From 20 January, Vietnam has commenced taking applications for licensing for crypto exchanges, but the requirements for licensing have proven eye watering and designed to lock out all but the largest existing traditional operators. Among the requirements are: a minimum capital of approximately US $380 million; ownership stipulations including at least 65% institutional holdings; and at least 35% ownership from two institutional investors who are involved in banking and finan

Traditional finance’s push to integrate digital assets has taken another meaningful step forward. Over the past month, several major products and pilot programs slated for 2026 have been announced, signalling that digital asset exposure is rapidly becoming a standard feature of wealth management and capital markets operations. One notable example is Morgan Stanley’s plan to roll out a proprietary digital wallet  in the second half of 2026. The wallet is touted to support both

The New Year has brought a wave of 2026 crypto and blockchain predictions from major industry and institutional players. Industry outlooks for 2026 point to a year of structural change across crypto and traditional finance. Reports from Bitcoin Suisse, Messari, Galaxy Research, A16Z, Coinbase Institutional and others highlight common themes: lower interest rates driving capital inflows, tokenisation moving from pilot operations to large-scale implementation, and of course AI

Predictions markets have seen a huge rise in users with sites like Polymarket and Kalishi raising large funding rounds and experiencing exponential growth. The speed with which these offerings have grown has started to run into regulatory hurdles however, and last Friday, regulators in Tennessee sent a cease-and-desist letter to Polymarkets, Crypto.com and Kalshi, alleging that their predictions markets were in fact unlicensed gambling. The same day Kalshi commenced lega

The Victorian Court of Appeal has endorsed the view that bitcoin (BTC) is a form of property and that its misappropriation is capable of being prosecuted as theft. The judgment follows an appellate decision of the Supreme Court of Tasmania’s recognising that Bitcoin is property but endorsing the view that it does not neatly fit within the existing categories of chose in action and chose in possession. Background In Connor Yeates (A Pseudonym) v the King [2025] VSCA 288 , the

Regulatory shake-ups for digital assets continued into and throughout 2025, with newly enacted legislation and anticipated policy shifts in hopes of encouraging innovation and confidence in the digital asset space. Bits of Blocks ( Bob ) has been on the beat, delivering breaking news on legal developments affecting the blockchain and crypto industry. To celebrate, we present the '12 Days of Bobmas' – a chronological journey through our top stories of the year.   To Dystopia a

The Australian Government has taken a significant step toward regulating digital asset platforms under the Australian Financial Services Licensing ( AFSL ) regime, with draft legislation set for its second reading in Parliament. This swift move follows public consultations with industry on exposure draft legislation which were completed on 24 October 2025 . Feedback during the consultation period was broadly supportive, though concerns remain about compliance costs, definitio

In a recent speech, the Securities and Exchanges Commission ( SEC ) Chairman, Paul Atkins, tackled one of the most vexed issues in relation to cryptocurrency, the application of the US securities laws. The speech shed more light on ‘Project Crypto’, the commission's flagship initiative to drive America’s digital finance revolution. The SEC Chairman announced earlier this year plans to facilitate US financial markets to move on-chain and renewed his call to embrace market inn

The Cayman Islands, with a secure British legal system, safe business environment and tax neutral status, has long been a favoured home to US Hedge funds (35,000+) and crypto companies, and new data from the Cayman Islands General Registry underscores just how much that growth has continued. In 2017, the Cayman Islands legislated into existence the Cayman Foundation in the Foundation Companies Act , a highly flexible corporate structure which could operate to manage wealth an