Omar Faridi

Dormant Crypto Wallet Tied to Major DeFi Exploits Resurfaces, Liquidates Over $2 Million in Assets

An Ethereum (ETH) address reportedly connected to the perpetrators of the 2021 Indexed Finance exploit and the 2023 KyberSwap attack has sprung back to life after roughly a year of inactivity, reportedly dumping millions in cryptocurrency holdings. On-chain monitoring firm Lookonchain has now reported that… Read More

KPMG UK Examines Key Spending and Consumer Behavior Trends Heading into 2026

KPMG UK has recently noted that a relatively cautious consumer landscape is now expected to continue into upcoming year. KPMG’s Consumer Pulse survey measures the overall consumer confidence as the current year finally comes to an end and 2026 begins. KPMG UK Q4 2025 Consumer… Read More

SEC Deputy Director Cicely LaMothe Plans to Retire After Career at Corporate Finance and Crypto Regulation

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has announced the planned retirement of Cicely LaMothe, who has been serving as the longtime Deputy Director of the Division of Corporation Finance, marking the end of a 23-year tenure at the agency. LaMothe, who played a significant… Read More

UK’s Lloyds Banking Group to Wind Down Invoice Factoring Service for SMEs

Lloyds Banking Group, which serves as one of the UK’s mortgage lenders, is preparing to discontinue its invoice factoring operations by the end of 2025, marking a further retreat by major high-street banks from specialized financing for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Invoice factoring, also… Read More

QED Investors Shares AI and Fintech Outlook for 2026

QED Investors, a venture capital firm based in Alexandria, Virginia, that is focused on investing in Fintechs, has shared some end-of-year insights with CI. QED Investors, which also invests in financial services initiatives in the U.K. and Europe, Latin America, India, and Southeast Asia, has commented on… Read More

European Investment Infrastructure Firm Upvest Reflects on Key Milestones and Shares Outlook for 2026

Upvest has noted that it entered 2025 on a high, fresh off the announcement of their €100 million Series C last December and having reportedly reached a milestone 20 million orders processed during 2024. Fast forward to December 2025 and Upvest has claimed that they… Read More

Anchorage Digital Reflects on Year of Progress and Strategic Acquisitions

Anchorage Digital noted that some years can pass without actually leaving a trace. And then certain years seemingly shift the center of gravity—years that force an entire industry to rethink and perhaps re-evaluate what’s possible, what’s probably coming next, and who’s leading the movement. For… Read More

Bitcoin and Crypto Markets to Enter 2026 with Improved Fundamentals but Investor Sentiment Likely to Remain Extremely Bearish

The Derivatives Trading Desk at Laser Digital has shared key insights and market commentary with CI. The insights highlight how Bitcoin and crypto market prices have started to move in very interesting directions based on the time of day it is, with Asian and US… Read More

Digital Assets Firm Talos Expands APAC Region Operations

Samar Sen, SVP, Head of APAC at digital assets firm Talos, has provided an APAC year-end note. Sen has shared his reflections on what he considers to be  an impactful 2025 in the Asia-Pacific region for Talos. Sen pointed out that it has been just… Read More

Private Firms Aim to Ensure Business Continuity and Support Growth with Planned Divestitures : Research

A Deloitte Private survey of private company leaders revealed that nearly 6 in 10 (57%) respondents from organizations planning a future transfer or sale anticipate their company will engage in a transaction in the next 1 to 3 years. And overall business continuity (40%) is… Read More

Bitcoin Blockchain based BLIFE Protocol Announces Merger with Portal

BLIFE Protocol, a “decentralized” protocol on the Bitcoin blockchain focused on integrating Web3 applications and cultural experiences, announced it has merged with Portal, an interoperability and liquidity infrastructure for Web3 gaming centered on the utility token PORTAL. The combined business will “operate under the Portal… Read More

Arbitrum and Aave Combine DeFi Rollup with Lending Infrastructure to Enhance User Engagement

Arbitrum and Aave noted that combining the DeFi rollup with digital lending infrastructure creates improved user engagement, quicker uptake of product features, and so-called “flywheel effects” that are said to be amplified by proper incentives. Arbitrum, developed by Offchain Labs, is an Ethereum rollup, a… Read More

Stablecoin USDT Issuer Tether Froze $3.3B in Assets During 2023-2025, Report Reveals

In the evolving ecosystem of web3 and cryptocurrency platforms and exchange services, stablecoins have become a focal point for anti-money laundering (AML) efforts. A recent report highlights a significant development in how two leading issuers handle asset freezes, underscoring broader tensions between tech advancements and… Read More

Goldman Sachs Private Credit Arm Grapples with Lingering Problem Loans

Goldman Sachs (NYSE: GS) has long positioned itself as a key player in the fast-growing and evolving private credit market, where non-bank lenders often provide loans to companies that are overlooked by traditional banking institutions. Through its asset management division, the company has reportedly built… Read More

US Real Estate Report : Mortgage Payments as Share of Median Property Owner Income Declined Significantly

Seasonal cooling is said to be finally seeping into the US real estate / property market after an “unseasonably” active fall, according to the latest market report from Zillow (Nasdaq: Z and ZG). Price cuts from sellers dropped back to normal levels from near-record highs;… Read More

Telcoin Starts Digital Asset Banking Operations with eUSD Stablecoin

After the final charter approval of Telcoin Digital Asset Bank by the Nebraska Department of Banking and Finance this past month, Telcoin begins initial blockchain banking operations with the launch of its eUSD stablecoin on the Ethereum and Polygon blockchains. With the minting of $10… Read More

China Advances Digital Yuan with Major Overhaul Set for 2026

China’s central bank, the People’s Bank of China (PBOC), has unveiled a comprehensive action plan to elevate its central bank digital currency (CBDC), the digital yuan (e-CNY). Effective January 1, 2026, this initiative will introduce an upgraded governance framework, operational mechanisms, and supporting infrastructure, marking… Read More

Flow Blockchain Faces Backlash Over Rollback Plan After $3.9M Hack

The Flow blockchain is set to resume operations following a key decision by its validators to revert the network’s transaction ledger to a state before a major security breach late Friday, which resulted in the theft of approximately $3.9 million. However, this move to unwind… Read More

BitMine Immersion Boosts Ethereum (ETH) Staking with $1B Commitment

BitMine Immersion Technologies (NYSE: BMNR), a corporate holder of digital assets chaired by Fundstrat‘s Tom Lee, has significantly expanded its Ethereum involvement by locking up 342,560 ETH—valued at roughly $1 billion—in staking deposits over a recent 48-hour period. This activity was highlighted by on-chain analytics… Read More

Smart Data Group to Focus on Open Banking in the UK with Key Appointment

Smart Data Group (SDG) has recently appointed Dr. Ruth Wandhöfer as independent  Mobilisation Lead as the industry focuses on efforts to unlock the next phase of Open Banking and build the foundations for a more scalable, secure and resilient smart data economy in the United… Read More

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