Author

Zach Burks

Published

9 February 2026

Estimated Read time

8Mins

Zach Burks, CEO of Mintology, examines the rise of Artificial General Intelligence (AGI) and explores what the future may hold for cash

Blockchain was built on the noble principle of creating a system of value that was fair, secure, decentralised, and incorruptible. Crypto promised to protect people from the volatility of human error, from reckless governments, greedy bankers, and the decay of trust that defines our financial institutions.

For a time, it worked. We built code that didn’t lie; we created ledgers that couldn’t be tampered with; and we proved that finance could run on quantitative logic rather than human bias.

But a new kind of intelligence is emerging, one that will allow malicious actors to execute on autopilot and generatively infiltrate innocent users, what will become known as Artificial General Intelligence (AGI).

AGI is still some way off, but predictions suggest it could be in use as early as 2027, or at least propagating outwards without human knowledge at that point. Once in the open world, AGI is impossible to predict, as a chimp could not predict what a human will do next, nor can a human predict what AGI will do. However, assume these possibilities: this technology will have the power to decrypt and unlock blockchain-based currencies, learn how to crack cryptographic puzzles, run other AGI agents and rinse and repeat.

Paradoxically, the safest asset in the world will no longer be Bitcoin; it will be physical currency or items deemed as currency.

The Age of the Codebreaker

It is estimated that 68–74% of all cyber-attacks involve a human element, error, manipulation, or social engineering. Our entire security architecture has been designed around that premise: defend against people.

Smart contracts, encryption, and consensus protocols depend on predictable, rational behaviour, or protect against irrational actions. They are designed to survive attacks from individuals or organisations that rely on either quantity (bot networks) or quality (human intelligence), not both, nor novel vectors (such as novel exploits in math breakthroughs).

A near-sentient system changes that equation. It fuses the scale of automation with the intent of human-like intelligence. If weaponised, it could probe billions of attack vectors in seconds, rewrite its own code to evolve around defences, and destroy a financial system from the inside out.

We’ve seen the first state actor sponsored AI Agentic cyber espionage recently, and that is just from normal AI, not even AGI. Further reinforcing the point that AI is a powerful intelligence, and AGI will be on another level, unfathomable from the human’s perspective.

Crypto’s strength has always been its demand for continuous codebreaking. It exploits the one finite human resource, time. But AGI will erase that constraint. Time ceases to be a defence in the age of autonomy.

The End of Digital Trust

Trust is the foundation of money. Without it, no currency, crypto or fiat can survive. Blockchain gave us a new kind of trust, trust in code and mathematical truth.

We told ourselves that decentralisation would make corruption of the network improbable by humans. But we didn’t anticipate machine corruption, the rise of autonomous systems capable of penetrating those same decentralised defences.

Academic research already shows that generative AI can autonomously discover one-day vulnerabilities. It can exploit them faster than existing patching cycles. Combine that with the commercialisation of state-sponsored scamming. A $1 trillion illicit economy, according to the World Economic Forum’s Global Cybersecurity Outlook 2025. And you have a perfect storm for simple AI, not accounting for what AGI’s intentions may be.

The moment AI becomes self-directing and amoral when neutral, and outright immoral when viewed from a human perspective, but not a binary perspective (in the computer sense), the concept of secure digital value collapses. No wallet is safe if an AGI can learn every exploit in existence before the first patch is written. Or a new mathematical proof that defeats the difficulty of PoW chains like Bitcoin. Or has implanted itself in every device it can reach and simply transfers your assets away like a hacker.

No Wallet, DeFi protocol, or even Blockchain is safe if AGI wants to take a path of gathering financial resources to enact whatever plan it may develop. As AI becomes omnipresent, the irony is that the very technologies designed to control us by centralised power, digital IDs, central-bank digital currencies (CBDCs), and government backed stablecoins, may become vectors of vulnerability.

A Warning for CBDCs

A report conducted by the Department of Homeland Security recently stated that CBDCs can be susceptible to high levels of cybercrime. These include phishing scams and mass exchange rate manipulation. In an era of AGI, the rate at which these vulnerabilities can be exploited becomes tenfold.

When your savings live entirely inside a system that can be hijacked faster than you can blink, society will retreat to the one haven it knows it can trust: physical cash or cash-like equivalents. But honestly, if this happens, there isn’t much of a society left over at that point.

Cash or Bartering Will Be King (Again)

It sounds absurd, the idea that in an era of automated economies, humanoid robots, and algorithmic wealth managers, the safest thing you could own is a paper banknote. Yet that’s exactly where we’re headed if we go down a path of ‘unplugging’. We move off the grid to combat the AGI release, assuming we are still alive to do so at that point.

Cash can’t be hacked or reprogrammed. It doesn’t depend on the uptime of a network or the integrity of a wallet provider. It is the last financial instrument that exists entirely outside the reach of code. Yet in the scenario of AGI going rogue and being released into the world, the most likely scenario I predict is that the markets will see a slight flicker, almost as if a single global hedge fund blew up, or maybe a bit worse… Within minutes, markets around the world will react as assets gathered by the AGI are dumped and transferred for the purpose of AGI.

Although, paradoxically, if the AGI crashes the markets so badly, hacks billions in Bitcoin and sells it, takes over bank accounts, the cascading effect of a global crash on this order, would impart the effect of all its efforts to gather resources moot. So it cannot crash the market spectacularly. If AGI wants to use its resources in some way. If that is its plan, that is. Why pay a human when you can control a humanoid robot?

The lesson is uncomfortable… The more intelligent our systems become, the more valuable it is to hold something that isn’t correlated to the status quo. Hence, cash (assuming the government hasn’t destroyed the value of the currency) and currency-like items via bartering will be the new status quo in this post AGI world.

Can We Stop It?

The survival of blockchain-based finance will depend on merging on-chain verification with off-chain intelligence. AI must be used not just as an optimisation tool but as a shield. An intelligent custodian that monitors for synthetic behaviour, agent-driven manipulation, and abnormal transaction patterns.

Research conducted by Boston Consulting Group proposes autonomous agents, which could be used to detect and counter adversarial machine behaviour in real time. It’s a promising start, but still reactive, not preventative.

To protect digital value, critical financial infrastructure must incorporate hardware kill-switches, air-gapped recovery procedures, and circuit breakers independent of algorithmic consensus.

In a future where AI moves capital faster than humans can think, there must still be something that can say stop, instantly and irrevocably. This is the first path forward, when we are talking about normal AI and agentic AI as we know it today in 2025. We must fight fire with fire, and use AI agents to protect and attack, otherwise we are knights in armour on a battlefield against drones. This is all before AGI is released; then it becomes an arms race (if there is a competitor AGI) for the two to fight it out or join forces, because at that point, humans are only along for the ride.

The New Definition of Wealth

In the AGI era, wealth won’t be measured by what you own, but by what you can protect. Digital capital will remain essential, but it will need a new architecture that assumes non-human adversaries and responds autonomously. Regulation will never be able to move quickly enough to stop AGI, and even if it did, there remains the challenge of understanding training vs intent and rationally policing the difference between the two. The term ‘agentic state’ has never been so poignant.

Cash will therefore – in either local currencies, new currencies, or bartered items – become king again, not for efficiency, but for situational sovereignty. The markets of the future will be defined less by access and more by security, control, and locality.

AGI could one day manage every trade, optimise every yield, and eliminate every inefficiency if aligned for the good of humanity, but if malaligned AGI grows, the technology will become humanity’s own worst enemy.

This dilemma means a changed society, if there is even one left, that in order to operate needs to keep something tangible in its hands, a note, a coin, a battery, a 5.56 caliber bullet,  a reminder that security isn’t always a guarantee.

With physical currency, you sometimes let your immediate environment in, with digital money, you invite the internet in, at the speed of beyond trillions of operations a second, faster than a blink of an eye.

About the Author

Zach Burks is an accomplished blockchain developer with over a decade of experience in the Ethereum ecosystem. He has progressed the governing principles of Ethereum first-hand through his collaboration with the Ethereum Foundation on improving the ERC-721 standard, the cornerstone standard for all NFTs, and by authoring ERC-2981, the industry-defining on-chain royalties standard. Zach is also the mastermind behind Gasless Minting, which revolutionized the NFT creation process.

Learn more at mintology.app

  • Artificial Intelligence in FinTech
  • Blockchain & Crypto
  • Cybersecurity in FinTech

Author

Dan Brightmore

Published

3 February 2026

Estimated Read time

3Mins

AccessPay, the leading bank integration provider, has released its Finance Trends 2026 report. It presents the findings of its annual survey of finance…

AccessPay, the leading bank integration provider, has released its Finance Trends 2026 report. It presents the findings of its annual survey of finance leaders for the fourth consecutive year… AccessPay reveals marked sectoral differences between finance teams in financial services firms and those in corporates with regards to their priorities and attitudes to technology adoption.

Key findings from the report include: 

Finance leaders are prioritising finance efficiency and cost control

Finance teams across all sectors are placing renewed emphasis on efficiency and cost control in 2026. 47% of general corporates cited this as a priority, a goal shared by 46% of financial services firms.

Although cost control is a perennial concern in financial management, sluggish economic growth, rising costs, and geopolitical turmoil have brought it to the fore. Finance leaders are being pushed to do more with less, which also means there is greater interest in adopting advanced technologies; 47% of general corporates and 43% of financial services firms stated they were prioritising the adoption of AI within the coming 18 months.

Financial services firms are pulling ahead in finance transformation

In both the financial services (29%) and general corporate (24%) sectors, a leading pack of firms report that their finance function has a high degree of automation and integration across all back-office systems.

Beyond this, there is a stark dichotomy between the financial and non-financial segments. 45% of financial services firms stated they were advanced in their finance transformation efforts, where most finance processes are automated. In comparison, 41% of corporates stated finance transformation efforts were progressing, with partial automation and manual workarounds. This highlights that there are still many quick wins to be realised in the corporate space through simple automation based on bank connectivity.  

Insufficient budget is a bigger barrier to AI adoption for corporates

Financial services firms are much more likely to have invested in AI for finance operations than general corporates. 46% of financial services firms report having implemented AI enhancements to a high degree, compared to 28% of corporates.

Both financial and non-financial sectors faced common barriers to AI adoption, including a lack of internal expertise and resistance to cultural change. However, corporates were far more likely to cite insufficient budget as an issue with 31% raising this as a barrier, compared to 17% of financial services firms.

“The disparities between the financial and non-financial sectors in terms of their attitudes towards technology investment are striking,” comments Anish Kapoor, CEO of AccessPay. “Longer-term, the underinvestment in general corporates could backfire. In the current macroeconomic environment, finance teams will need to stress-test plans to ensure they can operate at the low end of their scenarios. This is why we predict 2026 will be a key year for automation in payment and treasury operations. If finance departments are to operate with reduced headcount or scale without increasing staff, leaders also need to consider how to make up that shortfall with technology.”

Download the full report here to learn more about digital transformation in finance operations and how bank connectivity solutions can help automate payments and bank statement data flows.

AccessPay’s Finance Trends 2026 Survey was conducted online during October 2025. The aggregated results are based on 130 respondents from various sectors, including financial services, legal, retail, manufacturing and utilities. Findings for the financial services sector are based on 84 respondents across banking and insurance, while corporate findings are based on 54 respondents. A small proportion of companies is classified in both segments. Typical job titles of respondents include (Deputy) Finance Director, Financial Systems Manager, Head of Treasury, and Head of Managed Services.

Learn more at accesspay.com

  • Artificial Intelligence in FinTech
  • Blockchain & Crypto
  • Digital Payments

Author

Dan Brightmore

Published

2 February 2026

Estimated Read time

3Mins

Join thousands of attendees at FIBE Berlin for two days of groundbreaking inquiry into the future of financial services and the tech that will drive it

Berlin’s importance in the finance and tech services industry is characterised by a combination of a vibrant startup scene, abundant capital, a supportive innovation environment and a broad network of events and collaborations. All these factors make Berlin a leading centre for financial technology in Europe. And this is where FIBE Berlin comes in – Germany’s first international international finance & tech festival.

FIBE Berlin showcases the latest trends and developments acros the industry. FIBE Berlin bridges traditional banking with the disruptive FinTech sector and offers curated networking formats to ensure you get the most out of your attendance.

Why Attend?

Your benefits in a nutshell: Engage with the European finance and tech scene over two days. Listen to international expert speakers, participate in curated networking sessions, and attend the FIBE Recovery Breakfast.

Whether you are a finance expert, a FinTech visionary or a tech investor, don’t miss out on this exciting opportunity to be a part of the FIBE Berlin community and create a new form of convention and exhibition. From Berlin for the world.

In just two days, FIBE Berlin will delve into the most groundbreaking topics that are reshaping the financial landscape. With Handelsblatt, Germany’s business and financial daily, the conference has an expert partner responsible for curating the stage programme.

In addition to dealing with the newest content, FIBE Berlin creates interactive formats and an exchange at eye level between the audience and speakers delivering expert insights. No matter whether it’s a debate, a live feed to correspondents around the world or a meet and greet with international speakers. You can count on FIBE Berlin’s conference program to be bang up-to-date, controversial and interactive.

Check out the full program at FIBE to plan ahead…

Three Unique Stages

To help you navigate FIBE Berlin’s vast array of offerings, the festival program is divided across three different stages:

  • The Festival Stage, delves into the big questions and connections within the industry, if not the world, through panel discussions and one-on-one interviews. There’s plenty of space around this big stage to listen, ask questions, and join the discussion.
  • As the name Club Stage suggests, things are a bit more intimate here. Speakers and moderators take a behind-the-scenes look at companies (be it a unicorn or an early-stage startup), collaborations, investments, and more. Again, your questions and experiences are more than welcome here.
  • Experience Fintech Berlin style at the ever so popular Späti Stage. For many, a Späti (Berlin’s corner shops), replaces the living room or kitchen table and so does the Späti Stage. Completely informal and unconventional it features quick presentations, out of the box impulses, and meet and greet sessions. Grab an ice cream, a beer, or some crisps and join the Späti crowd!

Book your tickets now

  • Artificial Intelligence in FinTech
  • Blockchain & Crypto
  • Digital Strategy
  • Event Newsroom
  • Events

Author

Jelle van Schaick

Published

20 January 2026

Estimated Read time

4Mins

Jelle van Schaick, VP Marketing at Lorum, looks beyond Swift at fixing the correspondent chain to change how global money moves

SWIFT has become a convenient villain in modern finance. When a cross-border payment takes three days to settle, frustration builds. The blame is almost instinctively placed on the messaging network itself. Vendors promise to replace it with blockchain solutions, and crypto pitch decks often speak evangelically of a world without it. However, focusing on SWIFT hides a much simpler and less glamorous reality regarding international finance. SWIFT is not the problem. The correspondent banking chain is the problem.

To understand the delay, we need to separate the instruction from the asset. SWIFT is fundamentally a secure messaging network that allows financial institutions to send payment details. However, it does not move money, it does not hold deposits, and it does not determine when funds are released. A SWIFT payment message is simply data. The actual capital resides in nostro and vostro accounts, moving via domestic RTGS systems and local clearing schemes.

While the SWIFT message travels across the globe in seconds, the delay lives in how each institution along the path manages its own accounts and risk parameters. When a payment stalls, the bottleneck is almost always found in that chain of custody rather than in the wire that carried the instruction. Blaming SWIFT for a delayed settlement is like blaming an email provider because the recipient waited two days to open the message and reply.

The Hidden Cost of Every “Hop”

Most cross-border flows continue to rely on the correspondent banking model. In this system, if a bank in one country does not have a direct relationship with a bank in another, the payment must hop through intermediaries. This is not a seamless relay; each step in the sequence adds resistance.

Every hop adds:

  • another balance sheet to fund
  • another set of compliance checks
  • another set of cut offs, holidays, and local quirks
  • another chance to add margin, fees, or spreads

This operational drag creates measurable latency. SWIFT’s own data shows that while roughly 90% of payments reach the destination bank within an hour, fewer than half are credited to the end customer’s account in that same timeframe. The delay is not in the transit; it is in the processing queue of the receiving institution.

Why Banks are Paid to Wait

If technology is not the primary issue, we must look to economic incentives. The correspondent banks facilitating these flows are typically large universal banks. Their core economic engine is lending and balance sheet management rather than clearing. These institutions earn yield by holding deposits and managing liquidity, not by pushing funds out the door as fast as possible.

That creates predictable tensions:

  • settlement can be batched or delayed to smooth intraday liquidity
  • funds can sit in internal accounts until windows or limits align
  • risk teams can slow flows when risk appetite tightens

When operational reality meets these misaligned incentives, the result is a compounding delay that no messaging standard can fix. Legacy cores, manual exceptions, and misaligned time zones all stack delay on top of these economic priorities. Operational teams bounce investigations between institutions through tickets and emails, magnifying the friction. None of this is a feature of SWIFT. It is the consequence of who performs clearing and what their balance sheets optimize for.

The Case for Unbundling Clearing

The traditional network is fracturing under this pressure. According to the Bank for International Settlements (BIS), the number of active correspondent banking relationships has declined by over 20% in the last decade. As universal banks retreat from this low-margin utility, a vacuum has opened for specialist infrastructure.

This helps explain why many fintech projects fail to solve the core issue. Attempts to create new rails often miss the point. If the system still relies on universal banks to hold funds, the underlying friction remains. The critical design question is not how to remove SWIFT, but who should perform institutional clearing and under what incentives.

A truly effective solution requires a structural shift where clearing is separated from lending. This has paved the way for a new category of infrastructure known as the specialist correspondent. Unlike universal banks, these institutions are designed exclusively for clearing and cash management. We see this model validated by firms like Lorum, which operate as specialist correspondents rather than generalist banks.

By connecting to local payment rails in multiple markets and providing named account structures, this model allows institutions to work with a single clearing partner rather than managing dozens of bilateral relationships.

