AscendEX Exchange Collapse Hands Europe Its First MiCA Test

The post ESMA Starts First MiCA Crypto Custody Review. appeared on BitcoinEthereumNews.com. ESMA reviews CASPs to assess custody security, governance, and operational resilience under MiCA rules. EU regulators will examine key management, incident response, and third-party service risks. Crypto custody firms face stricter oversight as MiCA shifts toward active market supervision. The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) has launched its first major review of crypto custody providers under the Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) framework, targeting operational resilience and asset protection standards across the European Union. ESMA Begins MiCA Review of Crypto Custody Operations On July 8, ESMA announced the launch of a Common Supervisory Action (CSA) focused on crypto-asset service providers (CASPs), with particular attention on custody services and digital operational resilience. The initiative will be conducted alongside national competent authorities across the European Un

ESMA reviews CASPs to assess custody security, governance, and operational resilience under MiCA rules. EU regulators will examine key management, incident response, and third-party service risks. Crypto custody firms face stricter oversight as MiCA shifts toward active market supervision. The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) has launched its first major review of crypto custody […] The post ESMA Launches First MiCA Crypto Custody Review: What Firms Face Next appeared first on Live Bitcoin News.

The halt at AscendEX underscores the growing regulatory challenges for crypto exchanges, potentially impacting market confidence and asset stability. The post AscendEX halts operations, freezes withdrawals amid EU MiCA regulation appeared first on Crypto Briefing.

The post AscendEX Halts Operations, Freezes Automated Withdrawals appeared on BitcoinEthereumNews.com. Crypto exchange AscendEX ceased operations effective July 1, 2026, and moved all withdrawal requests to manual review starting July 6, according to a notice posted on its website addressed to retail account holders. Crypto exchange AscendEX ceased operations effective July 1, 2026, and moved all withdrawal requests to manual review starting July 6, according to a notice posted on its website addressed to retail account holders. The exchange cited the European Union’s Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA), which took full effect July 1 and under which AscendEX holds no authorization, alongside broader “regulatory, financial and operational considerations,” the notice said. Customers can no longer open accounts, deposit, trade, swap, stake or lend on the platform; access is now limited to offboarding tasks such as withdrawal requests, KYC updates and transaction-history exports. Wi

Crypto exchange AscendEX ceased operations effective July 1, 2026, and moved all withdrawal requests to manual review starting July 6, according to a notice posted on its website addressed to retail account holders.

The post Bull Bitcoin Files Landmark Legal Challenge To Annul France’s DAC8 Crypto Data Surveillance Rules appeared on BitcoinEthereumNews.com. Bull Bitcoin exchange, recently licensed under MiCA, is challenging the European directive in French courts that sets up a mass surveillance database, putting millions of crypto users at risk.  Bull Bitcoin, the world’s oldest Bitcoin-only and non-custodial exchange, recently licensed under MiCA by France’s financial markets regulator AMF, has filed a legal challenge before the Conseil d’État, France’s supreme administrative court. The challenge seeks to annul Decree No. 2025-1276, the main measure transposing the European DAC8 directive into French law, on the grounds that it creates a massive surveillance grid and database that institutions can not secure from leaks and data hacks, ultimately putting civilians at risk of kidnapping and physical harm.  Alongside the legal action, the company is making dac8.com public: “a complete, fully source

The post AscenDex shutdown: Uncertainty over withdrawals as hot wallets lack funds appeared on BitcoinEthereumNews.com. Crypto exchange AscendEx has announced the cessation of its operations “with effect from 1 July 2026.” In a letter dated July 6, it cited a lack of an EU Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA) licence, “as well as broader regulatory, financial and operational considerations affecting the platform.” However, towards the end of the letter, AscendEx reveals that it “relied on an agreed strategic transaction… and the counterparty did not perform.” The news comes almost two weeks after pseudonymous blockchain investigator ZachXBT voiced concerns over disruption to user withdrawals. In a June 26 message to his Telegram channel, he noted that the exchange’s “reserves appear to lack large cap tokens such as ETH, USDT, USDT, SOL, etc indicating they likely are facing liquidity issues.” Read more: SecondFi is shutting down after Cardano wallet exploit AscendEx-labelled addr

The post ESMA Crypto Custody Review Marks New Enforcement Phase appeared on BitcoinEthereumNews.com. Europe’s crypto industry is about to face its most rigorous operational stress test yet. On 8 July 2026, the European Securities and Markets Authority launched a Common Supervisory Action targeting crypto custody — the function at the very heart of how firms protect client assets — marking a decisive shift in the ESMA crypto custody review from regulatory theory into hard enforcement reality. Key takeaways ESMA launched a coordinated Common Supervisory Action on 8 July 2026, placing crypto custody services under direct scrutiny across the EU. The review runs from the second half of 2026 through the first half of 2027, with a consolidated report expected in the second half of 2027. National competent authorities will conduct risk-based reviews of a sample of the 280 authorised providers now registered under MiCA. Ripple received full CASP authorisation from Luxembourg’s CSSF on 6 July 20