan residents.
Recall that Kalshi also suffered a significant setback on 7 July when US District Judge Analisa Torres of the Southern District of New York rejected its bid to enjoin the New York State Gaming Commission, ruling that federal commodities law does not preempt the state's gambling laws even assuming Kalshi's sports-event contracts qualify as "swaps" under the Commodity Exchange Act (CEA).
The CFTC dispute traces back to a 29 June ruling by an Ingham County judge that temporarily barred Kalshi from offering sports event contracts in Michigan and later required the company to geofence Michigan residents by 12 August, with noncompliance penalties reportedly reaching $500,000 per day. When Kalshi began unwinding trades in response to the state order, the CFTC intervened, arguing that federal law requires registered derivatives exchanges to operate as a single, impartial national market and that treating customers differently based on state residency would violate the CEA.
Michigan Attorney-General, Dana Nessel's office rejected the CFTC's reasoning, arguing that "the State of Michigan has an obligation to protect its residents" and that Kalshi "should be required to follow the laws of Michigan". Former CFTC Chairman Timothy Massad noted that the last time the agency invoked this emergency power was in 1980, in a transaction involving food commodities - potatoes and coffee. The CFTC's litigation campaign has now expanded to at least nine states, most recently filing suit against Kentucky over a new tax targeting prediction market operators.
BitGo Holdings hit with securities class action over IPO disclosures
Multiple law firms, including Pomerantz LLP, Kessler Topaz Meltzer & Check, and Kaplan Fox, are reportedly promoting a securities class action against BitGo Holdings, Inc. in the US District Court for the Eastern District of New York, with a lead plaintiff deadline of 7 August 2026.
The suit, covering purchasers of BitGo's Class A common stock traceable to its Initial Public Offering (IPO) of 22 January 2026 and a class period running through 13 May 2026, alleges that BitGo's offering documents understated the severity of the risk that declining digital asset prices posed to its business. The complaint points to two corrective disclosures: a 26 March 2026 filing revealing a swing from $156.6 million in net income in 2024 to a $14.8 million net loss in 2025, attributed to declines in digital asset prices affecting BitGo's bitcoin treasury.
SEC's crypto retreat tested in the courts
The US SEC's pivot away from litigation-driven crypto enforcement is now being tested in bankruptcy court. The administrator for bankrupt exchange, Bittrex has asked a court to vacate the SEC's final $24 million judgment against the company, arguing that the agency's own 2026 guidance — stating that most crypto assets are not themselves securities — should nullify the 2023 judgment; the SEC has dismissed the effort as "buyer's remorse," and legal scholars say the administrator faces steep odds given the judgment's finality.
In a related development, a Connecticut federal judge granted Digital Currency Group (DGC) permission to file an interlocutory appeal over a ruling that DGC must face a proposed class action alleging it unlawfully sold unregistered securities.
Ripple CEO reveals near-death experience
In a retrospective disclosure that resurfaced this month, Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse revealed in a podcast interview published 8 July that the company came within weeks of shutting down after the SEC sued it in 2020, having seriously considered distributing its XRP reserve to shareholders and dissolving rather than fighting the litigation.
Garlinghouse said Ripple ultimately spent $150 million in legal fees over roughly five years of US market stagnation before the case was resolved.
Criminal Matters
DOJ moves to drop $722 million BitClub Network Ponzi case
In a striking reversal, the US Department of Justice is preparing to dismiss with prejudice its long-running criminal case against Matthew Goettsche, the alleged mastermind behind the $722 million BitClub Network crypto mining Ponzi scheme. The Deputy Attorney General's office has directed the New Jersey US Attorney's Office to drop the prosecution, with defence and prosecution teams having reached "an agreement in principle" ahead of Goettsche's scheduled October trial.
Goettsche was indicted in December 2019 on charges including conspiracy to commit wire fraud and selling unregistered securities, with prosecutors alleging that BitClub Network fabricated mining returns and paid members for recruiting new investors between 2014 and 2019. Three co-defendants, Silviu Balaci, Joseph Abel, and Gordon Beckstead, previously pleaded guilty. A DOJ spokesperson noted that the case had been pending for seven years and that "the government is recovering a substantial amount owed to investors".
Crypto investor indicted on 29 counts of fraud
A federal grand jury has indicted Benjamin Paul Wiener, a 43-year-old resident in South Dakota, US, on 29 counts including wire fraud, money laundering, bank fraud, and aggravated identity theft. Wiener appeared before a US Magistrate Judge on 10 July 2026 and pleaded not guilty.
According to the indictment, Wiener devised a scheme to obtain money and digital currency from victims who invested in his companies through materially false statements, subsequently moving the funds to conceal their source and ownership. The indictment further alleges that in April 2025, Wiener secured a $1 million line of credit from a Sioux Falls financial institution by falsifying documents and using another individual's personal identifying information without authority.
