FCA, HTX in Settlement Talks Over Illegal UK Crypto Promotions: Report
Related
Binance to restrict transactions involving HTX, 10 other crypto platforms
Binance said it will stop processing transactions for involving 11 crypto platforms, including HTX, which was recently listed in the EU’s sanctions package targeting Russia.
Analysis: The high compliance threshold of the UK FCA's crypto regulatory framework may be a key challenge to its implementation.
According to Odaily Odaily, the UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) officially released its regulatory framework for crypto assets this week. It is widely regarded by the industry as an international solution that emphasizes "global liquidity access," but its implementation still faces significant compliance and approval challenges. Under the new regulations, the FCA allows overseas exchanges to serve UK users through locally authorized branches and access global trading infrastructure, thus avoiding the formation of closed domestic liquidity pools. Simultaneously, stablecoins not issued in the UK can also circulate in the UK market, a stance considered significantly different from the regional segregation model of the EU's Crypto Asset Markets Regulation (MiCA). The "Qualified Crypto Asset Trading Platforms" (QCATP) mechanism in the new regulations is seen as a key structure connecting global exchanges with the UK market, potentially improving price efficiency and market depth. However, industry insiders point out that the FCA has not yet clarified which jurisdictions are deemed to have "comparable regulatory protection," and this uncertainty may affect companies' strategic deployment decisions. Furthermore, the rules related to decentralized finance (DeFi) are still not fully clear, and some practitioners are concerned that early solutions may restrict centralized platforms from accessing the DeFi ecosystem, causing the UK to lag behind other jurisdictions in this area of innovation. From a compliance perspective, lawyers point out that under the new Financial Services and Markets Act framework, the authorization process may be extremely stringent, with historical data showing that the FCA's anti-money laundering registration approval rate is less than 15%. The new system will also cover multi-dimensional regulatory requirements such as consumer responsibility, capital adequacy, operational resilience, and senior management accountability, significantly raising the entry threshold. Industry insiders believe that the framework provides a basic institutional foundation for institutional funds to enter the crypto market, but whether the UK can truly become a global crypto hub will depend on the certainty of regulatory enforcement and the efficiency of approvals in the coming months. (CoinDesk)
Malaysian police raided and dismantled an illegal cryptocurrency mining operation in the Port Klang Free Zone.
According to Foresight News , citing the Malaysian media outlet New Straits Times, Malaysian police raided and shut down an illegal cryptocurrency mining operation yesterday in a warehouse in the Pulau Indah Free Zone of Port Klang. Two foreign men, aged 20 and 31, were detained during the raid, and mining equipment was seized. Under Malaysian law, this act violates the Penal Code and the Electricity Supply Act. If both are convicted, they could face up to ten years in prison and a fine of RM100,000 (approximately US$24,500).
Citadel Securities is seeking over $7.9 million in damages from former employees who founded the crypto company.
Odaily Odaily that Citadel Securities has filed a lawsuit in London against Leonard Lancia, former head of its European derivatives systematic market making team and co-founder of high-frequency crypto trading firm Portofino Technologies, seeking over £6 million, or approximately $7.9 million. Citadel Securities accused Leonard Lancia and his colleagues of planning their startup while he was still employed by the company, and won a labor arbitration case, receiving damages and legal costs. In addition, Citadel Securities filed a lawsuit against Portofino Technologies in the United States in 2023, accusing it of stealing trade secrets. Leonard Lancia and Portofino Technologies have denied all allegations. The London High Court rejected Leonard Lancia's request last Friday to lift the asset freeze order. (Bloomberg)
The US CFTC has filed a lawsuit against cryptocurrency pool operator Trevor Vernon, alleging a $14.8 million investment fraud.
According to BlockBeats, on July 8th, the US CFTC filed a lawsuit against Trevor Vernon and his company, Argent Capital Management, on Tuesday. The lawsuit alleges that between March 2022 and February 2026, Vernon operated a commodity pool involving stock index futures, options, and crypto assets, raising approximately $14.8 million from at least 60 investors and falsely advertising investment performance, thus committing investment fraud. The CFTC claims that the transactions resulted in losses exceeding $8.6 million for investors. Vernon allegedly concealed these losses and misappropriated approximately $3 million to pay returns to investors, operating in a manner "similar to a Ponzi scheme," and misappropriated $136,000 for private jet travel. The regulator also points out that the transactions involved commodities such as Bitcoin and Ethereum, and is requesting the court to prohibit Vernon from continuing related trading and registration activities, recover illegal gains, impose civil penalties, and compensate investors.
STRATEGY breaks the myth of "never selling coins," Huobi HTX will conduct a live broadcast to discuss the future direction of institutional holdings.
According to Mars Finance, Huobi HTX will host a live debate today at 8:00 PM (UTC+8) titled "STRATEGY's 'Never Sell' Promise Broken: Where is Institutional Holding Model Heading?" Shouyi, MaoMaoJie, WangFugui, and DeFiSniper will represent the affirmative side, while 0824, MoCheng, Nika, and DaiDai will represent the negative side. The two sides will engage in in-depth discussions on key issues such as why institutions are adjusting their holding strategies and how market liquidity will evolve, jointly analyzing the new changes and trends in the crypto market.