Cambodian authorities have blocked access to 16 major crypto exchanges, including Binance, Coinbase, and OKX, due to their lack of licensing from the Securities and Exchange Regulator of Cambodia (SERC).
This move also included the blocking of 102 domains, mostly targeting online gambling sites, although mobile apps remain accessible. Binance, which has a notable presence in Cambodia, acknowledged the issue and is closely monitoring the situation.
Despite these actions, Cambodia remains a significant player in the global crypto market, ranking in the top 20 for retail crypto adoption.
Centralized exchanges handle 70% of the country’s crypto transactions. However, only two companies have received licenses under SERC’s FinTech Regulatory Sandbox, limiting trading options.
The crackdown comes amid growing concerns over illegal crypto activities, including money laundering and dark-web transactions.
Recent reports highlight over $49 billion in suspicious crypto transactions tied to criminal organizations. While regulatory measures increase, experts suggest they may not fully address the strong demand for crypto in the country.
South Korea’s top financial watchdog has issued informal guidance urging local asset managers to scale back their investments in crypto-related stocks, according to a Korean Herald report.
In a surprising move on Tuesday, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) initially approved Bitwise’s proposal to convert its cryptocurrency index fund into a full-fledged exchange-traded fund (ETF)—only to halt the decision just hours later.
Senators Tim Scott, Cynthia Lummis, Bill Hagerty, and Bernie Moreno (R-OH) have released a discussion draft of a new digital asset market structure bill—framed as the Senate counterpart to the CLARITY Act.
Five major banking associations are urging the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) to delay approval of new national trust bank charters for digital asset firms, including Ripple, Fidelity Digital Assets, National Digital TR CO, and First National Digital Currency Bank.