- Dubai has recently made major strides to regulate its crypto sector, and now many firms are relocating there.
- The European Parliament voted in favor of a proposal that could affect privacy around digital asset transfers.
- Ronin is cooperating with authorities to track an attacker who escaped with USD 625 million in cryptoassets in March.
- Ethereum is one step closer to the Merge.
Dubai courts crypto giants as it aims to become a hub of activity
Dubai’s crypto scene drew several exchanges last month thanks to a regulatory environment designed to attract digital-asset businesses. The emirate is pushing the United Arab Emirates toward becoming a global leader in digital assets.
On March 9, Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid, ruler of the UAE, announced that Dubai had established the country’s first regulatory framework for cryptocurrencies and created the Virtual Asset Regulatory Authority (VARA) to oversee and regulate digital assets.
A week later, FTX said it was the first recipient of a license to operate as a crypto exchange in Dubai. The license allows the newly formed FTX Europe to offer exposure to crypto derivatives to institutional investors.
At roughly the same time, Binance received approval to operate in Dubai, securing permission to offer certain exchange products to professional investors as the platform begins operating under the new regulatory regime.
Dubai’s momentum drew two more exchanges before the month closed. Crypto.com announced plans to establish a regional hub in Dubai, and Bybit said it would move its headquarters from Singapore to the emirate.
EU Parliament backs rules that could curtail privacy for crypto transfers
Following a March 31 vote, the European Parliament approved a proposal seeking stricter know-your-customer (KYC) and anti-money-laundering (AML) rules. The change would reduce privacy for crypto transactions as part of an amendment to the Transfer of Funds Regulation.
The proposed measures would require entities offering crypto products—primarily exchanges—to report all transactions over EUR 1,000 to relevant authorities. Service providers would also need to verify the identity of the person behind any non-custodial wallet that interacts with them.
These requirements are not final yet; they must pass through trilogue negotiations between the European Commission, the Council of the EU, and the European Parliament. If adopted, exchanges would have between nine months and 18 months to achieve full compliance.
The crypto community has pushed back strongly against the proposal. Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong criticized the move, saying it conflicts with the EU’s stated aim of becoming a “global leader in privacy laws and policies.” Ledger CEO Pascal Gauthier also condemned the vote, calling it an endorsement of mass surveillance and arguing that the EU chose fear over freedom.
Ronin blockchain suffered a major $625 million theft
Last month, the multi-chain DeFi protocol Deus Finance DAO was targeted in an attack that resulted in roughly $3 million in losses. According to a series of tweets by crypto-analytics firm PeckShield, the attacker manipulated a flash-loan price oracle, causing some users’ loan positions to become insolvent.
After liquidating those positions, the attacker took DEI tokens worth about $3 million and routed them through Tornado Cash. Deus Finance initially downplayed the incident but pledged to compensate affected users.
In a separate incident, a March 29 statement from Sky Mavis confirmed that the Ronin Network suffered an exploit involving 173,600 Ether and $25.5 million in USDC. The attacker gained control of five of Ronin’s nine validators—the minimum required to authorize withdrawals and deposits.
Although the attacker initially left the funds untouched, Ronin Network said it is working with security professionals and government authorities to trace the hacker.
Investor capital keeps flowing; Yuga Labs is a major beneficiary
Composable Finance announced last week that it closed a Series A round raising more than $32 million. The round included participation from Coinbase Ventures, Jump Capital, Ignite, NGC Ventures, Yunt Capital, and Fundamental Labs.
The company, which offers a cross-chain, multi-layer platform for Ethereum and other L1 networks, said the funds will be used to grow its team and build products focused on Web3 interoperability.
Cross River Bank also disclosed a $620 million capital raise led by Andreessen Horowitz and Eldridge. The bank plans to expand its crypto product offerings and continue its growth strategy. Meanwhile, Asia-based digital-asset custodian Hex Trust confirmed an $88 million Series B funding round.
In the NFT space, Yuga Labs—the creator of Bored Ape Yacht Club—completed a notable fundraising round. On March 22, the firm announced a $450 million seed round at a $4 billion valuation with participation from industry players, including FTX and MoonPay. Yuga Labs said it will use the capital to grow its team and invest in its upcoming metaverse project, Otherside.
Polygon launches a digital identity solution as Ethereum nears the Merge
Polygon is advancing privacy-focused identity technology for the next generation of the internet. On March 29, the network unveiled Polygon ID, a privacy-centric digital identity solution built on zero-knowledge protocol infrastructure.
The open-source platform enables users to satisfy KYC requirements without submitting personal data in the traditional sense. Polygon said the product is slated for a full release in Q3 and aims to maximize user privacy while supporting compliance needs.
At the base-layer level, Ethereum continues moving toward greater efficiency after completing the Holesky testnet mid-month—an important milestone on the path to the Merge. Aside from a minor bug, the testnet performed well and produced post-merge blocks with transactions.
The Merge will integrate Ethereum’s mainnet with the PoS Beacon Chain, a change expected to reduce the network’s energy consumption by more than 99.98%.
Separately, crypto exchange Binance announced the launch of Binance Bridge 2.0, which facilitates integration between CeFi and DeFi. The tool allows users to bridge assets from any blockchain to the BNB chain, increasing DeFi accessibility.