Stablecoin

Public comments on the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency's GENIUS Act implementing regulations highlighted the rift between banks and crypto firms over the permissibility of yield on stablecoin holdings, an issue that has stalled crypto market structure legislation for months.

Mainstream financial services firms moving into the crypto realm are rightly skittish about consolidating trading, custody, lending, staking and settlement in a single provider. The crypto industry is, instead, entering a world of "co-opetition."

The company is officially releasing a digital asset product that it first announced back in October.

Banks are scrambling to find their place in a rapidly growing market for stablecoins. Before making major commitments, though, they need to be sure of the market segment they're trying to compete in and who their opponents are.

Sens. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., and Angela Alsobrooks, D-Md., have released compromise language on stablecoin yield for a long-awaited crypto market structure bill, clearing the way for a markup in the near future.

The B2B payments fintech contends the digital asset can wring inefficiencies out of corporate payments processing.

Expenses and foreign exchange pressured Western Union; while Visa added more blockchains to its stablecoin settlement pilot. That and more in American Banker's global payments and fintech roundup.

While stablecoins aren't widely used for payments, banks still have a role to play in leading the market.

Banks weighing stablecoin partnerships need to know whose playbook regulators will endorse before another major crypto theft tests the question.

The cryptocurrency company has collaborated with payment tech firm Nium to enable conversions to traditional currency, a play to boost use of the digital assets for payments and diversify Coinbase's revenue sources.

Tether launches a wallet, Rain issues a crypto card and MoneyGram extends stablecoin services in El Salvador. That and more in American Banker's global payments and fintech roundup.

Slash Financial, a fintech originally founded for sneaker resellers, closed a Series C funding round and launched an AI assistant for digital-native business customers.

The stablecoin provider recently applied for a national trust bank charter from the OCC after acquiring a New York trust charter last year.

Brazil's real-time payment rail is adding PayPal as an option for small- to medium-size business payments; HSBC is launching a Hong Kong dollar-denominated stablecoin; Sezzle expands BNPL; and more in this week's global payment roundup.

The card network expanded work with blockchain firms OwlTing and Tempo, increasing its reach into agentic commerce and stablecoins.

The credit card giant's BVNK acquisition wasn't a bet on crypto hype. It was a hedge against irrelevance. It suggests that the companies that defined the last era of finance are now preparing for a very different future.

Banks are more active in the digital asset option than stablecoins. Those involved say the appeal is the similarity to traditional banking, only faster and more digital.

After a nearly two-decade long "ice age" in which few new banking charters were granted, regulators have shrugged off a zero-failure mentality and are allowing some risk back into the system.

Most banks are likely not large enough to not support stablecoins and tokenized deposits on their own, creating a new way for legacy IT firms to compete with fintechs.

The card brand introduced tech for businesses to tap agentic AI, while Revolut counters Italy's accusations of inaccurate marketing. That and more in the American Banker global payments and fintech roundup.