SUI price is attempting a to reclaim a key psychological level as the 21Shares Spot SUI ETF begins trading on Nasdaq.

Sui was trading at $0.8786 at press time, up 3.4% in the past 24 hours. The token has struggled to reclaim the $1 psychological level in recent sessions.

Sui (SUI) has hovered between $0.8519 and $0.9783 over the past week. It has fallen about 8% in seven days and is down nearly 40% over the past month, showing continued selling pressure.

Spot volume reached $474 million, a 12% drop from the previous day, indicating weaker trading activity. CoinGlass data shows derivatives volume down 14% to $685 million, while open interest slipped 2.8% to $447 million, indicating leverage is cooling rather than expanding.

21Shares launches spot SUI ETF on Nasdaq

The minor price recovery comes as the 21Shares Spot SUI ETF (TSUI) launched on Nasdaq on Feb. 24.

The ETF allows U.S. investors to gain spot exposure to SUI through traditional brokerage accounts without directly holding the token. TSUI carries a 0.30% management fee, waived through October 2026, and launched with about $9.2 million in assets under management.

TSUI is not registered under the Investment Company Act of 1940 and does not offer the same regulatory protections as ‘40 Act ETFs. The product follows 21Shares’ earlier 2x leveraged SUI ETF introduced in December 2025

Sui, which focuses on payments, tokenization, and DeFi tools, was founded by former members of Meta’s Diem and Libra projects.

The network has handled more than $100 billion in stablecoin transfers in the last six months. Its decentralized exchanges saw a volume of $6.5 billion over the past 30 days, indicating active on-chain use. 

ETF launches have often lifted crypto prices. Following the 2024 approval of Bitcoin ETFs, institutional capital poured in and liquidity rose, bolstering the market. The effect TSUI has on SUI’s price will probably depend on its ability to draw comparable inflows.

Sui price technical analysis

After falling from above $1.80 to about $0.85, SUI has been in a downward trend for several weeks. The daily chart indicates ongoing short-term weakness with lower highs and lows. 

The price currently trades below the 50-day and 20-day moving averages, which serve as resistance. A move back above the 50-day average near $0.94 would be the first signal that short-term momentum is shifting.

The relative strength index recently dipped into the low-30 range, indicating near-oversold conditions, and is now turning upward. At the same time, price has been hugging the lower Bollinger Band, and the bands are beginning to contract. That setup often precedes a volatility expansion.

A relief rally toward $0.94 may emerge if SUI maintains the $0.85–$0.87 support zone and buying volume rises in tandem with ETF-related inflows. A clean break above $1.00 would strengthen the case for a broader recovery toward the $1.03–$1.20 area.

However, if $0.85 fails to hold, the oversold bounce thesis weakens, and the price could extend lower as sellers regain control.

Frontier AI developer Anthropic has publicly accused three Chinese AI labs—DeepSeek, Moonshot, and Minimax—of conducting distillation attacks aimed at siphoning capabilities from Claude, Anthropic’s large language model. In a detailed blog post, the company describes campaigns that allegedly produced over 16 million exchanges across roughly 24,000 fraudulent accounts, exploiting Claude’s outputs to train less capable models. Distillation, a recognized training tactic in AI, becomes problematic when deployed at scale to replicate powerful features without bearing the same development costs. Anthropic emphasizes that while distillation has legitimate uses, it can enable rival firms to shortcut breakthroughs and uplift their own products at a fraction of the time and expense.

Key takeaways

• Distillation involves training a weaker model on the outputs of a stronger one, a method widely used for creating smaller, cheaper versions of AI systems.
• Anthropic alleges that DeepSeek, Moonshot, and Minimax orchestrated mass-scale distillation campaigns, generating millions of interactions with Claude across tens of thousands of fake accounts.
• The attacks reportedly targeted Claude’s differentiated capabilities, including agentic reasoning, tool use, and coding, signaling a focus on high-value, transferable competencies.
• The firm argues that foreign distillation campaigns carry geopolitical risks, potentially arming authoritarian actors with advanced capabilities for cyber operations, disinformation, and surveillance.
• Anthropic says it will bolster detection, share threat intelligence, and tighten access controls, while urging broader industry cooperation and regulatory engagement to counter these threats.

Market context: The incident arrives amid heightened scrutiny of AI model interoperability and the security of cloud-based AI offerings, a backdrop that also touches on automated systems used in crypto markets and related risk-management tools. As AI models become more embedded in trading, risk assessment, and decision-support, ensuring the integrity of input data and model outputs grows ever more important for both developers and users in the crypto space.

