Banca d’Italia has released a July 2026 study finding that stablecoin remittances do not consistently beat traditional transfer services on cost or speed. Researchers executed real transfers of 200 $USDC across ten corridors linking Italy with Argentina, Brazil, South Africa, the United Arab Emirates and Japan. The mystery-shopping study recorded total costs from 0.30% to
South Korea has approved plans to establish a new 20 trillion won investment account within its sovereign wealth fund to finance artificial intelligence, data centers and other strategic industries while allowing domestic investments for the first time. According to a South Korean government statement released Friday, the new account will be created under the Korea
The European Central Bank (ECB) said Thursday its planned digital euro app will exceed the accessibility requirements of the European Accessibility Act. The proposed design includes enhanced visual design, full keyboard navigation, screen-reader support, time-out warnings, simplified language, error prevention and reduced motion settings, among other accessibility features, the ECB said in a Thursday release.
Japan’s central bank held interest rates steady at 1.0% on Friday after a reported major intervention in the yen. Key points: Japan holds interest rates at 1.0%, following market expectations. Both Japan and South Korea’s central banks reportedly engage in currency interventions, as the JPY briefly gains 3.5% overnight. Bank of Japan warns of incoming
Ken Griffin’s Citadel reportedly bought a large proportion of the public stock portfolio of Situational Awareness, the hedge fund founded by former OpenAI researcher Leopold Aschenbrenner. The Financial Times first reported Thursday that Citadel bought the discounted portfolio after heavy losses during July’s artificial intelligence stock market rout. The transaction followed Aschenbrenner’s fund falling about
Tokenization has gotten nods of approval from the Larry Finks of the world. It’s top of mind for every large financial institution. Blackrock, Fidelity, Franklin Templeton are just some of the many that have tokenized their assets. Over $34 billion worth of assets have already been tokenized and that’s excluding the $300 billion in tokenized
The U.S. Treasury has sanctioned two Iranian firms behind a maritime insurance operation that accepted bitcoin, saying the scheme forced commercial vessels to buy coverage to pass through the Strait of Hormuz and funnelled the proceeds to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. The Office of Foreign Assets Control designated the Persian Gulf Marine Insurance Company
On-chain lending and yield strategies, commonly known as vaults, could be the next crypto innovation ripe for massive public adoption. According to Grayscale’s Head of Research Zach Pandl, the products could follow the steps of stablecoins, tokenized assets, and perpetual futures. These were niche crypto experiments, but are being embraced by traditional finance (tradFi) firms
Asian stocks surged on Friday as strong results from Microsoft and Amazon revived confidence in artificial-intelligence spending, helping South Korea’s battered market stage a record comeback. The Kospi jumped as much as 16.5%, while Japan’s Nikkei climbed more than 5% and Taiwan’s Taiex gained over 7%. The advance followed a powerful Wall Street rally led