Yubico has introduced the YubiKey 5 – Enhanced PIN, offering additional PIN capabilities for enterprises in 175 countries and 24 territories. The product is pre-configured with features to improve PIN management and user enforcement, including a mandatory minimum PIN length and requirements for increased complexity. This helps organizations meet evolving policy, compliance, and audit requirements for user authentication. The Enhanced PIN features are available on the YubiKey 5 NFC and YubiKey 5C NFC models, specifically through the YubiKey as a Service platform. The company has expanded its YubiKey as a Service to include all European Union countries and expanded its YubiEnterprise Delivery to 117 locations globally. The expanded service and new key features reflect Yubico’s effort to address the challenges posed by a changing cybersecurity landscape and varying global regulatory requirements, supporting enterprise customers in their transition to more robust authentication systems.
Custody platforms are emerging as the core infrastructure for governing token operations through programmable rules, multi-layer approvals, role-based access, and integration-ready APIs
Custody is the core infrastructure layer that makes institutional participation in digital assets not just possible but profitable. Modern custody platforms serve as critical mission-control layers, orchestrating transaction workflows, enforcing policy, supporting compliance and enabling the tokenization of real-world assets (RWAs) at scale. Ripple Custody is built for this new paradigm, enabling institutions, fintechs, and crypto businesses to govern token operations through programmable rules, multi-layer approvals, role-based access, and integration-ready APIs. Security is table stakes with Ripple’s system being ISO 27001-certified, SOC 2 audited, and supporting the most rigorous key management architectures on the market. However, its flexibility sets it apart, as it supports a range of deployment options, including on-prem, SaaS, or a hybrid of the two. This allows financial institutions to align custody models with internal policy, client demands, and jurisdictional requirements. The market for real-world asset tokenization is accelerating fast, with forecasts projecting the tokenized RWA market will grow from $0.6 trillion in 2025 to nearly $19 trillion by 2033. Ripple Custody is built with this reality in mind, enabling institutions to define multi-party approval flows, enforce transaction policies down to asset, role, and time-based rules, and lock in governance frameworks that reduce the risk of social engineering, collusion, and unapproved access. Bridging TradFi and Web3, Ripple Custody bridges both crypto-native and TradFi-oriented platforms. With over a decade of experience operating across crypto markets and institutional finance, Ripple brings a dual advantage: a deep understanding of blockchain infrastructure and a real fluency in bank-grade systems. Custody enables what comes next, as institutions move from tokenization theory to practice. It’s not about picking a vault; it’s about selecting a partner that can evolve with your business as strategies mature. Ripple Custody offers institutions a platform, not a black box, and strategic enablement. Custody systems must now support: Tokenized securities and bonds, with customizable workflows and strict governance; Money Market Funds and private credit, which demand real-time settlement, role-based access and policy-based controls; Stablecoins, with over $215 billion in circulation as of mid-2025, and growing relevance in cross-border treasury flows.
Akeyless enables AI agents to authenticate using dynamic, just-in-time verifiable machine identities such as cloud IAM roles eliminating the need to embed secrets in code, containers, or pipelines
Akeyless, the Unified Secrets & Machine Identity Platform for the AI-driven Era, announced the launch of Akeyless SecretlessAI, a breakthrough solution purpose-built to secure the rapidly expanding universe of AI agents and Model Context Protocol (MCP) servers. Akeyless SecretlessAI™ eliminates the need to embed secrets in code, containers, or pipelines. Instead, it introduces dynamic, just-in-time secrets provisioning, where AI agents and MCP servers authenticate using verifiable machine identities — such as cloud IAM roles or Kubernetes service accounts. Akeyless extends traditional secrets management by integrating with advanced identity frameworks like SPIFFE (Secure Production Identity Framework for Everyone) through its SPIRE plugins, enabling a ‘secretless’ authentication model for workloads. Additionally, Akeyless offers built-in PKI-as-a-Service capabilities that automate the lifecycle of certificates, including issuance, renewal, and revocation, all within a secure and scalable SaaS platform. Based on centrally managed policies, Akeyless provisions ephemeral, tightly scoped secrets at runtime. This approach drastically reduces the window of compromise and supports Zero Trust and Least Privilege principles. The solution offers comprehensive auditing and centralized governance, providing visibility into every request and action. It enables policy-based access control and full lifecycle automation, empowering security and DevOps teams to enforce compliance without slowing innovation.
