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According to Cointelegraph, the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) will establish a new EU strategic regulatory priority themed around digital innovation starting in 2027, initially focusing on AI and tokenization.Regulatory authorities in EU member states will identify emerging areas of tokenization, documenting how businesses use or plan to use AI and tokenization technologies in products and processes that directly affect investors, and conducting preliminary checks on some of the most affected companies.ESMA stated that the risks that need to be prioritized include biased or misleading AI outputs, products that are difficult for investors to understand, and reliance on a few third-party service providers. This priority will be advanced in parallel with the regulatory priority for cyber and operational resilience that will be launched in 2025.

According to Cointelegraph, the European Banking Authority (EBA), the European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority (EIOPA), and the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) stated in a joint risk update that advancements in quantum computing could undermine the cryptographic systems that secure blockchain transactions, communications, and databases.Google Quantum AI researchers estimated in March that the number of physical quantum bits required to break the cryptographic techniques used by many cryptocurrencies is about 20 times less than previously estimated. There currently exists no computer capable of executing such an attack.Bitcoin developer Jameson Lopp and others proposed in February to gradually phase out the current signature scheme and to restrict the usage of untransferred funds five years after the proposal is activated; this proposal has not yet been adopted. The Ethereum Foundation plans to enable Ethereum's execution, consensus, and data layers to be resistant to quantum attacks by December 2029.

Raiffeisen Bank International (RBI) announced a group-level collaboration with Bitpanda to expand its cryptocurrency asset layout. According to a joint announcement released by both parties on Wednesday, Bitpanda Enterprise will provide digital asset infrastructure for member banks within the RBI network to launch cryptocurrency services, potentially covering around 18 million customers. The announcement stated that each member bank will decide on the specific service content and launch pace based on local market conditions and regulatory requirements.RBI CEO Michael Höllerer stated that the demand for cryptocurrency assets in the markets where the group operates is continuously growing, thus the decision to collaborate with Bitpanda to address this. He mentioned that as a customer-centric bank, RBI is committed to meeting customer needs in the best possible way. Bitpanda indicated to Cointelegraph that this promotion is still in the early stages and will be gradually advanced based on local market and regulatory requirements, with further details to be announced once each market is confirmed.This collaboration builds on the cryptocurrency integration launched in 2024 with Raiffeisenlandesbank Niederösterreich-Wien in Austria. Bitpanda has obtained authorization under the EU's Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA) and stated that it is regularly communicating with banks and financial institutions exploring cryptocurrency brokerage services, but declined to comment on ongoing or confidential negotiations.

Alibaba is accelerating the expansion of its data centers in Europe and the Middle East, driving its 20 gigawatt global infrastructure development.Alibaba will establish its first cloud regions in Turkey, Finland, and the Netherlands within the next 12 months, and expand its data center layout in Malaysia, Germany, the United Arab Emirates, France, and Hong Kong.

Frank Heemskerk, Executive Vice President of the Dutch lithography machine company ASML, stated that the company currently does not sell any chip manufacturing equipment on the European continent. He said, "We are not selling anything in Europe at all. This is because there has been no investment in Europe, and there are no new chip factories being built here."Data shows that in the second quarter of this year, Europe's contribution to ASML's net system sales was zero, and by 2025, Europe, the Middle East, and Africa will account for 1%. In the first half of the year, South Korea was the company's largest market for equipment. Heemskerk stated that other countries are rolling out the red carpet to invite investment in factory construction, and currently about a quarter of ASML's R&D work is conducted in the United States.The European Union is reforming the "Chip Act," which will take effect in 2023. In May of this year, ASML signed an agreement with Tata Electronics of India to assist India in building semiconductor factories.

On Tuesday, European asset management firm 21Shares launched the first physically-backed ETP tracking Zcash on the Euronext Paris and Euronext Amsterdam exchanges, allowing investors to gain exposure to ZEC through brokerage accounts without directly holding the cryptocurrency. 21Shares also introduced an ETP tracking ETHFI, which is the governance and utility token of the decentralized finance protocol Ether.fi, providing crypto-financial services such as staking. Both ETPs are physically-backed with an annual management fee of 2.5%, higher than most Bitcoin and Ethereum investment products in Europe.The launch of the Zcash ETP closely follows Grayscale's introduction of the Zcash ETF in the United States, which is listed on the NYSE Arca under the ticker ZCSH. Zcash has recently performed strongly, with prices briefly surpassing $1500, and a nearly 1100% increase over the past year, leading to heightened market interest in it as an alternative to Bitcoin. Grayscale's research director Zach Pandl believes that Zcash may benefit from a "latecomer advantage," helping it overcome Bitcoin's entrenched network effects.The popularity of Zcash has also spread to the mining sector. Fortitude Digital Mining told Cointelegraph that the company mined about 28% of the total ZEC in the first half of 2026, with its focus on Zcash based on the network's proof-of-work model, supply cap, and privacy features.

