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Metaverse Competition Issues Need Addressing, EU Antitrust Chief Says

The European Commission is set to produce a strategy for online virtual worlds in May.

Updated Mar 2, 2023, 3:30 p.m. Published Mar 2, 2023, 10:06 a.m.
Margrethe Vestager. (Thierry Tronnel/Corbis via Getty Images)
Margrethe Vestager. (Thierry Tronnel/Corbis via Getty Images)

The EU’s antitrust chief, Margrethe Vestager, wants to ensure healthy competition exists within metaverses as the European Commission prepares to publish a strategy for online virtual worlds in May.

“It is already time for us to start asking what healthy competition should look like in the metaverse,” Vestager, who is European Commissioner for competition and digital affairs, said at an event in Brussels according to a published text. She also referred to the impact of artificial intelligence service ChatGPT.

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The EU has recently legislated to stop online giants such as Meta from blocking smaller rivals, and officials have already queried whether the metaverse will need specific protections for competition, as well as discrimination and safety.

Read more: EU Metaverse Policy Should Consider Discrimination, Safety, Data Controls: Commission Official

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KuCoin Hits Record Market Share as 2025 Volumes Outpace Crypto Market

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KuCoin captured a record share of centralised exchange volume in 2025, with more than $1.25tn traded as its volumes grew faster than the wider crypto market.

What to know:

  • KuCoin recorded over $1.25 trillion in total trading volume in 2025, equivalent to an average of roughly $114 billion per month, marking its strongest year on record.
  • This performance translated into an all-time high share of centralised exchange volume, as KuCoin’s activity expanded faster than aggregate CEX volumes, which slowed during periods of lower market volatility.
  • Spot and derivatives volumes were evenly split, each exceeding $500 billion for the year, signalling broad-based usage rather than reliance on a single product line.
  • Altcoins accounted for the majority of trading activity, reinforcing KuCoin’s role as a primary liquidity venue beyond BTC and ETH at a time when majors saw more muted turnover.
  • Even as overall crypto volumes softened mid-year, KuCoin maintained elevated baseline activity, indicating structurally higher user engagement rather than short-lived volume spikes.

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Ukraine banned Polymarket and there’s no legal way for it to come back

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Polymarket and similar platforms are considered unlicensed gambling operators, leading to blocked access.

What to know:

  • Ukraine has no legal framework for Web3 prediction markets, and current legislation provides no recognition for such platforms.
  • Polymarket and similar platforms are considered unlicensed gambling operators, leading to blocked access.
  • Legal changes are unlikely in the near future, as Parliamentary revisions to gambling definitions are extremely improbable during wartime, leaving prediction markets in a legal deadlock.