due diligence

Bitwise

2026-09-27 03:49:25

Bitwise says 15 institutions held or added crypto through a roughly 50% market drop

Bitwise said interviews with 15 large institutions found no participant cut its crypto allocation during a roughly 50% market decline between October 2025 and April 2026, with some increasing exposure instead. The firm also said several institutions that have not yet invested in crypto are now in deep due diligence, while multiple sovereign wealth funds are evaluating large allocations. One sovereign investor said the legal and regulatory infrastructure needed to establish an allocation could take more than a year to put in place. Across the group, crypto allocations ranged from 0.5% to 13% of investable assets, with most falling between 1% and 2%. Every institution that already had exposure held Bitcoin, which was typically their first crypto position, their largest one, and the asset they had owned for the longest period. The report was cited by Bitcoin.com News.

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Canada MSB

2026-07-31 02:06:55

Why buyers pursue Canadian MSB acquisitions, and what the transfer process actually involves

Canada’s MSB framework is overseen by the Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre of Canada, or FINTRAC, and registered firms may conduct foreign exchange, cross-border remittance, virtual currency exchange, and payment services. The source article says many companies looking to enter the Canadian market prefer buying an existing MSB entity instead of filing a fresh application, largely because the timeline can be shorter: a new filing usually takes 3-6 months, while a control change tied to an acquisition may be completed in 2-4 weeks. The article also claims FINTRAC review standards tightened in 2026 and says approval rates for China-linked applicants had fallen below 35%. It also makes clear that an MSB registration is not directly transferable. In practice, the buyer acquires the shares of a Canadian company that already holds FINTRAC registration, then updates ownership, directors, and compliance information. The piece lays out the due diligence checklist, including registry status, AML/CFT documentation, corporate records, banking relationships, and FINTRAC correspondence from the past 3-5 years. After closing, the new owner must report major changes to FINTRAC within 30 days. The source says late reporting can trigger fines of up to C$100,000 for individuals and C$500,000 for companies.

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Binance

2026-07-26 10:11:06

CZ says buying smaller CEXs carries higher security and compliance risk

Binance founder Changpeng Zhao, better known as CZ, said acquisitions of smaller centralized exchanges come with a different risk profile than other types of deals. Responding to a question about why he does not buy small CEXs, CZ said the main issue is what happens after a takeover if the acquired platform suffers a hack. In that situation, it can be difficult to tell whether the breach was caused by a backdoor left by the previous team or by a newly introduced problem after the acquisition. He said that uncertainty raises both security and compliance risk for the buyer. CZ did not rule out exchange acquisitions altogether, but said deals involving CEX platforms require more complicated due diligence and risk-control procedures. The remarks were reported by ChainCatcher in a 7x24 news flash.

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