For treasurers, this shift means:

  • local settlement on domestic rails wherever possible
  • a single global view of balances and flows
  • fewer intermediaries and more predictable timelines

This approach does not replace the messaging layer, as SWIFT already moves messages well. Instead, it redesigns the institutional layer behind those messages. It focuses on the start and end of each payment where custody, timing, and control actually break. Blaming SWIFT is easy because it is visible and old. It is harder, and more useful, to redesign who holds and releases funds. The firm that fixes the correspondent chain changes how global money actually moves.

Learn more at lorum.com

  • Blockchain & Crypto
  • Digital Payments

Author

Dan Brightmore

Published

16 January 2026

Estimated Read time

5Mins

Ben Goldin, Founder and CEO of Plumery, explores the key banking trends for 2026 – from fraud and digital assets to stablecoins and AI applications

As we head into the second half of the decade, several emerging trends will come to the fore in 2026. The interconnectedness among these trends is also noteworthy. Artificial intelligence (AI) and progressive modernisation act as common threads.

A strong current throughout 2026 is the shift from customer-first banking to human-first banking. This relates to the concept of ethical banking. It focuses on creating financial services that have a positive social and environmental impact. 

Human-first banking aims to get even closer to the customer by understanding their actual human needs, rather than just consumer needs. For example, a bank should be acting as a coach to improve a customer’s financial health, not solely as an advisor on which products they should buy. Banks can build trust in a digital world through tailored and empathetic interactions, effectively simulating the experience customers formerly had with their personal banker.

To attain that level of hyper-personalisation, banks will need to be capable of processing vast amounts of transactional data, which can only be accomplished by deploying AI and big data tools. This requirement, in turn, will turbocharge progressive modernisation, another trend that has been bubbling under the surface for the past few years.

Traditional banks are using progressive modernisation to deal with legacy infrastructure that is not fit for purpose in a digital-first, AI-driven world. Instead of a big bang replacement of core banking systems, which is risky and can take years, banks are creating change from within existing architecture. Banking is leveraging technologies that support a multi-core strategy. With this approach, banks can add new cores for specific products that require greater agility and innovation. Modern cores are necessary for deploying the latest AI and big data tools because they provide a unified, real-time data foundation to deliver hyper-personalisation.

Fraud Threats

Fraud will remain a top concern throughout 2026. Adversaries use AI to expand the range of techniques, such as impersonation scams and identity theft, as well as accelerate and scale fraudulent activity.

According to the UK Finance Half Year Fraud Report 2025, £629.3 million was stolen by criminals in the first six months of this year, and there were 2.09 million confirmed cases across both authorised and unauthorised fraud. Card not present cases rose 22% to 1.65 million and accounted for 58% of all unauthorised fraud losses.

However, the good news is that there was a 21% increase in prevented card fraud in the first half of 2025. The £682 million which was stopped from being stolen is the highest-ever figure reported.

To combat fraud, new and improved tools to help banks identify, verify and onboard customers will come to market in 2026. The move away from paper-based identity (ID) and widespread adoption of digital ID will play a key role in the fight against fraud. Hence the UK government’s recently announced plans to roll out a new digital ID scheme.

In addition, I expect to see a fundamental shift in fraud detection using real-time behavioural analytics, data analytics for proactive risk identification, and other applications of AI and machine learning in this space.

Digital Assets and Stablecoins

Digital ID verification is also essential for fighting fraud in the digital assets and stablecoins space. Another hot topic at several banking and payments industry conferences last year.   

In 2026, digital assets and stablecoins will become much more mainstream. Banks have left the sidelines and are now actively engaged with running pilots. For example, in September a consortium of nine European banks, including CaixaBank, ING and UniCredit, announced an initiative to launch a euro-denominated stablecoin.

Central banks and regulators are developing a comprehensive agenda for digital assets. Banks will need to blend traditional fiat currencies and assets with their digital counterparts. This trend is also driving a progressive modernisation approach, as legacy core banking systems weren’t designed to manage digital assets, nor do they support moving money via blockchain-based rails. I expect to see more banks looking to deploy a multi-core strategy where digital assets are managed and stored elsewhere, but they can still provide a seamless and unified experience to customers.

AI

Last year, I predicted that the industry would adopt a ‘meet-in-the-middle’ approach to AI, with banks beginning to uncover the real value that the technology can deliver. I also predicted consolidation, recalibration and stabilisation in the market.

GenAI Banking Applications

My predictions held true, by and large. In 2025, institutions explored what is possible, relevant and achievable within the banking context, then specifically for each individual institution within its legacy architectures and technological environments.

This trend will evolve into more practical actions and initiatives over the next 12 months to provide greater clarity around where GenAI shines versus where it’s not applicable.

To gain clarity, it’s important to understand the difference between AI and GenAI. The latter is built on stochastic principles, which uses probability to model systems that appear to vary in a random manner. This means that the same input could potentially generate different outputs – this isn’t acceptable for automated financial operations, which requires much more determinism. Hence, I believe that GenAI will be used chiefly in scenarios where there’s human intervention.

One area where GenAI is applicable is in conversational applications. For example, banks will begin launching more interactive user interfaces. Customers will be able to interact with the bank as they would a human. Moving beyond simple, frequently asked questions to actual actions.

GenAI in the Back Office

Similarly in the back office, banks can leverage GenAI to provide guidance to their employees and accelerate certain tasks. Using the technology to improve efficiency and help staff do more will have a positive impact on customer experience. Processes will take much less time.

It will also help to bring unbanked segments or non-standard customers, which are difficult and costly to onboard because they require a bespoke assessment, into regulated financial services. Applying GenAI can make the bespoke process much more efficient by providing data-driven insights to support faster and smarter decision-making. This will make it much cheaper to serve these segments. Including smaller and medium-sized enterprises, which will drive financial inclusion and improve customers’ financial health.

Learn more at plumery.com

  • Artificial Intelligence in FinTech
  • Blockchain & Crypto
  • Cybersecurity in FinTech
  • Digital Strategy
  • Fintech & Insurtech
  • InsurTech

Author

Can Taner

Published

13 January 2026

Estimated Read time

3Mins

Can Taner, Chief Product Officer at Bitpace, analyses the most important shifts in the crypto and payments landscape

The crypto industry has entered a phase of unbundling. Instead of one-size-fits-all platforms that try to do everything, businesses are looking to specialised providers that solve real-world problems with focus and precision. This shift defines how leading firms now build products: client-first, agile, and compliance-ready by design.

Solving Real Problems with Real Products

The key to building effective crypto payment solutions is understanding what businesses actually need. Payments should help companies operate faster, more efficiently, and at lower cost. Rather than chasing every trend, the focus should be on creating tools that remove friction and add measurable value.

That’s why many providers now offer modular solutions designed to work seamlessly across industries:

  • Payment gateway – enabling merchants to accept crypto securely, with instant conversion to fiat if needed, reducing volatility risk.
  • Global settlements – allowing businesses to move funds cross-border quickly and cost-effectively, bypassing traditional bottlenecks.
  • API integration –giving partners the tools to embed crypto payment functions directly into their platforms, delivering a frictionless experience for end-users.
  • OTC services –providing access to large-scale crypto trades, executed with discretion, high liquidity, and competitive pricing.

Each product is tailored to solve a specific pain point. Instead of bundling everything into a rigid system, we focus on flexible modules that businesses can adopt individually or together.

Agility and Expertise in Product Development

For providers, being specialised also means being agile. Every client problem requires a different approach, and in-house expertise allows them to respond quickly without compromising quality. From compliance to sales to product development, teams must collaborate to find creative solutions that meet the highest regulatory and technical standards.

This agility is only possible if they invest in deep domain knowledge. Product and engineering teams that understand the nuances of payments, crypto, and regulation can adapt quickly to market changes while keeping compliance at the core of every decision.

How to Launch New Products Effectively

Launching a new product in crypto, or any fast-evolving sector, demands structure and discipline. The most successful teams follow a process that balances creativity with rigour.

  • Start with ideation. Listen closely to client feedback, analyse emerging trends, and identify where the market still falls short. Great products don’t begin with technology, but with a clear problem to solve.
  • Do the research. Test assumptions early, model potential use cases, and validate compliance requirements before writing a single line of code. A strong evidence base prevents costly pivots later.
  • Plan collaboratively. Bring product, legal, compliance, sales, and technology teams together from the outset. Aligning goals across functions ensures that innovation doesn’t come at the expense of security or scalability.
  • Build with resilience in mind. Security, interoperability, and performance should be built into the product from day one, not retrofitted at the end.
  • Test thoroughly. Create safe environments to simulate real-world conditions and identify weaknesses before launch. Testing isn’t just a single step, but an ongoing cycle.
  • Launch deliberately. Roll out in phases, gather user feedback, and support early adopters closely. A careful launch builds trust and sets the stage for sustainable growth.

Each of these stages is designed to reduce risk, accelerate learning, and maximise long-term value, principles that define successful product development in today’s crypto landscape.

How Specialisation Wins

Launching products in crypto is about precision and collaboration. The great unbundling of crypto is rewarding those who specialise, focusing on solutions that solve real business challenges. Specialised providers win because they put the client first. That focus on expertise and flexibility is what defines success in the new era of crypto payments.

Learn more at bitpace.com

  • Blockchain & Crypto
  • Digital Payments
  • Fintech & Insurtech

Author

Dan Brightmore

Published

7 January 2026

Estimated Read time

5Mins

FinTech Strategy hears from the experts at DeepL, PagerDuty, Bitpace and Pleo who assess the impact of AI, crypto, stablecoins, tokenised payments and more on financial services in 2026

Looking back at 2025, it was a pivotal year for financial services. The past 12 months have been marked by growing regulatory pressure, publicised outages, and a renewed focus on decentralised finance. In January, the Digital Operational Resilience Act (DORA) officially came into force across the EU, imposing new obligations on banks, insurers, investment firms and their technology providers to better manage ICT risks, report incidents and ensure continuity of operations.

That regulatory shift has come at a time when real-world failures are under intense scrutiny. A report from the Treasury Committee, prompted by a wave of IT glitches, revealed that nine of the UK’s largest banks and building societies suffered at least 803 hours of unplanned outages between January 2023 and February 2025, equivalent to more than 33 days of downtime. Alongside revision of traditional finance strategy, pro-crypto policy emerging from the US with the new administration has also buoyed investor confidence in newer assets like stablecoins, with the global market slated to hit $500 to $750 billion in coming years.

These events have reinforced a hard truth across the sector: digital infrastructure is no longer just a supporting pillar, it is mission-critical. Against this backdrop, many firms are now rethinking how they build, monitor and respond to technology risk. In this transformational moment, the voices below outline why 2026 may well become the year financial services firms turn lessons into lasting change, providing predictions about FS in 2026.

Eduardo Crespo, VP EMEA, PagerDuty:

“By 2026, financial services firms have turned hard-won lessons from the Treasury’s 2025 outage reports into action. Years of costly downtime and lost trust pushed the industry to rebuild around resilience. Always-on access is non-negotiable. Customers leave if they can’t transact in real time, and regulators are watching. In response, banks are overhauling legacy stacks and embedding AI at the core of incident management.

“AI isn’t a pilot project anymore, it’s become part of frontline defence. Systems now detect and diagnose disruption before it happens, enabling predictive maintenance and softening the blow of unplanned events. In 2026, resilience is a competitive edge.”

Anil Oncu, CEO, Bitpace:

“By 2026, digital assets will no longer be considered emerging. They will be fully embedded in mainstream finance. The shift is accelerating, driven by clearer regulation and stronger institutional participation across the US, UK and Europe. Pro-crypto policy is now the backbone of a global effort to build stablecoin-powered commerce at scale.

“In the UK, the Bank of England’s decision to allow stablecoin reserves to be held in short-term government debt is a significant signal of confidence. In the US, the GENIUS Act provides long-overdue oversight for dollar-backed tokens and replaces years of ambiguity with a clear path to legitimacy and widespread adoption.

“As global stablecoin supply moves beyond $300 billion, these digital dollars will support a rapidly increasing share of cross-border transactions. They reduce fees, eliminate settlement friction, and outperform traditional rails in both speed and transparency. At the same time, regulators are finally moving in the right direction. Stablecoins are moving from a speculative tool into a trusted infrastructure layer for modern payments.

“By 2026, digital assets will no longer sit alongside traditional finance. They will power its next phase of development. Stablecoins, crypto ETFs, and tokenised payments will be used directly within the financial stack and will be part of everyday business and consumer activity worldwide. This is not hype. It is execution, and the market is already moving.”

Ed Crook, VP Strategy & Operations, DeepL:

“2026 will be make-or-break for many financial services providers. In a competitive market, the edge goes to providers who adopt useful AI to cut through inefficient workflows. In this sector, where every interaction is highly regulated and reputational risk is acute, businesses need the right tools for the job. This includes data protection, account security, compliance, IT ops and customer service – keeping fundamental lines of communication open and effective. These are all areas where AI is already solving critical problems.

“AI is fast becoming the connective tissue of international finance, and this trend will continue in 2026, particularly in customer engagement and operational support. Our FS research found that over a third (37%) of client interactions in UK finance already involve AI. Over half (52%) use AI for multilingual translation, the top use case, directly addressing linguistic fragmentation. Moving into the new year, Language AI will be a key practical tool for financial services firms. But these companies first need to iron out their strategy around AI integration. Staff will inevitably look for workarounds if the tools provided don’t meet their needs. This is why companies need to get ahead by providing secure, fit-for-purpose solutions. By building a collaborative approach between IT and frontline teams, and avoiding pitfalls around shadow AI, financial service firms can maintain a unified, strategy approach to AI deployment, protecting against cybersecurity threats, while still realising the full benefits of trusted AI.”

Jeppe Rindom, CEO and Co-Founder, Pleo:

“Automation and “agentification” will redefine the fintech landscape. Most of what’s considered operational today will be handled by intelligent systems, from finance ops to customer support. That playing field will level and expectations will rise.

“To stand out, companies will need to inject identity – the one thing only humans can create. That could be through exceptional product design and user experience, considered use of human touchpoints where emotion and trust matter most, or the depth in which problems are solved for customers, not just how fast they can be solved.

“As the average becomes automated, greatness will come from creativity, clarity and crafting products and experiences that still feel unmistakably human.”

The Next 12 Months

The start of 2026 marks a massive turning point for financial services. After a year defined by renewed pressure on service uptime and improvement, around outages, regulatory pressure and rapid technological acceleration, the industry is now moving from reaction to reinvention.

In the coming year, we’ll see that firms embedding resilience, embracing intelligent automation and identifying new trends in service provision will lead the pack. The future of finance will hinge on trust, modernisation and operational strength, backed by technology.

  • Artificial Intelligence in FinTech
  • Blockchain & Crypto
  • Digital Payments

Author

Dan Brightmore

Published

16 December 2025

Estimated Read time

6Mins

FinTech Connect was a crossroads for strategy and execution. Global banks, FinTech challengers, regulators and investors gathered to define 2026 priorities, debate operational challenges and benchmark technology roadmaps.

A Decade of Fintech Innovation

FinTech Connect marked its 10th anniversary at ExCeL London. Drawing 5,000+ industry professionals, 140+ speakers and 100+ exhibitors to explore banking, payments, compliance, digital transformation and blockchain innovation. The co-location with Tokenize: LDN brought deeper coverage of tokenisation and digital-asset infrastructure alongside core FinTech topics.

AI in Fintech: From Vision to Practice

A theme threaded through almost every theatre was AI adoption in financial services. But unlike earlier years’ speculative hype, this edition focused on practical deployment and risk management.

One standout panel, “GenAI That Customers Can Trust: The One Zero Digital Banker Story,” shared how One Zero built responsible generative AI features tailored for banking workflows, emphasising transparency and user trust. Industry leaders underscored that explainability, governance and compliance are no longer optional in enterprise AI.

A direct follow-on session, “How Do We Make AI Responsible in Practice?”, featured Rajeev Chakraborty from the Home Office discussing model governance and ethical safeguards for operational AI—an area rapidly becoming central to CIO and risk officer agendas.

Across both days, panels also explored how AI can reduce backlog in financial institutions, with Santander UK’s Head of AI demonstrating measurable impact on operational efficiency, and tackling tech debt at scale—a perennial challenge heightened by the influx of automation projects.

Key takeaway: AI’s role has shifted from emerging trend to core enterprise infrastructure, but success now hinges on responsible implementation, observable outcomes, and regulatory alignment.

Digital Transformation & Core Banking Strategies

Transforming legacy systems was another anchor topic. The Digital Transformation stage hosted robust discussions around neobanks and challenger strategies, with executives from TSB Bank and HSBC highlighting how incumbents are adopting agile ways of working while balancing risk and customer expectations.

The session “All In on Legacy? Driving Time to Market Without Big-Bang Migrations” resonated with many practitioners: incremental modernisation beats wholesale lift-outs when prioritising stability and customer continuity.

Another practical highlight, “Engineering Productivity Measurement: Traditional Bank to UK’s Largest Fintech,” narrated the journey of building measurable engineering benchmarks to align business goals and product delivery.

Key takeaway: Attendees left with a reinforced understanding that successful transformation blends cultural shift, incremental modernization, and strategic tech investment—not hurried replacement of core systems.

RegTech & Ethical Compliance: Balancing Innovation with Governance

RegTech, Compliance & Security sessions tackled the tension between rapid innovation and tightening regulatory guardrails—a debate central to fintech scaling.

A standout session titled “Ethical AI in Regulatory Technology: Balancing Innovation & Compliance” featured voices from governance, compliance and data-ethics functions. Panelists discussed strategies for embedding fairness, bias mitigation and traceability into machine-assisted workflows—a crucial step for institutions deploying automated decisioning.

Another forward-looking talk, “How Quantum Innovation Will Redefine Regulatory Operations,” examined how future computing paradigms could reshape compliance tooling and data verification—but also stressed the need to prepare today’s infrastructure for tomorrow’s disruptions.

