Monoup news digest: main updates from fintech industry
Welcome to our Friday news update from Monoup. The crypto segment is once again in our spotlight for various reasons: some authorities are establishing regulations and cooperating with major crypto players, while somewhere, there's another crypto scandal and security breaches. Continue reading to find out what happened and how it will impact the industry.
The UK is focusing on filling its budget and will require crypto firms to report on their clients and transactions. This approach is not new but has already caused public resonance.
This review will shed the light on what happened this week in fintech and iGaming, and what you definitely need to know.
In UK Residents to Pay Taxes on Crypto Operations
As part of cryptocurrency regulation in the UK, authorities are concerned with taxation. Starting January 1, 2026, all companies in crypto services sector in the country must provide data on their clients' transactions to the tax authority (HMRC). To do this, crypto services must collect the name, address, date of birth, and tax number of each client for every transaction and maintain a database. Not only UK residents must be included but all other users too.
Additionally, details of each transaction must be reported separately, including the date, type of operation, amount, and which coins were bought or sold. This will bring the crypto sector in line with the same rules that fiat fintech and banks already follow. The UK has decided not to implement special rules for crypto, as the US does, but to integrate cryptocurrency into the financial sector laws that have been refined over the years. Overall, this sounds quite logical and straightforward to implement.
It's important to note that the penalty for not providing such data for crypto service companies is £300 for each client for whom data is not collected. This will exert serious financial pressure on companies and ensure real compliance with the new requirements immediately.
Dubai Signs Agreement with Crypto.com
Dubai has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Crypto.com. This will allow government payments to be made in cryptocurrency. Having a wallet on the exchange, citizens will be able to pay fees and other mandatory payments directly to government wallets in available cryptocurrencies. The process will also not require intermediaries, thanks to the end-to-end integration of payments into government systems, ensuring a positive payment experience.
This initiative is unique and the first of its kind in the world. Moreover, in most countries, crypto is not considered a payment method and is not accepted for payments, especially by the government. In Dubai, it is believed that this step will, on the contrary, help earn more and become a cashless society by 2026. It is planned that 90% of payments in the country will be made electronically.
Meanwhile, other countries are actively resisting cryptocurrency, including Russia, where fines for crypto payments have recently been introduced. The government's position is to prevent crypto payments within the country, and penalties for violations are quite severe. For individuals, it's 100–200 thousand rubles, and for legal entities, in range from 700 thousand to 1 million rubles. Additionally, digital currency used illegally as a mean of payment will be confiscated. Such measures directly contradict Dubai's policy; we will have the opportunity to observe the real results of these different viewpoints in the future.
Coinbase, Binance, and Kraken Experienced Hacker Attacks
Coinbase crypto exchange has become a victim of fraudulent activity, this time a hacker attack. The company experienced a data leak, including names, addresses, and balances data of some accounts. Additionally, attackers stole scans of documents that users sent for KYC verifications earlier. Coinbase clarifies that approximately 1% of users were affected, which is relatively small in the context of overall activity but still concerning.
The exchange assures that keys, login details, and account access cannot be obtained from this data. However, it was discovered that the attackers bribed Coinbase employees and tried to impersonate them, deceiving clients into giving away money. Coinbase estimates total losses from $180 to $400 million. The press suggests that the attack was triggered by news of Coinbase preparing to enter the S&P 500 index as the first crypto company. But we all are not sure.
In addition to Coinbase, similar attacks were carried out on other major exchanges: Binance and Kraken. Both companies have not commented anything in detail, but a Bloomberg source clarifies that there was no data leak and the security was not compromised.
Interestingly, all attacks followed an identical scenario — using social engineering, in other words, deceiving the employees of these exchanges. It is known that Coinbase employees were bribed, while with Binance and Kraken, it seems they tried to deceive and extract confidential information. Such schemes are very common today, and in addition to a stable technical infrastructure, companies always need to invest in personnel and their training to counter such dangers.
iGB Live and ICE Conferences Up for Sale
Major iGaming conferences may soon have a new owner. The organizer of these gatherings, Clarion Events, is owned by Blackstone fund, which has decided to review its assets and sell the company.
The fund is concerned about the current global situation, particularly Trump's tariffs and overall future uncertainty. Management believes this will affect the possibilities for professional travel, and the number of conference attendees will decrease significantly. At the same time, the company is focused on developing Asia, particularly China and Hong Kong, and reducing funding for Europe.
Despite the success and profitability of mentioned conferences after the pandemic, the owners have still decided to sell them. In addition to gaming and payments, Clarion Events also organizes important events in other industries. The company is priced at $2.5 billion.
These are the main news updates in iGaming and fintech for today! Stay informed with Mono Talks and our Telegram channel; read our articles and notes, and stay on top of industry trends.
