BPCE will let millions of customers buy and sell BTC, ETH, SOL and USDC directly inside its banking apps. French banking heavyweight BPCE is preparing to introduce crypto trading to millions of its retail customers, making it one of the first major traditional European banks to offer digital assets. According to a report from The Big Whale, the group will allow users to buy and sell Bitcoin (BTC), Ether (ETH), Solana (SOL) and USDC (USDC) directly inside its Banque Populaire and Caisse d’Épargne mobile apps starting Monday. The initial rollout will cover clients of four regional banks, including Banque Populaire Île-de-France and Caisse d’Épargne Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur, reaching roughly 2 million customers. BPCE plans to extend the service gradually across its remaining 25 regional entities through 2026, ultimately making crypto trading available to its full 12-million-strong retail base. Read more
South Korea plans to hold crypto exchanges to the same no-fault compensation standards as banks after an Upbit hack exposed major gaps in consumer protection. South Korea is preparing to impose bank-level, no-fault liability rules on crypto exchanges, holding exchanges to the same standards as traditional financial institutions amid the recent breach at Upbit. The Financial Services Commission (FSC) is reviewing new provisions that would require exchanges to compensate customers for losses stemming from hacks or system failures, even when the platform is not at fault, The Korea Times reported on Sunday, citing officials and local market analysts. The no-fault compensation model is currently applied only to banks and electronic payment firms under Korea’s Electronic Financial Transactions Act. Read more
Ether exchange balances dropped to a decade low of 8.7% as more ETH moved into staking and custody, setting up a potential supply squeeze. The amount of Ether stored on centralized crypto exchanges is at an unprecedented low, which could result in a supply squeeze, say analysts. Ether (ETH) exchange balances fell to 8.7% on Thursday last week, the lowest they have been since the network launched in mid-2015. The amount of the asset held on exchanges remained low at 8.8% on Sunday, according to Glassnode data. The amount of ETH on exchanges has declined by 43% since the beginning of July, which was around the time when digital asset treasury (DAT) purchasing started ramping up. Read more
ETF expert Eric Balchunas argued Bitcoin's 17-year track record and multiple recoveries make tulip mania comparisons obsolete despite recent criticism. Bitcoin can no longer be compared to the “Tulip Bubble” due to its endurance and resilience over the years, according to Eric Balchunas, Bloomberg’s exchange-traded fund expert. “I personally would not compare Bitcoin to tulips, no matter how bad the sell-off,” said the senior ETF analyst on Sunday. Balchunas pointed out that the tulip market rose and collapsed in around three years, “punched once in the face and knocked out,” but Bitcoin (BTC) has “come back from like six to seven haymakers to reach all-time highs and has survived 17 years.” Read more
Bitcoin’s liveliness indicator reached new peaks, suggesting strong demand despite lower prices and signaling the bull market cycle may not be over yet. A technical indicator called liveliness is rising, which historically signals bull run activity and could mean that this market cycle is not over yet, say analysts. “Liveliness continues to march higher this cycle despite lower prices, indicating a floor of demand for spot Bitcoin that is not reflected in price action,” said technical analyst “TXMC” on Sunday. The analyst explained that the “elegant metric,” which is like the long-term moving average for onchain activity, is a running sum of all lifetime spending compared to holding activity onchain. Read more
The largest corporate Ether holder continues to buy the dip, as the industry’s most profitable traders continue to bet millions on ETH’s short-term decline. BitMine Immersion Technologies, the world’s largest corporate Ether holder, continues buying the dip, despite the industry’s most successful traders betting on Ethereum's price fall. BitMine acquired $199 million worth of Ether (ETH) during the past two days, through a $68 million ETH acquisition on Saturday and another $130.7 million buy on Friday, according to blockchain data platform Lookonchain. With the latest investments, BitMine now holds $11.3 billion, or 3.08%, of the total Ether supply, closing in on its 5% accumulation target, according to data from the StrategicEthReserve. Read more
Legal experts are concerned that transforming ESMA into the “European SEC” may hinder the licensing of crypto and fintech in the region. The European Commission’s proposal to expand the powers of the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) is raising concerns about the centralization of the bloc’s licensing regime, despite signaling deeper institutional ambitions for its capital markets structure. On Thursday, the Commission published a package proposing to “direct supervisory competences” for key pieces of market infrastructure, including crypto-asset service providers (CASPs), trading venues and central counterparties to ESMA, Cointelegraph reported. Concerningly, the ESMA’s jurisdiction would extend to both the supervision and licensing of all European crypto and financial technology (fintech) firms, potentially leading to slower licensing regimes and hindering startup development, according to Faustine Fleuret, head of public affairs at decentralized lending protocol Morpho. Read more
Bitcoin long-term holders lost interest in selling at $90,000, new research showed, as profitability of their BTC supply dried up. Bitcoin (BTC) has seen a “complete reset” of sell pressure after dropping below $90,000, says new research. Key points: Bitcoin long-term holders have reset their selling habits as BTC price action returns below $90,000. Read more