Some of the biggest venture capitalists in the field are backing a new digital currency being offered by a leading blockchain academic.

A Brooklyn startup predicts a mix of blockchain and AI can give retailers a referral and conversion model like Amazon and eBay, but the merchants will have to cede some data control.

Although the euphoria over blockchain has dissipated recently, many still see it as vital to the future of banks and the economy at large. Following are key issues being hashed out.

The Wild West of cryptocurrency trading is getting something typically associated with the safest of savings accounts: FDIC protection.

Some banks have backed away from the technology, but Northern Trust, State Street and JPMorgan Chase are among those actively working on blockchain projects.

Fidelity Investments, which began a custody service to store bitcoin earlier this year, will buy and sell the world’s most popular digital asset for institutional customers within a few weeks, according to a person familiar with the matter.

The bank is hoping the venture will encourage more companies to use Quorum, the Ethereum-based blockchain it built five years ago.

Facebook’s pursuit of a crypto-based payment system would seem to be filled with potholes and red flags. The social network’s stealth project isn’t much of a secret, and another Facebook virtual currency has already failed years earlier. But Facebook also has a lot in its corner — enough to threaten the e-commerce and payment processing establishment, should its crypto project take off.

The head of the agency's innovation office said the program will be available only to OCC-regulated institutions.

Martin Chavez, global co-head of the securities division at Goldman, suggested the bank is unlikely to fully support crypto until such currencies have the backing of the U.S. government.