March 21, 2025 @ 11:41 am By Omar Faridi  |  

Kraken, which claims to be one of the “longest-standing, most liquid and secure” crypto platforms serving “more than 15 million” clients globally, has entered into an agreement to acquire NinjaTrader, the U.S. retail futures trading platform, for $1.5 billion, subject to certain purchase price adjustments…. Read More

March 21, 2025 @ 11:01 am By Omar Faridi  |  

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) announced that it will no longer examine its regulated institutions for “reputation risk” and is removing references to reputation risk from its Comptroller’s Handbook booklets and guidance issuances. These actions reportedly aim to support the OCC’s… Read More

March 21, 2025 @ 10:41 am By JD Alois  |  

The Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) has decided to hold its benchmark rate steady at 4.5%. This follows the US Federal Reserve’s decision not to change its rates. The MPC voted 8 to 1, with one member preferring to cut rates by 25 basis… Read More

March 21, 2025 @ 10:25 am By JD Alois  |  

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has dramatically changed its position regarding digital assets following the change in administration with President Donald Trump’s election. The Commission is now controlled by Republicans, who typically are more supportive of innovation and entrepreneurship. This includes financial services. Previously,… Read More

March 21, 2025 @ 8:45 am By JD Alois  |  

The Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation (DTCC) has joined the ERC3643 Association – the advocate group for the ERC3643 token standard. ERC3643 was created by Tokeny, a leading digital security enabler based in Luxembourg. Luc Falempin, CEO of Tokeny, said that having “DTCC join the… Read More

March 21, 2025 @ 8:24 am By Omar Faridi  |  

The digital payments landscape is undergoing a major shift, which is being driven by blockchain technology and the rise of stablecoins. In a testimony before the U.S. House Committee on Financial Services, Charles Cascarilla, CEO and Co-Founder of Paxos, underscored the urgent need for the… Read More

March 21, 2025 @ 8:21 am By Tony Zerucha  |  

The 10th edition of the Worldpay Global Payments Report reveals a global transformation in payments. In one decade, innovation such as digital wallets, buy now pay later (BNPL) and real-time account-to-account (A2A) technology has revolutionized the way consumers pay. This year’s report looks back at a decade… Read More

March 21, 2025 @ 8:19 am By Omar Faridi  |  

In a recent research report and survey released by CoinGecko, 46.9% of crypto participants indicated that they were bullish on crypto AI products in 2025. Specifically, CoinGecko noted that 19.9% felt somewhat bullish “about crypto AI products and a larger 27.0% of survey respondents were… Read More

March 21, 2025 @ 8:18 am By Omar Faridi  |  

NatWest Group has announced that it has become the first UK-headquartered bank to work with OpenAI as part of a collaboration that supports its strategic focus on bank-wide simplification, which includes deploying AI to meet customers’ needs more effectively and to “increase productivity and efficiency… Read More

March 21, 2025 @ 6:30 am By JD Alois  |  

The British Business Bank has committed up to £30 million to THENA Capital’s inaugural UK MedTech Fund. The fund reportedly has held its first close at £27 million with commitments from Firebird Collective, This Day Foundation, Baroness Martha Lane Fox, and other individuals. The fund… Read More

March 20, 2025 @ 10:35 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Accenture (NYSE: ACN) has joined forces with the Commercial Bank of Dubai (CBD) to train the bank’s employees in the fields of data and AI. As the first bank in the UAE to launch an enterprise-wide data literacy program, CBD says that it is setting… Read More

March 20, 2025 @ 9:36 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

The Global Synchronizer Foundation, in conjunction with the Canton Network, the public layer one blockchain network with control and privacy, today announced that Goldman Sachs, Hong Kong FMI Services Limited, and Moody’s Ratings have joined the Global Synchronizer Foundation (GSF) as its newest members. The… Read More

March 20, 2025 @ 8:45 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Tala, the global financial infrastructure company claiming to deliver accessible financial services, is pleased to announce the closing of a $150 million debt facility with Neuberger Berman, a global investment management firm. This facility will support the company’s rapidly growing business in Mexico. Tala intends… Read More

March 20, 2025 @ 7:43 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

As institutional exposure to cryptocurrencies surge, key players are continuing to bring innovative and flexible investment products to meet this burgeoning demand. This, according to recent update from digital assets firm Gemini. Gemini is pleased to announce that they will serve as the custodian to… Read More

March 20, 2025 @ 6:40 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Juniper Square, a firm focused on connected fund technologies and services for private markets GPs, has released “Rise of the Retail Investor: Impact on the Private Markets,” a report in collaboration with PitchBook, that explores the rise of retail investors in the private markets and… Read More

March 20, 2025 @ 5:40 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Blockdaemon, the “institutional-grade” blockchain infrastructure company, has entered into a binding agreement to acquire expand.network, an API provider that streamlines institutional and wallet provider access to DeFi and on-chain financial activities. expand.network will reportedly facilitate Blockdaemon’s ability to connect businesses to blockchains with one integration…. Read More

March 20, 2025 @ 4:46 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Multiply Mortgage, the financial technology company that is reportedly making homeownership accessible via employer benefits, announced it raised a $23.5 million Series A funding round, led by Kleiner Perkins. A*, Box Group, Mischief, and Workshop also participated, “bringing the company’s total funding to $27 million.”… Read More

March 20, 2025 @ 4:03 pm By JD Alois  |  

Robinhood  (NASDAQ: HOOD) has announced a new business segment with the launch of a prediction markets hub. The new vertical is operated by Robinhood Derivatives. The hub will enable trading on contracts for what the upper bound of the target Fed funds rate may be… Read More

March 20, 2025 @ 2:17 pm By JD Alois  |  

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has issued a statement on Proof of Work (PoW), a characteristic of some digital assets – most prominently Bitcoin. Proof of Work is a way to validate and mint new crypto. At one time, Ethereum was PoW, but it… Read More

March 20, 2025 @ 12:08 pm By JD Alois  |  

Two financial fraud experts say the Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rachel Reeves, needs to address the growing issue of financial fraud during next week’s Spring Statement. Silvija Krupena, Director of the Financial Intelligence Unit at RedCompass Labs, and Jonathan Frost, Director of Global Advisory at… Read More