"UK's FCA finalizes major crypto rulebook " Jun 30, 2026

The UK's Financial Conduct Authority finalized a comprehensive crypto rulebook covering exchanges, custodians, stablecoin issuers, staking firms, lending platforms, and some DeFi firms. The framework introduces prudential capital rules, market abuse controls, operational resilience standards, consumer protections, and stablecoin requirements, with a formal authorization regime set to begin October 25th, 2027. Notably, the rulebook contains no blanket exception for fungible tokens, and qualifying crypto trading platforms must conduct due diligence, meet listing criteria, and publish disclosure documents for admitted assets. FCA executive David Geel described the package as a milestone that should give crypto firms clearer rules while bringing consumer protections closer to traditional finance standards, though he stressed that crypto investing remains risky despite the new framework.

A Michigan judge issued a 14-day temporary restraining order against prediction market platform Kalshi, blocking sports-related event contracts in the state until July 13th, with potential fines set at $120,000 per day. Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessl framed the contracts as unlicensed sports betting, while Kalshi argues its products fall under federal CFTC oversight and should be available nationwide. More than a dozen states are pursuing similar enforcement actions against Kalshi, Polymarket US, and comparable platforms, even as Kalshi reported a 79% volume increase from May, partly driven by World Cup 2026 activity. The jurisdictional dispute between state gambling regulators and federal commodities oversight remains unresolved.

Chinese dissident and media figure Guo Wengui was sentenced to 30 years in US prison for running a fraud scheme exceeding $1 billion that exploited his online followers. US District Judge Annalisa Torres ordered $889 million in restitution. Guo was convicted in July 2024 on nine fraud and conspiracy counts that included false promises tied to H-coin, also known as Himalaya coin, and used proceeds for luxury purchases including a mansion and vehicles.

Hollywood director Carl Eric Rinch was sentenced to 30 months in prison for stealing $11 million from his streaming company in March 2020, after the company had already paid him roughly $44 million between 2018 and 2019. Rinch lost more than half the stolen $11 million on failed stock options within two months and spent the remainder on crypto speculation and luxury goods, including $3 million on furniture and antiques, $2 million on five Rolls Royces and a Ferrari, $1.7 million on credit card bills, and $387,000 on a Swiss watch. A 2023 New York Times investigation reported that Rinch converted approximately $4 million in Dogecoin into nearly $27 million. He was ordered to pay $11 million in forfeiture and $700 in mandatory assessments and will serve three years of supervised release.

ARK Invest purchased $6.8 million of Coinbase, $6.2 million of Circle Internet Group, $3.5 million of Bullish, and roughly $300,000 of Robinhood on Monday. Circle expanded its partnership with BNY to allow institutional clients to custody, transfer, mint, and burn USDC through BNY digital custody wallets, and Coinbase recently launched tokenized US stocks. As of 8 a.m. Eastern on June 30th, Bitcoin was trading at $59,086, Ethereum at $1,575, and BNB at $546.