Dubai regulator tightens crypto marketing rules

Illicit Crypto Activities Estimated to Have Surpassed $100 Billion in S.E. AsiaA recent analysis by blockchain analytics firm Bitrace has found that over $100 billion worth of digital currency has been used in illicit crypto trading activities in Southeast Asia.Photo by Bermix Studio on UnsplashThe firm provided details of its analysis via X (formerly Twitter) on Monday. The data underscores the extensive scope of unlawful activities involving cryptocurrencies across Southeast Asia. The analysis further revealed that illicit activities involve fraudulent schemes, online gambling, and money laundering.Misuse of digital asset innovationSome of the key characteristics of digital assets include the ability to maintain anonymity, decentralization, and borderless transactions, which are generally considered positive attributes. However, the very nature of decentralized cryptocurrency means that nobody dictates who uses it or the purpose for which someone decides to use it. With that, these characteristics have rendered illegal undertakings not only more covert but also facilitated expedited transfers of pilfered resources.The silver lining, however, rests in the inherent transparency of blockchain ledgers. This quality has enabled Bitrace’s team of encryption analysts to trace funds implicated in illicit ventures through intensive on-chain analysis.Key insightsThe Bitrace research points towards the following key insights:Prevalence of Tether (USDT): The use of USDT has gained prominence in both illicit activities and gambling operations throughout Southeast Asia, with a staggering sum of over 115 billion USDT recorded in 2022 alone.Shift to Top Trading Platforms: USDT is observed to migrate from unlawful platforms within Southeast Asia towards top-tier trading platforms. Particularly favored by operators and gamblers, a significant proportion hails from the Chinese demographic, consistently gravitating towards specific exchanges.Inflow into Trading Platforms: A noteworthy development emerges as over 14.6 billion USDT prepares to traverse into trading platform accounts. The mounting risk factor diffuses across an expanding spectrum of addresses and platforms.Likely consequencesIf this blockchain analysis is found to be accurate, there are likely to be ramifications for all projects operating in the digital assets, DeFi and Web3 space. It comes at a time when the focus on the regulation of crypto-related businesses is more intense than ever before.Anti-Money Laundering (AML) and Know Your Transaction (KYT) legislation are cornerstone financial services regulations that have been established on a global basis. If these regulations are being flouted, and crypto is being used as a means to circumvent them, there’s a real risk that regulation could be applied heavy-handedly to counteract that threat of widespread illicit activity.Global crypto exchange Binance has faced criticism in this context, with a suggestion in March that its Turkey-based exchange service had been used by an organization connected with militant group Hamas for money laundering and terrorist financing.In a report last week, Binance claimed that it shared information with authorities that led to the capture of senior ISIS members. More such cooperation will likely be necessary to prevent the sector being subject to overzealous regulation.

