The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) has launched a supervisory review of MiCA-authorized crypto custodians, moving its focus from licensing to testing how firms handle operational risks in practice.

According to the European Securities and Markets Authority, the regulator has started a Common Supervisory Action (CSA) covering a sample of authorized crypto-asset service providers (CASPs) under the European Union’s Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) framework. 

The review concentrates on custody services and will examine whether firms have effective operational resilience measures rather than relying only on regulatory approval.

ESMA examines custody controls after MiCA licensing

As outlined by ESMA, supervisors will assess digital operational resilience in several critical areas, including private key and storage management, transaction controls, incident response procedures and reliance on third-party technology providers. The review comes soon after MiCA’s transitional period ended, making it one of the first coordinated supervisory exercises under the EU’s crypto rulebook.

In a statement, Sebastien Dessimoz, co-founder and managing partner of digital asset infrastructure company Taurus, said the message from regulators is that obtaining a MiCA licence is only the starting point for custodians.

Dessimoz said custody providers are now expected to demonstrate that their operational controls can withstand real-world risks instead of simply asserting that their systems are secure. He added that as digital assets become more integrated into regulated financial infrastructure, regulators expect the same level of security, accountability and resilience seen in traditional financial markets.

Institutional clients have already increased scrutiny of custody practices, according to Jody Mettler, chief operating officer of BitGo and president of BitGo Trust. In a statement, Mettler said clients increasingly ask how custodians segregate customer assets, manage access controls, respond to security incidents and maintain business continuity during periods of market stress.

She added that regulators are paying closer attention to the operational standards supporting digital asset services rather than limiting their assessment to licensing requirements.

MiCA oversight expands as Europe revisits crypto rules

Industry participants also see the review as an early indication of how MiCA supervision could evolve. Markus Levin, co-founder of blockchain infrastructure company XYO, told Cointelegraph that receiving MiCA authorization and proving operational resilience are separate challenges. He said firms that can demonstrate strong operational controls before supervisory reviews conclude could be better positioned as institutional participation in digital assets increases.

Meanwhile, Yuriy Brisov, a lawyer at Digital & Analogue Partners, said the review combines obligations under both MiCA and the Digital Operational Resilience Act (DORA). According to Brisov, concentration among custody technology providers means weaknesses at a single vendor could affect multiple regulated firms simultaneously, making supply chain resilience a key compliance issue.

At the same time, European regulators are already preparing the next stage of MiCA. According to a Euronews report, European Commission officials are planning a review of parts of the framework from 2027 after the United States enacted the GENIUS Act.

The review is expected to examine how non-EU stablecoin issuers should be treated under existing rules as international crypto regulation continues to develop.

Current market data also shows MiCA’s regulated exchange ecosystem continuing to expand. DefiLlama’s MiCA exchange dashboard, cited by Wu Blockchain, ranked Kraken as the largest regulated venue by liquidity, with more than $400 million in spot liquidity and over $220 million in perpetual liquidity on the live dashboard.

Coinbase remained the second-largest regulated exchange by liquidity, according to the same data, underscoring the growing scale of platforms operating under Europe’s licensing framework.

Kraken is rolling out a new set of AI-driven “financial intelligence” tools inside its mobile app, aiming to make crypto investing feel less like an interface challenge and more like decision support. The exchange says users will start by setting financial goals and preferences, after which the app will tailor what it shows and which portfolio recommendations it surfaces—without taking control of trades.

According to an announcement, Kraken’s system continuously monitors markets and flags opportunities, but every suggested action must be approved by the user. In reporting from CNBC, the updated app uses a customer’s goals, risk tolerance, funding preferences and broader financial profile to generate a suggested portfolio, which users can review and adjust before investing. After funds are deployed, it provides personalized portfolio updates and additional investment suggestions based on what the user holds.

Key takeaways

• Kraken’s mobile update personalizes recommendations around user-set goals like buying a home, retirement savings, or an emergency fund.
• Despite AI “financial intelligence,” Kraken’s recommendations are decision-support only—users must approve every trade before execution.
• The approach mirrors a wider industry shift: exchanges are moving from basic order entry toward conversational portfolio guidance.
• Other major platforms are already testing AI agents and assistants that can transact or place orders, though user review and consent remain a common requirement.

