August saw Albanian police arrest the founder of Thodex, who fled Turkey last year after leaving almost 400,000 users of his crypto exchange without access to their funds.

On the other side of the world, drama unfolded in India between lawmakers and crypto exchanges WazirX and Binance.

Meanwhile in South Africa, the CEO of the Prudential Authority – the main regulator of banks in South Africa – issued a welcome guidance note to all financial institutions that essentially said: “It’s time to bank crypto companies!”

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Global

US, Ukraine, and UK lead in overall use of crypto globally, new study reveals. More

Europe

Digital bank Revolut gets approval to offer crypto services throughout Europe. More

European Union open to Hashdex’s crypto ETPs following Swedish approval. More

European Central Bank addresses guidance on licensing of digital assets. More

EU lawmakers vote down green crypto mining study. More

EU stablecoin ban would cause “extreme volatility,” lobbyists warn. More

CBDCs only solution to ‘smooth continuation’ of the monetary system: ECB. More

Albania

Founder of Turkish crypto exchange Thodex arrested in Albania. More

France

Crypto Exchange Luno wins regulator registration in France. More

3 arrested in Israeli probe of crypto scheme that defrauded the French government. More

Germany

Crypto exchange Nuri files for insolvency in Germany. More

Italy

Blockchain-based Socios.com gets regulatory approval in Italy. More

Crypto exchange Coinify obtains regulatory approval to operate in Italy. More

Stablecoin Tether hires BDO Italia for monthly proof-of-reserve reports. More

Ireland

Crypto adoption in Ireland down over 16% in the last year. More

Netherlands

Dutch authorities arrest suspected Tornado Cash developer. More

Developers, family protest arrest of Tornado Cash developer in Amsterdam. More

Russia

Russian PM takes cue from Iran’s crypto payment permit for imports. More

SBI Holdings to cut bitcoin mining operations in Russia, citing sanctions concerns. More

Russia may introduce “targeted” CBDC by 2023. More

SEC charges Russian Forsage founders with cryptocurrency fraud. More

Spain

Almost 7% of people in Spain have invested in crypto, regulator says. More

Ukraine

Ukraine now ranks second in the world for crypto use. More

Ukraine spent $54m in crypto on drones and other military expenses. More

UK

Crypto.com gets UK regulatory approval. More

UK seeks to regulate stablecoins as a form of payment. More

UK financial regulator unveils stronger ad restrictions — with crypto rules set to follow. More

Regulators could order hedge funds to disclose crypto exposure. More

UK watchdog fouls Arsenal FC for promoting crypto token. More

IBM, Finastra participate in UK’s Digital FMI Consortium planning retail CBDC pilot. More

UK parliamentary group opens inquiry into crypto industry. More

British crypto investors should limit crypto holdings, financial regulator says. More 

Americas

Argentina

Binance and Mastercard will launch prepaid crypto cards in Argentina. More

Brazil

Brazil CBDC trials: farm lending explored by Digital Asset, Oliver Wyman, VERT. More

Canada

Ontario regulator includes crypto firms in latest consumer protection alert. More

Canadian pension fund writes off investment in Celsius.  More

Canadian crypto marketplace WonderFi files for Nasdaq listing. More

Colombia

Colombia explores creating a CBDC to combat tax evasion. More

Colombians make up 20% of the customers of new gen crypto-powered accounts, according to BBVA. More

El Salvador

El Salvador is set to launch a stablecoin linked to the US dollar. More

Nayib Bukele attributes tourism recovery in El Salvador to bitcoin, surf, and crime reduction. More

Paraguay

Paraguay’s President vetoes bill that would regulate crypto mining and trading. More

United States

Crypto mixing service Tornado Sevice blacklisted by US treasury. More

SEC charges Forsage founders, promoters in $300m crypto Ponzi scheme lawsuit. More

New York financial regulator fines Robinhood’s crypto division $30m. More

SEC charges 11 individuals over $300m crypto ‘pyramid scheme’. More

Coinbase exec at heart of insider trading scandal pleads not guilty in federal court. More

Senators introduce bill establishing CFTC regime for crypto exchanges. More

Coinbase hit with 2 fresh lawsuits amid SEC probe. More

BitMEX executive pleads guilty to violating US anti-money laundering program. More

Celsius creditor committee says it will investigate conduct of Mashinsky and other insiders. More

Coin Center prepares legal challenge to Treasury’s Tornado Cash sanctions. More

Federal Reserve governor pumps the brakes on US CBDC in favor of FedNow. More

US lawmakers eye environmental impact of crypto mining. More

CFTC focuses on outreach as digital assets gain popularity among underserved groups. More

