[News Brief] Jun 29, morning | Full Enforcement of the EU's MiCA Crypto-Asset Regulation Begins on July 1

EU's MiCA Crypto-Asset Regulation to Be Fully Enforced on July 1; Unlicensed Providers Required to Suspend or Restrict Services

According to CoinDesk, the European Union's Markets in Crypto-Assets regulation (MiCA) is set to be fully enforced on July 1, and the European Securities and Markets Authority has required crypto-asset service providers that have not obtained a MiCA license to suspend or restrict services within the European Union.

Alex Fazel, an executive at SwissBorg, said that more than 10 million European users may need to find new platforms due to the compliance deadline.

The CEO of OKX Europe projected that of the roughly 3,000 existing virtual asset service providers in Europe, as many as 80% may find it difficult to continue operating once the new rules take effect.

Platforms such as Coinbase and OKX, which are either complying with the rules or have applied for licenses, are seeking to attract affected users with deposit and transfer incentives.

Bybit to Gradually Restrict Certain Global Platform Services for EEA Users in Response to MiCA

According to Wu Blockchain, Bybit will gradually restrict access to certain services on its global platform for users in the European Economic Area (EEA) in response to the EU's MiCA regulation.

Bybit said it will provide users with prior notice before the restrictions take effect, and that access to assets held in custody will continue to be guaranteed.

Bybit EU is a MiCA-approved European entity and is also pursuing an additional license in Austria.

U.S. Crypto Regulation Bill 'Clarity Act' Enters Critical Two-Week Negotiation Phase

According to Odaily, the U.S. crypto industry's key regulatory bill, the 'Clarity Act,' has entered a critical two-week negotiation phase.

While the Senate is in recess until July 13, bipartisan staff, the White House, and crypto industry representatives will work to resolve the bill's remaining issues.

Major points of contention include integrating draft language prepared by the Senate Banking Committee and the Agriculture Committee, ethics provisions, and anti-money laundering requirements.

If an agreement is reached, the bill could be brought to a full Senate vote as early as late July to early August.

The market sees the period before Congress's August recess as the key deadline for passage this year. If a vote does not occur during that window, prospects for enactment in 2026 could decline significantly.

Ripple Pushes to Introduce Institutional Lending Infrastructure on the XRP Ledger

Ripple is pursuing a plan to introduce institutional lending infrastructure on the XRP Ledger (XRPL).

According to Odaily, the proposal is an XRPL lending protocol corresponding to the XLS-65 and XLS-66 standards. It is currently at the technical draft stage, and validator approval through voting is required for mainnet implementation.

The protocol would handle fund pool management, interest calculation, repayment enforcement, and default processing on-chain. However, borrower credit assessment and loan term setting would remain the responsibility of traditional financial institutions, allowing compliance with regulatory requirements in each jurisdiction.

Ripple said the design could be used to secure short-term liquidity before settlement is completed in areas such as cross-border payments.

Odaily described the initiative as an attempt to combine traditional financial lending infrastructure with XRPL's open-network nature.

Sky, Spark, and Uniswap Supply $150 Million in Initial Liquidity to Stablecoin Exchange System FX Layer

According to Odaily, the initial $150 million in liquidity for FX Layer, a stablecoin exchange system built by Sky (formerly MakerDAO), Spark, and Uniswap, has been supplied in USDS, the stablecoin of the Sky ecosystem.

USDS serves as the core base asset in the USDS/USDT and USDS/PYUSD pools. The three organizations plan to bring in stablecoin issuers such as PayPal's PYUSD, Ripple's RLUSD, as well as Robinhood and Revolut, aiming to reduce the cost of building separate liquidity pools and market-making systems.

Earlier, on June 25, Spark and Uniswap announced the launch of FX Layer, a shared liquidity infrastructure for stablecoin issuers including banks, fintech firms, and payment companies.

U.S. Supreme Court Blocks President Trump's Attempt to Remove Fed Governor Lisa Cook

The U.S. Supreme Court did not allow President Trump to remove Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook, according to a market update cited by Odaily.

Separately, the Court recognized President Trump's authority to remove a Federal Trade Commission commissioner. The issue of removing a Fed governor has drawn market attention because of its implications for central bank independence and the future direction of interest-rate policy.

Global Public Companies' Net Bitcoin Purchases Fell to $14.65 Million Last Week, Down 83% Week-on-Week

According to SoSoValue, as of 8:00 a.m. ET on the 29th, net Bitcoin purchases by global public companies (excluding miners) totaled $14.65 million last week, down 83% from the previous week.

Strategy (formerly MicroStrategy) did not make any additional Bitcoin purchases last week. The company announced repurchase plans of up to $1 billion each for its Class A common stock and digital credit preferred stock, and also approved the option to secure up to an additional $1.25 billion through Bitcoin sales if necessary.

Odaily explained that the move does not imply an immediate sale, but rather serves as a liquidity backstop for repurchases and the payment of dividends or interest. Analysts said Strategy may be shifting from aggressive Bitcoin accumulation toward capital structure management.

Japanese listed company Metaplanet also did not buy Bitcoin last week, extending its buying pause to 10 consecutive weeks.

However, Hong Kong company CIMG received 207.7 Bitcoin worth $13.5 million through proceeds from stock and warrant issuance, increasing its total holdings to 937.7 Bitcoin. Brazilian Bitcoin firm OrangeBTC purchased 74 Bitcoin for $4.9 million on the 29th, bringing its total holdings to 3,896 Bitcoin.

Total Bitcoin holdings by tracked global public companies (excluding miners) reached 1,142,484 Bitcoin, up 0.02% from the previous week. At current market prices, those holdings are worth about $68.52 billion, representing 5.7% of Bitcoin's circulating market capitalization.

Ukraine Transfers Seized $8.3 Million in USDT Into State Asset Management System

Ukraine has transferred $8.3 million worth of seized USDT into its state asset management system.

According to Odaily, Ukraine's Prosecutor General's Office said the crypto assets, obtained during an investigation into an international hacking group, were transferred to the National Agency of Ukraine for Finding, Tracing and Management of Assets Derived from Corruption and Other Crimes (ARMA) under a court order.

Authorities described the move as an important first case in Ukraine's crypto-asset regulation and management framework. Discussions are also under way in Ukraine regarding the establishment of a strategic crypto reserve.

However, the assets are currently under entrusted management prior to legal confiscation, and whether they will be permanently forfeited will be determined through future judicial proceedings.

Galaxy Officially Added to the Russell 1000 Index

According to Odaily, Galaxy said on X that it has been officially added to the Russell 1000 Index.

The Russell 1000 Index is a major large-cap benchmark that includes approximately the top 1,000 U.S.-listed companies by market capitalization.

Galaxy said its institutional crypto business has reached meaningful scale, and that it is rapidly expanding data center infrastructure to grow into a company connecting crypto finance with the AI computing industry.

Bubblemaps Releases Distribution Data for ANSEM Token Airdrop

According to Odaily, on-chain analytics platform Bubblemaps has released distribution data for the ANSEM token airdrop.

Bubblemaps said crypto KOL Ansem distributed approximately $6.7 million worth of ANSEM to more than 700 wallets.

According to the data, one wallet received more than $1 million, six wallets received more than $100,000, and 40 wallets received more than $10,000. About 300 wallets received more than $1,000, while roughly 400 wallets received around $150 each.

The largest single recipient address received 10 million ANSEM, accounting for about 1% of total supply. Based on a fully diluted valuation of $100 million, that amount is worth about $1 million.