From trading screens to goal-based investing

Kraken’s update is built around a simple premise: most investors don’t want to start with complex trading tools—they want clarity around outcomes. The company says its redesigned app begins by asking users to define financial goals and preferences, then adapts its interface and recommendations to match those objectives. Instead of treating crypto as just another asset to trade, Kraken is positioning the tools as a way to support structured investing decisions.

Kraken describes its AI system as “financial intelligence” that watches markets for potential opportunities and recommends trades. However, the company draws a clear line between guidance and automation: it does not execute transactions on a user’s behalf. Each recommendation requires the user’s approval, making the experience more like an assistive layer on top of existing trading functions rather than an autonomous trading engine.

How the app generates portfolios—and where approval fits

CNBC reports that Kraken’s platform incorporates market monitoring data alongside personal inputs—risk tolerance, funding preferences and financial profile—to produce a suggested portfolio. That portfolio is not presented as a final instruction. Users are expected to review and adjust the proposal before investing.

Once a user has acted, the system continues to provide personalized portfolio updates and further suggestions that reflect the user’s holdings. The key element for investors and traders is the workflow: the AI proposes, the user disposes. That distinction matters for both risk management and compliance concerns, and it helps explain why exchanges are able to market AI capabilities without fully removing human control.

In comments to CNBC, Kraken chief data officer Kamo Asatryan said the technology is intended to give everyday investors visibility similar to what active traders may already have, by continuously monitoring markets, identifying opportunities and recommending trades. He framed the goal as enabling non-experts to participate in more sophisticated decision-making “using plain English,” rather than requiring constant manual interpretation of market data and trading mechanics.

The broader push for agentic tools across crypto

Kraken’s move fits a broader competitive pattern across crypto exchanges and fintech platforms: adding AI to help users analyze markets, manage portfolios, and interact with trading systems via more natural, assistant-like experiences. Instead of only supporting traditional order types, these products increasingly aim to translate user intent—often stated in conversational language—into actionable guidance.

In June, OKX launched a beta marketplace for AI agents that can transact autonomously, complete onchain tasks, and build blockchain-based reputations. Around the same time, Coinbase introduced a tool allowing AI agents to make payments and trade cryptocurrencies on behalf of users using its x402 payments protocol. In both cases, the industry debate is not whether AI can be useful, but how much autonomy it should be given and how responsibility is handled.

Chainalysis reported last month that agentic payment activity on Coinbase’s Base network surpassed 100 million transactions. While transaction growth has stabilized, the report indicated that higher-value transfers have become more common—suggesting agent-driven payments are evolving beyond the earliest wave of small, test-like activity. For investors and builders, that shift is a signal that AI-enabled “agentic” actions may increasingly be used for meaningful payments rather than only experimentation.

Meanwhile, fintech firm Revolut announced an upgrade to its Revolut X exchange, enabling customers to connect AI assistants—including Claude, Gemini, Cursor and OpenClaw—to analyze markets, backtest trading strategies and place orders through natural-language prompts. Like Kraken, Revolut’s approach requires customers to review and approve every trade before execution, reinforcing the notion that user consent remains the default boundary even as interfaces become more automated.

Why Kraken’s positioning matters for users

Kraken’s “financial intelligence” framing highlights an important distinction in how exchanges are adopting AI. Autonomy is one dimension, but user experience and decision architecture are another. By centering the workflow on goals and risk preferences, Kraken is trying to reduce friction for users who may otherwise struggle to map personal objectives onto trading choices.

For retail investors, goal-based guidance could make portfolio management more consistent—especially when combined with ongoing updates after investment. Still, the success of such tools will likely depend on how effectively recommendations reflect the user’s stated objectives and how clearly the system explains why a particular trade or portfolio shift is suggested. Kraken’s insistence on approval before execution provides a safety valve, but users will still need to understand the recommendations they accept.

For market participants more broadly, Kraken’s rollout underscores that AI features are becoming a competitive baseline rather than a differentiator reserved for the most tech-forward platforms. Even where full agentic autonomy is not enabled, exchanges are competing on the quality of their guidance, the speed at which they can interpret market conditions, and the clarity with which they translate complex strategies into something everyday customers can act on.

Next, investors should watch how Kraken measures engagement and outcomes from the new goal-based recommendations—particularly whether users stick with the guidance after the initial setup—and whether similar interfaces expand beyond portfolio suggestions into deeper automation. The remaining uncertainty is how quickly the market will move from decision support to fully autonomous action, especially as regulators, user expectations, and platform designs continue to converge.