Why it matters

The allegations underscore a tension at the heart of frontier AI: the line between legitimate model distillation and exploitative replication. Distillation is a common, legitimate practice used by labs to deliver leaner variants of a model for customers with modest compute budgets. Yet, when leveraged at scale against a single ecosystem, the technique can be co-opted to extract capabilities that would otherwise require substantial research and engineering. If confirmed, the campaigns could prompt a broader rethink of how access to powerful models is controlled, monitored, and audited, particularly for firms with global reach and complex cloud footprints.

Anthropic asserts that the three named firms carried out activities designed to harvest Claude’s advanced abilities through a combination of IP-address correlation, request metadata, and infrastructure indicators, with independent corroboration from industry partners. This signals a concerted, data-driven effort to map and replicate cloud-based AI capabilities, not merely isolated experiments. The scale described—tens of millions of interactions across thousands of accounts—raises questions about the defense measures in place to detect and disrupt such patterns, as well as the accountability frameworks that govern foreign competitors operating in AI spaces with direct national and economic implications.

“Distillation is a widely used and legitimate training method. For example, frontier AI labs routinely distill their own models to create smaller, cheaper versions for their customers,” Anthropic wrote, adding:

“But distillation can also be used for illicit purposes: competitors can use it to acquire powerful capabilities from other labs in a fraction of the time, and at a fraction of the cost, that it would take to develop them independently.”

Beyond the IP concern, Anthropic ties the alleged activity to strategic risk for national security, arguing that distillation attacks by foreign labs could feed into military, intelligence, and surveillance systems. The company contends that unprotected capabilities could enable offensive cyber operations, disinformation campaigns, and mass surveillance, complicating the geopolitical calculus for policymakers and industry players alike. The assertion frames the issue as not merely a competitive dispute but one with broad implications for how frontier AI technologies are safeguarded and governed.

In outlining a path forward, Anthropic says it will enhance detection systems to spot dubious traffic patterns, accelerate threat-intelligence sharing, and tighten access controls. The company also calls on domestic players and lawmakers to collaborate more closely in defending against foreign distillation actors, arguing that a coordinated, industry-wide response is essential to curb these activities at scale.

For readers tracking the AI policy frontier, the allegations echo ongoing debates about how to balance innovation with safeguards—issues that are already echoing through discussions about governance, export controls, and cross-border data flows. The broader industry has long grappled with how to deter illicit use without stifling legitimate experimentation, a tension that will likely be a focal point for future regulatory and standards-setting efforts.

What to watch next

• Anthropic and the accused firms may publish further details or clarifications about the allegations and their respective responses.
• Threat intelligence bodies and cloud providers could release updated indicators of compromise or defensive guidance related to distillation-style attacks.
• Regulators and lawmakers may issue or refine policies governing AI model access, cross-border data sharing, and anti-piracy measures for high-capability models.
• Independent researchers and security firms may replicate or challenge the methodologies used to identify the alleged campaigns, potentially expanding the evidence base.
• Industry collaborations could emerge to establish best practices for protecting frontier model capabilities and for auditing model distillation processes.

Sources & verification

• Anthropic blog post: Detecting and Preventing Distillation Attacks — official statement detailing the accusations and the described campaigns.
• Anthropic’s X status post referenced in the disclosure — contemporaneous public record of the company’s findings.
• Cointelegraph coverage and linked materials discussing AI agents, frontier AI, and related security concerns referenced in the article.
• Related discussions on the role of distillation in AI training and its potential misuse in competitive environments.

Distillation attacks and frontier AI security

The core claim rests on a structured abuse of distillation, wherein a stronger model’s outputs—Claude in this case—are used to train alternative models that mimic or approximate its capabilities. Anthropic contends this is not a minor leak but a sustained campaign across millions of interactions, enabling the three firms to approximate high-end decision-making, tool use, and coding abilities without bearing the full cost of original research. The numbers cited—more than 16 million exchanges across approximately 24,000 fraudulent accounts—illustrate a scale that could destabilize expectations about model performance, customer experience, and data integrity for users relying on Claude-based services.

What the allegations imply for users and builders

For practitioners building on AI, the case underscores the importance of robust provenance, access controls, and continuous monitoring of model usage. If foreign distillation can be scaled to produce viable stand-ins for leading capabilities, then the door opens to widespread commoditization of powerful features that were previously the result of substantial investment. The consequences could extend beyond IP loss to include drift in model behavior, unexpected tool integration failures, or the propagation of subtly altered outputs to end users. Builders and operators of AI-enabled services—whether in finance, healthcare, or consumer tech—may respond with heightened scrutiny of third-party integrations, stricter licensing terms, and enhanced anomaly-detection around API traffic and model queries.

