Opinion

October 9, 2025 @ 3:16 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

QED Investors, a VC firm focused on investing in high-potential financial services firms in the US, has looked into why 2025 appears to have been the year of the bank charter. Since January of this year, there have been 20 filings for de novo charters,… Read More

October 9, 2025 @ 8:48 am By Omar Faridi  |  

Mike Cagney, Co-founder and current Executive Chairman of Figure (NASDAQ:FIGR), which aims to transform capital markets by leveraging blockchain technology, predicts that the era of megabank stablecoin is coming. Cagney noted that the GENIUS Act will usher in JP Coin, and it will “suck the liabilities (deposits) out… Read More

October 8, 2025 @ 4:31 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Crypto and DeFi markets are surging again with fresh new momentum as we enter the final quarter of 2025. As a result of this renewed investor enthusiasm, following a slight crypto market dip in September, Bitcoin mining stocks (including those of Riot Platforms and Hive,… Read More

October 7, 2025 @ 10:06 am By Omar Faridi  |  

October 7, 2025 marks the first year since the UK’s Payment System Regulator or PSR introduced mandatory APP fraud reimbursement rules. Although 88% (£112m) of losses under the policy have reportedly been returned to victims, the total value of claims increased from Q1 to Q2… Read More

October 7, 2025 @ 8:01 am By Omar Faridi  |  

Kourosh Khanloo, director of corporate strategy at Jefferies-owned Tradu, has shared his perspective with CI on the UK lifting the ban on crypto ETNs for retail investors on October 8, 2025. Kourosh says that he welcomes the UK Financial Conduct Authority’s (FCA) decision to lift… Read More

October 6, 2025 @ 4:59 pm By JD Alois  |  

While the United States has turned away from the concept of a retail central bank digital currency (CBDC), other jurisdictions, such as Europe and China, have embraced it. As has been reported, a digital Euro is in the works with the European Central Bank (ECB)… Read More

October 5, 2025 @ 3:45 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

In an increasingly uncertain socioeconomic environment including growing tensions in the Middle East due to the Israeli conflict as well as the recent US government shutdown, global financial markets including Bitcoin have rallied to yet another all-time high of $125K right after the global stablecoins… Read More

October 3, 2025 @ 4:41 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Reacting to comments from Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey that stablecoins could cut reliance on bank lending, a CryptoUK spokesperson said that the organization now welcomes these seemingly positive views from Bailey on the role of stablecoins and crypto-assets more broadly within the United… Read More

October 3, 2025 @ 9:49 am By Omar Faridi  |  

Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey‘s change in stance towards stablecoins has not gone unnoticed by industry professionals. Zumo‘s Founder and CEO Nick Jones said this latest move suggests the Bank of England’s long-held skepticism towards digital assets is beginning to dissipate, and it’s a… Read More

October 2, 2025 @ 8:54 am By Omar Faridi  |  

Robinhood (NASDAQ: HOOD) CEO Vlad Tenev recently noted during a professional gathering at Token2049 in Singapore that there should be a proper framework for asset tokenization in the world’s biggest markets, and it could be rolled out within the next 5 years. Tenev said that… Read More

September 29, 2025 @ 2:02 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

The financial services sector is undergoing a transformation as blockchain technology and digital assets reshape how investors access yield, liquidity, and diversification. Franklin Templeton, a global asset manager overseeing over $1.6 trillion in assets, is focused on being at the center of this shift, leveraging… Read More

September 29, 2025 @ 11:50 am By JD Alois  |  

The European Union is charging forward to offer a digital Euro. A Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) is in the queue to be in use by 2026. Currently, both institutional use and consumer access are anticipated. This contrasts with the US, where a CBDC or… Read More

September 25, 2025 @ 2:14 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

The GENIUS Act is ushering in a new era of regulatory oversight for digital assets, particularly stablecoins, in the United States. By classifying stablecoin issuers as financial institutions, mandating Anti-Money Laundering (AML) programs, and requiring third-party audits, the legislation signals that cryptocurrencies can no longer… Read More

September 25, 2025 @ 9:01 am By Tony Zerucha  |  

Chase Ergen is excited about the current state of decentralized finance and looks forward to even better things to come. An entrepreneur and strategic advisor, Ergen has two decades of experience in satellite and telecommunications, serves on the board of DeFi Technologies, and is the… Read More

September 24, 2025 @ 4:48 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Bitcoin (BTC) was introduced to the world back in late 2008 in a whitepaper released by Satoshi Nakamoto. Since its launch, the Bitcoin network has increasingly been used to send BTC payments across the globe. Coinbase (NASDAQ:COIN) CEO Brian Armstrong is now predicting that Bitcoin,… Read More

September 23, 2025 @ 8:07 am By Omar Faridi  |  

Recent research from CoinGecko underscores how Bitcoin’s foundational ideals have transformed over time. The research study surveyed 2,549 individuals engaged in the web3 and crypto space between late August and mid-September 2025. Respondents hailed from diverse backgrounds: 68% were long-term investors, 20% short-term traders, 7%… Read More

September 21, 2025 @ 5:28 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Augur, a platform that has been known for enabling decentralized prediction markets, appears to be undergoing a significant reboot (or at least planning or considering it at the moment). Launched in 2014 by the Forecast Foundation on the Ethereum blockchain, Augur has long been known… Read More

September 19, 2025 @ 8:53 am By Omar Faridi  |  

As the global financial sector evolves, stablecoins are emerging as a potentially disruptive force, challenging traditional banking systems and sparking debates about their impact. Recent discourse, fueled by posts on social media and detailed analyses from Coinbase, suggests that the banking industry’s alarm over “deposit… Read More

September 18, 2025 @ 9:06 am By JD Alois  |  

Recently, Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ) filed a document with the Securities and Exchange Commission indicating its intent to enter the age of tokenized, or digital securities. While insiders have long anticipated this inevitable evolution of securities markets, the fact that one of the largest securities exchanges in the… Read More

September 18, 2025 @ 3:11 am By Omar Faridi  |  

Google has seemingly entered the web3 and blockchain space with a proposition: the Google Cloud Universal Ledger (GCUL), which is described as a Layer 1 blockchain designed as a “credibly neutral” platform for regulated institutions, particularly banks, to settle payments. The tech firm’s aim is… Read More