Latest FinTech & Blockchain News
Visa launches USDC settlement in the U.S.
Visa announced U.S. USDC settlement pilots—initially with Cross River and Lead Bank—enabling seven‑day blockchain settlement and improved liquidity management for banks and fintechs, and plans broader availability through 2026.
Circle receives OCC conditional approval for national trust bank
Circle won conditional OCC approval for the First National Digital Currency Bank to place USDC reserves under federal banking oversight and offer custody and digital‑asset services, accelerating regulated stablecoin infrastructure and prompting fintechs to pursue bank charters.
Fintechs increasingly seek bank charters (Circle, PayPal trend)
Industry analysis shows fintech and crypto firms are pursuing bank charters to lower funding costs, internalize deposits/reserves, and integrate tokenized settlement rails—shifting competition with traditional banks and raising supervisory concerns.
BlackRock deposits large sums to Coinbase—sign of institutional crypto demand
Reports say BlackRock made substantial late‑2025 transfers (hundreds of millions) into Coinbase Prime to support its spot crypto ETFs and custody operations—interpreted as institutionalization of crypto custody and liquidity provisioning.
U.S. regulatory debate intensifies around CLARITY Act and token classification
Prominent investors and commentators link the proposed CLARITY Act (which would assign CFTC authority over commodity spot markets and banking regulators over stablecoins) to expected institutional inflows and a narrowing of investable tokens to BTC and ETH.
Visa to run validator and partner on Circle’s Arc Layer‑1 blockchain
Visa will be a design partner for Circle’s Arc L1 and plans to operate a validator node when Arc goes live, reflecting strategic collaboration between payment networks and stablecoin/blockchain issuers to scale onchain commercial activity.
Marshall Islands pilots blockchain‑based universal basic income
The Marshall Islands launched a national UBI program using blockchain to deliver cryptocurrency payments across atolls—aiming to reduce remittance costs, improve transparency, and expand financial inclusion in a fragmented banking environment.
Launchpad Cadenza SPAC targets blockchain and fintech with $200M IPO
Launchpad Cadenza Acquisition Corp I priced a $200 million IPO to pursue mergers in blockchain, fintech and digital assets, signaling ongoing capital-market vehicles focused on the sector.
Paradigm-led funding highlights Brazil as emerging stablecoin battleground
Paradigm led a $13.5M Series A for Brazilian stablecoin issuer Crown, showing investor bets on Latin America as a key market for stablecoin adoption amid fintech competition from players like Nubank.
Nexo becomes official crypto partner of the Australian Open
Crypto lender/exchange Nexo signed a multi‑year global partnership with Tennis Australia to become the Official Crypto Partner of the Australian Open—an example of mainstream brand partnerships and marketing pushes by regulated crypto firms.