Crypto & Blockchain

SoFi has plans to bring back crypto services for its clients after suspending those operations in 2023 so as not to impede its effort to become a regulated bank. “We’re going to re-enter the crypto business, which we had to exit,” SoFi CEO Anthony Noto said. “We’ll re-enter the business of allowing our members to invest in cryptocurrency. We want to actually make a bigger, more comprehensive push into cryptocurrency, to include really providing crypto or blockchain capabilities in each product area that we have.” Noto said that thanks to new guidance from the Comptroller of the Currency, which was published in March and promised a reduced burden on banks engaged in the sector, the tech company could start offering crypto investing by the end of this year. SoFi will also look to use blockchain technology in all of its major products over the next 24 months, he said, and the company could also offer crypto payments as well as lending against crypto assets.

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Wirex has launched Wirex Business, a comprehensive corporate banking platform designed to serve the unique needs of Web3 companies and crypto businesses. Wirex Business offers robust tools and seamless integration of stablecoins and fiat currencies, empowering businesses to manage their treasury functions, issue corporate cards, and handle expenses efficiently in the ever-evolving Web3 landscape. The platform enables enterprises to streamline their financial operations with advanced features such as corporate bank accounts, corporate expense and payroll Visa cards, real-time payments, instant settlement, and built-in yield on stablecoin holdings. Designed with the self-custodial model in mind, Wirex Business ensures that businesses retain full control of their funds, giving them the confidence to manage their finances securely in a decentralized world. Key Features of Wirex Business: Corporate Bank Accounts, Corporate Expense & Payroll Cards, Instant Fiat<>Stablecoin Conversion, Built-in Yield, Self-Custodial Model, and Reporting. Wirex Business is designed to help Web3 companies, fintechs, and crypto businesses efficiently manage their financial operations and expand globally with ease. Daniel Rowlands, Managing Director of Wirex Pay said “By offering a full suite of corporate banking services, including expense management, card issuance, and seamless fiat-stablecoin integration, we are empowering Web3 companies to manage their treasury and operations with the same ease as traditional businesses. The future of finance is non-custodial and Wirex is pioneering business banking for the Web3 digital age.”

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Square announced new Square Banking tools that give sellers instant access to their cash flow and free, easier ways to manage their earnings. Business owners can conveniently sign up for a Square payments account and a free Square Checking¹ account in just minutes through one streamlined application—right on Square’s website and point of sale app. In addition, Square Savings accounts now feature new personalized savings recommendations, informed by cash flow data and industry insights, to make it easy for sellers to organize their funds into folders for key expenses like taxes and supplies. Business owners can now open a square checking account when they sign up for square payments to get instant, 24/7 access to sales revenue. Sellers using Square’s free business savings account will also get personalized savings recommendations to help them easily allocate funds into folders dedicated to their top expenses and investment goals. This new feature uses a seller’s own cash flow data and industry-specific insights derived from the savings patterns of similar sellers within Square’s ecosystem to make these recommendations. And with Square Savings, there are no monthly fees, service or transfer fees, or minimum balance requirements to worry about. In, addition, sellers enjoy: Competitive 1.00% APY to maximize their money, earning more than 2x the national average on funds set aside; Round-the-clock access to their account, with free instant transfers to the Square Checking for immediate use; and FDIC insurance up to $2.5M. With solutions for banking, payroll, invoicing, and inventory management all working seamlessly together within the Square ecosystem and integrated directly into the flow of payments, sellers can stay on top of their finances and get a clear, real-time view of their business activity through a unified dashboard. With Square Banking, sellers save an average of 44 hours a month by not waiting for traditional bank transfers to settle. And the average customer satisfaction (CSAT) score for Square Banking is 86 percent, more than 20 percent higher than the average CSAT scores of the most popular primary banking institutions in the U.S.