Key takeaway: Compliance isn’t just a cost centre; speakers argued that robust RegTech can be a competitive advantage, reducing risk while enabling faster scaling.

PayTech & eCommerce: Securing the Digital Commerce Era

The PayTech & eCommerce stage delivered insights on securing payment flows and shaping the next wave of commerce innovation.

In “Emerging Global Tech Trends in Payments & Cash Management,” HSBC’s payment leaders unpacked how real-time rails and open APIs are influencing cross-border flows. Fintech Connect 2025

The panel “Transforming Payment Security with AI” brought together payment experts and academics to examine fraud detection innovations—AI-enabled risk scoring, adaptive authentication and cooperative intelligence sharing—as a defence against evolving threats. Fintech Connect 2025

A later session on “Tackling Cyber Threats in a New Era of Digital Payments,” addressed real-time threat detection, third-party risk and securing complex ecosystems, underscoring cybersecurity’s front-and-centre role for digital commerce. Fintech Connect 2025

Key takeaway: Payments remain fertile ground for innovation, but trust and security are foundational determinants of user adoption and ecosystem resilience.

Tokenisation & Blockchain: Institutional Pathways Ahead

The Tokenize: LDN co-located stage brought in robust debate around real-world asset (RWA) tokenization and Web3 infrastructure—not as fringe buzzwords, but as emerging institutional tools.

Panels like “Bridging the RWA Infrastructure Gap” unpacked regulatory friction points and scaling challenges, highlighting custody risk, compliance complexity and standardisation needs—critical prerequisites to institutional adoption.

Another session on “Expanding Investment Opportunities With Fractional Ownership” featured cross-sector thought leaders, including Dr Lisa Cameron (MP & Crypto APPG Chair), exploring how tokenised assets can democratise access to traditionally illiquid markets.

Web3 panels examined trust, privacy and compliance in blockchain ecosystems and navigated the practicalities of smart contracts and decentralised identities—topics that are rapidly gaining traction with enterprise adopters.

A key session, titled Blockchain and CBDCs: At the Heart of Public Transformation? featured NatWest’s Head of Group Payment Strategy Lee McNabb, EY’s Emerging Tech & Innovation Leader Igor Mikhalev and Joy Adams, COO for Digital Assets at Deutsche Bank. A lively debate chaired by CommerzBank’s Poonam Ahuja examined the pros and cons of digital currencies and the rise of stablecoins.

Key takeaway: Tokenisation is still nascent, but panels stressed it’s transitioning into a practical institutional infrastructure conversation, with regulatory clarity and integration tooling cited as catalysts for broader uptake.

Startup Innovation & Demo Highlights

The Innovation & Start Up stage and Start-Up LaunchPad provided rapid-fire exposure to emerging companies pushing the frontier.

Live demos included:

  • DaMoney.ai, showcasing AI-guided compliance workflows;
  • Narrative, an AI-native engagement platform for SMEs;
  • Profylr, offering comprehensive consumer duty landscapes analytics;
  • 3AI, demonstrating self-learning investment intelligence models.

These sessions were among the most interactive parts of the show, with founders directly answering questions on integration, compliance and product-market fit.

Key takeaway: Startups revealed solutions that dovetail with enterprise needs—especially around AML automation, customer engagement and data orchestration—making them compelling partners for larger financial services buyers.

Networking, Community & Celebration

FinTech Connect didn’t just deliver talks; it facilitated dense networking across peer groups, investors, regulators and tech leads. The AI-powered networking app helped attendees pre-book conversations and tailor agendas, turning serendipity into structured discovery.

The 10th anniversary celebration—complete with drinks, a Christmas Market theme and live entertainment—reinforced the community aspect and capped the event on a high note.

Conclusion: A Hard-Working Fintech Forum

FinTech Connect 2025 proved to be more than a conference—it was a strategic inflection point. While technology and vendor showcases were abundant, it was the panel debates and operational talks that delivered the most actionable insight. Attendees departed with:

  • A clearer view of AI adoption roadmaps;
  • Practical frameworks for RegTech and compliance transformation;
  • Nuanced understanding of payments security and real-time rails;
  • Emerging tokenisation playbooks suitable for institutional pilots.

As FinTech leaders prepare 2026 budgets and technology plans, FinTech Connect has reaffirmed itself as a must-attend forum where strategy, innovation and regulation intersect—and where the next decade of financial services will continue to take shape.

  • Artificial Intelligence in FinTech
  • Blockchain & Crypto
  • Events
  • Host Perspectives
  • InsurTech
  • Neobanking

Author

Dan Brightmore

Published

27 November 2025

Estimated Read time

2Mins

At AWS, we’re obsessed with helping our customers harness the benefits of cloud and AI. While maintaining robust security, resilience…

At AWS, we’re obsessed with helping our customers harness the benefits of cloud and AI. While maintaining robust security, resilience and scalability. We believe the true value of he cloud is unlocked when seen as an end-to-end transformation opportunity. A chance for organisations across Asia Pacific and Japan, such as Techcombank (TCB), to seize the innovations Gen AI and Agentic AI can offer today.

According to a new AWS-Strand Partners 2025 report, AI adoption among businesses in Vietnam is growing rapidly at an annual rate of 39%. Close to 170,000 businesses in Vietnam have already adopted AI. And 77% of those businesses expect AI to increase their revenue within the next year.

Delivering Business Benefits

TCB’s journey with AWS exemplifies the transformative power of cloud and AI adoption. Spanning strategic planning and co-innovation, with a shared commitment to transformation:

  • Within six months, AWS helped TCB migrate retail and corporate banking systems to the cloud. This enabled on-demand scalability, reduced infrastructure costs, improved time to market and enhanced availability for TCB, cutting downtime.
  • By rapidly scaling infrastructure, reliably and securely, TCB has seen digital transactions grow by 38%.
  • Today, 55% of new customers now join via digital channels and 97% of transactions are processed digitally.

The AWS Data Migration Service is expected to generate projected cost savings of up to $10.4 million over five years. Driven by improved infrastructure efficiency and simplified operations.

Harnessing Gen AI & Agentic AI

Gen AI is delivering workplace transformations, including enabling contact centre agents to resolve customer concerns. TCB has established itself as a pioneer, becoming Vietnam’s first bank to develop proprietary applications using Amazon Bedrock. Initiatives include customer chatbots for employee use, advanced language translation tools, and SMARTIE – an AI personal assistant built on a custom Large Language Model (LLM).

AWS: A Trusted Partner for Cloud at Scale

AWS distinguishes itself as a transformation partner through its unique combination of global expertise, strong local partnerships, and proven implementation frameworks. This comprehensive approach enables organisations to achieve meaningful business transformation while staying at the cutting edge of technological innovation.

“By enabling financial institutions like Techcombank to innovate at scale, we’re helping create the foundation for Vietnam’s next phase of AI-driven economic growth.”

Eric Yeo, Country General Manager – AWS Vietnam

Discover more about the ways Techcombank is overcoming challenges on its transformation journey with AWS from Eric Yeo, Country General Manager – AWS Vietnam


  • Artificial Intelligence in FinTech
  • Blockchain & Crypto
  • Cybersecurity in FinTech
  • InsurTech

Author

Niamh Kingsley

Published

21 November 2025

Estimated Read time

6Mins

Niamh Kingsley, Founder & CEO of the the post-digital consultancy firm ace, on the Quantum future for financial services

Just last week, I sat across from a head of engineering at a major city-based bank and asked about their quantum preparedness. His response? “As far as I’m concerned, that’s science fiction.”

From my perspective, this view is definitely misguided. But more concerning, it’s also really prevalent. Despite some senior leaders dismissing quantum as a distant concern, their organisations are already exposed to quantum-enabled threats, and their competitors are quietly positioning for advantage.

Breakthroughs from the likes of IBM, Google, Rigetti, and Quantinuum show the ten-year timeline is a mirage. The quantum threat is not future tense. It is present and accelerating. In the race for computational advantage, the largest institutions are already in the lab. In the race for security, the threat actors are already in your network.

The time for planning is over, and the time for migration is now.

The Security Imperative: Your Data is Already at Risk

When we talk about the quantum threat, we’re primarily talking about Shor’s Algorithm. On a sufficiently large, fault-tolerant quantum computer (CRQC), Shor would break the public-key cryptography (RSA and most ECC) that underpins many secure protocols and systems, including virtually every secure digital communication and transaction globally.

But here is the critical point: the impact doesn’t start on the day a CRQC goes live; it began years ago the with ‘Harvest/Store-Now, Decrypt-Later (HNDL/SNDL)’ attack vector, where adversaries record encrypted traffic today to decrypt it once quantum capabilities arrive. (Symmetric cryptography like AES is affected differently by Grover’s algorithm, and it is generally mitigated by larger key sizes.)

Why ‘Harvest Now, Decrypt Later’ is the Real Crisis

Think about your most sensitive, high-value data:

  • KYC and client records: Confidential information that must remain private for decades.
  • Proprietary trading strategies: Models and algorithms that define your competitive edge.
  • Intellectual property and M&A communications: Data whose confidentiality window extends well beyond the projected arrival of a CRQC.

Sophisticated adversaries, often state-sponsored, are already harvesting vast quantities of this currently encrypted data. They are storing it, bit by bit, waiting for the eventual arrival of a cryptographically relevant quantum computer, which they will then use to decrypt later.

This means that data encrypted today will be vulnerable to breach tomorrow. The shelf-life of your confidential information directly dictates the urgency of your response. Any financial institution that relies on current public-key cryptography to protect data with a retention requirement of five years or more is already compromised in principle.

Post-Quantum Cryptography Migration: Why it’s Non-Negotiable

A wholesale migration to Post-Quantum Cryptography (PQC), algorithms resistant to quantum attack, is the only defence. This isn’t a simple software patch; it’s a foundational re-architecture of your digital trust layer.

  • What institutions should prioritise: Any data requiring confidentiality beyond a ten-year horizon is at risk. The UK’s National Cyber Security Centre and G7 frameworks explicitly call out finance to begin migration planning now, with several guides targeting 2035 completion for critical sectors.
  • Inventory everything: You cannot protect what you don’t know you have. Conduct a rigorous, firm-wide audit to map every single instance of public-key cryptography, from TLS certificates and VPNs to digital signatures, PKI, and key management systems.
  • Focus on the long-lived: Prioritise the migration of systems protecting data with the longest necessary confidentiality (the HNDL targets) and those that are hardest to change (e.g., embedded systems, legacy code, or critical, highly-available infrastructure).
  • Mandate the standards: Adopt the new, standardised PQC algorithms, such as CRYSTALS-Kyber (for key establishment) and CRYSTALS-Dilithium (for digital signatures), as decreed by global bodies like the US NIST.

Capturing Computational Advantage

But here’s what the industry isn’t telling you: whilst you’re busy securing your systems, there’s a competitive dividend waiting for institutions willing to explore quantum’s computational capabilities.

I’m not talking about vague promises of exponential speedups. I’m talking about targeted, measurable advantages in specific use cases where quantum algorithms demonstrably outperform classical approaches.

Monte Carlo simulations for derivative pricing, XVA calculations, and Value-at-Risk models are obvious starting points. Amplitude Estimation provides a quadratic speedup over classical Monte Carlo, achieving the same error tolerance with exponentially fewer samples. That means shorter calculation windows, faster intraday rehedging, and material energy savings. For path-dependent options or rare-event tail scenarios, quantum approaches offer better resolution of low-probability events without exploding compute budgets.

Portfolio optimisation, collateral allocation, and limit setting are fundamentally combinatorial optimisation problems. Quantum heuristics may deliver quality and latency benefits under complex constraints, including funding requirements, capital adequacy, central counterparty margin rules.

HSBC made headlines deploying quantum algorithms for foreign exchange pricing optimisation. That wasn’t a marketing exercise; it was a proof point that the technology has crossed from research into application.

But, and this matters, we don’t yet have large-scale, fault-tolerant quantum computers. IBM’s roadmap targets approximately 200 logical qubits by 2029. We’re not there yet. Which means the smart play is running parallel tracks: migrate to PQC now for security; experiment with quantum algorithms in targeted pilots to understand future advantage.

The pilot framework should be rigorous. Choose use cases where runtime and tail-risk scenarios dominate P&L. Establish measurement frameworks comparing quantum approaches against equal-error, equal-time, and equal-energy classical baselines. Report outcomes honestly. Build institutional knowledge whilst the hardware matures.

The Competitive Landscape: The Window is Closing

The quantum era is a global, systemic shift. It is a dual-sided challenge, an existential security risk and an unprecedented performance opportunity.

We are entering a phase of hyper-competition. The market is already separating into two distinct groups:

  • The value capturers: These are the institutions that have already established quantum governance, initiated PQC pilots, and embedded crypto-agility into their DNA. They will be secure against HNDL, will meet regulatory mandates like DORA, and, crucially, will be the first to operationalise quantum speed-ups in pricing, risk, and optimisation. They will gain an insurmountable performance edge.
  • The vulnerable and disadvantaged: These are the firms facing “crypto-procrastination.” They risk massive compliance penalties, systemic data theft via HNDL, and the competitive disadvantage of relying on slower, less accurate classical models while competitors price derivatives and optimise collateral in real-time.

The quantum inflection point is not an event on a distant calendar; it is a process happening right now. The firms that act today are building an unbreakable digital fortress while simultaneously designing the algorithms that will define the next decade of finance.

Don’t wait for Q-Day. Secure your future, then innovate in it.

Learn more at aceadvantage.io

  • Blockchain & Crypto
  • Cybersecurity in FinTech
  • Digital Payments

Author

Anthony Yeung

Published

20 November 2025

Estimated Read time

4Mins

After a turbulent few years, the crypto sector looks on the cusp of another period of boom. Yet, according to Anthony Yeung, Chief Commercial Officer at CoinCover, the success of this next phase will hinge on embedding responsibility and accountability at its core.

A few years ago, the crypto sector found itself grappling with a profound image crisis. A series of high-profile scandals, widespread misconceptions about its place within the broader financial system, and a glaring absence of regulatory oversight led many to dismiss the space as a haven for tech-savvy opportunists peddling dubious tokens in a never-ending cycle of ‘get-rich-quick’ schemes.

Fast forward to 2025, and while some of that baggage lingers, public understanding of crypto and its underlying value has matured considerably. Endorsements from major governments, coupled with rising levels of institutional investment, have helped to temper concerns about crypto’s legitimacy and long-term role in the financial ecosystem. Nevertheless, questions around trust and transparency continue to cast a shadow over its progress.

A Collective Effort

It’s clear that crypto remains a hotbed of innovation, much of it focused on attracting more individuals and businesses into the ecosystem. However, alongside the development of cutting-edge solutions, the sector must also dedicate time and effort to rebuilding and strengthening its public image. As we enter this next phase of growth, reinforcing trust and public confidence is just as vital as technological progress.

At CoinCover, we believe that tackling this trust deficit could be the key to unlocking the next billion users of cryptocurrency. Driving such a shift will require more than just our efforts. As an industry, crypto must urgently find more effective ways to tell its story showcasing not only its value but also its security. A collective, coordinated effort from stakeholders across the ecosystem is essential to reshape public perception and build lasting confidence.

The Path to the Next Billion Crypto Users

That sentiment is unlikely to raise eyebrows. From my experience, there’s broad agreement that crypto must do more to manage how it’s perceived by those outside the space. Yet, when it comes to charting a path forward, consensus becomes far more elusive. Chief among the contentious issues is the role of external regulation; a topic that continues to divide opinion across the sector and spark lively debate.

Unlike just a few years ago, when regulation in the crypto space was minimal, businesses today face a growing list of compliance demands. Moreover, expectations are mounting that regulatory oversight will only become more stringent in the months and years ahead. For many within the sector, this external scrutiny sits uneasily alongside the original ethos and mission of cryptocurrencies.

Evolution, Not Revolution

Many crypto OGs acknowledge that the space was born out of a desire for decentralisation, autonomy, and freedom from traditional financial systems. Yet, as with many movements, that founding mission has evolved over time. Today, crypto no longer exists as a siloed alternative but is increasingly integrated into the broader financial ecosystem that supports the modern global economy.

While for some the merits of this evolution remain up for debate, its reality is undeniable. For those of us committed to broadening access to the benefits of cryptocurrency, this moment presents more opportunity than challenge. In terms of user access, the crypto space has reached heights few could have expected. The ideology that shaped the sector’s early days need not be discarded, but elements of it must evolve to reflect the times we live in.

Responsible Regulation

At present, regulation represents the key tension point between these two opposing worldviews. For some, external oversight undermines the very essence of crypto. For others, the wave of incoming compliance offers much-needed validation, a chance for the sector to shed its chequered reputation and re-emerge as a more trusted, credible, and accessible solution for the next billion global users.

As a long-time crypto enthusiast, I appreciate the merits of both sides of the debate. At the same time, I’m realistic enough to acknowledge that the genie is well and truly out of the bottle. There’s no turning back the clock on regulation – and perhaps nor should there be. While few within the sector would advocate for overly stringent measures, there is a clear and pressing need for measures to be introduced and upheld that incentivise good behaviour across the board.

Unlocking the Next Wave of Users

Embracing responsible compliance, and viewing its introduction as an opportunity rather than a threat would mark a positive step forward for the sector. Additionally, it would help initiate the much-needed process of reshaping crypto’s public image: one that reflects a commitment to accountability, long-term growth, and sustainable progress. It could prove crucial as the sector looks to unlock the next billion global users.

At CoinCover, we’re committed to helping shape the conversation around this issue. In the months ahead, we aim to engage openly with all sides of the debate; from regulators to crypto companies. By fostering dialogue across the ecosystem, we believe we can play a constructive role in helping the sector reach a more balanced, sustainable equilibrium — one that serves the interests of all stakeholders, and most importantly, its users.

