Institutional interest in tokenization is accelerating as large banks, asset managers and market infrastructure players explore how on-chain assets and stablecoins can lift capital efficiency and liquidity. At the WAIB Summit 2026 in Monaco, executives from Franklin Templeton and BNP Paribas outlined how tokenized assets could modernize Europe’s capital markets by streamlining settlement, improving collateral mobility, and enabling more seamless cross-border activity. Rafael Mastroberardino, head of digital assets partnership development at Franklin Templeton, framed tokenization as a path to greater “optionality and flexibility” for both banks and corporate treasuries—and as a catalyst for institutions to roll out their own offerings. Julien Clausse, head of BNP Paribas CIB’s tokenization platform, emphasized that blockchain can host multiple asset types on a single chain, provided those assets can interact meaningfully, unlocking new institutional use cases. The momentum reflects a b...

Binance has announced a $250,000 humanitarian contribution to support frontline response efforts against an ongoing Ebola outbreak affecting the Democratic Republic of Congo and Uganda. The exchange said the funds will be divided equally between the Uganda Red Cross Society and Doctors Without Borders, known internationally as Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF). What the donation will support The company said the funding is earmarked for activities such as emergency medical care, prevention and public-awareness campaigns, contact tracing and containment work, and provision of sanitation supplies and personal protective equipment for health workers. Binance framed the contribution as a rapid-response intervention to shore up services in high-risk and underserved areas where healthcare access remains limited. Outbreak context and operational constraints Health authorities have linked the recent cases to the Bundibugyo Ebola virus, for which there is currently no approved vaccine or targeted ...

Japan’s Lower House has moved a bill that would bring crypto assets under the country’s financial instruments framework, signaling a potential shift toward regulated market access such as exchange-traded funds and a more favorable tax posture for digital assets. Bloomberg reported that the legislation aims to regulate crypto assets more like traditional securities, imposing stricter trading rules as part of a broader market growth push. The bill is expected to advance further after consideration by the Upper House and could take effect next year pending final enactment. The proposed changes would align crypto assets with the regulatory treatment afforded to stocks and bonds, introducing tighter governance and disclosure requirements. At a macro level, the move reflects an ongoing effort to integrate digital assets into Japan’s financial markets while enhancing oversight and investor protections. If enacted, the reform would also reframe the tax landscape for crypto holdings, with poten...

Binance research outlines the potential scale of tokenized equities Binance Research, the analytics arm of Binance, has released a market commentary arguing that tokenized equities and fractional stock ownership facilitated by crypto exchanges could meaningfully expand global equity participation. In a base-case projection the report estimates crypto platforms could channel as much as US$2 trillion in additional capital and bring close to 300 million new investors into global equity markets by 2031. A bullish scenario sees annual incremental flows rising to US$5 trillion within five years. Those figures, if realised, would represent a significant reconfiguration of access to the world’s largest equity pools. Binance’s analysis points to a persistent participation gap: most jurisdictions outside the United States have equity ownership rates well below 20 percent of the population, even though US-listed companies account for a large share of global market capitalisation. The report frame...

Digital Asset Holdings has secured a fresh $355 million financing round led by Andreessen Horowitz’s crypto arm, signaling a growing appetite on Wall Street for permissioned blockchain infrastructure. The round also includes participation from 7RIDGE, the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, Citadel Securities and Optiver, valuing Digital Asset at roughly $2 billion, according to Bloomberg Law’s reporting citing people familiar with the matter. The capital will be deployed to scale the Canton Network, Digital Asset’s privacy-focused platform designed to enable institutions to tokenize and settle traditional securities while keeping commercially sensitive data protected. Canton has already been piloted by a slate of major financial institutions, including Goldman Sachs, BNY Mellon, BNP Paribas, Standard Chartered, Société Générale and Deutsche Börse. Bloomberg’s reporting last month indicated Digital Asset had initially sought around $300 million at a similar valuation and expected to close ...

A Canadian teenager has admitted to a conspiracy to launder money tied to a multimillion-dollar cryptocurrency theft carried out through social-engineering ploys that purported to be trusted firms. Prosecutors say Trenton Richard Johnston, who turned 20 this year, and his co-conspirators impersonated Google, Trezor and other crypto industry figures to access victims’ digital wallets, culminating in a more than $13 million drain. The scheme funded a high-end lifestyle in Miami and Los Angeles, including luxury cars, jewelry, and private-jet travel. Johnston had been charged in May 2024 and, this week, pleaded guilty to money-laundering conspiracy as part of a plea agreement that prosecutors say could yield a prison term in the mid‑range of four to five years. According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida, the operation began in January 2024. In February, Johnston allegedly convinced a victim that his Google email and Coinbase accounts had been compromised,...