Key considerations for the crypto ecosystem

While the incident centers on AI model security, its resonance for crypto markets lies in how automated decision-support, trading bots, and risk assessment tools depend on reliable AI inputs. Market participants and developers should remain vigilant about the integrity of AI-enabled services and the potential for compromised or replicated capabilities to influence automated systems. The situation also highlights the broader need for cross-industry collaboration on threat intelligence, standards for model provenance, and shared best practices that can help prevent a spillover of AI vulnerabilities into financial technologies and digital asset platforms.

What to monitor in the near term

• Public updates from Anthropic on findings, indicators of compromise, and any remediation milestones.
• Clarifications or statements from DeepSeek, Moonshot, and Minimax regarding the allegations.
• New guidelines or enforcement actions from policymakers aimed at foreign distillation and export controls for AI capabilities.
• Enhanced monitoring tools and access-control strategies adopted by cloud providers hosting frontier AI models.
• Independent research validating or contesting the methods used to detect distillation patterns and the scale of the claimed activity.

Nakamoto inks $107.3M all-stock deal for BTC Inc, UTXO to scale Bitcoin media and treasury platform.

The acquisitions provide recurring revenue for Nakamoto, diversifying the company’s operations beyond capital markets activities. Other bitcoin treasury companies in the sector include Strategy, led by Michael Saylor, and Twenty One Capital.

Bailey indicated that Nakamoto has no plans to sell its bitcoin holdings except under extreme prolonged price declines, signaling a continued accumulation strategy.

Industry analysts have noted a consolidation trend among bitcoin treasury companies, with firms combining media, advisory, and investment services to strengthen recurring revenue streams. Through the acquisitions of BTC Inc.’s established brands and UTXO’s investment operations, Nakamoto aims to expand its institutional presence and operational scale, according to market observers.

TLDR

• Coinbase now offers stock and ETF trading to all U.S. customers through its platform.
• The company provides commission-free trading and supports fractional shares starting at one dollar.
• Users can fund their stock and ETF trades with U.S. dollars or USDC.
• Coinbase introduced this expansion to bring multiple asset classes together in one place.
• The platform now offers 24/5 access to U.S.-listed equities.

Coinbase introduced stock and ETF trading to all U.S. users, and the launch brings equities onto its platform. The company now lets customers trade multiple asset classes, and the move reshapes its broader product plan. The rollout also widens access to markets for users who prefer one combined interface.

Coinbase expands access to stocks and ETFs

Coinbase opened U.S.-listed stock and ETF trading to every U.S. customer, and the service supports 24/5 access. The platform includes commission-free trades, and it offers fractional shares starting at one dollar.

The company allows funding through U.S. dollars or USDC, and it maintains the same layout users already know. It confirmed the plan in December, and it framed the expansion as part of a broader multi-asset strategy.

Coinbase also introduced a predictions market earlier this month, and it lets users trade outcomes of real events. The firm stated that stock trading marks “another step” in its long-term roadmap.

The company aims to reduce its focus on one sector, and it wants steadier performance across cycles. It expects the mix of assets to diversify platform activity, and it continues updating user tools.

Robinhood and eToro respond in evolving market

Robinhood now pushes harder into crypto products, and its platform increases competition for users. Both companies widen their offerings, and they adjust tools as market interest shifts.

COIN and HOOD each lost around 35 percent this year, and both face a weak digital asset backdrop. eToro traded down about 13 percent, and its earnings report showed strong equities activity.

These trends outline a shifting landscape, and the platforms keep reshaping their services. Each provider now blends asset classes, and they adapt as user behavior changes.

The companies follow demand across sectors, and they attempt to maintain platform engagement. They highlight varied market access, and they refine features across trading categories.

Partnerships and infrastructure support rollout

Yahoo Finance will add a trading button, and it will route interested readers directly to Coinbase. It will also show real-time Coinbase data, and the feature links research with execution.

Coinbase works with Apex Fintech Solutions for clearing, custody, and execution, and the partnership supports operational flow. The company said it will expand 24/5 access to more stocks soon, and it will broaden coverage.

The firm also expressed interest in tokenized stocks, and it said tokenization could enable around-the-clock movement. It continues testing new formats, and it reviews blockchain applications for traditional assets.

Coinbase reported steady platform updates, and it is preparing to scale its next features. It also monitors user demand, and it builds tools that serve broader market access.

Payoneer, a global payments platform known for its cross-border capabilities, has taken a formal step toward regulated crypto services by filing with the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) to form PAYO Digital Bank, a US national trust bank charter. The move would unlock a regulated pathway for the company to issue a GENIUS Act-compliant stablecoin and expand custody, settlement, and other crypto services for its nearly two million business-focused customers. The filing comes hot on the heels of a strategic partnership with Bridge, a stablecoin infrastructure provider, aimed at embedding stablecoin capabilities into Payoneer’s cross-border payment flows. Central to the plan is PAYO-USD, a stablecoin intended to act as the holding currency in Payoneer wallets and to enable customers to pay and receive stablecoins as part of daily transactions.

