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Belgium's Financial Services and Markets Authority (FSMA) ordered Binance to cease all offers of virtual currency services in the country - immediately. "The FSMA has noted that Binance is offering and providing exchange services in Belgium between virtual currencies and legal currencies, as well as custody wallet services, from countries that are not members of the European Economic Area." FSMA said Binance did not dispute that it offered those services in Belgium. https://www.fsma.be/en/news/fsma-orders-binance-cease-immediately-all-offers-virtual-currency-services-belgium

A subscription-only digital bank promising to use AI to help customers maximise their money, has launched in Belgium. Called Aion, the new venture is the latest iteration of Banca Monte Paschi Belgio, which private equity giant Warburg Pincus bought from Italy's Banca Monte dei Paschi last year.

Europe's Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) regulation framework, as of the latest draft, limits the volume for stablecoin payments to $200 million per day. This is too low of a cap to gauge its success and is ultimately only helpful in stifling innovation and hindering what these assets can offer. Take the perspective from Belgium, where, as of July 1, 2022, all merchants must offer at least one digital payment solution. But, here's the catch - cryptocurrency and stablecoins are not accepted as valid forms of digital payment under this provision.

Euroclear has invested in Fnality, the blockchain payments consortium formerly known as the Utility Settlement Coin (USC) and owned by 16 major financial institutions. Euroclear operates Central Securities Depositories (CSDs) across Europe, including Belgium, Finland, France, Ireland, the Netherlands, Sweden, and the United Kingdom. In October, Fnality plans to launch its first payment currency with pounds sterling deposited at the Bank of England. That makes it a so-called wholesale synthetic CBDC where the purpose is for institutions to use it for settlement, especially for blockchain-based transactions.