Author: Journalist

More than 50 institutions, including major stablecoin issuers and crypto service providers, have received regulatory approval under the European Union’s Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) framework within the first six months of the regulation.On July 7, Circle executive Patrick Hansen shared new data from the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA), revealing that 53 entities have secured MiCA licenses just six months after the framework came into force.The licenses enable these firms to “passport” their services across 30 European Economic Area (EEA) countries without needing additional approval in each jurisdiction.According to him, the spate of licenses marks a significant milestone for…

Chinese brands are rapidly expanding in Thailand, with increased capital, tax incentives, and scalability, putting more pressure on local F&B businesses. In the past decade, Chinese food and beverage (F&B) brands have rapidly expanded across Southeast Asia and reshaped the industry. In Thailand, their growing presence has introduced greater diversity and competitive pricing. At the same time, however, this expansion has intensified pressures on local small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and raised concerns about market fairness, regulatory oversight, and the long-term sustainability of the country’s F&B sector. Since the end of the Second World War, Thailand’s F&B landscape has been…

Traders work at the New York Stock Exchange on July 2, 2025. NYSEU.S. stock futures fell early Monday after President Donald Trump threatened an additional 10% tariff on countries that align with the “Anti-American policies of BRICS.” He also confirmed that tariffs are set to go into effect Aug. 1, not July 9.Trump did not elaborate on any specific policy of BRICS. The announcement came as the group’s meeting is underway in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.Dow Jones Industrial Average futures slid by 142 points, or 0.31%. S&P 500 futures and Nasdaq 100 futures dipped 0.47% and 0.56%, respectively.In an interview with reporters…

Tesla chief executive Elon Musk, the former “first buddy” who was U.S. president Donald Trump’s right-hand man until recently, has announced he’s starting his own political party called the “America Party” (while dropping hints he’s still backing bitcoin). Front-run Donald Trump, the White House and Wall Street by subscribing now to Forbes’ CryptoAsset & Blockchain Advisor where you can “uncover blockchain blockbusters poised for 1,000% plus gains!” Musk, whose stark warnings over the spiraling $37 trillion U.S. debt pile were a big part of his campaign to get Trump back into the White House last year, has fallen out with…

Stay informed with free updatesSimply sign up to the US equities myFT Digest — delivered directly to your inbox.Retail traders “buying the dip” in US stocks this year have racked up the biggest profits since the early stages of the Covid-19 crisis, helping to fuel a rally that has pushed Wall Street equities to record highs.Individual investors have poured a record $155bn into US stocks and exchange traded funds during 2025, according to data provider VandaTrack, surpassing the meme-stock boom of 2021. They continued to buy even as President Donald Trump’s blitz of tariffs on US trading partners sent stock…

An ancient beast has suddenly risen from its slumber after lying dormant for 14 years. In the realm of crypto, such a beast is known as a whale—an early adopter of the blockchain holding massive amounts of currency. Whales are often closely monitored by the community due to their foresight; therefore, even the slightest activity can be read as a signal based on which the markets can shift.One of these whales, currently speculated to be Roger Ver, has moved 80,000 Bitcoin over the past 24 hours. That’s more than $8.6 billion in regular people’s money, made from an initial investment…

NO SIGNIFICANT IMPACT ON MARKET Property analysts said that there would not be a significant impact on the market, with majority of genuine homebuyers and long-term investors unlikely to be affected. Through the new measures, the government is discouraging short-term flipping and sub-sales, which have contributed to artificial demand and price volatility recently, 99.co’s associate head of research Joel Lim said.  “This measure reinforces the notion that housing should be viewed primarily as a home rather than a quick investment vehicle,” added Mr Lim.  Head of research and data analytics at Singapore Realtors Inc Mohan Sandrasegeran pointed to transaction data,…

Digital transformation and innovation performanceBy sorting out the previous research results, it can be found that the study on the relationship between digital transformation and innovation performance mainly starts from different perspectives of enterprise innovation. It mainly involves enterprise model innovation, enterprise green innovation, enterprise regional innovation, enterprise mechanism innovation and other aspects.In essence, enterprise innovation is the performance of the whole staff inside the enterprise. By introducing digital leadership into the process of enterprise digital transformation, and taking digital enterprise platform as an intermediary factor, this paper studies the relationship between digital leadership and enterprise innovation performance. Found digital…

In brief A consortium led by Metaplanet backers has filed to acquire DV8, a Thai-listed firm, through a voluntary tender offer. Backers include UTXO, Sora Ventures, Kliff Capital, and AsiaStrategy, in a broader effort to promote Bitcoin treasury adoption in Southeast Asia. Experts have warned that poorly capitalized firms using Bitcoin as a lifeline may trigger instability and systemic risk. A consortium of Bitcoin-native investors is acquiring DV8, a Thai-listed firm primarily engaged in retail and consumer electronics distribution, in a bid to expand the Bitcoin treasury model into Southeast Asia’s public markets.The consortium intends to acquire “at least 75%”…

Celebrities ARE venturing beyond the billboard and the big screen—and into big business. Hailey Bieber, a model married to Justin, recently sold Rhode, her make-up brand, in a deal valued at as much as $1bn. Skims, a shapewear label founded by Kim Kardashian, a reality-TV star, makes $1bn in annual sales and is expected to list on the stockmarket soon. Rihanna is now a billionaire not directly because of her music, but thanks to Fenty Beauty, her make-up label. Ryan Reynolds, a Hollywood actor, is active in everything from telecoms to online privacy. Surprisingly, many of these superstar businesses have…