South Korea’s ruling Democratic Party and the Financial Services Commission have agreed to cap major shareholder stakes in domestic crypto exchanges at 20%. Exceptions of up to 34% would apply to new businesses to support early-stage operators.
Large exchanges like Upbit and Bithumb will have 3 years to comply, while smaller platforms will receive an additional 3-year grace period.
Current ownership exceeds the proposed cap, with Upbit at 25.5%, Bithumb at 73.6%, and Coinone at 53.4%. Korbit’s pending acquisition would give Mirae Asset Consulting 92% ownership, highlighting the extent of concentrated holdings in the market.
The cap seeks to curb governance risks from concentrated shareholding, following the FSC’s January 2026 proposal. The move gained urgency after Bithumb’s accidental $43 billion Bitcoin transfer, which raised concerns about internal controls.
The ownership limit will likely be included in South Korea’s upcoming Digital Asset Basic Act, alongside rules on stablecoins and crypto ETFs.
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China asserted its position as the global leader in AI and strategic technology R&D, pledging to accelerate advancement toward technological autonomy. The assertion was prominently featured in government reports presented to the National People’s Congress.
A National Development and Reform Commission report states that China leads international research, development, and implementation in AI, biomedicine, robotics, and quantum technology. The report also references advancements in domestic chip innovation as proof of progress.
Competition between China and the United States for dominance in advanced technologies has escalated. Washington imposed export controls on advanced chips, while Beijing retaliated with restrictions on rare earth resources, escalating trade tensions over strategic technologies.
The report also highlighted the country’s global leadership in open-source AI models and its expansion into emerging technology sectors, including industrial robots and drones. Authorities pledged to nurture future industries such as quantum technology, embodied AI, and 6G networks, while promoting large-scale AI deployment across key sectors.
Officials also plan to launch new data centres, coordinate nationwide computing capacity, and establish mechanisms to prevent AI security risks. The strategy places particular emphasis on embodied AI to boost productivity and performance across sectors. Although US firms command larger investment resources, Beijing is relying on supply chains, manufacturing capacity, and rapid R&D cycles to scale emerging industries despite questions about long-term growth.
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AI has so far had only a small effect on employment across Europe, according to economists at the European Central Bank. A comparison of 5,000 firms- both AI users and non-users- showed no significant difference in job creation or reduction.
Some firms that use AI intensively were even four percent more likely to hire new staff than average.
Economists noted that AI investment has not replaced existing jobs. In some cases, firms are hiring additional employees to develop and implement AI systems or to scale up operations more efficiently.
Only a minority of firms, around 15 percent, reported reducing labour costs as a motivation for AI adoption.
Despite limited impacts so far, the ECB cautioned that AI could have more significant effects as technology matures. Firms that specifically invest in AI to cut jobs may indeed reduce employment, and the long-term consequences for production processes and labour markets remain uncertain.
The findings come amid rising concern over AI-driven job losses, with companies such as Amazon and Allianz citing AI as a reason for recent cuts. Markets reacted negatively last week after a viral post predicted widespread layoffs, though current evidence shows only minor effects.
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European regulators are examining whether Roblox should fall under the Digital Services Act’s most stringent obligations rather than remain outside the bloc’s most demanding platform rules.
The European Commission began analysing the gaming platform’s reported user figures after the company disclosed roughly 48 million monthly users across the EU.
Numbers above the threshold could qualify Roblox as a Very Large Online Platform under the DSA. Such a designation would mark the first time a gaming platform enters the category alongside social media services already subject to heightened oversight.
Platforms receiving the label must conduct regular risk assessments, submit mitigation reports and demonstrate stronger safeguards for minors.
Regulatory pressure has already begun at the national level. The Dutch Authority for Consumers and Markets launched an investigation in January after concerns that children could encounter violent or sexually explicit content within Roblox games or interact with harmful actors through online features.
Designation at the EU level would transfer supervisory authority to the European Commission, enabling wider investigations and potential fines if violations occur. Officials are still verifying user data before making a formal decision, and no deadline has been announced for the process.
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Brazil’s central bank has introduced a regulatory framework requiring licensed crypto exchanges to prove asset sufficiency daily starting on 1 January 2027. The measures align digital asset intermediaries with banking standards on capital management, accounting, and data protection.
Under the rules, exchanges must submit daily attestations confirming that platforms hold adequate fiat and token reserves. Supervisors will review the reports to ensure companies can cover operational, liquidity, and cybersecurity risks while protecting customer balances.
The framework also mandates strict segregation of company and client assets. Exchanges must maintain separate accounts for customer fiat and digital holdings to prevent commingling of funds and improve transparency for regulators.
Platforms operating in Brazil will also be required to follow a specialised accounting manual for digital assets. Standardised rules for classification, valuation, and impairment aim to ensure financial statements clearly reflect exposures across regulated entities.
Authorities will expand oversight of cross-border transfers handled by domestic crypto exchanges. Platforms must report the origins of transactions and the blockchain pathways they follow. The central bank said the framework aims to strengthen resilience and protect customer funds.