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Visa and Bridge have partnered to launch a card-issuing product that enables cardholders to use their stablecoin balance to make purchases at any merchant location that accepts Visa. With this collaboration, FinTech developers using Bridge — a stablecoin orchestration platform owned by Stripe — can offer stablecoin-linked Visa cards to their end customers. This offering now enables the issuing of these card programs in six countries in Latin America: Argentina, Colombia, Ecuador, Mexico, Peru and Chile. It will be expanded to countries in Europe, Africa and Asia in the coming months. “We’re focused on integrating stablecoins into Visa’s existing network and products in a frictionless and secure way,” Visa Chief Product and Strategy Officer Jack Forestell said. “Partnering with Bridge represents a significant move in helping to make stablecoins useable in everyday life, giving consumers more choice in how they manage and spend their money.” Bridge CEO and Co-Founder Zach Abrams said that this collaboration will enable anyone to use stablecoins with just a tap of the card with which they are already familiar. “This is a massive unlock for developers who can now build truly scalable issuing products for their users,” Abrams said.

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Cryptocurrency debit card firm Baanx has partnered with Visa to launch stablecoin payment cards tied to self-custodial wallets, starting in the U.S. with Circle’s USDC dollar pegged token. The Visa cards enable holders to spend USDC directly from their crypto wallets, using smart contracts to move a stablecoin balance upon card authorization from the consumer to Baanx in real time, with Baanx converting the balance into fiat for payment. Allowing people to manage their money on-chain with the help of major card networks like Visa and Mastercard is a fast growing segment within crypto. Baanx is also working with Mastercard on a card linked to MetaMask wallets. The stablecoin payment space is also heating up thanks to Circle recently announcing its own payment network focused initially on cross-border payments and remittances. Baanx’s stablecoin-linked Visa cards promise a global reach with low-cost cross border payments in the mix. “In many regions, access to stable currency is a luxury. We’re giving people the ability to hold and spend USD-backed stablecoins seamlessly — in a self-custodial, real-time way — anywhere Visa is accepted. This is what the future of finance looks like,” said Simon Jones, chief commercial officer at Baanx.

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Cryptocurrency exchange Kraken has introduced a solution to help financial institutions give clients access to crypto. Dubbed “Embed,” the company’s new Crypto-as-a-Service (CaaS) solution is designed for neobanks, FinTechs and traditional banks. “Kraken Embed significantly simplifies operational and infrastructure requirements, enabling financial institutions to make regulated crypto trading available to their customers without extensive in-house expertise in a matter of weeks,” the company said. “Using Kraken Embed, institutions benefit from the exchange’s proven market experience, robust liquidity and industry-leading infrastructure. Kraken says the launch of Embed aligns with global crypto adoption trends, especially in Europe, where market activity is being driven by the advent of regulations such as the European Union’s Markets in Crypto Assets (MiCA) framework. “Through Embed, Kraken is extending its deep expertise to institutions seeking a reliable, compliant and frictionless entrypoint into crypto,” Brett McLain, head of payments and blockchain at Kraken, said.

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BlackRock recently filed a registration statement about plans for the issuance of DLT shares in its $143 billion Treasury Trust Fund (TTF). The shares will only be available via Bank of New York Mellon (BNY), which will use blockchain to mirror the share ownership on-chain. Institutional investors are the primary target with a minimum investment of $3 million, which is the same across the whole fund. While BlackRock has leaned into tokenization with its BUIDL tokenized treasury fund issued on permissionless blockchains via Securitize, the target market (for now) is primarily crypto institutions. Stablecoin and tokenized money market fund (MMF) issuers are the primary BUIDL token holders. By contrast, BNY Mellon primarily services mainstream traditional finance (TradFI) institutions as the world’s largest global custodian and a major tri-party agent. However, it also provides custody and cash management solutions for stablecoin issuer Circle, which is also now in the tokenized money market fund business following the acquisition of Hashnote. BNY Mellon’s focus on traditional financial institutions may shape its blockchain approach differently than BlackRock’s BUIDL initiative. One advantage of a more private solution, such as what BNY may be offering, is that an institution’s transactions are not publicly visible. At the same time, the recipient of the tokenized fund can verify the underlying assets using a new tool recently launched by BNY.

