Barclays is looking to build a blockchain platform that could handle stablecoin payments and tokenized deposits, Bloomberg reported Friday (Feb. 27), citing unnamed sources. The bank has sent a request for information to some technology suppliers that could help it add digital asset technology, and...
Here is the question nobody in polite payments circles wants to ask out loud: Do the card networks need stablecoins—or do stablecoins need the card networks? It sounds almost impertinent. Stablecoins were supposed to be the insurgents. Peer-to-peer. Borderless. Frictionless. The whole point was to...
FinTech Stripe has spent much of its operational history making it easier for merchants to plug into the financial system. Now, it is trying to redesign the system itself. According to the company’s 2025 annual letter, which was published Tuesday (Feb. 24) and devoted a...
Interoperability in crypto payments has long been discussed as a technical aspiration. Over the past several months, it has started to look more like a commercial necessity. As stablecoins and digital wallets enter mainstream commerce, financial institutions and their executives are no longer asking whether...
Revolut is among four companies being tapped to test stablecoin use in the U.K. The London-based FinTech has been chosen to take part in the Regulatory Sandbox program, which lets companies trial stablecoin products in real world settings with proper safeguards, the Financial Conduct Authority...
Blockchain infrastructure company NEAR has introduced a super app designed to help users operate their financial life on blockchains. “NEAR Protocol Co-founder [Illia Polosukhin] just unveiled near.com on stage: a super-app on crypto rails, powered by NEAR Intents. Now live,” the company said in a...
Figure is reportedly introducing a tokenized class of stock that trades on blockchain rails. Company officials told Coindesk Thursday (Feb. 19) that Figure’s FGRD token will be available on its Onchain Public Equity Network (OPEN), and issued, traded and settled without using traditional Wall Street clearing and...
A tokenized deposit network built by five banks and a blockchain-based platform led by former Comptroller of the Currency Gene Ludwig is expected to be available to the banks’ customers in the fourth quarter, Bloomberg reported Wednesday (Feb. 18). The launch will follow a pilot program that...
Despite the hype and headlines, institutional and financial blockchain products are no silver-bullet panacea for legacy money movement frictions. The early promise of blockchain was around efficiency thanks to its immutable, shared ledger that eliminated reconciliation, reduced intermediaries and accelerated settlement. But as digital assets...