Key takeaways

• Payoneer has submitted an application to the OCC to create PAYO Digital Bank, a national trust charter that would enable regulated crypto services and stablecoin issuance.
• The proposed stablecoin PAYO-USD (CRYPTO: PAYO-USD) would anchor Payoneer wallets, allowing customers to hold, pay with, and convert stablecoins within the platform.
• Approval would empower Payoneer to manage PAYO-USD reserves, provide custodial services, and convert between PAYO-USD and local currencies for users and partners.
• The filing aligns with a broader regulatory expansion, as Crypto.com received conditional charter approval, joining a wave of crypto firms already granted or pursuing national bank charters (Circle, Ripple, Fidelity Digital Assets, BitGo, Paxos) in recent months.
• Other large players are pursuing similar routes (e.g., World Liberty Financial’s USD1 stablecoin, Laser Platform, and Coinbase’s ongoing review), signaling a shift toward regulated on-ramps for digital assets in mainstream finance.

Tickers mentioned:

Market context: The OCC’s evolving stance on national bank charters for crypto-related businesses reflects a regulatory approach that seeks to balance consumer protections with access to regulated crypto services, particularly for cross-border commerce and wholesale payments. The broader market backdrop—rising demand for stablecoins in trade, evolving custody models, and the ongoing integration of crypto rails into traditional financial infrastructure—frames Payoneer’s move as part of a wider industry trend.

Why it matters

The potential arrival of a fully regulated stablecoin and digital banking service within a trusted payments platform could alter the calculus for small and medium-sized businesses engaged in cross-border trade. Stablecoins, by design, aim to reduce settlement times and volatility when moving funds across borders. If PAYO-USD becomes the wallet’s native currency under a federally regulated umbrella, Payoneer could offer its users faster, more predictable settlement options with built-in compliance and reserve oversight, addressing common pain points in cross-border transactions.

For Payoneer, the OCC charter would extend its reach beyond a processor of international payments to a regulated crypto-enabled financial services provider. The company’s leadership, including CEO John Caplan, has signaled belief in stablecoins’ role in future global trade: “We believe stablecoins will play a meaningful role in the future of global trade.” The promise is not merely technological but regulatory—providing a trustworthy framework for reserve management, customer protections, and interoperability with traditional financial systems.

The regulatory arc surrounding stablecoins and charters has been accelerating. The OCC’s recent actions show a willingness to entertain crypto-enabled bank models, albeit within a cautious, risk-managed framework. This stance comes after a December wave of charter approvals for major crypto-focused players, underscoring a period of regulatory experimentation with centralized, compliant crypto rails. As fintechs and crypto-native firms seek scalable, regulated platforms to deliver cross-border value, Payoneer’s approach could set a precedent for how stablecoins are deployed within enterprise-grade payments ecosystems.

Beyond Payoneer, other market participants are testing the waters in the same regulatory waters. World Liberty Financial has applied for a charter to extend its USD1 stablecoin use, aiming to broaden the token’s adoption in payments. Meanwhile, Laser Platform has also submitted an application, and Coinbase has been awaiting a decision since late last year. Taken together, the sequence of filings highlights a broader industry push to convert stablecoins and crypto-backed services from niche offerings into regulated, bank-grade products that can scale with business demand.

What to watch next

• OCC decision timeline on Payoneer’s PAYO Digital Bank charter and any conditions tied to PAYO-USD issuance.
• Details of the reserve-custody framework for PAYO-USD and the governance structure governing the asset’s backing and conversions.
• Implementation milestones for the Bridge collaboration, including wallet integrations and cross-border settlement capabilities.
• Regulatory updates following Crypto.com’s conditional charter, and any additional charters granted or denied to other crypto-leaning firms.
• Rollout timing for PAYO-USD features within Payoneer’s platform, including wallet support, merchant onboarding, and fiat-on/off ramps.

Sources & verification

• Payoneer files application for US national trust bank charter with OCC (Payoneer press release).
• Payoneer announces stablecoin capabilities powered by Bridge integration (press release).
• Crypto.com receives conditional approval for national bank charter (Cointelegraph report).
• December charter approvals for Circle, Ripple, Fidelity Digital Assets, BitGo, and Paxos (Cointelegraph report).
• World Liberty Financial’s USD1 stablecoin charter application (Cointelegraph report).

