News Center
Global Payments Weekly | 2026 W45
USDCHong Kong tokenized depositsCircleNigeria regulation
Should Government Officials Be Barred From Prediction Markets? House Oversight Says Maybe
House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer has circulated a staff memo recommending that Congress consider new restrictions on federal employees, military personnel, and security clearance holders trading in prediction markets, following an investigation into insider trading. Proposals range from a full ban to narrower limits on government-related contracts. The memo cites the Commodity Exchange Act and the STOCK Act, and acknowledges self-regulatory efforts by platforms such as Polymarket and Kalshi. The piece is primarily a political and regulatory story and does not substantively address specific crypto assets.
4 hours ago
Prediction Markets: Comer Calls for Trading Ban on US Officials
House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer, after reviewing roughly 1,700 pages of documents, is urging new restrictions or even a full ban on government officials trading on prediction markets. The probe focuses on insider-trading risks among officials, military personnel, and security-clearance holders, and recommends Congress consider legislation covering all three branches while pushing prediction-market firms to share information with federal agencies to enforce limits. Kalshi and Polymarket say they have tightened insider-trading controls, and the Senate has already barred its members and staff from trading on prediction markets.
5 hours ago
Crypto Laundering Poses 'Material Risk' to UK Ahead of FATF Review: RUSI
A task force convened by UK think tank RUSI warns that crypto poses a "material risk" to the UK. FATF assessors arrive in June 2027, but the UK's comprehensive crypto regulatory regime won't take effect until October 2027, leaving Britain to prove it can combat crypto money laundering. The report notes that City of London police believe 66% of investment fraud involves crypto, and the 2025 national risk assessment ranked crypto laundering as high-risk. The task force also says over-the-counter brokers may launder hundreds of millions of dollars annually, and considers UK regulation more conservative than Hong Kong, the EU and Singapore.
12 hours ago
Top 5 Prediction Market Platforms to Watch in 2026
This article rounds up five prediction market platforms worth watching in 2026: Kalshi, Polymarket, Probly, Limitless, and Manifold. Kalshi is a CFTC-regulated designated contract market that trades event contracts through a traditional exchange model, while Polymarket runs on the Polygon blockchain and uses USDC as collateral for on-chain event trading. The article compares how these platforms differ in trade processing, contract settlement, fund custody, and outcome determination, and notes that prediction markets have expanded beyond election forecasting into real-world events such as crypto prices, sports, and economic data.
USDCprediction marketsPolymarketPolygon14 hours ago
Western Europe's Crypto Economy Reaches $2.08 Trillion as Stablecoin Adoption Soars
A Chainalysis report shows Western Europe's crypto economy hit $2.08 trillion in annual activity from July 2025 to June 2026, up 1.2% year-over-year and ranking as the world's second-largest regional market. Stablecoin holdings in personal wallets surged 131% across the region, far outpacing the global 52% growth, with market share rising from 3.4% to 5.1%. The UK remains the largest market at $424.5 billion despite an 8% overall decline driven by lower decentralized exchange trading. Germany, France, the Netherlands, Spain, and Switzerland follow. The report also notes that European banks and institutions are accelerating compliant stablecoin offerings under the MiCA framework, with the European Banking Authority designating Circle's USDC as the first significant e-money token.
USDCRegional Crypto EconomyWestern EuropeChainalysis16 hours ago
Trump Names Four SEC and CFTC Nominees as US Crypto Regulation Debate Heats Up
President Trump has nominated four candidates for the SEC and CFTC—two Democrats and two Republicans. Kristin Johnson and Steven Levine are tapped for the SEC, while Nathan Anonick and Matthew Rowland are up for the CFTC. With Democrats set to control both chambers of Congress in January following the midterms, the CLARITY Act remains stalled after failing a Senate procedural vote. All nominations require Senate confirmation, and lawmakers continue to spar over crypto regulation and the president's financial conflicts.
19 hours ago
Republican Senator Calls for Freeze on AI Data Center Boom as Congress Moves to Expand It
Republican Senator Josh Hawley is urging a nationwide moratorium on new AI data centers until Congress passes legislation shielding households from rising electricity costs. Meanwhile, the Senate voted 73-25 to advance a bipartisan bill aimed at speeding up energy infrastructure permitting and requiring data center operators to bear the cost of new grid capacity. US data centers consumed roughly 183 terawatt-hours in 2024, a figure that could climb to 426 terawatt-hours by 2030. Hawley has yet to introduce a specific moratorium bill, and his stance contrasts with Congress's current legislative push to expand the sector.
2026-11-12
Thailand Proposes 5 Million Baht Daily Cap on Stablecoin Transfers
Thailand's SEC has unveiled draft rules capping stablecoin deposits and withdrawals at 5 million baht per day for regulated crypto operators, requiring transfers to involve the customer's own verified wallet. Exemptions apply to transfers between two regulated operators that comply with the Travel Rule, as well as market makers, corporate use cases, and businesses approved by the Bank of Thailand. The draft is open for public comment until November 26, 2026, and aims to curb money laundering, cybercrime, and circumvention of international remittance rules.
USDTTransfer LimitsTravel RuleStablecoin2026-11-12
CFTC Approves tZERO Crypto Derivatives Exchange Ahead of $350M Merger
The CFTC has approved tZERO's subsidiary tZERO DCM as a designated contract market, allowing it to operate a regulated derivatives exchange. This follows the October 16 registration of another subsidiary, tZERO DCO, as a derivatives clearing organization. Together, the two approvals satisfy the first performance milestone in tZERO's proposed $350 million merger with FG Imperii. tZERO plans to offer crypto futures and tokenized derivatives trading and clearing, though it has not yet announced its first contracts or a launch date.
2026-11-12
Nomura Weighs Sale of Laser Digital Months After Landing Japan Crypto License
Nomura Holdings is exploring a sale of its crypto subsidiary Laser Digital, with firms including Marex assessing a potential acquisition in talks that remain at an early stage. The move follows a ¥7.4 billion pretax loss in Nomura's European business for the quarter ended September 2026 and a fourth straight quarterly loss, with trading losses at Laser Digital a major drag. Launched in 2022 to serve institutional crypto investors, Laser Digital only recently secured a Japanese crypto exchange registration and preliminary U.S. trust bank approval. The article also notes Deutsche Bank's launch of institutional crypto custody and Israel Discount Bank's upcoming crypto services.
2026-11-12