LinePoint Partners platform enables UHNW breakaway financial advisors and single family office (SFO) executives to independently operate and grow their practices without designing from scratch in-house
One new entrant to the family office industry, LinePoint Partners, aims to help advisors leaving wirehouses and private banks build up an array of services needed to work with wealthy clients. Andrew Sternlight, LinePoint’s president and chief investment officer, said what sets family offices apart from other wealth managers is the priority family offices place on preserving wealth for future generations, charitable causes or other recipients. “That’s where we think, by extending that sort of family office infrastructure to advisors or to one or two executives of a family office without building out their teams entirely,” Sternlight said. “That’s where we can provide a bit of a solution that has the benefits with that multigenerational lens, but not the cost of designing from scratch in-house.” Andrew Lom, U.S. head of financial services and global head of private wealth at the law firm Norton Rose Fulbright, agreed that the true differentiator for family offices is the emphasis they place on making sure clients can bequeath their wealth exactly how they want. Ron LaVelle, a principal in the private wealth practice of the accounting and consulting firm Baker Tilly, said clients have the ultimate say on what their family office does. With the list of possible service offerings always growing, and the number of multifamily offices serving several wealthy families also rising, it’s becoming ever more rare for firms to be able to do it all. In fact, LaVelle said, he tends to be wary of firms that claim to be everything for everyone.
70% of Galaxy S25 owners are using Galaxy AI features and more than half are using Circle to Search; Galaxy AI to expand to 400 million devices by the end of 2025
Samsung is planning a big expansion of AI features on Galaxy phones, and claims that a huge percentage of its users are already leveraging AI features in one way or another. Samsung says that 70% of Galaxy S25 owners are using Galaxy AI features. There’s no specific timeline (as in, how often after the features being used), but it’s still a big number. Samsung further adds that: “More than half” of Galaxy S25 owners use Circle to Search (a Google feature); Photo Assist usage “doubled” compared to Galaxy S24 users; Now Brief is used by “one in three” Galaxy S25 owners; Google Gemini use “tripled” on “the latest Galaxy S series.” With all of this in mind, Samsung says that it will expand Galaxy AI to hundreds of millions of devices over the course of 2025. Specifically, the company wants to double its previous “200+ million” figure to over 400 million. At the center of our innovation is a desire to bring consumers seamless and secure mobile AI experiences that align with their needs. That’s why Samsung Galaxy is committed to expanding Galaxy AI to 400 million devices by the end of this year — democratizing the power and possibilities of mobile AI to even more users. It stands to reason that new device launches and updates to existing devices will play a big role, but it’s still a big promise.
LinePoint Partners platform enables UHNW breakaway financial advisors and single family office (SFO) executives to independently operate and grow their practices without designing from scratch in-house
One new entrant to the family office industry, LinePoint Partners, aims to help advisors leaving wirehouses and private banks build up an array of services needed to work with wealthy clients. Andrew Sternlight, LinePoint’s president and chief investment officer, said what sets family offices apart from other wealth managers is the priority family offices place on preserving wealth for future generations, charitable causes or other recipients. “That’s where we think, by extending that sort of family office infrastructure to advisors or to one or two executives of a family office without building out their teams entirely,” Sternlight said. “That’s where we can provide a bit of a solution that has the benefits with that multigenerational lens, but not the cost of designing from scratch in-house.” Andrew Lom, U.S. head of financial services and global head of private wealth at the law firm Norton Rose Fulbright, agreed that the true differentiator for family offices is the emphasis they place on making sure clients can bequeath their wealth exactly how they want. Ron LaVelle, a principal in the private wealth practice of the accounting and consulting firm Baker Tilly, said clients have the ultimate say on what their family office does. With the list of possible service offerings always growing, and the number of multifamily offices serving several wealthy families also rising, it’s becoming ever more rare for firms to be able to do it all. In fact, LaVelle said, he tends to be wary of firms that claim to be everything for everyone.
