Digital currency stories

Banks and multinationals trial tokens to slash cross-border settlement times, as clearer rules and backing bolster wider business use.

Tether invests USD $134 million in listed stablecoin platform as stablecoin use surges past USD $300 billion and eyes public market access.

Icon Solutions taps former Finastra and Visa executive Anders Olofsson to drive sales of its payments framework to major banks across EMEA and Asia.

Linux Foundation takes control of Coinbase's x402 protocol as Amazon, Visa and Mastercard back open payments standard for AI-driven web transactions.

Nium unveils a stablecoin card issuance platform that lets businesses spend digital dollar balances via Visa and Mastercard through one API.

OVHcloud has joined the ECB's digital euro cloud programme, providing EU-based infrastructure to support secure payment data exchange.

Mastercard to acquire stablecoin platform BVNK in a deal worth up to USD $1.8 billion, deepening its push into on-chain payments.

PayPal widens access to its PYUSD stablecoin, rolling it out to accounts in 70 markets to speed up and cut the cost of cross-border payments.

Wise wins full Thai licences to launch cross-border wallets and cards, challenging banks in a USD $9.46 billion remittance market.

Finteum hits USD $1bn in weekly intraday FX swaps as Goldman Sachs joins its liquidity platform and NatWest Group, UBS ramp up trading.

RobCo secures USD $100m in Series C funding to scale its Physical AI industrial robots across the US and Europe and deepen factory autonomy.

Money has overtaken health, time and relationships as the main driver of life satisfaction in the UK, new research from Intuit shows.

Sovereign states and global finance heavyweights are using blockchain to rewrite cross-border money flows and the rules that govern them.

Oxylabs experts warn AI hype could swell into a bubble by 2026 as new 'agent' browsers challenge Chrome and Europe tightens data rules.

Visa partners with Nium to pilot stablecoin settlement, enabling near-real-time cross-border payments and reducing traditional delays and costs.

Mastercard partners with Thunes to enable near-instant payouts to stablecoin wallets via Mastercard Move, enhancing global digital payment options.

By 2026, AI agents will streamline one-third of B2B payments, while stablecoins and biometrics reshape global payment security and standards.

Equals Money x Railsr teams up with BVNK to enable businesses to accept USDC stablecoin payments, settled in USD within 30 seconds, simplifying crypto transactions.

Almaviva and Fabrick will develop the European Central Bank's Digital Euro app in a EUR €153M deal, aiming for secure digital payments across the EU.

Cloudflare launches NET Dollar, a US dollar-backed stablecoin, to enable fast, secure payments for AI-driven services on the emerging agentic web.