Here’s what happened in crypto today

Today in crypto, four Greek providers have entered the European Union’s crypto regulatory register. The fallout from Bitget’s nearly $388 million hack continued as NEAR Intents said it blocked more than $50 million in attempted transfers linked to the attackers and the SEC issued new guidance clarifying when certain crypto assets and activities may fall outside federal securities laws.

Greece gets first MiCA entrants as watchdog denies Binance-Lagarde claim

Greece has entered the EU’s crypto regulatory register for the first time, with four providers added.

Four Greek providers — BCash, Xenios Blockchain Group, Capital Wallet Greece and Piraeus Bank — appeared on the European Securities and Markets Authority’s (ESMA) Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) register updated Thursday.

Six other crypto-asset service providers from Germany, France and Slovenia were added, bringing the register to 359 unique providers.

The distinction of becoming Greece’s first MiCA-authorized provider could instead have gone to Binance, the world’s largest crypto exchange by trading volume. A Greek authorization would have allowed Binance to offer services throughout the EU under MiCA’s passporting system, but the exchange withdrew its application on June 24 before the Hellenic Capital Market Commission (HCMC) issued a formal decision.

Nearly three months later, the Wall Street Journal reported that European Central Bank (ECB) President Christine Lagarde had intervened to block the application. The Journal said HCMC denied that its officials made the comments attributed to them but did not elaborate. The regulator has now expanded on that denial in comments to Cointelegraph.

NEAR Intents says it blocked $50M tied to Bitget hackers

NEAR Intents said it blocked more than $50 million in attempted transfers linked to the Bitget hack. 

Attackers stole $387.5 million from Bitget on Thursday. A significant portion of these funds moved across chains to Ethereum, according to Alex Shevchenko, general manager of NEAR Intents, a protocol that lets users swap crypto assets across blockchains. 

Shevchenko said its SHIELD system detected and blocked more than $50 million in attempted transfers, which subsequently went to other providers. It managed to freeze $503,000 in funds during execution, while around $166,000 in suspected stolen funds passed through.

The post came as THORChain faced calls to block addresses linked to the attack, underscoring a tension that permissionless crypto protocols face — offering open access while seeking to curb illicit activity. 

Shevchenko argued that permissionless systems do not necessarily have to be neutral. “The people who build these systems make choices about what those protocols enable. Refusing to help launder stolen assets is one of ours,” Shevchenko said.

“Property rights are fundamental to functioning markets. A financial system where stealing an asset gives you an unrestricted right to monetize it isn’t a freer system. It is simply a system that protects the thief. Such systems cannot become the economic backbone of the future,” he added.

SEC clarifies when crypto activity may fall outside securities laws

The US Securities and Exchange Commission has updated its guidance on when certain crypto assets and transactions may fall outside federal securities laws.

The new FAQs expand on the SEC’s March interpretation of how the Howey test applies to digital assets, including token buybacks, network development and staking receipt tokens. The agency said buybacks may not constitute the managerial efforts associated with an investment contract when a crypto network is already functional and lacks a central party. Work to maintain or improve a functioning network may also fall outside that standard, while staking receipt tokens would not automatically be treated as securities.

The guidance is non-binding and does not change existing law, but gives crypto projects more detail on how SEC staff intends to apply current securities rules.

The update follows similar guidance from the Commodity Futures Trading Commission and comes days after the Senate failed to advance the CLARITY Act, which would have established a statutory framework dividing oversight of digital assets between the SEC and CFTC. Both agencies are now moving ahead under their existing authority while the legislation remains stalled.