President Donald Trump has refused to sign the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act, even as the bill containing a provision blocking a U.S. central bank digital currency through 2031 has remained on course to become law.

According to a Truth Social post by President Trump, he decided not to sign the housing bill because the Senate has yet to pass the Save America Act, which he has repeatedly urged lawmakers to approve.

Congress passed the housing legislation last month and sent it to the White House, but Trump argued that he would withhold his signature until the voting bill advances.

Last month, crypto.news reported that Trump had already delayed signing the legislation for the same reason. At the time, he described the Save America Act as “desperately needed” and said he would not approve the housing package until Congress acted on the separate proposal.

CBDC restriction remains on track despite Trump’s decision

Although Trump has declined to sign the legislation, the housing bill is still expected to become law because he has not issued a formal veto. A White House official confirmed that the president does not intend to veto the measure, allowing it to take effect automatically after the constitutional review period expires without his signature.

For the crypto industry, one section of the legislation has attracted particular attention because it would prohibit the Federal Reserve from issuing a central bank digital currency until 2031.

The restriction would extend the administration’s earlier position after Trump signed an executive order directing federal agencies not to take steps toward creating a U.S. CBDC.

Unlike a pocket veto, which can permanently block legislation under specific congressional timing conditions, the current situation allows the bill to become law automatically because Congress remains in session and the president has not exercised his veto authority.

Save America Act remains Trump’s priority

In his Truth Social statement, Trump argued that the Senate’s failure to pass the Save America Act is unacceptable despite what he described as overwhelming support among Republican voters. The legislation would require voters to present photo identification in federal elections, a measure the president has continued to promote as an election integrity safeguard.

Separately, Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren criticized Trump’s decision in a post on X, arguing that refusing to sign the housing legislation delayed action on a bill designed to address housing affordability. Warren also stated that the legislation would become law regardless because the president had chosen not to veto it.

The latest dispute comes as lawmakers continue debating other crypto legislation on Capitol Hill. Warren has previously joined other Democratic senators in calling for hearings into Trump’s cryptocurrency holdings, while the Senate is also considering the CLARITY Act, a separate bill intended to establish a regulatory framework for digital assets.

Taken together, the developments leave the housing bill on track to take effect despite the absence of Trump’s signature, while the dispute over the Save America Act and broader crypto legislation continues to shape debate in Washington. 

Bitcoin has climbed above the $64,000 level after U.S. President Donald Trump confirmed that the United States has agreed to continue talks with Iran following a new request from Tehran.

According to a post by President Trump on Truth Social, Iran asked to resume discussions with the United States, and Washington agreed to continue negotiations. At the same time, Trump stated that the ceasefire was over, indicating that diplomatic engagement would continue despite the end of the truce.

“The Islamic Republic of Iran has asked us to continue “talks.” We have agreed to do so, but the United States has stated to them, in no uncertain terms, that the Cease Fire is OVER!”

The cryptocurrency market reacted positively to the development. Bitcoin (BTC) rose to around $64,100, gaining nearly 2% from an intraday low near $62,000. The move extended the recovery that began after heavy selling earlier this week, when renewed military exchanges between the U.S. and Iran pushed Bitcoin below the $62,000 mark.

crypto.news had previously reported that technical discussions between U.S. and Iranian officials were expected to continue. Trump’s latest statement publicly confirmed that negotiations remain active even as military tensions have yet to fully ease. Alongside Bitcoin, several major cryptocurrencies also traded higher following the announcement.

Bitcoin recovers as diplomatic contacts continue

Market sentiment improved after Trump’s latest comments suggested that both sides remain engaged in negotiations despite recent hostilities. Earlier, the president had also stated that Iran wanted to make a deal “so badly,” adding to expectations that diplomatic channels had not completely broken down.

Even with Bitcoin reclaiming the psychological $64,000 level, traders continue to monitor geopolitical developments closely because recent market swings have been closely tied to headlines surrounding the conflict. This week’s decline below $62,000 came shortly after both countries exchanged strikes and Trump declared that the ceasefire had ended.

The recovery also follows several sessions of elevated volatility across digital assets, with investors reacting quickly to changes in geopolitical risk. Although Bitcoin has regained lost ground, price movements remain sensitive to further developments from Washington and Tehran.

