Ireland has released its first national anti-money laundering strategy, laying out tighter oversight for crypto assets. The official plan says that as the remaining parts of the European Union’s Transfer of Funds Regulation (TFR) come into force, crypto-asset service providers will face enhanced checks when processing transfers involving private or self-hosted wallets. Business involving overseas crypto companies will also be subject to stricter due diligence.
The strategy says TFR extends the Financial Action Task Force’s Travel Rule to crypto-asset transfers. That requires originator and beneficiary information to accompany transactions, with the goal of making fund flows more transparent and easier to trace.
HashKey Exchange and YF Life complete HKDAP real-fund tests
According to a HashKey Exchange announcement, HashKey Exchange and YF Life have completed real-fund subscription and redemption tests for HKDAP, a licensed Hong Kong dollar stablecoin in Hong Kong, as they explore its use in insurance payment scenarios.
HKDAP is issued by AnchorPoint Financial Technology, a licensed stablecoin issuer in Hong Kong, and HashKey Exchange is its main distributor. YF Life said it plans to support premium payments in HKDAP in the future, subject to regulatory requirements. The two sides said on-chain payments could reduce premium settlement time from the traditional two to three business days to near real time.
Binance to phase out transactions involving selected platforms
Binance said in an announcement that, due to recent regulatory changes, it will stop processing transactions involving certain crypto-asset service providers and platforms. Users will not be allowed to send or receive funds to or from the affected entities through Binance, whether directly or indirectly, or conduct other transactions involving them.
Restrictions for Shelbit and Aban Tether Exchange took effect on August 7. Restrictions for A7 Nigeria, A7 Africa, and PilotFinance Ltd took effect on August 13. Rapira, Aifory Pro, ABCeX, WhiteBird, NoOnecrypto, Tradex, Monease, BitPapa, Exnode, HTX (Huobi Global SA), and EXMO Ltd will be restricted starting August 23.
Binance said relevant transactions after the restrictions take effect may be put on hold and reviewed for compliance.
Baltimore sues Kalshi and Polymarket
Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott and the City Council have sued Kalshi, Polymarket, and their affiliated companies, alleging that they offered sports betting services without the required licenses and misled consumers about the legality and regulatory status of their products, in violation of local consumer protection rules.
The city is seeking civil penalties against the companies and compensation for affected consumers. Kalshi and Polymarket have both denied wrongdoing, arguing that their prediction markets fall under the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) and federal law rather than state and local gambling rules. The case turns on a jurisdictional dispute over whether prediction markets should be regulated at the federal or local level.
CZ comments on Trezor vendor data breach
Binance founder CZ said on X that Trezor disclosed a data breach involving its logistics service provider. About 13,700 recent customers were affected, and about 11,700 of them had their names, email addresses, phone numbers, and shipping addresses exposed.
Trezor’s systems and private keys were not compromised. Still, the leaked data links users’ identities and physical addresses with crypto holdings. CZ said that could expose customers to phishing, social engineering attacks, and personal safety risks. He added that the incident shows hardware wallets and software self-custody wallets come with different risk profiles.