Source published Nov. 9, 2026, at 21:36:56 UTC+08:00.
Europe’s proposed tokenized-securities standards, a further block-time reduction under consideration at Zcash, and reported account closures at Binance France mark three different stages of infrastructure change: standards work, a network proposal and an exchange wind-down.
EU seeks a common framework for tokenized securities
The European Central Bank, European Commission and European Securities and Markets Authority are seeking nominations for the European Tokenisation Standards Group (ETSG), an industry-led body tasked with drafting common standards for holding and settling tokenized securities.
EU industry associations, global institutions, private firms and fintech companies can apply by Nov. 27, 2026. According to a release published Monday, work is scheduled to begin in January 2027, with an initial set of standards targeted for early 2028. The three EU institutions will participate as observers.
The group’s remit covers technical and market standards for moving across different distributed ledger technology platforms and connecting them with existing financial systems. The institutions warned that fragmentation could limit tokenization’s benefits. The group may also recommend ways for EU authorities to encourage adoption of its standards.
The work will support Appia, the Eurosystem initiative to develop a blueprint for Europe’s tokenized financial markets. It follows the September launch of Pontes, a system that allows financial institutions to settle wholesale tokenized-asset transactions in central bank money.
The distinction is important: ETSG’s standards are still to be developed, while Pontes has already launched.
Zcash proposal targets 20-second blocks, not more daily private-transaction capacity
Zcash developers ValarDragon and Evan Forbes submitted a draft Zcash Improvement Proposal on GitHub on Sunday to reduce the network’s target block interval from 25 seconds to 20 seconds. They want the proposal included in the next community poll and considered for the upcoming NU7.1 upgrade.
The developers say the shorter interval would reduce the expected wait for an initial transaction confirmation, improving the experience for point-of-sale payments, exchange deposits and cross-chain swaps. However, the proposal would not increase overall daily capacity for private transactions. It would also preserve the existing issuance schedule despite more frequent blocks.
This remains a proposal, distinct from the NU7 upgrade activated on mainnet on Friday. NU7 reduced the target block interval from 75 seconds to 25 seconds and introduced a Network Sustainability Mechanism designed to recycle a portion of transaction fees into future mining rewards while preserving the 21 million ZEC supply cap.
Binance France users face withdrawal and closure deadlines
According to Saturday reports from Cryptoast, Crypto Briefing and other media, citing Binance emails sent to customers in early November, Binance France is closing its operations in the country. All accounts are scheduled to close on Dec. 31, 2026.
The reports say accounts retaining assets will incur a monthly maintenance fee starting Nov. 29, 2026. The fee is 0.025% of the balance, with a minimum of 10 USDC, a stablecoin tracking the US dollar.
The exchange said withdrawals must be completed by Nov. 29 to avoid those fees. That fee deadline precedes the reported account-closure date by more than a month.