Find out more at coincover.com

  • Blockchain & Crypto

Author

Alex Carteau

Published

13 November 2025

Estimated Read time

5Mins

Stock Investing has become increasingly popular over the last few years. The self-directed investing trend is in full swing and…

Stock Investing has become increasingly popular over the last few years. The self-directed investing trend is in full swing and retail investors are looking for smarter and better ways of looking at the markets to identify winning stocks. A plethora of web services and chats now exist solely to service this market. Many of these services process the same limited types of data, such as market prices and tape, fundamental data, filings or even news sentiments.

Navigating Investment Services

How can investors navigate this crowded landscape of services? It all depends on what the investor is looking for. Broadly, there are three levels of investing behaviour and tools:

Level 1: The Stock Tip. 

This investor just wants a stock tip – simply what to buy and when to sell without trying to understand the why. He may “ask the audience” and use a Telegram chat or Discord chat service for that, “phone a friend” who just takes a “50/50” guess. The platforms providing these services are usually unsophisticated operations often with one or two individuals animating a series of chats. Speculation, misinformation and meme stock “pump and dump” schemes are frequent.

Outcome: This looks great on the surface as the user gets an immediate stock tip, but what happens later is worrying. The investor will have no idea about when to sell since they did not work to understand the real reasons of why the trade has been initiated in the first place.

Level 2: Raw and Calculated Data

The investor relies on data platforms for  research and to decide how to identify promising candidates. From Yahoo Finance to Investing.com, many platforms offer raw and calculated data in tables and charts. These include financial data from the company (either as reported or harmonised), analysts’ recommendation price targets or estimates, company filings (13F, Form 4, 8k …) even public databases of senatorial and congressional registered trades.

This overabundance of data can create information overload, sometimes leaving users more confused than when they started. With hundreds of fields and ratios, it takes significant financial literacy and experience to know where to look, which metric to focus on and the ones to leave out. Coupled with the information already available via a brokerage platform, often the investor is now facing a “wall” of data. Recently, new conversational AI tools that use natural language have been touted as game changers that can make sense of it all. Unfortunately these tools come with their own limitations and biases that are not always visible..

Outcome: The investor is more confused than at the beginning of the process, unless he is trained in using the right metrics for his analysis, this is a losing game. These ChatGPT-like platforms bring a false sense of intelligence as they combine news and data from various sources in a nice summarized paragraph, which is neither reliable, accurate or fool-proof.


Level 3: Derived Proprietary Data

At this level, the investor would turn to a team of financial market professionals who would generate proprietary rating or scoring for each stock helping an investor focus on the right opportunities.

These methodologies are either “proven” or “tested” representing many years of financial market expertise. This layer of human experience makes all the difference in generating valuable insights. Investor’s Business Daily has one of the best known services, providing ratings alongside a respected news bureau that has helped investors for decades.

This approach is probably one of the best for a serious investor – one that would consume this proprietary derived data and combine it with news and other market events for a comprehensive investing picture.


Level 4: LLMs

This level of investing is where not only human experience and skills are in the mix but also Large Language Models processing vast amounts of unstructured data. It is processed from news or filings for a comprehensive view of market conditions and sentiment from text based data. It also brings the most important “human insight” contained in the ranks and scoring in the service.

Stock Investing Solutions

Beyond this vertical hierarchy, there is also a horizontal challenge; that is that the breadth of data is also an issue. Many platforms provide their own niche services, such as focusing on 13F filings, a specific technical analysis, earnings estimates or option flow. As a result, investors often end up subscribing to several services to gain a comprehensive view of the market.

The solution: a flexible, comprehensive platform that delivers everything an investor may need including scoring, rankings and proprietary indicators but while integrating AI models to enhance and supercharge research efforts.

Making data meaningful is the future of investing. Human expertise can be blended with intelligent technology, while modern platforms close the intimidation gap between professional insight and everyday understanding. The world is overflowing with information and trustworthy innovation lies in simplification.

Alex Carteau is the CEO and Founder of EPSMomentum, with more than 25 years of expertise in financial market software across Asia, Europe, and the United States. He spent more than a decade at Bloomberg, advising investment managers through advanced data and market insights. Following his work on Bloomberg’s specialised equity derivatives team, he expanded his career with leadership roles at RaisePartner and TradingScreen.  

At EPSMomentum, Alex applies his deep knowledge of hedge fund technology, stock-picking analytics and trading systems to create tools that simplify investing for everyday investors. Drawing on his background in financial technology, his work emphasises clarity and actionable insights. With a drive to challenge outdated approaches, he is committed to providing investors with professional-level resources and advancing the evolution of smarter investing drawing on insight gained over decades of experience.  

  • Artificial Intelligence in FinTech
  • Blockchain & Crypto
  • Embedded Finance

Author

Dan Brightmore

Published

31 October 2025

Estimated Read time

6Mins

Osama Bari, Chief Technology Officer at D24 Fintech on the need for cybersecurity advancement to support the rise of crypto adoption

Cryptocurrency adoption has accelerated dramatically, rising in popularity in recent years. Yet the sector remains a prime target for cyberattacks. As digital assets grow in value and popularity, the stakes for both exchanges and users have never been higher. High-profile incidents, such as the CoinDCX breach in July, which saw hackers steal $44 million without touching user wallets, Phemex losing $69 million in a crypto heist, and WazirX losing $230 million, demonstrate the sophisticated tactics cybercriminals now employ.

Similarly, the Bybit hack exposed vulnerabilities in multi-signature authorisation and user interface (UI) spoofing. This highlights how even experienced professionals can be caught off guard.

These events underscore the urgent need for exchanges and financial institutions to prioritise security. They must implement robust protocols, and adopt comprehensive risk-management strategies. There are several core areas where crypto platforms can significantly reduce the risk of security breaches.

Strengthening Cybersecurity Protocols

It is vital for exchanges to implement multi-party approval systems for all transactions. By using threshold-based authorisation, combined with real-time monitoring of deposits and withdrawals, platforms can identify unusual activity and flag it for manual verification. Each withdrawal should undergo a transaction audit score assessment before processing. Such measures are critical for preventing attacks that exploit UI vulnerabilities or other operational oversights. This ensures that no single point of failure can compromise user assets.

Another essential safeguard is two-factor authentication (2FA). While a long-established security measure, its importance in protecting accounts and verifying users cannot be overstated. By requiring a second form of identification, exchanges can ensure only authorised personnel access accounts and manage balances. In practice, this simple but effective layer of protection increases the difficulty for hackers. It demonstrates an exchange’s commitment to protecting its customers’ funds. All financial providers should offer 2FA as a baseline security measure.

Custodians also play a vital role in mitigating risks. For many exchanges, especially those handling large volumes of assets, partnering with a trusted custodian provides additional security and oversight. Custodians safeguard digital assets on behalf of clients, reducing exposure to theft, loss, or mismanagement. In the aftermath of this year’s prominent hacks, the value of external support becomes clear. Custodians enable exchanges to focus on customer experience and platform innovation while ensuring that user funds remain secure.

A further innovation gaining traction is liveness verification, which confirms user identity through biometric measures such as facial recognition or fingerprints. With roughly 40% of banks having implemented this measure to counter fraud – up from 26% five years ago – crypto platforms have an opportunity to follow suit. Liveness checks provide an additional barrier to attackers who might otherwise exploit compromised passwords, keys, or devices. The uniqueness of biometric identifiers ensures that users’ accounts are better protected against increasingly sophisticated fraud attempts.

Centralised cryptocurrency exchanges (CEXs) continue to demonstrate resilience in the face of attacks. Security must be embedded into operational design. The recent incidents highlight the effectiveness of CEXs’ ability to freeze or recover stolen assets quickly. By collaborating with other platforms and utilising centralised oversight, these exchanges can mitigate the impact of breaches. As crypto continues to gain mainstream traction, balancing decentralisation with strong security infrastructure is essential to maintaining investor trust and market stability.

A Holistic Approach to Crypto Security

Beyond these specific measures, exchanges must also adopt holistic cybersecurity strategies. Key steps include thorough risk assessments to identify vulnerabilities. Rigorous protection of private keys through encryption and secure storage. Robust wallet security with multi-factor authentication. And secure transaction protocols including encryption and transaction signing. Regular updates to software and firmware, coupled with continuous network monitoring using intrusion detection systems and threat intelligence feeds, further strengthen a platform’s defence.

Data encryption and access control are critical to prevent unauthorised access. Furthermore, periodic security audits and assessments ensure protocols remain effective as threats evolve. Smart contract and token security, secure coding practices, and rigorous testing must also be prioritised to safeguard DeFi applications and other blockchain-based services. Importantly, exchanges should implement backup and recovery protocols to safeguard against potential data loss. And maintain clear incident response plans to mitigate the impact of any breach.

Educating users remains an underappreciated but crucial aspect of crypto security. Platforms should guide strong password practices, phishing awareness, software updates, and overall security hygiene. Well-informed users are an integral layer of defence, reducing the likelihood of successful social engineering attacks or credential theft.

Finally, regulatory compliance is indispensable. Exchanges operating within clear legal frameworks and adhering to anti-money laundering (AML), counter-terrorism financing (CTF), and data protection regulations significantly reduce risk exposure. Partnering with reputable security vendors and maintaining open lines of communication with regulators can enhance both operational security and market credibility.

Learning from Previous Incidents

The CoinDCX incident serves as a cautionary tale. By exploiting vulnerabilities without ever accessing individual wallets, attackers demonstrated high-value, sophisticated hacks can occur even in the absence of traditional breaches. This reinforces the point that centralised oversight, real-time monitoring, and rapid response protocols are crucial in mitigating damage and protecting customer assets. Exchanges that fail to implement these measures risk not only financial loss but also erosion of trust, which is arguably a more severe long-term consequence.

As cryptocurrencies increasingly integrate into institutional portfolios and mainstream finance, robust security is no longer optional; it is fundamental. Investors, funds, and enterprise clients require assurance that digital assets are safeguarded. And that exchanges and custodians adhere to industry-leading security standards. Platforms that prioritise security will not only protect their customers but also foster broader adoption and confidence in the market.

The Path Forward

The evolution of crypto security is a continuous process. While decentralised networks inherently resist certain forms of attack due to their distributed structure, the human, operational, and software layers of the ecosystem remain vulnerable. The combination of multi-party approval systems, 2FA, custodian partnerships, biometric verification, continuous monitoring, and regulatory compliance provides a robust framework for mitigating these risks.

The message is clear: security must be embedded into the DNA of every crypto platform. Only through a proactive, multi-layered approach can the industry protect its users, maintain trust, and continue to grow sustainably. As high-profile breaches like CoinDCX, WazirX, Phemex, and Bybit demonstrate, the cost of complacency is far too great. By prioritising security today, exchanges not only defend against current threats but also lay the foundation for the future of a resilient, trustworthy crypto ecosystem.

About D24 Fintech

D24 Fintech focuses on developing innovative technological solutions for the evolving digital and fintech landscape.

By leveraging innovation and emerging technologies, D24 Fintech engineers integrated solutions designed to enhance transactional security, streamline digital payments, and improve operational efficiency. With a global perspective and a customer-first approach, D24 Fintech aims to redefine industry standards and drive innovation into fintech ecosystems.

D24 Fintech’s digital solutions include developing advanced technological platforms and management tools, and more.

  • Blockchain & Crypto
  • Cybersecurity in FinTech

Author

Dan Brightmore

Published

8 October 2025

Estimated Read time

2Mins

The Global FinTech Ecosystem. Connected.

This year marks the 10th anniversary of FinTech Connect. The UK’s largest FinTech conference and exhibition, bringing together over 5,000 global attendees from across the financial services and technology landscape.

FinTech Connect

For a decade, FinTech Connect has been the launchpad for the ideas, partnerships and technologies driving the evolution of digital finance. It’s where banks meet breakthrough platforms. Where startups connect with major buyers. And where leaders across digital transformation payments, regtech, financial security and blockchain converge to shape what’s next.

In 2025, we’re scaling up. With 100+ exhibitors, seven world-class conference tracks, live demos and the return of the Start-Up LaunchPad. This year’s event will deliver more connections, more innovation and more opportunity than ever before.

Join us to celebrate a decade of FinTech excellence. And experience the future of finance, powered by cutting-edge tech, real-world insights. And the partnerships that will define the next 10 years.

“FinTech connect is a great place to learn about the latest trends, concerns and enhancements in the FinTech space. Furthermore it is a fantastic opportunity to meet with up and coming companies; or names that you are already in contact with, in one convenient location.”

Nicholas Nicolaides, Associate Director, Barclays

Tokenize: LDN at FinTech Connect

In 2025, FinTech Connect is growing in scale and ambition. For the first time, it will be co-located with Tokenize: LDN, the UK’s leading event for blockchain, web3 and real-world asset tokenisation. Creating a powerful convergence of FinTech and digital asset innovation under one roof.

At Tokenize: LDN, you’ll dive into the latest developments in decentralised finance, custody solutions, tokenised infrastructure and emerging use cases across capital markets. The co-location opens the door to unparalleled cross-industry networking. Connecting FinTech professionals, institutional players and blockchain pioneers in one dynamic space.

Tokenize: LDN is the UK’s leading showcase of the technologies, projects and investment strategies shaping the future of tokenized real-world assets (RWAs). From tokenised treasuries and real estate to on-chain credit, funds, financial infrastructure and more.

Whether you’re navigating tokenisation for the first time or scaling existing strategies, Tokenize: LDN is where serious conversations turn into real-world innovation.

Join asset managers, banks, institutional investors, regulators, custodians, blockchain developers and fintech innovators shaping the future of global capital markets. 

Held in London and co-located with FinTech Connect, Tokenize: LDN is where the global conversation on liquidity, regulation, interoperability and institutional adoption comes to life. 

Together, these two events offer a unique opportunity to explore the future of finance from every angle. Technological, Regulatory, Decentralised and Institutional.

Register now for free tickets for general access. Join 5,000+ industry professionals for two days of talks, exhibitors and networking.

  • Blockchain & Crypto
  • Cybersecurity in FinTech
  • Digital Payments
  • Event Newsroom
  • Events

Author

Dan Brightmore

Published

24 September 2025

Estimated Read time

3Mins

Integration connects Franklin Templeton’s proprietary tokenisation platform to BNB Chain’s growing ecosystem of institutional and retail investors, supporting secure, compliant on-chain financial products

BNB Chain, leading L1 ecosystem, and Franklin Templeton, a global investment leader with $1.6 trillion in assets under management, today announced the expansion of Franklin Templeton’s Benji Technology Platform onto the BNB Chain. This integration allows Franklin Templeton to leverage BNB Chain’s scalable, low-cost, compliance-ready, and enterprise-grade infrastructure to provide global clients with seamless access to tokenized investment products.

Benji Blockchain Technology Platform

The Benji Technology Platform is Franklin Templeton’s proprietary blockchain-integrated stack, designed to facilitate trading, management, and administration of token-based investments. Using this platform, Franklin Templeton launched the world’s first U.S.-registered mutual fund in 2021 using blockchain-integrated technology to process transactions and record share ownership. The firm has since launched several tokenized investment products, fully on-chain, that support a wide range of global client needs across retail, wealth, institutional, bank and collateral use cases.

By deploying on BNB Chain, Franklin Templeton gains access to a growing ecosystem of institutional and retail participants while demonstrating the network’s ability to support real-world, on-chain financial products at scale. 

“Our goal is to meet more investors where they’re active, while continuing to push the boundaries of what tokenization can deliver with security and compliance at the forefront. Together, Franklin Templeton and BNB Chain will work to deliver tokenized assets with greater utility, and enhanced features for retail and institutional clients across the globe.”

Roger Bayston, Head of Digital Assets, Franklin Templeton

BNB Chain has become a premier destination for tokenized financial products, including money market funds, public equities, credit instruments, and other real-world assets. It enables tokenisation at scale through its powerful tech stack designed for secure, low-cost execution with real-time finality.

“BNB Chain has a purpose-built environment that issuers can’t find elsewhere: fast settlement, low fees, and compliant data tooling in one ecosystem. Franklin Templeton’s decision to expand the Benji Technology Platform to our network demonstrates that BNB Chain can support regulated, real-world assets at scale and continues to strengthen our ecosystem of tokenised financial products.”

Sarah Song, Head of Business Development at BNB Chain

About BNB Chain

BNB Chain is a community-driven blockchain ecosystem that is removing barriers to Web3 adoption. It is composed of:

  • BNB Smart Chain (BSC): A secure DeFi hub with the lowest gas fees of any EVM-compatible L1; serves as the ecosystem’s governance chain.  
  • opBNB: A scalability L2 that delivers some of the lowest gas fees of any L2 and rapid processing speeds.
  • BNB Greenfield: Meets decentralized storage needs for the ecosystem and lets users establish their own data marketplaces.

Setting a high bar for security, the AvengerDAO community protects BNB Chain users while Red Alarm provides a real-time risk-scanner for Dapps. The ecosystem also offers a range of monetary and ecosystem rewards as part of its Builder Support Program. For more, follow BNB Chain on X or start exploring via our Dapp library.

About Franklin Templeton

Franklin Resources, Inc. is a global investment management organisation with subsidiaries operating as Franklin Templeton and serving clients in over 150 countries. Franklin Templeton’s mission is to help clients achieve better outcomes through investment management expertise, wealth management and technology solutions. Through its specialist investment managers, the company offers specialization on a global scale, bringing extensive capabilities in fixed income, equity, alternatives and multi-asset solutions. With more than 1,500 investment professionals, and offices in major financial markets around the world, the California-based company has over 75 years of investment experience and [$1.64 trillion] in assets under management as of August 31, 2025. For more information, please visit franklintempleton.com 

  • Blockchain & Crypto

Author

Dan Brightmore

Published

11 September 2025

Estimated Read time

3Mins

Franklin Templeton and Binance are harnessing blockchain tech to create solutions that merge the scale of traditional finance with the speed and accessibility of decentralised markets

Binance, the world’s leading cryptocurrency exchange by trading volume and users, and Franklin Templeton, a global investment leader with $1.6 trillion in assets under management, have announced a collaboration to build digital asset initiatives and solutions tailored for a broad range of investors.

