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Revolut Granted UAE In-Principle Approval to Offer Crypto Services

Revolut has taken another step in its push to expand regulated crypto access in the Middle East, receiving in-principle approval from Dubai’s Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (VARA) to provide crypto-related services in the United Arab Emirates. In a notice shared on Wednesday, the UK-based financial group said VARA’s approval follows permission from the Central Bank of the UAE for payment activities. The regulator’s green light, Revolut added, would allow the company to offer broker-dealer, asset management and investment, and exchange services to users in the UAE—via the Revolut app and its Revolut X trading venue. Key takeaways VARA granted Revolut in-principle approval for multiple virtual asset business lines in the UAE. The approval comes after the UAE Central Bank cleared Revolut for payment-related activities. Revolut says its UAE rollout will support users buying, selling, and holding digital assets through the app and Revolut X. Revolut’s UAE expansion follows its ...
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Stanford Study Finds 5-Minute Bitcoin Prediction Markets Susceptible to Manipulation

Prediction markets are attracting mainstream attention—and they’re also raising new questions about how their mechanics can shape market behavior. A new research paper from Stanford University and Singapore Management University argues that Polymarket’s short-horizon Bitcoin contracts can create incentives for sophisticated traders to manipulate spot prices around settlement, at a potential cost to retail participants. The study focuses on Polymarket wagers that settle after five minutes based on Bitcoin’s price relative to a fixed threshold. Because settlement depends on Chainlink price feeds tied to the end-of-window spot price, the authors say traders can profit by influencing the spot market immediately before the contract resolves. Key takeaways Settlement based on a five-minute spot price can encourage end-of-window price manipulation. Researchers observed larger order-flow spikes shortly before settlement and quick price reversals after. The paper estimates about $1.28 mil...
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Aave V4 Goes Live on Avalanche, Targeting Tokenized Credit Markets

Aave has deployed its V4 lending infrastructure on Avalanche, extending the protocol’s newest market architecture beyond Ethereum for the first time. The move is positioned as a foundation for lending pools that can be tailored to different collateral types—potentially including tokenized real-world assets—while still benefiting from shared liquidity across the Aave network. Announced as the start of a broader rollout, the Avalanche launch introduces Aave V4’s “Hub & Spoke” model. In this setup, specialized lending markets can set their own collateral requirements and risk parameters, but draw on liquidity routed through Aave’s overarching infrastructure. Key takeaways Aave V4 is now live on Avalanche, representing the protocol’s first expansion of its latest lending framework beyond Ethereum. The Hub & Spoke architecture lets new lending markets define custom collateral rules and risk settings without fragmenting liquidity. Aave says one of the early Avalanche markets is...
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US Senator Criticizes AG Nominee Over Crypto Unit, Cites CZ Pardon

Acting U.S. Attorney General Todd Blanche faced sharp criticism at a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on Wednesday as lawmakers weighed his nomination to lead the Justice Department. The backlash centered on how the department has pursued— or deprioritized—crypto-related enforcement, particularly in cases involving the broader developer ecosystem. Senator Dick Durbin, the ranking Democrat on the committee, used portions of his opening statement to accuse Blanche of weakening DOJ’s crypto enforcement capacity. Durbin referenced Blanche’s reported role in dismantling a DOJ crypto enforcement unit in April 2025 while he was deputy attorney general, arguing that the move left ongoing investigations effectively “shut down” during the Trump administration’s push toward different enforcement priorities. Key takeaways Durbin’s criticism ties Blanche’s prior DOJ actions to a broader shift in crypto enforcement, including alleged “dismantling” of the department’s crypto unit. Questions fro...
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Ostium Halts Trading After Oracle Exploit Reports by Security Firms

Ostium, a decentralized perpetuals trading protocol built on Arbitrum, has paused all trading after security firms reported what they described as an exploit tied to the protocol’s OLP liquidity vault. Blockaid and CertiK both said the incident appeared to stem from a compromise of Ostium’s oracle infrastructure, which feeds external price data into the platform. Blockaid estimated losses at around $18 million, while CertiK put the figure closer to $22 million. Ostium said it identified an issue affecting the vault and is investigating, but it has not yet confirmed the cause or independently verified the loss estimates. Key takeaways Ostium paused trading after reporting an issue in its OLP liquidity vault. Two security firms diverged on losses: Blockaid estimated ~$18M; CertiK estimated ~$22M. The suspected root cause is oracle compromise , according to Blockaid and CertiK. Ostium urged users to revoke approvals for its contracts while it investigates. Trading halted and us...
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Sec Boosts BlackRock Ibit Options Limit To One Million Contracts Today

The US Securities and Exchange Commission approved a rule change that expands options limits for BlackRock’s Bitcoin ETF, IBIT. The decision raises the contract limit from 250,000 to one million contracts. Consequently, the change supports growing trading activity and strengthens the Bitcoin ETF market structure. US Sec Expands BlackRock Bitcoin ETF Options Capacity The US Securities and Exchange Commission approved a proposal filed by NYSE Arca for IBIT options. The approval became effective immediately under the existing regulatory framework. Meanwhile, the regulator continues accepting public comments on the rule change. The updated rule increases position and exercise limits from 250,000 contracts to one million contracts. Therefore, the new threshold reflects stronger trading activity across the BlackRock Bitcoin ETF market. It also aligns the exchange with recent changes adopted by other major options venues. NYSE Arca submitted the proposal under Section 19(b)(1) of the Securiti...
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Securitize and Cantor Explore Tokenized IPOs for Public Trading

Securitize and Cantor Fitzgerald have announced a partnership aimed at enabling blockchain-based primary issuances and follow-on equity offerings for listed companies using tokenized securities. The initiative is designed to fit within existing regulatory pathways for public offerings, positioning tokenization as a potential upgrade to traditional IPO and secondary capital-raising workflows. According to the companies, they are developing a framework that would allow issuers to raise capital through tokenized securities while maintaining compliance with the rules applicable to public offerings. The plan covers both initial public offerings and subsequent, or secondary, share sales by companies that are already publicly listed. Key takeaways Securitize and Cantor Fitzgerald plan to build a regulated issuance and settlement framework for tokenized securities covering both IPOs and follow-on equity offerings. Securitize will provide the tokenization infrastructure, while its SEC-regis...
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