Why crypto staking rules split the US, EU and UK in 2026
Crypto staking is regulated four ways across the US, EU, UK and Hong Kong. From the Kraken reversal to MiCA's July 1 deadline and the FCA's new regime.
Rick Steves
Senior Reporter, Regulation and Fintech
Rick Steves has seen business and economics through many lenses. He joined the financial services industry in 2009, and has been a financial journalist since 2011. He holds a degree in Business Administration and has experience producing real-time news, from both buy-side and sell-side, as well as for retail traders, brokers and service providers. Steves' work has appeared in a variety of online publications including FX Street, NewsBTC, FinanceFeeds, and The Industry Spread. Rick has great interest in the dynamics of the trading industry. The never-ending clash between technology, economics, regulation, and more importantly, the people.
June 2026
Flagright raises $12.5m to scale AI financial-crime compliance
Flagright has raised a $12.5m Series A led by Infinity Ventures to scale its AI financial-crime compliance platform as RegTech defies the funding slowdown.
AMLA’s single rulebook splits EU AML from the US and UK
From July 10, 2027 the EU's AMLR single rulebook and Frankfurt's AMLA centralise AML supervision over banks, crypto and FX firms — diverging from the US and UK.
Pollen Street buys Finastra’s Universal Banking core unit
Pollen Street Capital is buying Finastra's Universal Banking core unit and its Essence platform — a PE bet that modernising 150+ incumbent banks beats rip-and-replace.
How regulators are closing in on retail prop trading in 2026
Retail prop-trading firms face a regulatory squeeze across the US, EU, UK and Australia in 2026 after the CFTC's My Forex Funds case collapsed.
Mercury raises $200m at $5.2bn after OCC bank-charter nod
Mercury raised a $200m Series D at a $5.2bn valuation and won conditional OCC approval for its own US bank charter, breaking the sponsor-bank model.
EU’s PFOF ban hits its June 30 cliff as the US keeps it legal
From June 30, 2026, MiFIR Article 39a bans payment for order flow across the EU as Germany's exemption expires — while the US keeps PFOF legal under disclosure.
Chime turns its first profit as the 2026 fintech IPO wave stalls
Chime booked its first GAAP profit ($53m) in Q1 2026 while Revolut and Monzo defer their IPOs — proof the fintech listing window now opens for earnings first.
Basel’s 1,250% crypto capital rule reopens as the US and UK opt out
Basel's SCO60 imposes a 1,250% capital charge on crypto from January 1, 2026 — but the US rejected it, the UK held back, and only the EU is transposing it in full.
Saris raises $28.8m to bring agentic AI to bank back offices
Saris raises a $28.8m Series A led by 8VC to scale agentic AI workflow automation for banks and credit unions across lending, compliance and operations.
Temenos acquires additiv in embedded-wealth orchestration push
Temenos has agreed to buy Swiss wealth-orchestration platform additiv in a 50/50 cash-and-equity deal, pushing embedded finance from payments into wealth.
Why sanctioning crypto code splits the US, EU and UK in 2026
After the Van Loon ruling forced the Tornado Cash delisting, the US, EU and UK are diverging on sanctioning crypto code and developer liability in 2026.
Hong Kong’s stablecoin licences expose a global issuer split
Hong Kong's first stablecoin licences complete a five-jurisdiction map where HK, Singapore, Japan, the US and EU agree on reserves but split on who can issue.
Klarna launches US Visa debit card in pivot beyond BNPL
Klarna has rolled out a Visa Flexible Credential debit card in the US, signalling its push to be valued as a neobank rather than a BNPL lender.
Figure buys Kiavi for $717m in tokenised-lending push
Figure is acquiring lender Kiavi for $717m, with Sixth Street warehousing the loans — a balance-sheet-light template for scaling tokenised lending.
MiCA 2: the EU reopens its crypto rulebook 18 months in
The EU's MiCA review consultation reopens the crypto rulebook 18 months in — DeFi, staking, perps and the stablecoin ban that pushed out USDT all on the table.
Why Europe’s T+1 October 2027 deadline is an FX problem
The EU, UK and Switzerland move to T+1 on October 11, 2027 — ESMA wants the build done by Q4 2026. Why FX funding, CLS cut-offs and prefunding are the risk.
KOHO raises C$130m at C$1.33bn as bank licence nears
KOHO becomes Canada's newest unicorn with a C$130m Series E backed by Mubadala and Tobi Lutke — capital aimed squarely at a Schedule 1 bank licence.
Why EU regulators are pulling prop trading inside MiFID II
FSMA, CONSOB and the Czech National Bank are pushing funded-trader firms towards MiFID II just as the CFTC's My Forex Funds case collapsed in sanctions.
How Kalshi v. Flaherty splits event contracts from gambling law
Kalshi v. Flaherty: the Third Circuit rules CFTC jurisdiction preempts state gambling law for event contracts — while the UK and Ontario draw the opposite line.
Also filing this week: Karthik Subramanian and Abdelaziz Fathi.