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Circle announced Circle Payments Network (CPN) to connect financial institutions – banks, neo-banks, payment service providers, virtual asset service providers and digital wallets – and enable real-time settlement of cross-border payments using regulated stablecoins. Designed to bring efficiencies to a fragmented cross-border payments system, CPN provides financial institutions with a modern way to move money globally with the speed, transparency, and programmability of the internet. CPN is governed by a robust framework that requires participants to meet strict eligibility standards, including licensing, AML/CFT compliance, financial risk management, and cybersecurity protocols. By leveraging USDC, EURC, and other regulated stablecoins, CPN enables seamless connectivity to domestic real-time payment systems worldwide, while upholding the compliance, security, and trust required for financial institutions to meet their regulatory obligations. CPN will enable a broad spectrum of cross-border money movement use cases for businesses, financial institutions, and individuals — including supplier payments, remittances, payroll, capital markets settlement, internal treasury operations, and onchain financial applications. Powered by smart contract infrastructure and modular APIs, the network enables third-party developers to build advanced modules, app services, and automated financial workflows directly on top of CPN. In collaboration with global design partners, CPN will unify disparate payment networks and local currencies, enabling 24/7 real-time settlement using stablecoins.

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BIS, the central bank of central banks, released a paper exploring the financial stability risks of cryptocurrencies and decentralized finance (DeFi). While this is a topic that has been covered many times, including by some of the same authors a couple of years ago, the paper is articulate and fresh. This report states that the crypto market has “reached critical mass”, although it still considers it as having minimal linkages to traditional finance (TradFi). However, the issuance of Bitcoin ETFs and the expansion of stablecoins and real world asset (RWA) tokenization are changing that. It also included a noteworthy graphic showing that in crises, small investors increase their crypto exposures, while wealthier ones get out. Hence, they conclude that the crypto market can be “a means for redistributing wealth from the poorer to the wealthier.” When outlining how DeFi works, the authors note the difference between a DeFi protocol and an application, which usually has a user interface and has a “centralization vector”. In other words, dApps are potential regulatory touchpoints. The authors consider research into the financial stability implications of RWA tokenization as a top priority, including systemic risks of tighter linkages between DeFi and TradFi. They also see stablecoins as having a central role in DeFi and their potential instability is an area needing further analysis. Earlier in the paper, they noted that payment and settlement system instability or disruption can have the most widespread economic knock on effects. Finally, they want to explore how to address the cryptoisation risks for emerging market economies, a topic that the IMF has been highlighting for some time.

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BIS, the central bank of central banks, released a paper exploring the financial stability risks of cryptocurrencies and decentralized finance (DeFi). While this is a topic that has been covered many times, including by some of the same authors a couple of years ago, the paper is articulate and fresh. This report states that the crypto market has “reached critical mass”, although it still considers it as having minimal linkages to traditional finance (TradFi). However, the issuance of Bitcoin ETFs and the expansion of stablecoins and real world asset (RWA) tokenization are changing that. It also included a noteworthy graphic showing that in crises, small investors increase their crypto exposures, while wealthier ones get out. Hence, they conclude that the crypto market can be “a means for redistributing wealth from the poorer to the wealthier.” When outlining how DeFi works, the authors note the difference between a DeFi protocol and an application, which usually has a user interface and has a “centralization vector”. In other words, dApps are potential regulatory touchpoints. The authors consider research into the financial stability implications of RWA tokenization as a top priority, including systemic risks of tighter linkages between DeFi and TradFi. They also see stablecoins as having a central role in DeFi and their potential instability is an area needing further analysis. Earlier in the paper, they noted that payment and settlement system instability or disruption can have the most widespread economic knock on effects. Finally, they want to explore how to address the cryptoisation risks for emerging market economies, a topic that the IMF has been highlighting for some time.

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