According to CoinDesk, the European Central Bank (ECB) and the central banks of EU member states wish to prohibit crypto platforms from providing indirect yields on stablecoins through lending, staking, and other products. The European System of Central Banks (ESCB) stated in response to the European Commission's consultation on the review of the Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA) that electronic money should be used for payments rather than savings, continuing to support the prohibition of crypto asset service providers (CASP) from paying rewards for stablecoins, and that the ban should not be limited to services already regulated by MiCA but should also cover unregulated activities such as crypto lending, borrowing, and staking.Central banks believe that allowing indirect yields could blur the lines between electronic money and bank deposits, distorting the fair competitive environment of the EU financial system. The ESCB stated that maintaining and, when necessary, strengthening this ban, while covering both direct and indirect forms of rewards, should be a clear legislative priority. This position also echoes the controversy in the U.S. surrounding the Clarity Act, where eight U.S. banking groups urged senators to tighten the bill's restrictions on stablecoin rewards, which ultimately failed in a procedural vote of 49 to 50.In addition, central banks also proposed to eliminate the MiCA requirement for stablecoin issuers to hold part of their reserves in the form of bank deposits, replacing it with liquidity rules based on the liquidity of reserve assets. Currently, stablecoin issuers must keep at least 30% of their reserves in credit institutions, and this percentage rises to 60% for those classified as significant stablecoins. The ESCB suggested that significant stablecoins must allocate at least 40% of their reserves to assets maturing within one day and 60% to assets maturing within five working days, while the corresponding thresholds for non-significant stablecoins are 20% and 30%.

Iran signals a possible reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, pushing oil prices down, while Eurozone bond yields fell for the second consecutive day, reaching their lowest level in nearly two weeks.Germany's 10-year government bond yield rose 4 basis points at the start before falling back 1 basis point, reported at 3.441%. Traders expect the European Central Bank to tighten policy by about 35 basis points this year.

According to a Reuters report, the European Central Bank and the central banks of EU member states expressed opposition to the requirement that major stablecoin issuers hold at least 60% of their reserve assets in the form of bank deposits during the consultation on the regulatory framework for crypto assets, MiCA. The reason is that this could expose banks to fluctuations in the stablecoin market and undermine the stability of deposits.The central bank system suggested changing the regulation to require that a certain proportion of reserve assets must be short-term assets maturing within 1 to 5 working days. At the same time, the central bank pointed out that despite MiCA being in effect, non-compliant crypto companies can still reach EU customers, and regulatory enforcement faces "significant challenges," posing risks to investor protection.

According to FT, the prediction market platform Polymarket is conducting regulatory lobbying in the UK, Brussels, and several EU countries, hoping that its prediction market contracts will be classified as financial derivatives and included under financial service regulations like MiFID, rather than continuing to be subject to various national gambling regulations.The company has engaged with agencies such as ESMA, the European Commission, and the UK FCA, and is seeking to obtain a license in Europe. Polymarket is currently raising funds at a valuation of over $20 billion. Several European countries maintain strict regulations on retail prediction markets, and regulatory authorities in the UK, France, Germany, and Italy have previously indicated that related businesses may require gambling licenses.

David Ripley, co-CEO of the American cryptocurrency exchange Kraken, stated that Europe is taking a more pragmatic approach to cryptocurrency regulation, and the Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA) provides clarity for market rules; in contrast, the regulatory environment in the United States is more confrontational.Ripley pointed out that the CLARITY Act is progressing slowly, and related work has been ongoing for many years. He believes that if the United States continues to delay advancing cryptocurrency regulatory legislation, it may cede its leadership in financial innovation to the European Union. Kraken obtained a MiCA license from the Central Bank of Ireland (CBI) in June 2025, allowing it to operate in 30 member countries of the European Economic Area (EEA).

According to Reuters, the European Central Bank has launched the Pontes service, connecting its payment system with blockchain-based financial markets, allowing banks and investors to complete on-chain transaction settlements using euros supported by the European Central Bank, rather than relying on stablecoins or other private currencies.The first batch of participating institutions includes Deutsche Bank, Santander Bank, and the clearing institution Clearstream Bank, with the service operating during weekdays from 8:00 to 16:00 Central European Time.

Korean Air Bank issued a 100 million USD foreign currency digital bond with a term of 5 years, directly utilizing the digital financial market infrastructure of Euroclear. This is the first digital bond in Korea issued directly using Euroclear's blockchain infrastructure.The issuance, registration, and settlement of the bond are all processed on a distributed ledger network, shortening the bond allocation and payment settlement from 3 to 5 working days to the same day. Investors can trade the bond through the Euroclear global settlement network using their existing accounts and trading systems.

According to CriptoNoticias, the Spanish Civil Guard and National Police have respectively cracked down on two cryptocurrency-related criminal cases, capturing or identifying a total of 48 individuals involved.Among them, one Ponzi scheme resulted in losses of approximately 327,000 euros for 113 investors; another criminal network implemented fraud through phishing, fake rental advertisements, and other methods, converting illegal gains into cryptocurrency to evade tracking, causing losses exceeding 430,000 euros.

According to Gate market data, on September 18, the German DAX30 index closed down 424.38 points, a decrease of 1.65%, at 25,308.88 points; the UK FTSE 100 index fell 165.12 points, a decrease of 1.53%, at 10,651.02 points; the French CAC40 index dropped 121.91 points, a decrease of 1.49%, at 8,065.02 points; the Euro Stoxx 50 index fell 87.45 points, a decrease of 1.38%, at 6,235.45 points; the Spanish IBEX35 index decreased by 334.79 points, a decrease of 1.69%, at 19,501.41 points; the Italian FTSE MIB index dropped 846 points, a decrease of 1.61%, at 51,539.5 points.

According to Gate market data, the decline of major European stock indices has widened during the trading session, with the Euro Stoxx 50 index, Germany's DAX index, France's CAC 40 index, and Italy's FTSE MIB index all dropping over 1%, while the UK's FTSE 100 index fell by 0.9%.

Market news reports that Saudi Arabia has informed European refiners that they will not be able to obtain crude oil supplies next month.

Cointelegraph cited a report from The Wall Street Journal stating that European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde personally intervened to prevent Binance from obtaining a license across the European Union.

According to NBC News, the U.S. Pentagon is considering withdrawing nearly one-third of American troops from Europe.