Binance and Franklin Templeton Innovating with Tokenisation

The firms will explore ways to combine Franklin Templeton’s expertise in the compliant tokenisation of securities with Binance’s global trading infrastructure and investor reach. The goal is to deliver innovative solutions to meet the evolving needs of investors. By bringing greater efficiency, transparency and accessibility to capital markets with competitive yield generation and settlement efficiency.

“As these tools and technologies evolve from the fringes to the financial mainstream, partnerships like this one will be essential to accelerating adoption,” said Sandy Kaul, EVP, Head of Innovation at Franklin Templeton. “We see blockchain not as a threat to legacy systems, but as an opportunity to reimagine them. By working with Binance, we can harness tokenisation to bring institutional-grade solutions like our Benji Technology Platform to a wider set of investors and help bridge the worlds of traditional and decentralized finance.”

“Investors are asking about digital assets to remain ahead of the curve, but they need to be accessible and dependable. By working with Binance, we can deliver breakthrough products that meet the requirements of global capital markets and co-create the portfolios of the future,” said Roger Bayston, EVP and Head of Digital Assets at Franklin Templeton. “Our goal is to take tokenisation from concept to practice for clients to achieve efficiencies in settlement, collateral management, and portfolio construction at scale.”

“Binance has a record of innovating first-in-crypto solutions that unlock access and opportunities for investors. Our strategic collaboration with Franklin Templeton to develop new products and initiatives furthers our commitment to bridge crypto with traditional capital markets and open up greater possibilities,” said Catherine Chen, Head of VIP & Institutional at Binance.

More details of the collaboration and new product launches will be shared later this year.

About Binance

Binance is a leading global blockchain ecosystem behind the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange by trading volume and registered users. It is trusted by more than 280 million people in 100+ countries for its industry-leading security, transparency, trading engine speed, protections for investors, and unmatched portfolio of digital asset products and offerings from trading and finance to education, research, social good, payments, institutional services, and Web3 features. Binance is devoted to building an inclusive crypto ecosystem to increase the freedom of money and financial access for people around the world with crypto as the fundamental means. For more information, visit: https://www.binance.com

About Franklin Templeton

Franklin Resources, Inc. is a global investment management organization with subsidiaries operating as Franklin Templeton and serving clients in over 150 countries. Franklin Templeton’s mission is to help clients achieve better outcomes through investment management expertise, wealth management and technology solutions. Through its specialist investment managers, the company offers specialization on a global scale, bringing extensive capabilities in fixed income, equity, alternatives, and multi-asset solutions. With more than 1,500 investment professionals, and offices in major financial markets around the world, the California-based company has over 75 years of investment experience and $1.64 trillion in assets under management as of August 31, 2025. For more information, visit: franklintempleton.com 

  • Blockchain & Crypto
  • Digital Payments

Author

Dan Brightmore

Published

26 August 2025

Estimated Read time

3Mins

In 2025, Blockchain has stopped auditioning and started plumbing real money flows. Tokenised funds are attracting institutional assets. Stablecoins are…

In 2025, Blockchain has stopped auditioning and started plumbing real money flows. Tokenised funds are attracting institutional assets. Stablecoins are wiring into mainstream settlement. Banks and central banks are experimenting with programmable money. Treasury teams are moving value 24/7 on tokenised rails. And compliance rules are finally catching up. Below are the five breakthroughs that matter now—and why they’re reshaping how finance moves.

Tokenised funds & collateral move into production


BlackRock’s tokenised BUIDL fund surged past $1B AUM in March—proof that on-chain money-market exposure is crossing the credibility gap. Franklin Templeton, meanwhile, has pushed BENJI into new markets and chains. These include a European launch under local rules and integrations on public networks geared for enterprise use. On the collateral side, Euroclear and Digital Asset began the first phase of tokenised collateral mobility on the Canton Network. This is laying the pipes for faster margining and securities financing.

Stablecoin settlement becomes a mainstream payment rail


Visa announced it is expanding stablecoin settlement. More USD and EUR-backed coins, more blockchains, and broader use cases for issuers and acquirers. Stripe re-enabled stablecoin acceptance (USDC) after a six-year hiatus. It has been vocal that a meaningful share of its future payment volume will ride stablecoins. On the bank stack, FIS is integrating USDC into its Money Movement Hub. Making stablecoin payments available to U.S. financial institutions through existing treasury pipes.

Bank-led “programmable money” via tokenised deposits


The BIS Project Agorá—with seven central banks—entered design to prototype tokenised commercial bank deposits. These settle against wholesale central bank money on a unified, programmable ledger. In the UK, the Regulated Liability Network (RLN) brought together all major banks to prove shared-ledger capabilities for always-on, programmable, multi-asset settlement. Together, these efforts point to bank-grade programmability—smart-contract settlement with the finality and legal clarity of today’s two-tier system.

Institutional on-chain payments & programmable treasury


JPM Coin is quietly doing real work. JPMorgan confirmed the platform processes ~$1B in daily transactions, and says programmability has made volumes “explode.” Corporate treasurers are following… Payoneer now uses Citi Token Services for 24/7 blockchain-enabled intracompany transfers. Demonstrating how programmable liquidity is leaving the lab for day-to-day treasury ops.

Compliance rails mature: MiCA + travel-rule guidance


The EU’s MiCA regime has applied to stablecoins since 30 June 2024 and to broader crypto-asset service providers since 30 December 2024. These timelines have shaped 2025 product launches and licensing. The EBA’s “travel-rule” guidelines now spell out what information must accompany crypto-asset transfers, giving banks and CASPs a clearer path to compliance and interoperability.

In 2025, Blockchain in FinTech is realising its potential. Tokenised funds and collateral are moving real money at scale; stablecoins are quietly becoming a dependable settlement rail; and “programmable money” is shifting from whitepapers to pilots with central banks and tier-one banks. Corporate treasuries are embracing rules-based, 24/7 transfers, while clearer rules (MiCA, travel-rule guidance) are reducing compliance friction.
The arc is clear: finance is converging on interoperable, programmable assets and payments that settle faster, with better transparency and control. Winners will be the firms that pair regulatory credibility with real utility—bridging today’s balance sheets to tomorrow’s on-chain operating model.

  • Blockchain & Crypto

Author

Dan Brightmore

Published

4 August 2025

Estimated Read time

8Mins

Read in brochure format

FinTech Strategy met with Standard Chartered’s Head of Digital Assets – Financing & Securities Services, Waqar Chaudry, at Money20/20 Europe to discuss how the bank is connecting traditional with digital, collaborating with FinTechs directly and via SC Ventures, and taking a measured approach to entering the crypto market

Money20/20 Europe Exclusive

There is a buzz in the air at Money20/20 Europe. Waqar Chaudry, Head of Digital Assets – Financing & Securities Services at Standard Chartered, has just spoken on Mastercard’s Horizon Stage about the great digital assets opportunity. We meet up with him at his bank’s stand in the heart of the action at the Amsterdam RAI Arena.

Waqar works in custody to secure digital assets at Standard Chartered. It also has a fund accounting business and offers transfer agent services. “The financing in the Financing & Securities Services elements are in our FX Prime offering,” he explains. “At the moment my sole focus is on crypto custody, tokenisation and building an ecosystem around those products.”

The Rise of Digital Assets

It’s an exciting time for Standard Chartered with crypto custody and the rise of stablecoins and tokenisation… Whether the asset is Bitcoin, a tokenised money market, or anything tokenisable, there have been a lot of conversations with the bank’s partners in terms of the technology quest.

“Most of the conversations historically have been led by the fact that technology does give you the capability to do 24/7 trading and settlement. Risk management from the technology side is much better. The blockchain dream is sold to everyone, which remains true,” notes Waqar. “The issue has been that on the business side, tackling the areas that actually can work with this technology. You have your near instant settlement availability on blockchains. On the other side you have a T+1 or T+3 cash settlement time – that doesn’t gel very well.

“Entrenched in the day-to-day business of these really large institutions is to be able to inject a new piece of technology. And then suddenly say, hey, all these things are solved. For all the inefficiencies in the system it doesn’t work that quickly. We’re actually taking one step at a time. That’s why it’s exciting that we can see in five or ten years from now what the world will look like. Basically, in our vernacular that means we have near instant settlements and near instant international transfer of value. So, that’s the kind of stuff that we are really interested in for the future.”

Meeting the Blockchain Challenge

Waqar explains that when something like a blockchain comes into a traditional bank, and especially blockchains like the ones that support an asset like Bitcoin, you don’t know who the counterparties are (which are clear on the SWIFT network).

“You have to build capability from a technology side, operations side, risk management side,” he continues. “You need to develop the governance of all those functions to be able to get the value of the asset in the ecosystem. And then be able to add value to that to transact on it. We don’t yet have those ingredients, so it becomes very challenging for us to accept the assets. A lot of the work that the bank has done over the past five years has been around embedding those elements into our day-to-day operations. It’s about understanding the risk profile of the coins and understanding the risk profile of the blockchains.”

Waqar’s team works on how to protect the ecosystem from risks from both an AML and KYC point of view. “We’re also making sure that by doing that we don’t create such a burden to the client that the service becomes useless,” he adds. “We’re trying to balance that out and that’s where the challenges lie at the moment. The next stage is to also be able to integrate all of our traditional cash and assets rails into this. And that’s where the next level of risks will come in… Where people are not used to seeing things on the blockchain… They are used to seeing things on the SWIFT network or a CSD. But when the blockchains come in, profiles will change and that’s where we have to meet the challenges.”

Traditional Meets Digital

For an asset manager with a variety of equities and bonds, but keen to start in crypto and other digital assets, the rails are very different… “The liquidity venues and the way you settle the instrument are very different. And they don’t naturally talk to each other,” confirms Waqar. “It’s a big challenge. But to be able to go with the provider that has all the capabilities, which includes the cash side, the asset side, the crypto side and the blockchain side, is something people are looking for now. Without having the end-to-end picture, it would be very difficult for our clients to have an equitable strategy for their clients. We need to be able to service them appropriately based on the rails they operate in.”

For Standard Chartered’s clients it’s increasingly important for payments to facilitate activity on-chain regardless of the use case of digital assets. “There is a key challenge with payments at the moment. If you do transfer value across geographies or between B2B and B2C, what do you do with that value afterwards?” asks Waqar.

“Are you going to keep it on the books for your treasury or account purposes or are you going to find a way to liquidate the position to pay your employees or pay your service provider? Without the capability to store the asset appropriately and then convert it into a usable form, you can’t do much with it. The only thing you can do is actually transfer value. So, for us what’s important in payments is that we get the transfer value happening immediately. Or as quickly as possible. And then also connect our payment infrastructure and the banking behind. We aim to support the transfer of value from a digital asset into an actual cash asset.”

Building on Success

Standard Chartered’s work with OKX in Dubai has spurred demand the bank didn’t expect. “The key ingredient is that a really large crypto exchange has come together with a really large bank,” reasons Waqar. “When you combine the product features of a large bank like ours with the liquidity of OKX it creates a unique proposition in the market. The traditional players have started to show interest in that because now they can buy diverse assets, pledge them as collateral and start trading while the assets remain safe in a genuine large institutional bank. And at the same time, they also have access to a highly regarded institutional exchange. That story is for us quite important and we’re fostering these relationships more and more…”

It’s been a real success story for Standard Chartered on the money market fund side which is also connected to what the bank is doing on the collateral side. “Money market funds are used to gain value and have an asset that does generate yield on the one side, but also the capability to use the asset as collateral is important,” adds Waqar.

“The money market fund that we launched for China Asset Management in Hong Kong, albeit it’s a retail use case for a start, but then the ambitions are big. The next thing is how do we start using that same asset for pledging for trading purposes and then how do we inject that into a portfolio basket of assets that people buy? At Standard Chartered, we aim to create a supermarket of tokens in a centralised ecosystem. So, our collateral story and the tokenised money market funds is connected, and we want to continue building around it. We’re thinking about other assets now too… We’re looking at equities, bonds and enabling more cryptocurrencies in the same ecosystem as well. It’s just the start of all the things we need to build in the future.”

Why Money20/20?

“This is my first time coming to Money20/20 Europe. Digital asset companies are here alongside financial services and related FinTechs. It’s great that they’re able to talk to each other and it’s quite evident there are lots of great meetings happening. There are many companies here we are either supporting or we’re working with. We’ve also had meetings with UK government representatives geared to attracting talent into the country. They’re trying to make sure that their FinTech ecosystem grows quite significantly for us in the UK and for other footprint markets in Asia; Middle East and Africa are also quite important in how we do that and continue to grow.”

The Evolution of Collaboration between Banks and FinTechs

Standard Chartered is also working in harmony with its ventures partner SC Ventures. The bank is working closely with Libeara for tokenisation and with Zodia Custody as Saas. “Our core institutional bank and our Ventures business are quite tightly coupled from that point of view,” says Waqar. “And it’s quite obvious that the reason for that is how we’ve made significant investments into them. We’ve given part of our DNA into this ecosystem and now, at the bank, they’re building the ecosystem around these capabilities, so we’re keen to bring them in and use their solutions for our services as well.”

Standard Chartered may be a traditional bank but it is a seasoned collaborator with innovative FinTechs. “They need traditional services too,” reasons Waqar. “Once they get to a critical mass, a FinTech may not have the bandwidth to manage certain client sizes. By partnering with some of the FinTechs, we’re seeing that once a certain size of a client comes in, they prefer to work with a large institution like ours. So, that partnership is proactively managed as well from our side. From our ventures side, bringing their innovative approach to product development and technology into the bank, building the ecosystem around risk management and governance from the bank side and then connecting into the FinTechs outside of that ecosystem is something I think is quite an interesting proposition for us. We’re going to keep building on top of that.”

Standard Chartered – Financing & Securities Services

Promoting your future in global securities

We’re ready to help you flourish in emerging and frontier securities services markets

In today’s fast-moving markets, especially  across Asia, Africa and Middle East, success isn’t just about the solutions you choose – it’s about the partnerships you build.

Standard Chartered has been committed to these regions for decades. We understand both the promise and challenges. That’s why we go beyond delivering end-to-end custody, fund, and fiduciary  solutions – we actively help shape the markets themselves.

By working with local governments and industry associations, we bring you early insights and access to new opportunities. Partnering with leading asset managers, fintechs, and infrastructure providers, we connect you to the best of the industry, via a single partner. Because in a world of complexity, collaboration is your greatest advantage.

Learn more at sc.com/en/corporate-investment-banking/financial-markets/financing-and-securities-services/

Author

Dan Brightmore

Published

31 July 2025

Estimated Read time

4Mins

Read in brochure format

Our cover star Rebecca Fitzgerald, Director of Data & AI at Yorkshire Building Society, reveals a digital transformation journey meeting…

Our cover star Rebecca Fitzgerald, Director of Data & AI at Yorkshire Building Society, reveals a digital transformation journey meeting customers, wherever they are.

Read the latest issue of FinTech Strategy here

Yorkshire Building Society: Data, AI & Inclusive Leadership

Our cover story focuses on the data revolution taking place at Yorkshire Building Society (YBS)… Navigating this journey of change is Director of Data and AI, Rebecca Fitzgerald. Her ambitious vision is to transform the 160-year-old mutual through ethical, human-centred data strategies and AI innovation. In a rapidly evolving digital landscape, she aims to ensure YBS does not just keep up but leads from the front.

“I’m accountable for developing and implementing strategies to enhance data-centricity and drive value from data and AI for our customers and colleagues,” Rebecca states. This directive is grounded in strong governance, positive data culture, and the empowerment of people through data literacy and technological upskilling.”

Tyme Group: Scalable Global Digital Banking

Dietmar Bohmer, Chief Analytics Officer at Tyme Group, on operationalising innovation, cultivating a culture of empowerment and driving transformation from the inside out…

“It’s been wild ride from a technology point of view,” admits Dietmar… Today, that foresight is paying off. The cloud-native architecture has provided Tyme with the elasticity, resilience, and speed it needs to support its rapid growth across emerging markets. “With each new deployment, the organisation has evolved and refined its technological foundation,” notes Dietmar. “When the time came to launch GoTyme Bank in the Philippines, lessons learned from the rollout of TymeBank in South Africa enabled the team to rethink and redesign their stack, optimising for scale, performance, and localised feature delivery.”

ČSOB: A Digital Transformation Journey

ČSOB Slovakia is undergoing a major transformation aimed at future-proofing its technology, enhancing customer experience, and reinforcing its leadership in digital banking. Under the stewardship of its CIO Ludek Slegr, the bank’s IT team is navigating a major upgrade of its responsibility, overhauling core IT systems and implementing agile methodologies to meet its strategic goals. At the heart of this transformation is a focus on delivering value through technology, supporting people development, and fostering sustainable innovation.

“The next step for digital-first is continuous improvement of straight-through processing ratio, i.e. reducing involvement of manual work in our processes.”

Money20/20 Europe

FinTech Strategy also reports from the conference floor at Money20/20 Europe in Amsterdam. Bringing together the world’s leading innovators, institutions, investors, and influencers from across the FinTech and financial services spectrum, more than 8,000 delegates from over 2,300 companies were in attendance… We sat down with Standard Chartered’s Head of Digital Assets – Financing & Securities Services, Waqar Chaudry, to discuss how the bank is connecting traditional with digital, collaborating with FinTechs and taking a measured approach to entering the crypto market. And we spoke with Veritran’s CMO, Jorge Sanchez Barcelo, to find out more about the tech firm’s partnership with Manchester City which is reimagining CX to create a frictionless digital experience for fans.

