March 6, 2025 @ 7:06 am By Omar Faridi  |  

Linea will reportedly be the “first” blockchain to have its Bridged USDC Standard implementation upgraded to native USDC by Circle. Linea will also gain support for CCTP V2 “following its upcoming mainnet launch.” Linea is a zkEVM Layer-2 blockchain powered by Consensys, built to scale… Read More

March 6, 2025 @ 6:47 am By JD Alois  |  

Zopa Bank has hired a former Visa executive as its new Chief Analytics Officer (CAO) Jeremy Penzer was previously Head of Data Science for Europe with Visa. Before that, he served as Capital One Europe’s Chief Analytics Officer and an academic statistician at the London… Read More

March 5, 2025 @ 11:01 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Kaspersky Digital Footprint Intelligence estimates that 2.3 million bank cards were leaked on the dark web, based on an “analysis of data-stealing malware log files from 2023-2024.” On average, every 14th infostealer infection results in stolen credit card information, with nearly “26 million devices compromised… Read More

March 5, 2025 @ 10:58 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

The evolution of generative AI and agentic commerce is poised to transform the customer journey, streamlining the path from awareness to purchase and beyond. A research report from CBInsights outlines three key predictions for how these technologies will reshape the shopping experience across its five… Read More

March 5, 2025 @ 9:57 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Bondsmith, the UK’s cash savings fintech, is pleased to announce the launch of the country’s FSCS-insured bank deposit sweep, bringing cash management solution to British savers. Claiming to be motivated or “inspired” by the FDIC sweep programs in the United States, Bondsmith’s new offering “enhances… Read More

March 5, 2025 @ 9:15 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

400 Capital Management LLC, an alternative credit asset manager specializing in asset-based credit strategies with over $7.4 billion of assets under management, announced the closing of its latest private credit fund, Asset Based Term Fund IV (ABTF IV). The fund, which launched in December 2023,… Read More

March 5, 2025 @ 8:12 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

BlackRock Inc. (NYSE:BLK) announced the completion of its acquisition of Preqin, an independent provider of private markets data. This transaction strengthens BlackRock’s ability to serve clients’ whole portfolios — across public and private markets — by “combining investment, technology, and data solutions in one platform.”… Read More

March 5, 2025 @ 4:22 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Coin Metrics noted that the Solana blockchain has emerged as a key player in the web3 and crypto ecosystem, due to its relatively high throughput, fairly low transaction costs, and a fast-growing ecosystem (although a lot of activity centers around speculative trading and meme coins)…. Read More

March 5, 2025 @ 3:09 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

February 2025 marked a difficult month for fintech companies (even though tech stocks in general have been seeing downward price pressure as well), with Block (NASDAQ:SQ) – once a major player in the sector—leading the charge downward, plummeting 28% in its steepest decline since 2023…. Read More

March 5, 2025 @ 3:07 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

In a significant shift in regulatory approach, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) has dropped its lawsuit against three of the largest U.S. banks—JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America, and Wells Fargo—along with Zelle’s operator, Early Warning Services. The case, which alleged that these institutions failed… Read More

March 5, 2025 @ 3:06 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

The U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) sanctioned Iran-based Behrouz Parsarad, the sole administrator of Nemesis, an online darknet marketplace, which was subject of an international law enforcement operation and “was taken down in 2024.” Prior to its takedown by… Read More

March 5, 2025 @ 11:49 am By JD Alois  |  

The SEC’s Investor Advisory Committee (IAC) will hold a meeting on March 6, 2025 to discuss several topics including retail fraud and Artificial Intelligence’s (AI) impact on operations. The first panel is as follows: Disclosure of Artificial Intelligence’s Impact on Operations AI poses a variety of… Read More

March 5, 2025 @ 11:43 am By JD Alois  |  

The EU has launched a new “first of its kind” program designed to help female entrepreneurs. The European Investment Bank (EIB) and the European Commission have started an initiative that aims to help EU commercial banks improve access to finance for women-owned and women-led SMEs… Read More

March 5, 2025 @ 11:31 am By Omar Faridi  |  

Friendly fraud has become a pressing issue for businesses, particularly in the fast-evolving world of e-commerce. This, according to a new report released by Juniper Research. Unlike traditional fraud involving stolen payment details, friendly fraud occurs when legitimate customers dispute valid transactions, often claiming non-delivery… Read More

March 5, 2025 @ 10:40 am By JD Alois  |  

Following President Donald Trump’s announcement of his intent to create a Crypto Strategic Reserve, certain digital assets saw their prices rocket—only to collapse in the ensuing days. For example, Bitcoin, the most popular crypto in the world, rose by 10%. XRP jumped 33%, and AdA rocketed by 65%. But… Read More

March 5, 2025 @ 10:24 am By JD Alois  |  

MiCA, or Markets in Crypto Assets, is a regulatory ecosystem created by the European Union. The rules provide guidance for most digital assets with the exception of digital securities. Eunice AI has announced a  MiCA whitepaper library to facilitate compliance for digital asset firms interested in… Read More

March 5, 2025 @ 9:57 am By JD Alois  |  

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has backtracked on another crypto-related enforcement action or investigation. Yesterday, Cumberland DRW posted on X that its case had been dismissed in principle and is currently awaiting Commission approval. Cumberland said it was looking forward to working with the… Read More

March 5, 2025 @ 8:58 am By JD Alois  |  

Sygnum Bank AG, a digital asset bank regulated in Switzerland and Singapore, has expanded its off-exchange custody platform, Sygnum Protect. Sygnum states that it was the first bank to launch off-exchange custody services for institutional traders with Sygnum Protect in early 2024. The service aims… Read More

March 5, 2025 @ 8:43 am By Omar Faridi  |  

U.S.-based spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) finally snapped an eight-day streak of net outflows on Friday (February 28, 2025), recording a modest $94 million in net inflows. The slight turnaround was primarily driven by Ark and 21Shares’ ARKB fund, which pulled in $194 million, and… Read More

March 5, 2025 @ 8:42 am By Omar Faridi  |  

The Bank of Israel released its preliminary design for the Digital Shekel System and sees public feedback. At the end of 2024, the digital shekel project reached a major milestone with the completion of a high-level design for the DS. The design document is being… Read More