US lawmaker asks Congress to treat Binance exec in Nigeria as a ‘hostage’

Revolut, a European neobank with crypto support, plans to invest more than 1 billion euro ($1.1 billion) in France and apply for a local banking license.According to a May 19 Fortune report, Revolut representatives announced the initiative during the Choose France business summit hosted by President Emmanuel Macron in Paris. The London-based neobank also plans to set up its new European Union-serving headquarters in Paris, promising to invest 1 billion euro and hire at least 200 people within three years.Revolut spokespeople also said that the firm is in the process of submitting an application to the French banking regulator Prudential Supervision and Resolution Authority. According to an anonymous source cited by Fortune, the regulator has been pushing the neobank to get a license to improve supervision due to its popularity in France.Revolut currently employs about 300 people and serves five million customers in France. This makes the nation the neobank’s top European Union market.Related: Revolut doubles profits to $1.3B on user growth, crypto trading boomAiming for the starsRevolut hopes to onboard 10 million users by the end of next year and then double that number by 2030. The firm already offers loans, trading and cryptocurrency support in its mobile-first banking platform.The neobank has seen rapid growth ever since its founding in 2015. The company recently received a $45 billion valuation and reportedly served over 55 million customers as of late May.Revolut’s 2024 annual report release shows that the firm’s 2024 revenue was 3.1 billion British pounds ($4 billion). A recent Financial News article also puts the company’s headcount at 10,133 employees as of Dec. 31, 2024.Related: Revolut expands crypto exchange to 30 new markets in EuropeAn increasingly regulated institutionRevolut obtained its UK banking license in late July 2024, where 11 million of its customers are located. Now, the neobank is aggressively looking to obtain similar permits across other jurisdictions, with 10 applications underway.Revolut received the Prepaid Payment Instruments license from India’s central bank earlier this month. This license allows the bank to offer multi-currency forex cards and cross-border remittance services in India.EU-based Revolut customers now leverage its Lithuania operations. The firm received a banking license in Lithuania at the end of 2018, enabling it to serve customers across the European Economic Area better.Magazine: Crypto wanted to overthrow banks, now it’s becoming them in stablecoin fight

Dubai’s crypto regulator has given licensed digital asset companies until June 19 to comply with its updated activity-based Rulebooks to enhance market integrity and risk oversight. On May 19, Dubai’s Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (VARA) announced that it had released Version 2.0 of the Rulebooks. The regulator said it had strengthened controls around margin trading and token distribution services, harmonised compliance requirements across all licensed activities and given clearer definitions for collateral wallet arrangements. VARA’s team will engage with licensed entities and expects the companies to comply with the updated rules after a 30-day transition period.“In line with global regulatory best practices, a 30-day transition period has been granted to all impacted virtual asset service providers [VASPs], with full compliance required by 19 June 2025,” VARA wrote.  VARA enhances supervisory mechanismsVARA highlighted that it had enhanced supervisory mechanisms across several regulated activities. This includes advisory, broker-dealer, custody, exchange, lending and borrowing, virtual asset (VA) management and investment, and VA transfer and settlement services. A VARA spokesperson told Cointelegraph that the updates will bring consistency across all activity-based rules defining core operational terms. The spokesperson gave examples of terms like “client assets,” “qualified custodians,” and “collateral requirements” as some of the terms more consistently defined in the update.  The update also aligned risk management and disclosure obligations, where activities overlap, in areas like brokerage, custody and exchange. “The aim was to reduce ambiguity and help VASPs navigate cross-functional compliance more easily,” VARA told Cointelegraph. Related: Dubai gov’t agencies to link real estate registry with property tokenizationDubai regulator tightens leverage thresholds for margin tradingAs for margin trading, the VARA spokesperson said they tightened leverage thresholds, mandated clearer collateralisation standards, and enhanced the monitoring obligations for VASPs offering this feature. Margin trading allows traders to control large positions with smaller amounts of capital. It amplifies both gains and losses. Tightening the leverage traders use helps limit the risks of widespread liquidations in a market downturn. The crypto regulator introduced a new section on token distribution that sets out licensing prerequisites, investor protections and marketing restrictions. The spokesperson emphasized the marketing restrictions, especially for “retail-facing offers.” “It’s about aligning with global conduct expectations and closing observed regulatory gaps,” the VARA spokesperson said. Magazine: Danger signs for Bitcoin as retail abandons it to institutions: Sky Wee

Tether, the $151 billion stablecoin issuance giant, has surpassed Germany in United States Treasury bill holdings, showcasing the benefits of a diversified reserve strategy that has helped the firm navigate the volatility of the cryptocurrency market.Tether, the issuer of the world’s largest stablecoin, USDt (USDT), has surpassed Germany’s $111.4 billion worth of US Treasurys, data from the US Department of the Treasury shows.Foreign countries by US Treasury holdings. Source: Ticdata.treasury.govTether has surpassed $120 billion worth of Treasury bills, the firm shared in its attestation report for the first quarter of 2025. That makes Tether the 19th largest entity among all counties in terms of T-bill investments.“This milestone not only reinforces the company’s conservative reserve management strategy but also highlights Tether’s growing role in distributing dollar-denominated liquidity at scale,” wrote Tether in the report. Related: Central banks testing smart contract toolkit under BIS Project PineDuring 2024, Tether was the seventh-largest buyer of US Treasurys across all countries, surpassing Canada, Taiwan, Mexico, Norway, Hong Kong and numerous other countries, Cointelegraph reported in March 2025.Source: Paolo ArdoinoTreasurys are debt securities issued by the US government, considered some of the safest and most liquid investments available worldwide. Tether invests in Treasurys as an additional reserve asset for its US dollar-pegged stablecoin.Related: Paolo Ardoino: Competitors and politicians intend to ‘kill Tether’Tether’s Treasury, gold portfolio “almost offset” crypto market volatility losses for Q1 2025Tether’s traditional reserve assets helped the stablecoin giant weather the downside volatility of the crypto market during the first quarter of 2025.Tether reported over $1 billion in operating profit from “traditional investments” during the first quarter of the year, “driven by solid performance in its US Treasury portfolio, while the performance of Gold has almost offset the volatility in crypto markets,” according to the firm’s attestation report.Growing clarity around US stablecoin regulations could lead to more investments in Tether’s dollar-denominated stablecoin, part of which will be used to further bolster the firm’s Treasury reserves.The industry is currently awaiting progress on two pieces of legislation. The Stablecoin Transparency and Accountability for a Better Ledger Economy (STABLE) Act currently awaits scheduling for debate and a floor vote in the House of Representatives, after it passed the House Financial Services Committee on April 2 in a 32-17 vote.However, the Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for US Stablecoins, or GENIUS Act, stalled on May 8 after failing to gain support from key Democrats, some of whom voiced concerns about US President Donald Trump’s potential financial interest in clearer crypto regulations, due to his family’s digital asset ventures.On May 14, at least 60 of the top crypto founders gathered in Washington, DC, to support the GENUIS Act, which seeks to establish collateralization guidelines for stablecoin issuers and requires full compliance with Anti-Money Laundering laws.Magazine: Altcoin season to hit in Q2? Mantra’s plan to win trust: Hodler’s Digest, April 13 – 19