Payoneer’s bid for a regulated stablecoin and digital bank: what changes for cross-border payments

Payoneer’s filing with the OCC marks a deliberate step toward integrating regulated crypto rails into a mainstream payments platform. By pursuing a national trust charter, the company aims to combine traditional banking discipline with digital asset functionality, enabling a stabilized, regulated environment for cross-border transactions. The centerpiece is PAYO-USD (CRYPTO: PAYO-USD), a stablecoin designed to operate as the platform’s holding currency, with the goal of reducing settlement frictions and smoothing currency conversions for Payoneer’s business clients. The plan envisions wallets where PAYO-USD can be used for both pay-ins and pay-outs, and where users can convert to their local currencies within a supervised framework.

The collaboration with Bridge, announced prior to the charter application, is a key accelerant. Bridge’s infrastructure is intended to support stablecoin issuance, redemption, and on-chain settlement within a regulated, enterprise-facing platform. If approved, Payoneer would gain a direct on-ramp for stablecoins into its cross-border payment network, potentially offering a more predictable cost structure for businesses shipping goods and services globally. The GENIUS Act-compliant design of PAYO-USD signals a compliance-driven approach to stablecoin issuance, aligning with a regulatory environment that increasingly calls for clear reserve custody, transparent governance, and user protections in crypto-enabled products.

Even as Payoneer advances this plan, the OCC’s broader policy stance is under scrutiny and evolution. Crypto firms eyeing national charters have seen both caution and momentum: Crypto.com received conditional approval, a sign that the agency is willing to greenlight regulated crypto banking models while maintaining rigorous oversight. The market context is further shaped by a string of December approvals granted to banks associated with the crypto space—Circle, Ripple, Fidelity Digital Assets, BitGo, and Paxos—broadening the example set for what a crypto-enabled bank charter can look like in practice.

In parallel, other entities are pursuing similar avenues to leverage stablecoins for business use cases. World Liberty Financial’s USD1 stablecoin aims to expand its footprint in cross-border workflows, while Coinbase and Laser Platform explore their own regulatory paths. Taken together, these developments illustrate a broader shift toward regulated, institution-grade deployments of crypto-enabled payments and stablecoins, moving beyond niche pilots toward scalable, enterprise-grade offerings that can participate in regulated financial rails.

The regulatory, technological, and market factors converge around a central question: can a conventional payments platform safely and effectively integrate a stablecoin into its core product stack under federal supervision? If Payoneer succeeds, it could demonstrate a replicable model for large-scale, compliant crypto-enabled payments that preserves user protections, ensures reserve adequacy, and delivers the speed and efficiency gains that stablecoins are intended to provide. Stakeholders—business customers, developers building cross-border payment solutions, and regulators—will be watching closely for how governance, reserve management, and customer protections are implemented in practice as the OCC deliberates on PAYO Digital Bank.

Coinbase (COIN) opened stock and exchange-traded fund (ETF) trading to all U.S. customers, expanding beyond digital assets as part of its plan to become an “everything exchange.”

The roll-out allows users to buy and sell U.S.-listed stocks and ETFs on the same platform they use for crypto. Trading runs 24 hours a day, five days a week, with no commission. Customers can fund trades with U.S. dollars or USDC and buy fractional shares starting at $1.

Coinbase outlined the expansion in December, when it said it intended to bring multiple asset classes under one roof. Earlier this month, it debuted a predictions market, enabling users to trade on the outcomes of real-world events. Stock trading marks another step in that strategy.

The move brings Coinbase into more direct competition with retail brokerages such as Robinhood (HOOD), which has been doubling down on its crypto product suite. It also reflects a push among crypto firms to blend the asset class with traditional financial products. Breaking away from a crypto-only business model could help Coinbase loosen the tie between its share price and bitcoin BTC$65,662.29 so it trades more like a diversified tech stock, offering some cushion during a crypto downturn.

Both COIN and HOOD have lost about 35% this year as digital assets struggle. EToro (ETOR) is 13% lower over the same period, with the company’s fourth-quarter earnings showing strong equities trading on the platform.

To support the introduction, Coinbase has an agreement with Yahoo Finance. The financial news site will feature a button that lets users move from researching a stock to executing a trade on the exchange. Yahoo Finance will also display real-time data from Coinbase within its interface.

Coinbase said it is working with Apex Fintech Solutions for clearing custody and execution.

The company plans to expand 24/5 trading to more stocks in the coming months. It has also signaled interest in offering tokenized stocks, which would allow equities to move on blockchain networks and potentially trade around the clock.

BTC kept 0% privacy gains to maximize decentralization, says Buterin at Chiang Mai event.

Ethereum founder Vitalik Buterin stated that Bitcoin has prioritized decentralization over privacy features since its launch, according to remarks made at an event in Chiang Mai, Thailand.

Buterin explained that Bitcoin’s emphasis on decentralization has resulted in privacy features that are not fully optimized, according to reports from the event.