BlackRock Investment Marks its Return to IndiaBlackRock, the world’s largest money manager with $9.4 trillion in assets under management, has made a significant move by joining forces with the financial services arm of Indian tycoon Mukesh Ambani.This strategic partnership aims to tap into India’s rapidly growing asset management market and marks BlackRock’s return to the country following a six-year absence.The collaboration between BlackRock and Jio Financial Services, a company built by Reliance Industries Limited, will establish a 50–50 joint venture called Jio BlackRock. BlackRock announced the collaboration via a statement published to its website on Wednesday.Photo by Naveed Ahmed on Unsplash$300 million investmentBoth companies plan to invest up to $150 million each in this venture. Larry Fink, BlackRock’s Chairman and CEO, articulated his satisfaction regarding the partnership in a LinkedIn post, emphasizing the significance of expanding BlackRock’s presence in India.Mukesh Ambani, the Founder and Chairman of Reliance Industries, is India’s richest man with a net worth believed to be in the region of $90.6 billion. The conglomerate is the country’s largest listed company by market share. Collaborating with BlackRock will likely strengthen its position in the financial services sector.The joint venture aims to leverage BlackRock’s expertise in investment and risk management, combined with Jio Financial Services’ technological capabilities and deep market knowledge. The objective will be to provide “tech-enabled access to affordable, innovative investment solutions” for Indian investors. With rising affluence, favorable demographics, and the ongoing digital transformation across industries in India, the market is undergoing a significant shift.Potential implications for cryptoThis move comes shortly after Jio Financial Services was spun off from its parent company, Reliance Industries. The digital-first service is focused on delivering innovative investment solutions to cater to the growing needs of Indian investors.While there’s absolutely no mention of crypto relative to this announcement, it may still have implications for crypto in India. BlackRock has progressed from taking a dim view of Bitcoin and crypto to now turning towards this new asset class. It recently filed an application to launch a bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) in the United States. That move is considered highly significant by most market commentators.Given that Jio Financial takes a digital-first approach and that the idea of the partnership is to bring the latest financial products to retail customers in India, there’s potential for this new entity to bring digital asset-related products to that market.Indian market re-entryBlackRock’s re-entry into India’s asset management industry is not the first attempt by the US investment management firm. In 2018, BlackRock exited the Indian market by selling its 40% stake in an asset management venture to partner DSP Group, but the company recognizes the enormous potential that India presents.Over the past five years, assets under management of Indian mutual funds have doubled, reaching 44.39 trillion rupees ($542 billion) by June this year. The exponential growth in this sector highlights the immense opportunities India offers to global asset managers like BlackRock.While the launch of the joint venture is subject to closing conditions and regulatory approvals, the collaboration between BlackRock and Jio Financial Services appears to be poised to unlock the power of investing for millions of people in India.

A spot Solana (SOL) exchange-traded fund (ETF) is set to debut in Hong Kong next week, according to the South China Morning Post. Managed by ChinaAMC (HK), the Hong Kong subsidiary of Chinese financial services company China Asset Management, the product will begin trading on Oct. 27 and will be available against both Hong Kong and U.S. dollars. The Hong Kong listing comes amid growing global interest in Solana-based investment products. While this marks a first for the city, the first country to trade a spot Solana ETF was Canada, where four products from 3iQ, Purpose, Evolve, and CI Financial went live on the Toronto Stock Exchange in April 2025.Photo by GuerrillaBuzz on UnsplashU.S. institutions await regulatory approvalIn the U.S., institutional interest is also high, though a product has yet to be approved. According to Bloomberg senior ETF analyst Eric Balchunas, 23 separate ETP filings for Solana have been submitted in the U.S. This matches Bitcoin, with both assets having the highest number of filings among 35 cryptocurrencies tracked, out of a total of 155 crypto ETP filings overall. The push for exchange-traded products mirrors rising institutional investment in the Solana ecosystem itself. Several firms have recently established corporate SOL treasuries. Forward Industries spent $1.6 billion on its treasury and filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to raise up to $4 billion from share sales to acquire more SOL. Similarly, Sharps Technology announced a collaboration with Coinbase Global to expand its reserve strategy, and an SEC filing showed that Citadel and its affiliates hold a portion of the outstanding shares in DeFi Development Corp. (DFDV), another SOL treasury firm. Uniswap expands to Solana networkSolana's platform has also seen wider technical integration. On Oct. 16, the decentralized exchange Uniswap began supporting the network, allowing its users to connect Solana wallets and swap SOL tokens. Uniswap stated the move helps address fragmentation issues by supporting both Solana and Ethereum, the two largest DeFi ecosystems. According to DefiLlama data, SOL currently boasts $10.88 billion in total value locked (TVL) in decentralized finance, while ETH TVL amounts to $83 billion. Separately, the Solana team recently promoted the network's technical resilience. Following a recent Amazon Web Services (AWS) outage, the team shared an analysis on X indicating a 97.6 resilience index, noting that only 77 of its 1,295 nodes were affected, suggesting a 6% dependency on AWS. Market performance lags despite growthDespite these developments, the price of SOL, the sixth-largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization, has not reflected the positive sentiment in the short term. Trading at roughly $186, SOL is down 13.74% over the past month, according to Kraken data. The asset remains 36.49% below its all-time high of $293.31, which was reached on Jan. 19, 2025.