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The money-movement solution Ripple Payments has been expanded to integrate both traditional and digital payment rails. The upgrade strengthens its enterprise-grade platform, enabling custody, collections, and liquidity management while supporting global fintech expansion.
The company emphasised that the platform now processes fiat currencies and stablecoins on a single infrastructure.
Operating in more than 60 major markets, Ripple supports corporate on-chain treasury operations through managed custody and virtual account capabilities.
Recent acquisitions of Palisade and Rail have enhanced custody, treasury automation, virtual accounts, and collections, allowing firms to collect, hold, exchange, and pay out both fiat and stablecoins seamlessly.
The expanded platform offers named virtual accounts and wallet issuance, automated collection flows, fund exchange, and settlement functions. Managed custody supports large-scale wallet issuance, fast transaction signing, and transfers to operating accounts.
Companies can collect fiat and stablecoins in integrated accounts with automated FX conversion and settlement. Ripple highlighted its liquidity management expertise, enabling clients to deploy corporate assets optimally.
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Europe is building a federated cloud and AI infrastructure intended to reduce reliance on US and Chinese technology providers and avoid ongoing strategic vulnerability.
The project, known as EURO-3C, was announced in Barcelona by Telefónica and is backed by the European Commission. More than seventy organisations across telecommunications, technology and emerging companies have joined the effort.
Architects of the scheme argue that linking national infrastructures into a shared network of nodes offers a realistic path forward, particularly as Europe cannot easily create a hyperscale cloud provider from scratch.
The initiative follows a series of US cloud outages that exposed the risks of excessive dependence on external infrastructure and raised questions about sovereignty, resilience and long-term competitiveness.
Commission officials described the programme as a way to build a secure cross-border digital ecosystem that supports industries such as automotive, e-health, public administration and sovereign government cloud.
Telefónica stressed that agentic AI, capable of taking autonomous actions, will play a central role in enabling Europe to develop technology rather than import it.
The partners view the project as a foundation for a unified and independent digital environment that strengthens industrial supply chains and prepares European sectors for the next phase of cloud and AI adoption.
They present the initiative as a significant step toward reducing strategic exposure while stimulating domestic innovation.
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The civil liberties committee failed to secure majority backing for its amended report on extending the EU’s temporary chat-scanning rules instead of giving a clear negotiating position.
Members of Parliament reviewed the amendments on Monday, but the final text did not garner sufficient support, leaving the proposal without endorsement as the adoption deadline approaches.
A proposal to extend the current derogation that allows tech companies to voluntarily scan their services for Child Sexual Abuse Material (CSAM).
The existing regime expires in April 2026 and was intended only as a stopgap while a permanent Child Sexual Abuse Regulation was developed. Years of stalled negotiations have led to the temporary rules being extended twice since 2021.
Council has already approved its position without changes to the Commission proposal, creating a tight timeline for Parliament.
With trilogue talks finally underway, institutions would need to conclude discussions unusually quickly to prevent the legal basis from expiring. If no agreement is reached by April, companies would lose their ability to scan services under the EU law.
The committee confirmed that the file will now move to plenary in the week of 9–12 March, where political groups may table new amendments. An outcome that will determine whether the temporary regime remains in place while negotiations on the permanent system continue.
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Anthropic has enhanced its Claude AI chatbot to make switching from other platforms easier. Users on the free plan can now activate Claude’s memory feature, which allows them to import data from other AI platforms using a new dedicated tool.
The update ensures that users don’t have to start over when transferring context and history from competitors like OpenAI’s ChatGPT or Google’s Gemini.
The memory import option, first introduced in October for paid subscribers, now appears under ‘settings’ → ‘capabilities’ for all users. The tool lets users copy a prompt from their previous AI and paste the output into Claude, seamlessly transferring past interactions.
The recent popularity of Claude has been driven by tools such as Claude Code and Claude Cowork, as well as the launch of the Opus 4.6 and Sonnet 4.6 models. Upgrades enhance Claude’s coding, spreadsheet, and complex task capabilities, boosting its appeal to new users.
Anthropic’s visibility has also increased amid debates with the Pentagon, as the company refuses to loosen AI safeguards for military use, drawing ‘red lines’ around mass surveillance and autonomous weapons.
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Turkey’s ruling AK Party has introduced a bill in parliament to formalise cryptocurrency taxation and revise key tax and spending rules. The legislation links crypto taxation to Turkey’s Capital Markets Law and sets a clear framework for digital assets.
Under the proposal, regulated crypto platforms would withhold a 10% tax on gains quarterly, applicable to both individuals and companies, residents and non-residents. Transaction service providers are subject to a 0.03% tax, and investors on unlicensed platforms must declare gains annually.
The president would have the authority to adjust the withholding tax between 0% and 20%, depending on factors such as token type, holding period, issuer, or wallet type. Exemptions include VAT-free crypto deliveries and corporate tax changes for foundation university hospitals from 2027.
If approved, the crypto taxation provisions would take effect two months after publication, signalling Turkey’s first formal steps to regulate digital assets and integrate them into the national tax system.
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