Wiener faces up to 20 years' imprisonment on the wire fraud and money laundering counts, up to 30 years on the bank fraud count, and a mandatory minimum consecutive two-year term for aggravated identity theft. He was released on bond, with trial set for 15 September 2026.
Taiwan delivers 22-year sentence in BitShine fraud case
Taiwan's Shilin District Court sentenced the ringleader behind crypto exchange BitShine, Shih, to 22 years in prison for illegally providing virtual asset services and orchestrating fraud and money laundering that defrauded over 1,500 victims of NT$1.27 billion (approximately $39 million).
According to prosecutors, Shih's group collaborated with fraud rings and an organised crime group to funnel victims' cash into USDT purchases before transferring the funds overseas, laundering more than NT$2.3 billion (about $71 million) between January 2024 and April 2025, and even hired unwitting compliance officers to design know-your-customer (KYC) procedures to make the exchange appear legitimate.
UK fraud gang jailed over police-impersonation crypto scam
Three men, including two Nigerians, Anthony Ikenwe and Kevin Nwamma were sentenced at Southwark Crown Court after defrauding eight victims of more than £4 million ($5.4 million) in cryptocurrency by impersonating police officers and directing victims to convincing fake police websites, the Metropolitan Police announced. One of the men, Anthony Ikenwe, 29, received six years for conspiracy to commit fraud and a further five years for money laundering.
Goliath Ventures Ponzi CEO pleads guilty to $250 million fraud
Christopher Alexander Delgado pleaded guilty on 30 June to wire fraud, conspiracy to commit wire fraud, and money laundering, admitting to causing at least $250 million in investor losses through Goliath Ventures, which falsely claimed to generate monthly returns of 3 to 8% by deploying funds into Uniswap liquidity pools.
In reality, reports reveal that only about $1.5 million of the roughly $400 million raised ever touched a real blockchain pool. Delgado faces up to 20 years in prison on each of the two fraud counts, a further 10 years for money laundering, with sentencing scheduled for 8 October 2026, and has agreed to forfeit eight properties, 11 vehicles, 30 watches, and dozens of luxury bags and pieces of jewellery.
Convicted Bulgarian fraudster charged with stealing back his own forfeited crypto
Bulgarian national, Rossen Iossifov appeared in the federal court at the Eastern District of Kentucky on charges of destruction/removal of property to prevent seizure, and conspiracy to commit money laundering, after allegedly orchestrating the unauthorised withdrawal and transfer of approximately $290,000 in cryptocurrency which had already been seized and forfeited to the United States.
Iossifov was serving a 111-month sentence for a prior 2021 online auction fraud conviction during which he had laundered nearly $5 million in cryptocurrency at the time of the alleged offence, and now faces up to 25 years in prison if convicted on the new charges.
Mood of Market
Bitcoin slides below $63,000 as AI stock fatigue spreads to crypto
Bitcoin fell below $63,000 on 17 July, as a deepening global selloff in AI-linked stocks bled into the crypto markets, compounded by renewed Middle East tensions. Total crypto market capitalisation fell by 1.86% to sit at $2.16 trillion, with Ether declining 1.74% alongside bitcoin's drop.
On the derivatives side, the long-short ratio in crypto futures slipped to 0.94, its lowest since early June, while the average relative strength index (RSI) across crypto pairs dipped to 42.23, edging toward the oversold territory that had previously triggered a relief bounce earlier in July. Notably, privacy coins bucked the broader downtrend, with ZEC and DASH both advancing even as most major tokens, including BTC and ETH, had negative cumulative volumes.
Regardless, underlying on-chain data show long-term holders continuing to hold roughly 72% of circulating supply, with whale wallets reportedly accumulating and exchange reserves remaining low, dynamics that traditionally support prices even amid short-term weakness.
Regulatory limbo and Strategy's sales weigh on sentiment
Market anxiety over the CLARITY Act's stalled path through the Senate has bled directly into pricing, with Polymarket's implied odds of passage this year collapsing to a record-low 31% by 17 July. This uncertainty has compounded jitters stemming from Strategy's decision to sell bitcoin to fund shareholder distributions (reported above); a shift which undermines the market's long-standing assumption that Strategy would never sell, and could create a predictable, recurring source of selling pressure going forward.
Altogether, the stalled legislative agenda Strategy's departure from its "never sell" doctrine, and a market still absorbing the shock of a 47% drawdown from October 2025 highs have left July's crypto mood cautious, even as some technical and on-chain indicators point toward the later stages of the downturn.
And that's a wrap on today's reports.
Remember, these posts are merely for informational purposes and do not constitute financial or legal advice.
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