What has been happening this week in the world of blockchain and cryptocurrencies? Current events and background reports in our weekly review.
Selected articles of the week:
Ticino’s cantonal bank BancaStato this week launched regulated crypto trading for retail clients. Anyone holding an account there can now buy, hold and sell Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin and Solana directly in e-banking. This is enabled by an interface from Sygnum, the crypto bank licensed by FINMA since 2019. It is integrated directly into the Avaloq core banking system, eliminating the need for a separate order management system. Client assets are held off-balance-sheet in Sygnum’s institutional custody solution and remain protected in the event of insolvency. BancaStato is already the sixth Swiss cantonal bank with a regulated retail offering, after Zug, Lucerne, Zurich, St. Gallen and Thurgau. Three of them rely on Sygnum, whose B2B platform now counts more than 25 banks, including PostFinance and SocGen FORGE. Together they reach over a third of the Swiss population. The regulated crypto offering is thus evolving from a differentiator into an industry standard.
BancaStato launches regulated crypto trading: buy Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin and Solana directly in e-banking via Sygnum and Avaloq.
BlackRock and eight partners prepare Bitcoin against quantum computers
The biggest names in finance are also moving closer to Bitcoin, albeit on a technical level. Nine financial institutions and Bitcoin firms founded the Bitcoin Security Consortium this week, jointly pledging USD 15 million over three years for the security of the protocol. The founding members include asset manager BlackRock, ARK Invest, Coinbase, Fidelity Digital Assets and Strategy. Rather than running a central fund, the body only coordinates. Each member directs its own funds independently to developers of its choosing, which sidesteps accusations of institutional influence. The focus is on preparing for post-quantum cryptography. Coinbase’s technical advisory board estimates roughly 7 million BTC as vulnerable, worth about USD 458 billion at current prices. Affected are old addresses with an exposed public key. Large quantum computers do not yet exist today, with estimates pointing to 2030. Even so, a transition requires sufficient lead time.
Trump agrees to ethics clause in the Clarity Act: It prohibits public officials from issuing crypto and assigns enforcement to the DOJ.
Trump tasks the Justice Department with the crypto ethics rule
In the US, meanwhile, the first comprehensive market structure law for digital assets is advancing. President Donald Trump agreed this week to an ethics clause for the Clarity Act. It bars the president, vice president and members of Congress from issuing their own cryptocurrencies while in office. The decisive factor is jurisdiction. The rule will be enforced by the Justice Department, not by state attorneys general. That is precisely what draws criticism. Democrats see a conflict of interest, because Trump’s former lawyer Todd Blanche is currently going through confirmation to lead the DOJ. The math is tight. Passage requires 60 votes, yet Republicans hold only 53 seats. The practical deadline is August 7, before the summer recess; otherwise everything slips to November. Trump’s own crypto earnings, which reached around USD 1.4 billion in 2025, add further controversy to the debate.
Nine institutions including BlackRock and Coinbase launch the Bitcoin Security Consortium, pledging USD 15 million for Bitcoin’s security.
Kazakhstan lures crypto traders with tax exemption
While Washington wrangles over details, Kazakhstan is creating facts by decree. President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev signed an ordinance this month to promote the domestic crypto industry, drafted by the Digital Ministry, the National Bank and the Astana International Financial Centre. Its centerpiece is a tax exemption. Trading gains on licensed, regulated platforms remain free of income tax. Those who trade through unregulated channels, by contrast, get nothing. The incentive thus acts as a pull toward registered exchanges. In addition, investors can disclose assets previously held abroad and transfer them to domestic platforms. Two further levers target the real economy. Stablecoins are meant to ease cross-border payments in import and export business, and mining operations may generate electricity from otherwise unused associated gas from oil and gas fields.
Kazakhstan’s crypto tax exemption by presidential decree makes all trading income on licensed, regulated platforms completely tax-free.
BitMEX pulls the plug after eleven years
In addition: crypto derivatives exchange BitMEX will permanently cease trading operations at the end of September, eleven years after its founding by Arthur Hayes, Ben Delo and Samuel Reed. New registrations were halted this week with immediate effect, and open positions will be settled or forcibly liquidated by the end of September. BitMEX shaped the industry like few other platforms. The perpetual swap it developed, a futures contract with no expiry date and up to a hundredfold leverage, is today considered the most-traded crypto product. At its peak in the late 2010s, the exchange held around 57% market share. Its decline has several causes. A sale process running since February 2025 found no buyer, and leadership changed in June. Its regulatory past also weighed on it. In 2020, US authorities charged the company, followed by a USD 100 million fine in January 2025. The exchange’s own token BMEX plunged more than 90% after the announcement.
BitMEX shuts down on 23 September 2026 after 11 years, following a sale process that produced no buyer for the exchange.