Google Messages is testing RCS’ new MLS encryption which makes E2E encryption possible across different RCS clients and providers
Google Messages is beginning to test the new Messaging Layer Security (MLS) protocol. Universal Profile 3.0 adds support for MLS, which makes E2E encryption possible across different RCS clients and providers. Google first announced its support for this interoperable protocol in 2023. The GSMA and Apple announced official adoption this March. Google Messages is now beginning to test MLS encryption for RCS. It starts with a new message “Details” (long-press on the chat/text) screen that’s fullscreen compared to the current approach. You get a preview of the message at the top, with Google also showing a “Status” section for “Sent” and Delivered” that explains the new checkmarks. We see Google using the latest single circle design that has yet to become widely available. There’s also a “From” section, while the bottom portion provides more technical details including Type, Priority, Message id and Encryption Protocol. This new design is not widely rolled out in the beta channel. It’s unclear if that’s also the case for MLS as the old UI makes no indication, while Apple has yet to specify when support is coming.
Embedding agentic AI into dispute workflows and fraud controls can help banks unlock RTP’s full potential by adding a predictive, self-learning layer that can autonomously detect, decide, and act
To thrive in a real-time payment’s world, banks must embed AI and cyber resilience into dispute workflows, fraud controls and compliance operations. To unlock the full potential of real-time payments (RTP), financial institutions worldwide are adopting intelligent, AI-led solutions to manage fraud, reduce errors, and enhance operational efficiency. In the US, AI is streamlining dispute resolution, improving accuracy and reducing turnaround times. The UK’s Faster Payments Service (FPS) is setting global standards for secure, real-time operations with integrated compliance controls. Meanwhile, banks in India, Brazil, and across the EU are exploring AI for real-time risk monitoring and dispute handling. The emergence of Agentic AI adds a predictive, self-learning layer that can autonomously detect, decide, and act transforming RTP ecosystems globally. Agentic AI brings autonomous decision-making, enabling systems to detect, act, and learn driving smarter fraud prevention and faster, context-aware dispute resolutions. To unlock RTP’s full potential, banks must center their dispute strategy around AI backed by regulatory alignment, robust assurance mechanisms, and proactive consumer education to ensure secure, compliant, and future-ready operations dispute management in the real-time era.
Citi has integrated Fenergo’s Client Lifecycle Management platform into its Global Transfer Agency business, enhancing investor onboarding and due diligence
Citi has integrated Fenergo’s Client Lifecycle Management platform into its Global Transfer Agency business, enhancing investor onboarding and due diligence for regulated funds in Europe. The platform enables customized risk assessments for Anti-Money Laundering (AML) and Know Your Customer (KYC) checks, making onboarding more seamless. Clients benefit from automated data validations and real-time reporting through API connectivity. Citi’s Global Transfer Agency unit is part of the bank’s Fund Services business, catering to institutional clients including asset managers and investment managers who create and run regulated funds for institutional or retail investors. The adoption of Fenergo for regulated funds in Europe is part of Citi Transfer Agency’s ongoing digital transformation agenda, following the launch of the bank’s award-winning digital Transfer Agency service in the UK in 2023. The Citi Fenergo Client Lifecycle platform accelerates digital transformation in Europe’s regulated fund space, backed by real-time compliance automation.
Mastercard debuts AI-powered design studio for card issuers- empowers creative teams by providing compelling design tools, and multisensory branding
Mastercard launched the Mastercard AI Card Design Studio, an innovative platform that transforms how issuers create and deploy card designs. By combining speed, affordability and advanced customization, it gives card issuers a powerful, intuitive solution to bring their unique brand to life. The AI Card Design Studio draws on Mastercard’s brand and card production expertise to bring high-end design capabilities directly to its partners. Users can upload logos and product details, use AI-assisted design features, customize as needed and instantly download brand-compliant designs. What once took weeks can now be completed in minutes—accelerating go-to-market timelines while enabling more creative flexibility and emotional impact. With the AI Card Design Studio, Mastercard is applying that same approach to the creative process, giving partners more control and clarity from the start. The platform empowers creative teams by providing compelling design tools, while freeing up time to focus on higher-level creative strategy. From pioneering multisensory branding and launching the inclusively designed Touch Card, to introducing our sustainable card program aimed at removing first-use PVC plastics from our network by 2028, Mastercard has consistently pushed the boundaries of what design can do. This new tool is a natural extension of that legacy, allowing issuers to quickly produce stand-out designs.