Mastercard says it has completed its acquisition of cryptocurrency infrastructure platform BVNK. The deal is designed to help Mastercard offer more choice in “how people and businesses exchange value by enabling interoperability across fiat and digital currencies,” the company said in a Monday (Aug. 3)...
The European Central Bank could begin a pilot phase for the digital euro in 2027. That’s assuming national governments and the European Parliament agree on a legal framework next year, with potential issuance possible in 2029, the central bank (ECB) announced Thursday (Oct. 29). “As...
With Trump’s election, America got the nation’s first self-described “crypto president,” and on Friday (March 7), the U.S. will get its first crypto summit at the White House, chaired by White House Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Crypto Czar David Sacks. It represents a remarkable turnabout...
The stablecoin market is positioning itself as at the forefront of payments innovation, and that forefront is at an inflection point. On Tuesday (Feb. 25), Bank of America’s CEO Brian Moynihan said in an interview that the bank would “go into” stablecoins if regulation were...
August 21, 2024
Every innovation needs a supporting infrastructure network to scale. And, with the news that Apple will allow third-party developers to access its near-field communication (NFC) chip this autumn with the release of iOS 18.1, crypto and blockchain enthusiasts are increasingly of the hope that crypto payments are coming closer to finding that much-needed infrastructure. Apple’s move, […]
June 19, 2024
As has played out over and over across the payments landscape, end-users ultimately want simplicity. After all, no payment innovation can scale if it isn’t easy and intuitive to use....
May 29, 2024
The technology for central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) already exists. And as dozens of countries around the world have proven, in less time than it took to read this sentence,...
November 09, 2023
The hallmark of stablecoins has been instability. In a paper published this week by the Bank of International Settlements (BIS), the analysis shows that with a decade of trading history, none...
September 20, 2026
Saudi Arabia has reportedly withdrawn from China’s mBridge digital currency/cross-border payments program. That’s according to a report Sunday (Sept. 20) by the Financial Times (FT), which says the program has drawn controversy in the U.S. due to concerns that participating countries could use it to skirt dollar-dominated payment systems like Swift. mBridge, soon due to […]
August 03, 2026
Mastercard says it has completed its acquisition of cryptocurrency infrastructure platform BVNK. The deal is designed to help Mastercard offer more choice in “how people and businesses exchange value by...
October 30, 2025
The European Central Bank could begin a pilot phase for the digital euro in 2027. That’s assuming national governments and the European Parliament agree on a legal framework next year,...
February 17, 2025
Standard Chartered Bank Hong Kong (SCBHK), Animoca Brands and HKT have agreed to form a joint venture to issue a stablecoin backed by the Hong Kong dollar. The new joint venture intends...