The Ethereum co-founder noted that early cryptographic technologies relied on centralized institutions for privacy protection because ensuring both decentralization and privacy simultaneously was not practically feasible at the time, according to his statements.

Buterin added that advancements in privacy technologies over the past decade, including zk-SNARK, have enabled parts of the Ethereum ecosystem to explore methods for integrating privacy features into on-chain systems, according to the remarks.

The comments represent Buterin’s latest public assessment of Bitcoin’s technical architecture and design trade-offs. No further details about the specific event or additional context were immediately available.

Binance delists 19 margin pairs on Feb 26, citing liquidity, volume, and risk controls.

Cryptocurrency exchange Binance announced plans to remove 19 margin trading pairs from its platform, effective February 26 at 09:00 UTC, according to a statement posted on the company’s official website.

The delisting will affect 10 cross margin trading pairs and nine isolated margin trading pairs, the exchange stated.

The decision follows periodic evaluations of criteria including liquidity, trading volume, and risk factors associated with the affected pairs, according to the announcement. Binance conducts regular listing reviews aimed at protecting user security and maintaining market stability in margin markets, the company said.

Users holding open positions in the affected trading pairs must close their positions or make necessary adjustments before the specified deadline, the exchange warned. Failure to do so may result in automatic liquidation processes being activated by the system, according to the announcement.

The statement did not provide information regarding any changes to spot markets. The exchange advised investors to monitor official announcements for updates.

Binance operates as one of the largest cryptocurrency exchanges globally by trading volume.

The Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region is rapidly emerging as one of the world’s most structured environments for regulated digital asset markets. Regulated hubs like the UAE, alongside fast-growing grassroots adoption across North Africa, create a $250B addressible market. According to the World Crypto Rankings 2025 report released by DL and Bybit, the UAE ranks #1 in MENA and 5th globally for crypto adoption. The country recorded $56 billion in crypto inflows between 2024-25, reflecting a 33% YoY growth, with institutional transfers accounting for roughly half of the activity. In December 2024, the MENA-wide digital asset transaction volumes also reached their monthly peak at $60B, indicating a robust regional demand beyond the Gulf hubs.

This rapid expansion of regulated digital asset activity is driving demand for compliant crypto exchange software development tailored to regional licensing, banking integrations, and asset-issuance requirements. Across the Gulf, crypto trading platforms are evolving beyond retail exchanges into regulated financial infrastructure supporting custody, brokerage, tokenized-asset issuance, and cross-border digital-asset settlement within unified venues.

For institutions, fintech operators, and market entrants, launching cryptocurrency exchange software in the MENA region, therefore, requires architecture and features aligned with both market demand and regulatory frameworks. The guide outlines the core architecture, essential features, regulatory requirements, and step-by-step process needed to deploy crypto exchange software across the MENA region.

Why the MENA Region Is Becoming a Global Crypto Exchange Hub?

• Regulatory clarity led by the UAE and Bahrain

VARA (UAE), ADGM (Abu Dhabi), CBB (Bahrain), and emerging Saudi regulatory frameworks provide licensing pathways for crypto exchange software, custodians, and brokers across the region.

• Rapid growth in regulated digital-asset activity

As stated earlier, the UAE processed tens of billions in crypto flows and ranks among the leading global adoption markets.

• Institutional and high-value transaction dominance

According to Chainanalysis, institutional and VIP-sized transfers accounted for a substantial share of regional crypto activity in 2024-2025, reinforcing demand for custody-integrated and OTC-capable exchange infrastructure.

• Expansion of tokenized real-world asset markets

GCC economies are advancing regulated tokenization initiatives, including national real-estate tokenization programs and large-scale asset-issuance pilots.

• High cross-border capital and remittance flows

GCC countries collectively processed over USD 131.5 billion in outbound remittances annually in 2023. Stablecoin settlement and digital-asset transfers have captured more than 10-20% of the remittance market globally over the past year.

• Adoption beyond regulated hubs

MENA crypto exchange development opportunity isn’t limited to the UAE or middle east. North African markets, such as Egypt and Morocco, rank among the world’s top crypto-adoption economies, despite having restrictive regimes, indicating latent exchange demand across the broader region.

• Institutional capital entering digital assets

Several banks, brokers, and investment firms are launching regulated crypto trading services. Over the past few years, the following regional banks and institutions in the UAE have embedded regulated digital asset offerings into their existing services.

Core Architecture & Essential Features for MENA-Ready Crypto Exchange Development

Launching crypto exchange software in the MENA region requires an architecture that supports regulated trading, tokenized asset issuance, compliance controls, and financial integration aligned with regional markets. Core infrastructure components and essential features must, therefore, include:

1. Multi-Asset Trading and OTC Execution Engine

As mentioned above, the MENA markets show significant demand for high-value, specific and institutional-size transactions. Cryptocurrency exchange software must therefore support spot, OTC and block-trade execution with configurable spreads, competitive pricing, and broker-assisted workflows.