Financial Transformation Summit

The Financial Transformation Summit at London’s ExCel is one of the most immersive and interactive events in the financial services calendar. As a media partner, FinTech Strategy took the temperature of industry innovation at our stand with on camera hot takes from the tech leaders pushing the boundaries at Hyland, Fidelity, HSBC, Citigroup and more…

Also in this issue, we keep you up to date with the key FinTech events across the globe; and read on for more insights from InsurTech disruptors Qover, lending innovators iwoca and investment experts Eastern Horizon…

Read the latest issue of FinTech Strategy here

  • Artificial Intelligence in FinTech
  • Blockchain & Crypto
  • Cybersecurity in FinTech
  • Digital Payments
  • Embedded Finance
  • InsurTech
  • Neobanking

Author

Dan Brightmore

Published

28 July 2025

Estimated Read time

3Mins

Read in brochure format

Our cover story charts the rise of RAKBANK in the UAE driven by agile practices and a people-first culture delivering…

Our cover story charts the rise of RAKBANK in the UAE driven by agile practices and a people-first culture delivering banking with a human touch.

Read the latest issue of FinTech Strategy here

RAKBANK: A Banking Transformation in the UAE

Our cover story explores the digital transformation journey of RAKBANK in the UAE. Head of Digital Transformation, Antony Burrows, reveals the agile practices, enterprise-wide enablement and people-first culture delivering digital banking with a human touch.

“Culture is the cornerstone,” Antony stresses. RAKBANK codifies this into its Four Cs Framework – Connect, Communicate, Collaborate and Celebrate. “Here in the UAE, banks are pivoting from a model of ‘we know everything’ to recognising that one of the best ways to deliver continuous change and value to customers is through partnerships with startups and FinTechs. It’s no longer banks versus startups – it’s banks and startups, working together for the customer. This shift is especially meaningful as banks expand beyond traditional services to focus on customers’ broader financial lives.”

MTN MoMo: Empowering Africa Through FinTech

Hermann Tischendorf, Chief Information & Technology Officer at MTN MoMo (the telco’s mobile money division) reveals a bold roadmap for leveraging FinTech to drive financial inclusion across the African continent.

“MoMo is comparable in monthly active users to some of the top ten FinTechs globally. We’re playing in the same league as Revolut or Nubank – but in much more complex markets,” notes Hermann. “Access to financial services is fundamental. Without it, people are excluded from the global economy. Our services are the equaliser allowing individuals in frontier markets to participate in trade, store value, and ultimately improve their quality of life.”

Republic Bank: Building a Digital Bank

Republic Bank has been serving customers via its branches for over 185 years and now serves 16 different countries across the Caribbean and beyond. It’s “a regional bank with a growing global reach,” explains Group Chief Information & Digital Transformation Officer, Houston Ross.

His team is building a digital bank during a Year of Delivery and Accountability (YODA). “When we talk about digitalisation it’s a journey that never ends. And product is the vehicle to make sure we’re continuously improving.This is our digital pathway and we have to change minds in terms of going beyond the challenges to achieve what’s possible with the right frameworks, tools and processes for our people to serve our customers.”

Also in this issue, we keep you up to date with the key FinTech events across the calendar and read on for insights from Lloyds Banking Group, Recorded Future, AAZZUR, Ayre Group, Marqeta, SCOR and TerraPay.

Read the latest issue of FinTech Strategy here

  • Artificial Intelligence in FinTech
  • Blockchain & Crypto
  • Cybersecurity in FinTech
  • Digital Payments
  • Embedded Finance
  • InsurTech
  • Neobanking

Author

Dan Brightmore

Published

4 July 2025

Estimated Read time

4Mins

As cryptocurrency continues its march toward mainstream adoption in 2025, selecting a reliable, high-performing exchange has never been more critical….

As cryptocurrency continues its march toward mainstream adoption in 2025, selecting a reliable, high-performing exchange has never been more critical. With factors like security, liquidity, user experience, and range of offerings playing a pivotal role, here are the top five crypto exchanges currently leading the industry.

1. Binance

Overview: Still the largest exchange globally by trading volume, Binance offers a comprehensive platform that serves both retail and institutional traders.

Key Features:

  • Over 600 cryptocurrencies supported.
  • Advanced trading tools including spot, margin, and futures trading.
  • Binance Earn, Launchpad, and Staking features for passive income.
  • Highly competitive fees, starting at 0.1%.

Security & Regulation:
Binance has faced regulatory scrutiny in various countries but continues to work toward greater transparency and compliance. It holds licenses in several jurisdictions and maintains a robust SAFU (Secure Asset Fund for Users) for emergencies.

2. Coinbase

Overview: Widely regarded as the go-to platform for beginners, Coinbase maintains its stronghold in North America with a user-friendly interface and strong regulatory standing.

Key Features:

  • Offers 150+ digital assets.
  • Integrated with Coinbase Wallet for decentralised applications.
  • Recurring buys, portfolio tracking, and robust mobile apps.
  • Listed on NASDAQ, ensuring public transparency.

Security & Regulation:
Coinbase is regulated by U.S. authorities and is one of the few exchanges with full AML/KYC compliance. It employs best-in-class security practices, including cold storage for over 98% of customer funds.

3. Kraken

Overview: Kraken is a favorite among institutional and advanced traders thanks to its robust features and reputation for security.

Key Features:

  • Supports over 200 cryptocurrencies.
  • Offers spot, futures, and margin trading.
  • Kraken Pro for enhanced charting and order types.
  • Kraken Staking with competitive yields.

Security & Regulation:
One of the oldest operating exchanges (since 2011), Kraken has never suffered a major hack. It is regulated in the U.S. and holds a Special Purpose Depository Institution (SPDI) charter in Wyoming.

4. Bybit

Overview: Bybit has risen quickly by offering cutting-edge features tailored to derivatives traders, along with a fast and intuitive UI.

Key Features:

  • Specializes in crypto derivatives, with high leverage options.
  • Also supports spot trading, launchpad tokens, and NFT markets.
  • Popular for its trading competitions and rewards system.

Security & Regulation:
Bybit prioritises fund security with cold wallets and real-time risk audits. It has begun increasing compliance in jurisdictions where regulation is tightening.

5. OKX

Overview: OKX has emerged as a comprehensive crypto ecosystem, offering far more than just a trading platform.

Key Features:

  • Over 300 cryptocurrencies and DeFi integration.
  • Powerful tools for copy trading, bot trading, and options.
  • Active ecosystem for NFTs, DApps, and Web3 tools via OKX Wallet.

Security & Regulation:
OKX publishes monthly proof-of-reserves and maintains robust risk controls. It’s actively pursuing compliance in key regions including Hong Kong and the EU.

Conclusion

While the crypto landscape remains dynamic and subject to regulatory evolution, these five exchanges have proven resilient, innovative, and trustworthy. Whether you’re a newcomer or seasoned trader, choosing the right exchange depends on your specific needs. Be they security, advanced tools, or ease of use. Always consider using multiple platforms to diversify risk and maximise opportunities.

  • Blockchain & Crypto

Author

Peter Curk

Published

3 July 2025

Estimated Read time

6Mins

Peter Curk, CEO of ICONOMI, a leading platform in digital asset management explores the EU’s MiCA regulation and what it means for holders of crypto assets in the UK

Launched between June 2023 and December 2024, the European Union’s (EU) Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) regulation was the first of its kind. It introduced a need for compliance into a space that had previously been beyond the remit of any governmental oversight. It was an exercise that could only be contentious. So, it’s hardly surprising that it’s been met by scrutiny and criticism. But while MiCA is a cause for concern to many within the EU, for the UK it could potentially be beneficial.

Why the EU is struggling with MiCA

The MiCA regulation has drawn significant criticism from both industry insiders and analysts, with concerns broadly converging around five main issues. Chief among them is the glaring omission of stablecoins from MiCA’s scope. Given that the digital currency is seen as one of the riskiest crypto assets due to its systemic volatility, as well as its potential to destabilise not only the crypto markets but the broader financial system, this exclusion has raised multiple eyebrows. So, the EU’s decision to regulate the rest of the crypto space while leaving stablecoins unregulated is widely regarded as both bizarre and problematic. It also undermines the perceived effectiveness of MiCA. This makes its more stringent provisions seem almost futile, while stablecoins are left unfettered.

On the other hand, in the areas MiCA does cover, there are growing fears that the regulation could stifle the innovation that has been central to the crypto sector’s rapid progression. Breakthrough technologies, such as blockchain, tokenised assets, and decentralised finance, have all emerged from the crypto space.  But now, with compliance costs climbing, smaller companies and startups – the traditional drivers of innovation – are being pushed out of the EU’s crypto market. This risks stagnating growth across the industry.

Compounding the issue is MiCA’s apparent lack of futureproofing. Despite its rigid framework, it appears to hold no contingencies for future technological developments or emerging threats. This could potentially leave loopholes for fraudulent activity and other bad actors.

Additionally, there remain concerns regarding the cost of compliance. With this likely to be passed on to consumers, it holds the potential to raise barriers to entry while driving investors toward more affordable, less regulated markets – potentially including the UK.

Lastly, the delayed release of MiCA’s regulatory technical standards (RTS) – which were not made available until more than 18 months after the legislation began to come into play – created prolonged uncertainty during implementation. Uncertainty that could have been avoided. It may also have helped resolve other concerns if addressed earlier.

Collectively, these issues have cast a shadow over what could have been a positive move for the crypto space, bringing authenticity, accountability, and stability. The question is, how could MiCA’s failure to do all this help the UK’s crypto space?

MiCA’s impact on the UK

If the UK is clever, there are two ways in which it could use the problems with MiCA to its own advantage.

Better Regulation

With the EU was the first territory to roll out crypto regulation, it won’t be a lone player for long. The UK is currently in the process of preparing its own version of MiCA. The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) is suggesting 2026 implementation. MiCA can provide the learning experience that the EU lacked. It doesn’t just offer a potential framework – it shows why the traditional financial regulatory framework, adopted by MiCA, is unsuited to the crypto space. It provides clear, working examples of what not to do. But it also provides points of success that the UK can build upon – because despite the detractors, there are many good things about MiCA. The FCA can use all of this information to build a better regulatory infrastructure that limits the potential for fraud and dishonest behaviours, while helping to foster future growth and innovation – something that the crypto space has long been crying out for.

If the UK does well with this, it could set the global standard for crypto regulation, raising its status in an area where it has previously been lacking.

Market growth

Before we get to regulation, however, there is also the potential for the UK market to benefit from the EU’s troubles. Right now, the EU’s crypto investors and startups are unhappy and looking for alternative places to put their money. The UK could be one of those places. 

The UK has has only really ever dabbled in crypto. After more than 15 years, there are only around 40 registered crypto businesses in the UK, compared to more than 2,000 in the EU, and 4,852 in America. This could be the time for the UK to grow. The US is currently in a state of political and financial turmoil, making many investors wary. By contrast, the UK is a friendly near-neighbour, with a near-universal language. It won’t take much to tempt European investors and startups across – something that could be sustainable, if the FCA makes the right regulatory decisions.

ICONOMI – Growing the UK Crypto Market

ICONOMI is in the process of doing this. We’re officially licensed in the UK and preparing to enter the EU market under a MiCA license. This means, we’ll shortly have the ability to passport our license in other EU member states. This means the ability to attract customers from other territories across the EU. If other UK crypto businesses follow suit, there is significant potential to generate growth for the UK crypto market. For the short and longer term. 

Cryptocurrency was never intended to go mainstream. When Satoshi Nakamoto launched Bitcoin, they had a vision of a currency that could operate outside of traditional financial institutions and regulation. Meanwhile, providing transparency and trust through technology. But the space evolved beyond expectation, creating more than 25,000 other cryptocurrencies in the process. They are worth literally billions of pounds, and millions of people have a stake in the market. If the crypto market crashes, it could significantly impact the wider economic ecosystem globally. So, no one is arguing against the fact that the crypto space needs regulation. Only that it needs to be regulated properly. And the UK could be the country to do that.

Peter Curk is the CEO of ICONOMI, a leading platform in digital asset management. With a background in finance and blockchain, Peter is passionate about making crypto investing accessible and easy for everyone. Under his leadership, ICONOMI has grown into a trusted name in the industry, offering innovative solutions for individuals and institutions alike.

  • Blockchain & Crypto

Author

Anshul Srivastav

Published

1 July 2025

Estimated Read time

5Mins

Anshul Srivastav, Senior Vice President and Head – Europe for Zensar Technologies on securing AI with blockchain

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is rapidly transforming financial services. According to The Bank of England, 75% of financial services firms are already using AI. A further 10% are planning to use it in the next three years.

Firms are deploying AI because of the benefits it can bring. These include enhanced data and analytical insights, improved anti-money laundering (AML) and fraud detection and efficiencies in cybersecurity practices. As well as providing customers with better, more personalised services.

While the wide-scale deployment of AI brings a range of benefits for the financial services sector, it’s also creating additional risks. Especially when the AI systems used to make trusted decisions are becoming a prime target for cyber-attacks.

Attacking AI

Bad actors can manipulate AI systems to make them malfunction or operate in ways that weren’t intended. This can have potentially severe consequences.

Using what’s known as data poisoning attack, threat actors can intentionally compromise or alter datasets used by AI to influence the outcomes of the model for their own malicious ends.

For example, an attacker trying to bypass the AI-powered fraud detection systems of a bank could attempt to inject false data into the system during a data training cycle the intention would be to manipulate the system into believing certain false transactions are legitimate. Ultimately this enables the threat actor to steal money or sensitive data without being noticed.

AI systems can also result in additional threats to data privacy. Like many workers, financial service professionals can use Large Language Models (LLMs) like ChatGPT to aid with queries and tasks.

However, this brings the risk that sensitive information could get uploaded to the model if the employee inputs certain data, such as contracts or confidential reports. This data might be saved by the model, opening businesses up to data leaks. Because with the correct prompts, it’s possible for a user from outside the company to tease out this confidential information from the LLM.

These privacy concerns can be exacerbated by the black box nature of AI. Often, it isn’t publicly detailed how the algorithms and the decision-making process behind them operate. This lack of transparency can lead to mistrust among users and stakeholders. As well as potential issues with regulatory compliance. For example, the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA).

All of this means that the use of AI in financial services, while beneficial, is creating new security challenges which need to be addressed. The solution to this is the integration of blockchain technology to create a secure, transparent, and trustworthy AI ecosystem. And by leveraging blockchain’s inherent security features, vulnerabilities in AI systems can be countered.

Blockchain Explained

Blockchain consists of a chain of blocks, each containing a list of transactions. Each block is linked to the previous one, forming a secure chain. This structure ensures that once data is recorded, it cannot be altered without changing all subsequent blocks. These mechanisms ensure that all participants agree on the state of the blockchain. Therefore preventing fraud and enhancing security.

This is achieved through three key pillars. The first is data immutability, which ensures it can’t be altered or deleted once recorded on the blockchain. Guaranteeing that the data remains consistent and trustworthy over time, ensuring its integrity.

The second pillar is decentralisation, based on how blockchain functions through a network of independent nodes. Unlike centralised systems, where a single point of failure can compromise the entire network, decentralisation distributes control and data across many nodes. This reduces the risk of system failures, as no single target point exists, meaning decentralisation enhances security and resilience.

Cryptographic security is the third pillar. Blockchain uses a system of public and private keys to secure transactions and control access. The public key is visible to anyone, while the private key is a secret code known only to the authorised party.

These fundamentals of blockchain, combined with the transparency and security it offers, can help financial services organisations address the security challenges they’re being faced with by the rapid deployment of AI.

Combining Blockchain with AI for Improved Data Security

Integrating blockchain with AI can massively aid with securing data integrity. For example, through creating tamper-proof records. By making immutable records of AI training data and model updates, complete with timestamps and links to previous entries, this ensures a tamper-proof history of the data. Enabling stakeholders at financial services companies to verify the integrity of the data used in AI models. Therefore improving security of the whole system and protecting it against attacks.

Combining AI with blockchain can also help to counter potential data privacy implications introduced by the deployment of AI in financial services. Blockchain techniques like zero-knowledge proofs allow the data to be verified without revealing the actual data. This can help financial services firms to verify the data they’re using is correct. While also still maintaining the required data privacy and regulatory compliance.

In addition to this, implementing AI with blockchain technology can aid with building trust and transparency in how AI systems work and what they’re used for. By providing a transparent record of AI decision-making processes, the blockchain allows stakeholders to review and verify the process. All the while ensuring there’s accountability of who made changes and when. This arrangement could therefore help financial services providers prevent data poisoning and other attacks targeting their AI systems.

Building a Secure, Transparent, and Trustworthy AI Ecosystem

The rapid adoption of AI is changing the financial services industry. However, according to The Bank of England’s survey, only 34% of financial services firms said they have ‘complete understanding’ of the AI technologies they use.

Much of this can be attributed to how the technology is new, but also how the algorithms which power AI technology are often mysterious in their nature. This results in risks around malicious attacks and data privacy issues. However, by combining AI frameworks with blockchain technology, these security issues can be addressed.

By taking these steps, stakeholders can collectively contribute to building a secure, transparent, and trustworthy AI ecosystem. An ecosytem that leverages the strengths of blockchain technology to address current and future challenges.

  • Artificial Intelligence in FinTech
  • Blockchain & Crypto

Author

Dan Brightmore

Published

9 June 2025

Estimated Read time

3Mins

Jonathan Brander, COO at Upvest, on best practice for trading platform infrastructure

In the early hours of market turbulence, when retail investors are scrambling to respond, it’s not volatility that fails them: it’s infrastructure. In the past, we’ve repeatedly seen investing technologies buckle under pressure during moments of peak market stress. 