Nuclear agreement expectations remain limited

Despite the renewed talks, prediction markets continue to show limited confidence that the two countries will finalize a nuclear agreement this year. According to Polymarket data, the probability of the United States and Iran reaching a deal by Dec. 31 stands at about 38%.

The nuclear program remains the central issue separating both sides. President Trump has repeatedly maintained that Iran cannot possess a nuclear weapon, while negotiations continue alongside ongoing military and political tensions.

Energy markets remain another source of uncertainty for investors. Iran has maintained that it plans to impose tolls on vessels passing through the Strait of Hormuz, a route that carries a significant share of global oil shipments. The possibility of higher transportation costs has kept traders focused on potential disruptions to crude supplies.

Earlier this week, oil prices climbed after Iran attacked three oil tankers in the Strait of Hormuz, escalating the conflict and adding fresh inflation concerns. Higher energy prices can increase inflationary pressure, a factor that financial markets often watch because persistent inflation may reduce expectations for easier monetary policy, which can weigh on risk assets such as Bitcoin.

For now, Bitcoin’s move above $64,000 suggests investors welcomed signs that diplomatic contacts remain open. Even so, the market continues to balance improving sentiment from renewed negotiations against the unresolved issues surrounding Iran’s nuclear program and the ongoing risks to global energy supplies.

Robinhood has introduced plans to let eligible U.S. customers authorize AI agents to execute cryptocurrency trades on their behalf, extending automated investing beyond stocks and options.

Robinhood said during a Friday presentation that the upcoming feature will allow eligible U.S.-based crypto users to connect third-party AI agents capable of managing trades within user-defined limits. The company did not announce a launch date for the crypto version but said customers in the United Kingdom will receive access after the U.S. rollout.

A Robinhood executive said users will be able to build trading strategies with predefined guardrails instead of watching their accounts continuously. According to the company, the feature is designed to let customers automate decisions while keeping control over the rules that AI agents must follow.

Robinhood expands AI automation beyond stocks

The crypto rollout follows Robinhood’s beta launch of AI-powered agentic accounts for equities and options traders in late May. During the same presentation, Robinhood said more than 70,000 agentic accounts have already been created through that program, indicating early demand for automated investing tools.

Robinhood also said the service works with AI models from third-party providers, including Anthropic, OpenAI and SpaceX’s Grok. Beyond investing, the company is extending the same technology to consumer finance by allowing eligible customers to authorize AI agents to complete credit card purchases on their behalf.

During the presentation, a Robinhood executive said automated agents could help retail investors act on information they might otherwise overlook, giving them access to capabilities that have historically been more common among institutional investors.

Outside Robinhood, several crypto executives have made similar predictions about AI-powered financial activity. Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong and Circle CEO Jeremy Allaire have both said they expect AI agents to become major users of blockchain-based payment systems over the next few years.

Robinhood Chain gains traction alongside AI rollout

The automation announcement comes as Robinhood continues expanding its blockchain infrastructure. The company has centered recent crypto development on tokenized real-world assets and Robinhood Chain, its Ethereum layer-2 network built on Arbitrum.

Johann Kerbrat, Robinhood’s senior vice president and general manager of crypto, said the network processed 17 million transactions from nearly 350,000 wallet addresses during its first week after launching on July 1.

DeFiLlama data also shows Robinhood Chain’s total value locked climbed above $115 million after increasing 23% in 24 hours, while cumulative addresses approached 200,000. The same data places the network behind only Ethereum mainnet in 24-hour Uniswap trading volume after daily activity reached about $500 million on July 8, following more than $250 million in cumulative trading volume during its first week.

Separately, Token Terminal data shows Robinhood Chain attracted more than $70 million worth of bridged Ether within its first week. The analytics platform said continued growth could turn the network into “a meaningful new source of demand for ETH.”

AI-driven blockchain payments are also beginning to appear outside Robinhood. In May, Amazon Web Services integrated Coinbase’s x402 payments protocol into Amazon Bedrock AgentCore, allowing AI agents to settle transactions using USDC. Earlier, in April, crypto wallet startup Oobit introduced a Visa-backed virtual card that enables AI agents to make business purchases using USDT.

Even so, blockchain payment activity from AI agents remains limited. Artemis data shows the AI agent-enabled x402 protocol processed about $2 million in transaction volume during June, suggesting adoption is still in its early stages despite a growing number of product launches.