2. RWA Tokenization and Listing Infrastructure

Observing the pace of regional tokenization initiatives, no crypto exchange software can afford to exclude asset issuance and listing. Crypto trading platforms must build infrastructure to onboard, list and support secondary trading of tokenized RWAs such as real estate, funds, and structured investments within the same venue as crypto assets.

3. Institutional Custody and Settlement Controls

Cryptocurrency exchange development requires custody controls such as segregated wallets, managed accounts, settlement approvals, and reporting suitable for regulated financial entities to support increasing institutional participation in MENA.

4. Stablecoin Transfer and Settlement Capability

Given the region’s massive remittance flows and stablecoin adoption, cryptocurrency exchanges should facilitate deposits, withdrawals, and on-platform cross-border value transfers alongside trading functionality.

5. GCC Banking and Fiat Integration

Cryptocurrency exchange software must connect to regional banking rails for deposits and withdrawals in local currencies and stablecoins redemptions, enabling compliant treasury and settlement operations.

6. Compliance, Surveillance, and Reporting Systems

For MENA-based cryptocurrency exchange development, businesses must integrate AML/KYC onboarding, transaction monitoring and regulatory reporting workflows required by VARA and other frameworks. 

7. Sharia-Aligned Asset and Market Configuration

Islamic-finance-alligned markets require configurable screening of assets, trading rules and product structures to support Sharia-compliant digital-asset offerings. Cryptocurrency exchange software targeting middle east markets must integrate such controls to enhance authorities and peoples’ confidence in their platforms.

8. Privacy and Data Governance Controls

Apart from the Sharia regime, various regional data protection and AML frameworks govern crypto activity in the region. Crypto exchange software built for the MENA markets must, therefore, implement user-data governance, permissioned visibility and transaction monitoring controls to comply with such requirements.

Antier recently introduced VARA-ready white label crypto exchange infrastructure for UAE and MENA markets, reflecting growing demand for regulated digital-asset venues capable of supporting both trading and compliant asset issuance within unified exchange environments. For institutions planning early entry into the region, it combines remittance, asset issuance, banking connectivity, robust custody and other region-relevant functionalities.

What are the Regulatory Requirements for Launching a Crypto Exchange in MENA?

Since regulatory requirements differ across MENA jurisdictions, exchange operator must collaborate with legal council at cryptocurrency exchange development company to pursue country-specific licensing strategies while deploying adaptable exchange infrastructure.

How Antier Enables MENA Crypto Exchange Software Launches

It is clear that launching a regulated crypto exchange software in the MENA region requires fool-proof infrastructures embedded with regional-specific architecture and feature components. Those building crypto exchange software must now build crypto exchange superapps with features that resonate with the target region’s demand.

Antier’s VARA-ready white label crypto exchange infrastructure supports the regional evolution by combining regulated trading, RWA tokenization, institutional custody, banking connectivity, and compliance controls aligned with MENA regulatory frameworks. This enables financial institutions, fintech operators, and market entrants to deploy crypto exchange software tailored to regional licensing and market requirements without building from scratch.

For organizations planning entry into MENA digital-asset markets, adopting jurisdiction-aligned exchange architecture early provides a structural advantage in licensing readiness and banking integration. As the region continues to formalize regulated digital-asset ecosystems, cryptocurrency exchange software built on compliant and adaptable infrastructure will be best positioned to scale across multiple MENA jurisdictions.

Talk to our experts to get started with MENA-alligned crypto exchange development.

The Governance Exploit Nobody Is Pricing In. Bridges get hacked. That’s old news. We’ve seen the carnage: nine-figure exploits, drained liquidity, emergency shutdowns, Twitter threads filled with “funds are safu” copium.

From Ronin Network to Wormhole, bridge exploits have become a recurring tax on innovation. But here’s the uncomfortable truth. The next systemic risk in crypto probably won’t be a bridge exploit. It’ll be a governance exploit enabled by cross-chain voting power. And almost nobody is pricing it in.

The Shift: From Asset Bridges to Power Bridges

Cross-chain infrastructure has evolved.

We’re no longer just bridging tokens for yield. We’re bridging:

Protocols increasingly allow governance tokens to exist on multiple chains simultaneously — often via wrapped representations or omnichain token standards (like those enabled by LayerZero Labs).

This improves capital efficiency and participation.

But it also introduces a new attack surface:

The separation of voting power from finality.

The Core Problem: Governance Is Local. Voting Power Is Not.

Governance contracts typically live on a single “home” chain.

But voting power can be represented across multiple chains.