During times of high demand, many platforms might struggle to maintain uptime. In recent weeks, as Trump’s tariffs announcements saw retail trading volumes surge, some of the world’s biggest trading platforms went dark. These responses to market volatility are not outliers: they are predictablestress tests. Market volatility correlates strongly with spikes in trading volume. A study by the European Central Bank found that liquidity shocks consistently drive increases in trading activity, especially in frequently traded assets. Platforms should expect and be designed for these surges. 

Yet time and again, outages occur at precisely the moments when retail investors and advisers need control. In these moments, investors don’t merely lose access, they lose confidence.

Trading Platform Infrastructure

A 2024 poll found that 30% of UK banking customers would consider switching providers following a technology failure. Among 25-34 year olds, this figure jumps to 57%. For trading platforms (and their technology providers) trust is hard-won and easily lost. Operating in a financial market characterised by risk, investment infrastructure resilience is no longer a “nice-to-have”. It is a strategic necessity. 

According to McKinsey, global assets under management in private markets grew to $13.1 trillion in 2023. In the UK, over a third (39%) of adults are actively investing and the number is growing, thanks in part to government-led market reforms. As trading volumes increase, retail investors need infrastructure that doesn’t flinch under pressure. So what does this look like in practice?

First, elasticity is essential. Systems must be able to scale to meet demand spikes. When trading activity spiked following Trump’s tariff announcement, Upvest experienced the highest trading volumes in our history. Our platform scaled exactly as it was designed to do, enabling millions of Europeans to seamlessly trade and invest in thousands of instruments with zero downtime. At times of volatility, “stability as a service” emerges as a key competitive differentiator. 

Second, build for failure. The leading question in our conversations with clients is no longer “can you add this feature?”, it’s “can you guarantee uptime under pressure?” Financial institutions need to know that trading can continue in volatile conditions. Infrastructure providers must build with this in mind and leverage modular systems – where trading, settlement, and custody run independently – to reduce the risk that a single point of failure cascades across an entire platform. Decentralised services improve incident isolation and, in a digital-first financial ecosystem, reliable infrastructure that remains operational even when pressure peaks is the foundation of investor empowerment.

Observability is also key. Real-time monitoring allows operations and tech teams to anticipate issues before they become outages. This means constantly tracking latency, error rates, and system health, as well as regularly simulating and stress-testing for high volume scenarios to ensure systems can perform under extreme load. These synthetic tests mimic real-world event spikes and ensure you can deliver under pressure.

Finally, communicate transparently. When issues arise, investors deserve clear metrics on uptime and response windows. Public dashboards and incident post-mortems are no longer optional, they’re foundational to trust. At Upvest, for example, API Status is always available online so our clients can see whether we’re experiencing any issues.

Future Resilience

These steps are no longer operational best practice: they’re a necessity. The investment industry must move beyond treating volatility as an edge case and start building resilience into platforms as a priority. Retail investors don’t judge their investment providers during periods of calm, they judge them in crisis. When the market wobbles, infrastructure is the differentiator. That’s when confidence is earned and financial empowerment starts to happen.

  • Blockchain & Crypto
  • Digital Payments

Author

Dan Brightmore

Published

5 June 2025

Estimated Read time

3Mins

The final day at Money20/20 Europe 2025 was packed with more insights on the future of FinTech, from banks to borderless innovation.

Money20/20 Conference Themes & Tracks

Money20/20 Europe 2025 is structured around four thematic content tracks:

  • Digital DNA – Exploring core infrastructure, platform strategies, and foundational technologies.
  • Embedded Intelligence – AI, machine learning, data strategies, and real-time analytics.
  • Beyond Fintech – Partnerships between fintechs and other sectors like retail, health, and climate.
  • Governance 2.0 – Regulation, digital identity, privacy, and ESG compliance.

Day three featured more impactful sessions across all four pillars, offering attendees more valuable insights and strategies for innovation.

Highlights from Key Sessions at Money20/20 Europe:

How to Create and Leverage FinBank Partnerships

The discussion focused on the evolution and success of FinTech partnerships with banks. Key points included the shift from transactional partnerships to more collaborative, value-driven relationships, emphasizing joint KPIs and product creation. 

Alex Johnson, Chief Payments Officer, Nium

“You really have to differentiate. You really have to stand out for a bank to say, ‘Yeah, I like what you offer enough to go through, six months of onboarding.’ Dare I say, maybe more.”

John Power, SVP, Head of JVs & AQaaS, Fiserv

“The legacy system, it’s a fact of life. They’re there. They’re pervasive. They’re going to be here for a long time, and banks historically have made huge investments in those platforms and systems. So I think both the challenge for the for the bank and the opportunity for the FinTech is, how do you at the front end of those legacy systems develop new products that can scale and that you can bring cross border easily and readily.”

Cecilia Tamez, Chief Strategy Officer, Dandelion Payments

 “It really is cutting the line to be able to deliver opportunity for customers and to be able to expand propositions for new customers.”

“The economic development supply chains shifting to low to middle income countries are incredibly important right now, and cross border payment rails have not been good in low middle income countries.”

Where Fintech goes Next: Tapping into Platforms and Verticals 

The discussion centred on the democratisation of financial services through embedded finance. The panel emphasised the importance of data quality, personalisation, and strategic partnerships in delivering seamless financial experiences – ultimately enhancing customer satisfaction and improving business efficiency.

Hiba Chamas, Growth Strategy Consultant – Independent

“Embedded finance is going to be defined by region and use cases.”

Amy Loh, Chief Marketing Officer – Pipe

“Small businesses don’t want to manage their business through a bunch of different tools that are stitched together. They’re looking to platforms to do everything for them and keep high end services.”

Zack Powers, VP Commercial & Operations – Mangopay

“Most platforms or merchants out there trying to diversify revenue, and they will get auxiliary revenue, or maybe get primary revenue through FinTech activity.”

The Neobanks Strike Back

​​In a dynamic exploration of neobanking’s evolution, Ali Niknam revealed bunq’s remarkable journey from a tech-driven startup to a sustainably profitable digital bank. By leveraging AI across every aspect of their operations, bunq has transformed traditional banking, reducing support times to mere seconds and creating a hyper-personalised user experience. Niknam emphasised the power of user-centricity, showing how innovative features like simple stock trading and multi-language support can democratise financial services.

The bank’s strategic approach – focusing on user needs rather than investor expectations – has enabled them to expand thoughtfully, with plans to enter the UK and US markets. By embracing technological change and maintaining a relentless commitment to solving real customer problems, bunq exemplifies the next generation of banking.

Ali Niknam, Founder & CEO, bunq


“Somewhere in the 70s, we let go of the gold standard, and now currencies are basically floating. The only reason why a dollar or a euro is worth what it’s worth is because of trust and perception. Philosophically, it’s very logical that we have found another abstraction layer by introducing stablecoin, which is not much else than a byte number that has a denomination currency as a backing asset that itself doesn’t have anything as a backing asset. A lot of people might ask, ‘Why would you need a stablecoin? We have euros. I go get a coffee, pay with Apple Pay or cash.’ But there are many countries on this planet where the local currency is not stable. If your country has an inflation rate of 30,000% like Zimbabwe, you would really love to use a different currency. The US dollar has been the currency of choice, but as a normal person, you cannot access the US dollar. A US dollar stablecoin that you can access by simply having a mobile phone – that’s going to be transformational for large groups of people.”

Innovating When Regulation Can’t Keep Up: Lessons from NASA 

Lisa Valencia covered an array of topics, from her 35 year career at NASA and Guinness World Record to the rise of private entities like SpaceX, which has launched 180 missions this year, and the increasing role of public-private partnerships in space exploration. The speaker also touched on international collaborations, particularly with the European Space Agency and the Italian Space Agency, and the potential for space tourism and colonization of the moon.

Lisa Valencia, Programme Manager/Electrical Engineer – Pioneering Space, LC (ex NASA)

“Back in the day, NASA got 4% of the national budget. Now it’s down to just 0.1%, so we’ve had to get creative with private partnerships. SpaceX is the perfect success story. They came to us in 2007 needing money after some rocket mishaps, and look at them now! From my balcony, I see their launches every other day. They’re planning 180 launches this year alone.Talk about a return on investment!” 

“We’re planning to colonise the South Pole on the moon. The idea is to extract water and hydrogen from the regolith—both for living there and for fuel.”

Scaling Internationally in 2025: Funding, Innovating, and Breaking into New Markets

The conversation focused on the growth and strategy of fintech companies, particularly those with a strong presence in Europe and the US. The panel featured Ingo Uytdehaage, CEO and co-founder of Adyen, and Alexandre Prot, CEO of Qonto. Both leaders expressed a preference for organic growth over acquisitions, emphasizing the importance of scaling efficiently before pursuing an IPO.

Ingo Uytdehaage, CEO and co-founder of Adyen

“I think an important part of scaling a company is not just thinking about your product, but also considering the markets you want to address, and how you ensure you become local in each country.”

“We realised over time that if we really want to bring the customers, we need to have the best licenses to operate. A banking license gives you a lot of flexibility.” 

“Being independent from other companies, other financial institutions, that gives you flexibility to build what your customers really want.”

“I think it’s very important, also in Europe, that we continue to be competitive. If you think about regulations and AI, we shouldn’t try to do things completely differently compared to the US.”

Alexandre Prot, CEO of Qonto

“We need to be very strict about tech integration and avoiding legacy which slows us down.”

“We still need to scale a lot before we have a successful IPO. A few team members are working on it and getting the company ready for it. But, the most important thing is just scaling efficiently in the business, and maybe an IPO would be welcome in a couple of years.”

Putting The F in Fintech

The panel discussion focused on the role of women in FinTech based on personal experiences.

Iana Dimitrova, CEO, OpenPayd

“At times, being underestimated is helpful, because if you’re seen as the competition, driving an agenda is becoming more difficult. So what I found, actually, over a period, is that bringing your emotional intelligence, leaving the ego outside of the outside of the room, and just focusing on execution is is incredibly helpful.” 

Megan Cooper, CEO & Founder, Caywood

“The moment we start defining ourselves as like a female leader or a female entrepreneur, you almost kind of put yourself in a bit of a box. And so I think just seeing yourself on an equal playing field and then operating it on an equal playing field and interacting in that way is quite advantageous.”

“We can’t just want diversity and hope it happens. We actually have to be intentional about creating it.”

Valerie Kontor, Founder, Black in Fintech

“Black women make up 1.6% over the FinTech workforce, but when we look at the financial reality of black women by the age of 60, only 53% of black women have enough money in their bank account to retire. We need to start marrying people in FinTech and the people that we need to serve.”

Money20/20 Europe 2025 closed its doors but the next edition of the conference will return to Amsterdam from June 2–4, 2026, promising to continue the tradition of shaping the future of financial services…

  • Artificial Intelligence in FinTech
  • Blockchain & Crypto
  • Cybersecurity in FinTech
  • Digital Payments
  • Embedded Finance
  • Host Perspectives
  • InsurTech
  • Neobanking

Author

Dan Brightmore

Published

27 May 2025

Estimated Read time

5Mins

Leading US banks, including JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America, Citigroup, and Wells Fargo, are in preliminary discussions to launch a…

Leading US banks, including JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America, Citigroup, and Wells Fargo, are in preliminary discussions to launch a joint stablecoin. This initiative aims to provide a regulated alternative to existing cryptocurrencies, facilitating faster cross-border transactions and enhancing liquidity in digital markets.

The project is contingent on the passage of the Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for US Stablecoins Act (GENIUS Act), which seeks to establish a regulatory framework for stablecoin issuance by banks and nonbanks.

Stablecoin Growth

The stablecoin industry could reach a $2.5 trillion market cap by 2030, according to one estimate, up from the current $248 billion.

New legislation that aims to regulate stablecoins, a type of cryptocurrency whose value is pegged to another asset, is on its way to a vote in the US Senate, reports MarketWatch.

Should the bill become law, crypto bulls see potential for it to drive wider adoption of dollar-linked stablecoins, and possibly to strengthen the battered U.S. dollar. Cryptocurrencies also may end up playing a much bigger role in the broader financial system, analysts said.

The bill, called the Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for US Stablecoins Act – or Genius Act – aims to provide a regulatory framework for stablecoins and their issuers. If enacted, it would be the first legislation in the US regulating the $248 billion stablecoin market. 

Stablecoins could play a more important role in financial markets down the road because they can serve as a bridge between traditional finance and the $3.3 trillion crypto market. Furthermore, they can facilitate trading, borrowing and lending in the crypto ecosystem. Currently, 83% of stablecoins are denominated in U.S. dollars, according to a recent note from Deutsche Bank.

Here are four ways the proposed bill could change the stablecoin market:

More stablecoin issuance

If the Genius Act becomes law, it could greatly lower the regulatory risks for issuers of stablecoins and provide a much clearer path for legal compliance in terms of product design, the Cato Institute’s Schulp said in a phone interview. 

While there are already hundreds of stablecoin issuers, the market is dominated by two stablecoins: One is known as USDT, which is issued by Tether, and another is USDC, a dollar-backed stablecoin developed by Circle. USDT and USDC account for 61% and 24%, respectively, of the market share in terms of market capitalization, according to data from CoinMarketCap. As of February, Tether was the 21st-largest foreign holder of US Treasurys, after the United Arab Emirates and Germany, according to Deutsche Bank. Meanwhile, Circle filed for an initial public offering last month.

If the Genius Act clears up regulatory uncertainty, more companies that have been on the sidelines are likely to launch their own stablecoins, according to Thomas Cowan, head of tokenisation at Galaxy Digital, a crypto financial services firm. He expects stablecoin issuance from traditional payments institutions to pick up if the bill becomes law, given that companies would “have the rules of the road,” he said in a phone interview. He also thinks the technology could help more companies transform their back-end systems.

On that front, Bank of America Chief Executive Brian Moynihan said in February that the bank was likely to issue a stablecoin once legislation was passed. Fidelity also said its digital-assets arm has been testing a stablecoin. 

More tokenised products 

Cowan said he also expected to see more tokenised financial assets, such as bonds or equities, being launched in the next 18 months if the Genius Act becomes law. Tokenization refers to the digital representation of assets on a blockchain. 

Stablecoins are the “bedrock” of tokenisation, as a dollar-backed stablecoin is essentially a tokenised dollar, Cowan said. “If stablecoins are increasingly looked at as a default, we’ll see the rest of the industry begin to go up on the risk curve and begin to monetise other financial assets” such as stocks and bonds.

Wall Street heavyweights BlackRock and Franklin Templeton launched tokenised money-market funds in 2024 and 2021, respectively.

Wider crypto adoption

If the stablecoin bill gets passed, it could increase the adoption of digital assets in general, noted Gannon at Davis Wright Tremaine. He expects the stablecoin market cap to reach $2 trillion to $2.5 trillion by 2030.

Traders often park their assets in stablecoins instead of fiat currencies when trading crypto to enable faster transactions. Stablecoins also already play a significant role in decentralised finance, supporting crypto lending and borrowing. Decentralised finance refers to financial activities that happen on blockchains and that are executed without middlemen.

As more people adopt stablecoins, there “will be more opportunities to use stablecoins in new or better blockchain-based products — to self custody, make purchases, send money, use DeFi [decentralised finance] and more,” Sam Broner, a partner at venture-capital fund a16z crypto, wrote in a recent note. 

Support for the dollar

The rise of stablecoins may amplify the dominance of the US dollar, noted Jim Reid, head of global macro and thematic research at Deutsche Bank. The greenback’s status as a reliable safe haven was tarnished amid the extreme market volatility earlier this year as Trump aggressively rolled out his tariff agenda.

“Essentially, stablecoin providers are acting like money-market funds supporting US short-term debt markets and driving currently non-USD liquidity holdings into USD,” Reid wrote in a recent client note.

If the Genius Act becomes law, people in other countries might have more trust in dollar-denominated stablecoins issued by U.S. companies as a way to gain exposure to the greenback and US Treasurys, because reserves of the coins will be attested, noted Dea Markova, director of policy at crypto infrastructure firm Fireblocks.

  • Blockchain & Crypto

Author

Dan Brightmore

Published

9 May 2025

Estimated Read time

3Mins

Wirex, a leading provider of Web3 banking solutions, has announced the expansion of its Wirex Business platform to BASE, a new layer-2…

Wirex, a leading provider of Web3 banking solutions, has announced the expansion of its Wirex Business platform to BASE, a new layer-2 blockchain developed by Coinbase. This milestone marks a significant development in Wirex’s vision to provide seamless stablecoin-powered financial services to businesses across the globe.

BASE Blockchain

The recently launched Wirex Business platform is rapidly expanding, and this new integration with BASE will enable corporate clients to easily manage treasury functions, issue corporate cards, and handle expenses using stablecoins like USDC and EURC. This expansion allows businesses to integrate both fiat and stablecoin payments seamlessly within their existing operations, while leveraging the cutting-edge technology of the BASE blockchain.

Key Features of Wirex Business on BASE:

  • Corporate Bank Accounts: Wirex Business provides businesses with corporate bank accounts that can hold both fiat currencies and stablecoins. This feature allows companies to seamlessly manage and convert funds between fiat and digital currencies.
  • Corporate Visa Cards: Wirex Business clients will now be able to issue corporate Visa cards to employees and contractors. These cards can be used globally to make payments in over 80 million merchants, across more than 200 countries. Wirex Business integrates stablecoins like USDC and EURC into the payment infrastructure, allowing for easy spending without the need for conversions or delays.
  • Payroll Cards: In addition to corporate cards, Wirex Business enables the issuance of payroll cards, providing a fast and cost-efficient way for businesses to pay employees and contractors in stablecoins.
  • Stablecoin Payments: Stablecoins based on the BASE blockchain can now be seamlessly spent in 80 million+ merchants globally, offering companies an innovative way to pay for goods and services, all while maintaining transparency and speed.

