From the newsroom
Opinion & interviews
Conversations with the people behind Europe's crypto market and sharp pieces from our own editors. Every piece is bylined, with expertise and a last-reviewed date.
Interviews
Interview
The playbook behind crypto fraud
A financial fraud investigator describes the pattern behind modern crypto scams and the first 48 hours after a report.
Amina El Yazidi2026-06-03Interview
The costs that are not in the factsheet
A European portfolio manager explains why the headline fee of a crypto ETP rarely tells the whole story.
Thijs Molenaar2026-05-06Interview
Mining through the eyes of a grid operator
A Northern European grid analyst explains when flexible miners help the network and when they get in the way.
Mathias Peeters2026-04-08Interview
Where users actually get stuck
A product designer at a European hardware wallet maker on backups, human error and why the seed phrase is still here.
Bram Hoekstra2026-03-18Interview
On-chain data as an early warning for manipulation
A market integrity analyst on how on-chain data helps detect price manipulation before it shows up in the price itself.
Mathias Peeters2026-03-05Interview
What the tax office actually expects
A tax adviser explains how crypto is taxed in the Netherlands and Belgium, and which records you genuinely need.
Veerle Janssens2026-02-25Interview
Stablecoins as a European payment rail: opportunity or hype?
A payments product manager explains where stablecoins are already useful in Europe and where the digital euro will fit in.
Dani Oosterhuis2026-02-18Interview
Why your bank holds that transfer
A Belgian banker explains why transfers to crypto platforms get held up and what a customer can do about it.
Wouter De Clerck2026-02-04Interview
Pension funds and custody of digital assets
An institutional investor on the requirements pension funds set for custody of digital assets and why that process moves slowly.
Veerle Janssens2026-02-03Interview
What a MiCA license means in practice
A compliance head at a European exchange explains what a MiCA license takes in practice, from capital buffers to client files.
Joris Vandenbroucke2026-01-14Opinion
Opinion
Zero commission does not exist
Platforms advertise low or no commission while the real cost hides in the quoted price. That is misleading, even where it is legal.
Thijs Molenaar2026-06-17Opinion
It is not how much, but where and when
The mining debate almost always argues about total consumption. The relevant questions are where and when that power is used.
Mathias Peeters2026-05-20Opinion
Twelve words on paper are a design flaw
The seed phrase saved crypto and trapped its users. Better models exist, but they are rarely offered by default.
Bram Hoekstra2026-04-22Opinion
The digital euro needs explanation, not reassurance
Opinion: the ECB too often responds to critical questions about the digital euro with reassuring generalities, not answers.
Fleur de Wit2026-04-08T08:00:00.000ZOpinion
A rule you cannot explain is a bad rule
Belgium's normal management test and the Dutch reference date both ask something impossible of an ordinary saver.
Veerle Janssens2026-03-26Opinion
Self-custody is a habit, not a one-time choice
Opinion: many users set up a wallet once and then forget all discipline afterwards. That is where it goes wrong.
Bram Hoekstra2026-03-11T08:00:00.000ZOpinion
Supervision nobody reads is not supervision
Warnings rarely reach the people who need them. Supervision that works communicates in the user's language and place.
Fleur de Wit2026-03-04Opinion
Banks should not become shadow regulators
Now that MiCA decides who may offer crypto services, it is untenable for banks to run their own invisible admission policy.
Sanne Vermeulen2026-02-11Opinion
The ETF wave is not the end point, but a new chapter
Opinion: spot ETFs brought institutional money into bitcoin, but assuming this makes the market stable is a mistake.
Sanne Vermeulen2026-02-03T08:00:00.000ZOpinion
Why MiCA sets a higher bar than the industry admits
Opinion: MiCA is not red tape but a necessary correction after years of self-regulation that failed to protect users.
Joris Vandenbroucke2026-01-14T08:00:00.000ZOpinion pieces reflect the view of their author, not of Block #9 as a whole. Nothing here is investment advice.