CME Group plans to launch options for Ether futures ahead of Merge. More

Ex-OpenSea executive files to dismiss DOJ case over NFT sales. More

Crypto exchange Coinbase faces class action lawsuit over alleged lapses in security. More

Congressman demands answers from Yellen on Tornado Cash sanctions. More

SEC delays VanEck’s bitcoin ETF decision another 45 days. More

Grayscale, disclosing SEC queries, says cryptos XLM, ZEC, ZEN may be securities. More

US congressman to review all Binance​.US files related to consumer safety. More

US Digital Dollar Project to work with Ripple on CBDC technical sandbox. More

Caribbean

Puerto Rico

Puerto Rico opens the door to bitcoin real estate buying. More

Middle East & North Africa

Iran

Iran Import Association demands regulatory clarity to use crypto in foreign trade. MoreIran formally approves the use of digital assets for imports. More

Israel

Israel promotes digital payments and restricts use of cash. More

Qatar

Qatar introduces digital payment services ahead of FIFA World Cup. More

UAE

Dubai issues crypto marketing rules to better protect investors. More

UAE introduces new reporting requirements to counter crypto real estate money laundering. More

Ripple continues overseas expansion with Tranglo to UAE. More

South Asia

Afghanistan

Afghan authorities reportedly shut down at least 16 crypto exchanges. More

India

Indian law enforcement accuses WazirX exchange of aiding in laundering of $130m. More

Indian Government raids director of crypto exchange WazirX, freezes $8.1m as part of AML investigation. More

Binance CEO says firm never bought WazirX. Its founder disagrees. More

Binance disables off-chain transfers between itself and WazirX. More

Indian authorities freeze $46m worth of Vauld’s assets. More

Vauld says it disagrees with asset freeze order by Indian authorities. More

India’s CBDC roll-out likely this fiscal with wholesale businesses. More

Kazakhstan

Binance obtains in-principle approval to operate in Kazakhstan. More

Uzbekistan

Binance, FTX and Huobi among crypto exchanges blocked as Uzbekistan clamps down. More

East Asia & Pacific

Australia

Crypto exchange Huobi now able to operate in Australia. More

Australia unveils plans for crypto regulations unlike ‘anywhere else in the world’. More

Australia’s central bank launches digital currency pilot. More

China

Chinese municipal bank issues first-ever digital yuan loan using intellectual property as collateral. More

China begins next phase of CBDC testing with e-CNY payment for public transport. More

Hong Kong

InvestHK opens CBDC fast track programme. More

Japan

CBDC launch still on the table, BoJ says. More

Japan’s largest online broker to shut crypto mining in Russia. More

Singapore

Singapore High Court recognises Three Arrows Capital liquidation order. More

Singapore may adopt tougher rules for retail crypto market. More

North Korea

North Korea’s Lazarus hackers blamed in DeBridge Finance cyperattack.  More

South Korea

South Korea reportedly arrests 3 in multibillion-dollar crypto-linked probe. More

Do Kwon reportedly hires lawyers in South Korea to prepare for Terra investigation. More

Binance signs agreement with Busan, South Korea to develop blockchain infrastructure. More

Ex-S. Korean Finance Minister Yong-Beom Kim appointed as CEO of Hashed Open Research. More

Thailand

The Bank of Thailand to pilot retail CBDC by the end of 2022. More

Thai SEC cautions investors about risks of DeFi transactions. More

Siam Commercial Bank Scraps $500m purchase of stake in Thailand’s largest crypto exchange. More

Zipmex requests meetings with Thai regulators to discuss ‘recovery plan’. More

New Zealand

Huobi to halt derivatives trading for New Zealand users. More

Africa

Africa’s crypto adoption numbers continue to break records as blockchain investment grows. More

Cameroon

Binance launches “first-of-its-kind” crypto education hub in Francophone Africa. More

Central African Republic

Binance CEO meets with President of Central African Republic to discuss crypto adoption. More

Ghana

Africa fintech and crypto leaders to connect at the Africa Money and DeFi Summit this September. More

Nigeria

Nigerian governor announces second phase of CBDC project. More

Nigeria’s CBDC eNaira used for nearly $10m worth of transactions since October. More

Nigeria tops UAE, US, others as most crypto-curious country. More

South Africa

South Africa’s Central Bank greenlights financial institutions to serve crypto clients. More

There are four million crypto holders in South Africa, according to report. More

Zimbabwe

Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe ‘developed a roadmap for adoption of CBDC,’ says governor. More