This creates a dangerous gap:

1. Tokens are locked on Chain A

2. Voting power is mirrored on Chain B

3. Governance decisions are executed on Chain A

If the system relies on cross-chain messaging to sync voting balances, any delay, exploit, or manipulation in that messaging layer becomes a governance vector.

You don’t need to drain liquidity.

You just need to distort voting power long enough.

And governance proposals often pass with shockingly low turnout.

The Attack Path Nobody Talks About

Let’s walk through a hypothetical.

Step 1: Acquire or Manipulate Voting Power Cross-Chain

An attacker:

• Borrows governance tokens

• Bridges them to a secondary chain

• Exploits a delay in balance updates

• Or abuses inconsistencies in wrapped token accounting

In poorly designed systems, the same underlying tokens may temporarily influence voting in multiple domains.

Even if briefly.

Even if “just a bug.”

Governance doesn’t need hours. It needs one block.

Step 2: Flash Governance

We’ve already seen governance flash-loan exploits in DeFi.

The most infamous example? The attack on Beanstalk in 2022.

The attacker used flash loans to acquire massive voting power, passed a malicious proposal, and drained ~$182M.

Now imagine that dynamic — but across chains.

Flash-loaned tokens → bridged representation → governance vote → malicious proposal executed → unwind.

All before the watchers even understand what happened.

Step 3: Proposal Payloads as Weapons

Governance proposals can:

If cross-chain voting power is compromised, the proposal payload becomes the exploit.

No bridge drain required.

Just governance “working as designed.”

Why Markets Aren’t Pricing This Risk

Three reasons.

1. Everyone Is Still Fighting the Last War

After major bridge hacks, teams hardened signature validation and multisig thresholds.

But governance-layer risk is subtler.

It doesn’t show up as “TVL at risk” on dashboards.

It shows up as “who controls protocol direction.”

That’s harder to quantify.

2. Voting Participation Is Low

Many DAOs struggle to get 10–20% participation.

Which means:

You don’t need 51%.

You need slightly more than apathy.

Cross-chain voting power distortions don’t need to be massive. They just need to be decisive.

3. Composability Multiplies Complexity

Modern governance stacks combine:

• Delegation contracts

• Token wrappers

• Cross-chain messaging

• Snapshot systems

• Execution timelocks

Each layer introduces potential inconsistencies.

And composability means failures cascade.

Where the Real Risk Lives

This isn’t about one protocol.

It’s systemic.

The more governance tokens become:

The more fragile governance assumptions become.

If a governance token is:

You’ve built a multi-dimensional voting derivative.

And derivatives break under stress.

Ask TradFi. They have scars.

The Governance Exploit Nobody Is Pricing In

Markets price:

• Smart contract risk

• Bridge exploit risk

• Oracle manipulation risk

But they do not price:

Cross-domain voting synchronization risk.

No dashboards are tracking:

• Governance message latency

• Cross-chain vote desync windows

• Wrapped-token vote inflation

• Double-counted delegation

Yet these variables may determine who controls billion-dollar treasuries.

What Builders Should Be Doing (Now)

If you’re designing cross-chain governance:

1. Separate Voting Power from Bridged Liquidity

Avoid naïve 1:1 mirroring without strict finality checks.

2. Introduce Vote Finality Windows

Require:

• Cross-chain state verification

• Message settlement delays

• Proof-of-lock confirmations

Before votes are counted.

3. Use Decay or Cooldowns on Newly Bridged Tokens

Voting power shouldn’t activate instantly after bridging.

If tokens just moved chains 5 seconds ago, maybe they shouldn’t decide protocol destiny.

4. Simulate Governance Stress Scenarios

Run adversarial simulations:

If your governance model breaks under simulation, it will break in production.

What Investors Should Be Asking

Before allocating to a multi-chain DAO:

• Where does governance live?

• How is voting power mirrored?

• Can voting power be double-counted during bridge latency?

• What happens if the messaging layer stalls?

• Is there a time lock between the vote and execution?

If the answers are vague, the risk is real.

And it’s not priced in.

The Inevitable Wake-Up Call

Crypto learns through catastrophe.

• Smart contract exploits → audits became standard.

• Oracle exploits → TWAP and redundancy

• Bridge hacks → validator hardening

Governance-layer cross-chain exploits are likely next.

And when it happens, it won’t look like a hack.

It’ll look like a proposal that “passed.”

That’s the scary part.

Final Thought

Cross-chain infrastructure is powerful. It enables capital mobility, global participation, and modular design.

But it also decouples authority from location.

And when authority becomes fluid across chains, attackers don’t need to steal funds.

They just need to win a vote.

That’s the governance exploit nobody is pricing in.

And by the time the market does, it’ll already be too late.

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