After Western sanctions gutted Russia's financial system five years ago, a new bank card began appearing in the wallets of many Russians.

Major finance and tech firms are pouring money into startups building technology to develop the crypto market, even though they're steering clear of the volatile currencies themselves.

Japan's financial regulator will require cryptocurrency exchanges to strengthen internal oversight of the so-called "cold wallets" used to store digital money, a source with direct knowledge of the matter told Reuters on Tuesday.

China's state planner wants to eliminate bitcoin mining in the country, according to a draft list of industrial activities the agency is seeking to stop in a sign of growing government pressure on the cryptocurrency sector.

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on Wednesday issued guidelines to help market participants determine whether a digital asset qualifies as a security under federal securities laws and needs to be registered with the regulator.

Bitcoin soared to its highest in almost five months on Tuesday, pulling smaller cryptocurrencies up with it, after a major order by an anonymous buyer set off a frenzy of computer-driven trading, analysts said.

TransferWise Ltd, the money transfer startup whose investors include entrepreneur Richard Branson and PayPal Holdings Inc founders Peter Thiel and Max Levchin, is seeking to sell a stake in itself in a new fundraising round, people familiar with the matter said on Friday.

After almost three decades in senior compliance roles at large financial firms including Bank of New York Mellon's Pershing and Goldman Sachs Group Inc, Jeff Horowitz made an unconventional career move.

Payments group Worldpay said on Wednesday it was expanding its business in Australia and New Zealand, a new heavyweight disruptor vying for the business of the established payment networks and banks servicing most local firms.

Bitmain Technologies, the world's largest designer of products for mining cryptocurrencies, on Tuesday let its application for a Hong Kong initial public offering (IPO) lapse, becoming the latest cryptocurrency company to shelve plans to go public.