Wirex Business continues to innovate and expand its reach within the corporate payments space. It offers a comprehensive suite of banking and payment solutions for Web3 companies and crypto businesses. The integration with BASE blockchain marks a new chapter in Wirex’s journey. Aligning its offerings with industry-leading blockchain technology to provide businesses with seamless, secure, and scalable payment solutions.

A deeper strategic alliance with blockchain

Expanding to BASE is just the first step in what will be a much deeper partnership between Wirex, BASE, and Circle throughout 2025. Behind the scenes, the teams are already working closely on broader strategic initiatives. These are aimed at transforming the way businesses interact with digital dollars onchain.

Ambitious crosschain vision

“Our expansion to BASE signifies a critical milestone in our commitment to making Web3 banking services accessible to businesses globally. By supporting BASE, we’re enabling corporate clients to operate with seamless, stablecoin-based financial services and empowering them to integrate the benefits of decentralized finance into their day-to-day operations

Pavel Matveev, Сo-founder of Wirex

This integration marks the beginning… Wirex Pay has ambitious crosschain plans, with expansion to several other major chains scheduled for later this year. This vision stems from Wirex’s belief in offering native experiences for users on BASE and other ecosystems. Rather than relying solely on swap or bridge mechanisms. Native support ensures better UX, security, and scalability for corporate clients managing stablecoin flows across multiple blockchains.

“Wirex Business offers an innovative self-custody model that is directly connected with card and banking rails. This self-custody approach ensures that businesses maintain full control of their assets and removes any counterparty risk. By using Wirex’s platform, businesses can harness the power of stablecoins, backed by the flexibility and security of Web3, to revolutionize the way they manage and move funds globally.”

Daniel Rowlands, General Manager of Wirex Pay

About Wirex Pay

Wirex Pay is a pioneering stablecoin payment platform that bridges the gap between blockchain innovation and real-world usability. It is built on Zero Knowledge (ZK) technology. Wirex Pay delivers unmatched privacy, scalability, and efficiency, redefining how stablecoins are utilised for global payments. At the core of Wirex Pay is its ability to issue non-custodial Visa cards. Empowering users to spend their stablecoins seamlessly at over 80 million merchants in 200+ countries wherever Visa is accepted. By combining the reliability of Visa’s global payment network with the innovation of blockchain, Wirex Pay ensures users can transact with confidence and convenience.

  • Blockchain & Crypto

Author

Dan Brightmore

Published

25 April 2025

Estimated Read time

5Mins

Ayre Group founder Calvin Ayre stresses the power of Blockchain in helping to overcome security and transparency challenges in financial data

The financial services sector is built on trust. However, ongoing data breaches, security vulnerabilities, and inefficiencies have severely eroded confidence in the industry. In the past five years alone, 69% of financial institutions have experienced at least one data breach, exposing the sector’s ongoing Cybersecurity challenges.

Financial institutions handle vast amounts of sensitive customer data, including personal identification details, transaction histories, and confidential records. All of which are prime targets for sophisticated cyber criminals. Furthermore, in exploiting weaknesses in legacy systems, third-party integrations, and cloud infrastructures, attackers gain unauthorised access, manipulate data, and compromise financial integrity.

Leveraging Blockchain technology

Recently, studies have been testing and trialling data breach detection systems that leverage Blockchain technology. This includes utilising smart contracts, self-executing agreements with predefined rules, to generate alert notifiers. These studies underscore the potential of Blockchain to enhance the speed and accuracy of data breach detection. Improvements from the standard 200+ days can be made up to as little as 10 seconds.

However, external threats are only part of the problem. Internal risks such as human error, data mismanagement, and outdated compliance frameworks further exacerbate data integrity issues. Nearly a third (28%) of financial service organisations cite mistakes from manual processes as their biggest data reconciliation pain point. Another key issue is the continued reliance on legacy systems, which lack the automation, security, and scalability required to maintain accurate and tamper-proof records. This highlights the growing need to restore confidence in financial data.

These ongoing challenges have far-reaching consequences. Alarmingly, 40% of CFOs express doubts about the accuracy of their financial records. This raises serious concerns about governance, regulatory compliance, and financial stability. Insider fraud, unauthorised transactions, and data manipulation remain major risks; calling for institutions to implement immutable systems. One such solution is Blockchain technology. As a decentralised ledger that guarantees data integrity, Blockchain can play a crucial role in enhancing the reliability of data.

Many institutions hesitate to adopt new technologies due to high costs and operational disruption. A report by Duco and the Financial Technologies Forum revealed that 64% of financial institutions perceive the transformation of manual processes as too expensive or time-consuming. But Blockchain technology presents a new era of data resilience that. It can address these challenges head-on, enhancing security, and restoring trust in financial data.

Restoring resilience with the power of Blockchain

One of the most powerful features of Blockchain is its ability to create immutable records. Every transaction is securely logged, forming transparent and tamper-proof audit trails. By enabling real-time auditing and decentralised verification, Blockchain reduces the risks associated with human error, fraud, and outdated systems.

BSV Blockchain, with its focus on scalability and low-cost transactions, enhances these benefits by enabling high-volume data processing on-chain. It makes real-time auditing more efficient and cost-effective. Additionally, its data provenance capabilities allow institutions to track the origin, history, and any modifications of every data entry. Moreover, it offers complete accuracy, ensuring the creation of auditable and reliable records that help to eliminate discrepancies. This can also minimise information asymmetry across the financial ecosystem.

Accurate risk assessment is the cornerstone of financial services. Investors and institutions need reliable data to evaluate risk levels in specific markets and positions. Blockchain enhances this process by providing trustworthy data that can be verified and traced back to its source. It also reduces information asymmetry by ensuring wide accessibility to high-quality data. These features boost efficiency, making markets work more effectively and enabling money to flow to investments that are correctly priced according to their risk. Furthermore, because the data is always available and immutable, it allows for quick risk assessments. This helps individuals respond faster to market changes.

Blockchain also has the ability to revolutionise credit ratings, making assessments more transparent, automated, and fair. Further ensuring businesses and individuals gain more equitable access to financial services. Traditionally, credit assessments have been opaque, slow, and prone to biases. Blockchain enables automated credit scoring using real-time data and self-executing smart contracts. This approach can provide a more accurate and unbiased measure of creditworthiness.

For example, companies like Lendoit leverage blockchain-based platforms that use decentralised credit ratings to offer fairer access to financial services. This especially benefits individuals and businesses traditionally underserved by standard credit systems.

A new era of trust and efficiency in financial services

Financial institutions face an increase in sophisticated cyber threats and the challenge of managing vast data volumes. Adopting Blockchain-based solutions will be essential for long-term sustainability. With immutable records, real-time reconciliation, and automated auditing, the financial sector can reduce risks, lower operational costs, and rebuild trust among investors, regulators, and consumers. The adoption of Blockchain will be crucial in addressing the data integrity challenges highlighted earlier, helping to restore confidence in the industry.

By embracing Blockchain, financial institutions can future proof their operations. This can foster greater financial inclusion, and redefine trust in the financial ecosystem. Those who adopt these advancements will not only strengthen their competitive position but will also help shape a new era of transparency, security, and innovation in global financial markets.

For more Blockchain insights from Calvin Ayre visit Ayre Group

  • Blockchain & Crypto
  • Cybersecurity in FinTech

Author

Dan Brightmore

Published

14 April 2025

Estimated Read time

2Mins

In a major move for blockchain-powered finance, Kinexys by J.P. Morgan has launched GBP-denominated Blockchain Deposit Accounts at its London…

In a major move for blockchain-powered finance, Kinexys by J.P. Morgan has launched GBP-denominated Blockchain Deposit Accounts at its London branch. This marks a significant expansion of its Kinexys Digital Payments platform into the UK market. The innovation introduces one of the first blockchain-native banking products of its kind in the region. It is designed to facilitate 24/7 real-time payments and cross-border transactions for institutional clients.

SwapAgent, a London Stock Exchange Group Post Trade Solutions business, and Trafigura, a global leader in commodities trading, are the inaugural clients on the platform. The deployment signals a meaningful step in the evolution of blockchain in mainstream banking infrastructure, particularly in foreign exchange (FX) settlement, liquidity management, and programmable finance.

Blockchain delivering Programmable, Round-the-Clock Liquidity

The new offering allows corporate clients to settle GBP-denominated payments anytime, including weekends. And while accessing same-day FX settlements and real-time cross-border capabilities. This follows the platform’s earlier rollout of EUR-denominated blockchain accounts in Frankfurt and continues Kinexys’s push for global digital payment standardization.

SwapAgent will integrate Kinexys accounts into its digital post-trade pilot, with an eye toward broader adoption that could see blockchain accounts become a central part of its settlement architecture.

“As we expand SwapAgent’s settlement capabilities and enhance our digital presence, we’re eager to collaborate with Kinexys by J.P. Morgan”

Nathan Ondyak, CEO, SwapAgent

Trafigura Eyes Transformation in Cross-Border Treasury

Trafigura plans to leverage Kinexys accounts for real-time payments across New York, London, and Singapore, integrating programmable fund movement to streamline treasury operations across its global network.

“We are excited to advance our capabilities… [and] benefit from a transformative financial solution that will streamline our operations and enhance our competitive edge”

Chris McLaughlin, Global Head of Group Treasury, Trafigura

Kinexys: Momentum Behind the Numbers

Since inception, Kinexys has processed more than $1.5 trillion in transactions, with daily volumes exceeding $2 billion and 10x year-over-year growth. Its programmable payments feature, offering a self-serve “if-this-then-that” interface, provides users with automation options that traditional banking infrastructure has struggled to match.

This move cements J.P. Morgan’s blockchain unit as a first mover in institutional-grade digital payments infrastructure in the UK, positioning Kinexys as a major player in the convergence of blockchain, treasury, and cross-border payments.

  • Blockchain & Crypto
  • Digital Payments

Author

Scott Zoldi

Published

25 March 2025

Estimated Read time

4Mins

Scott Zoldi, Chief Analytics Officer at FICO, explains why there should be no AI alone in decision making processes

Many AI models are black boxes and developed without proper consideration for interpretability, ethics, or safety of outputs. To establish trust, organisations should leverage Responsible AI. This defines standards of robust AI, explainable AI, ethical AI, and auditable AI. Under Responsible AI, developers define the conditions that lead to some transactions having less human oversight and others having more. But can we take people out of the decision-making loop entirely? To answer that question, let’s look at some developments in Responsible AI.

Trust in Developing AI Models

One best practice that organisations can adopt is maintaining a corporate AI model development standard. This dictates appropriate AI algorithms and processes to enable roles that keep people in the loop. This will often include the use of interpretable AI, allowing humans to review and understand what AI has learned for palatability, bias, ethical use and safety. Auditable AI will then codify the human-in-the-loop decisions and monitoring guidelines for operational use of the AI.

Responsible AI codifies all the essential human decisions that guide how AI will be built, used and progressed. This includes approving or declining the use of data, removing unethical relationships in data (i.e., illegal or unethical data proxies), and ensuring governance and regulation standards are met. Responsible AI leverages an immutable blockchain that dictates how to monitor the AI in operation. And the decision authority of human operators, which can include conditions where AI decisions are overruled, and operations move to a ‘humble AI model.’ AI Practitioners are keenly aware that even the highest performing AI models generate large number of false positives. So, every output needs to be treated with care and strategies defined to validate, counter, and support the AI.

A Responsible AI framework

There should be a well-defined process to overrule or reverse AI-driven decisions. If built in a Responsible AI framework, these decisions are codified into a crystal-clear set of operating AI blockchain frameworks well before the AI is in production. When there is a crisis you need clear preset guidance, not panicked decision making. This blockchain will define when humans can overrule the AI through alternate models, supporting data, or investigative processes. This AI operating framework is defined in coordination with the model developers, who understand the strengths and weaknesses of the AI. And when it may be operating in ways it wasn’t designed, ensuring there is no gap between development and operation. When auditable AI is employed, there are no nail-biting decisions in times of crisis. You can rely on a framework that pre-defines steps to make these human-driven decisions.

Companies that utilise Responsible AI frameworks enforce usage adherence by auditable AI, which is the operating manual and monitoring system. Embracing Responsible AI standards can help business units attain huge value. At the same time they can appropriately define the criteria where the businesses balance business risks and regulation. Domain experts/analysts will be given a defined span of control on how to use their domain knowledge and the auditable AI will monitor the system to alert and circumvent AI as appropriate.

Drawback prevention begins with transparency

To prevent major pull-back in AI today, we must go beyond aspirational and boastful claims to honest discussions of the risks of this technology. We must define how involved humans need to be. Companies need to empower their data science leadership to define what is high-risk AI, and how they are prepared or not to meet responsible/trustworthy AI. This comes back to governance and AI regulation. Companies must focus on developing a Responsible AI programme, and boost practices that may have atrophied during the GenAI hype cycle. 

They should start with a review of how AI regulation is developing, and whether they have the tools to appropriately address and pressure-test their AI applications. If they’re not prepared, they need to understand the business impacts of potentially having AI pulled from their repository of tools. And get prepared by defining AI development/operational corporate standards. 

Companies should then determine and classify business problems best suited for traditional AI vs. generative AI. Traditional AI can be constructed and constrained to meet regulation using the right algorithms to meet business objectives. Finally, companies will want to adopt a humble AI approach to have hot backups for their AI deployments. And to tier down to safer tech when auditable AI indicates AI decisioning is not trustworthy.

The vital role of the Data Scientist

Too many organisations are driving AI strategy through business owners or software engineers who often have limited to no knowledge of the specifics of AI algorithms’ mathematics and risks. Stringing together AI is easy. Building AI that is responsible and safe and properly operationalised with controls is a much harder exercise requiring standards, maturity and commitment to responsible AI. Data scientists can help businesses find the right paths to adopt the right types of AI for different business applications, regulatory compliances, and optimal consumer outcomes. In a nutshell: AI + human is the strongest solution. There should be no AI alone in decision-making.

  • Artificial Intelligence in FinTech
  • Blockchain & Crypto

Author

Nick Botha

Published

12 February 2025

Estimated Read time

4Mins

Nick Botha, Payments Lead at AutoRek, on meeting customer expectations for faster, cheaper and more transparent cross-border payments

As international trade and e-commerce continues to expand, cross-border payments have grown substantially. According to the latest report from EY, global cross-border payments are growing at around 9% annually. And they are expected to reach $290tn by 2030. As the digital economy continues to expand, the demand for more efficient, secure, and inclusive payment systems becomes crucial. The shift from traditional T+2 and T+1 settlement periods to real-time payments has already reshaped domestic transactions. Setting the stage for a similar revolution in cross-border payments.

Whilst there is plenty of opportunity for cross-border payments, sending and receiving payments can be a complex and challenging process. This is due to rising data volumes, fragmented systems, and different regulations across multiple territories. So, how can businesses best prepare for the evolving cross-border payments environment?

Breaking down the barriers for cross-border payments

It’s no secret that achieving real-time cross-border payments involves complexities beyond technology alone. Regulatory challenges are a significant hurdle. Multiple financial institutions across different countries have distinct rules around payments, fraud detection, and compliance. For example, the stringent regulations of the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) contrasts with the relatively flexible approach of the US Federal Reserve. This diversity in regulations can lead to inefficiencies, increased costs, and compliance burdens. Harmonising these regulations will be crucial for creating a seamless global payment network.

In addition, cross-border payments often take several days to process through traditional banking systems. This can be due to time zones, inefficient processes and the involvement of multiple intermediaries, including correspondent banks, and local financial institutions. Each intermediary adds time and cost to the transaction, and the entire process can take between two to five days. For businesses, these delays can disrupt cash flow, complicate supply chain management, and create issues with paying vendors and employees promptly. Worryingly, the delay can prove hugely problematic for SME’s who often operate with tighter cash reserves and need more immediate access to funds.

Furthermore, businesses engaged in cross-border transactions must also navigate the complexities of fluctuating exchange rates. Currency exchange rates can change dramatically, influencing the cost and value of transactions. This could lead to financial losses if a payment is delayed or if a favourable exchange rate changes before the transaction is processed.

Unlocking potential by reducing complexity

To overcome cross-border challenges, G20 leaders endorsed a roadmap for enhancing payments globally in 2020. This initiative set out to address the four key challenges related to cost, speed, access, and transparency. Therefore, paving the way for a more efficient and inclusive financial ecosystem. For example, the G20 aims for 75% of cross-border payments to be credited with the beneficiary within an hour by 2027. The past couple of years have undoubtedly brought major milestones with respect to this roadmap. Most notably, SWIFT has been a central figure in traditional cross-border payments. It provides a standardised network for financial institutions to send and receive information about transactions.

The challenges faced by businesses with cross-border payments has unlocked new opportunities for financial institutions to develop innovative solutions. FinTechs are leveraging advanced technology, including blockchain, artificial intelligence (AI), and digital currencies, to make cross-border payments faster, cheaper, and more transparent. Blockchain and cryptocurrencies are often cited as potential game changers in cross-border payments due to their ability to eliminate the need for intermediaries, whilst enabling instant and transparent transactions. For example, Ripple, one of the leading blockchain-based payment networks, uses its RippleNet platform to facilitate payments between countries. This provides faster and more cost-effective payments.

Cross-border payments traditionally have been more complex than domestic transactions due to multiple intermediaries. Furthermore, it’s important to note ongoing international collaboration will be crucial to ensuring cross-border payments remain seamless, secure, and inclusive. This opportunity can be maximised through automatic reconciliation. By automating the processing of high volumes of date from cross-border payments, businesses can remove the distractions of mismatched information, fraud concerns and accounting hold-ups. It also manages inbound payments, outbound payments, and inter-currency transfers through a centralised framework. This enables businesses to gain complete visibility of the data.

Opportunities on the horizon for cross-border payments

The pace of change within the payments and wider fintech industry is showing no signs of slowing down. Customer expectations for faster, cheaper and more transparent payments are driving change across the sector. It’s certainly an exciting time for the industry, but financial institutions cannot afford to rest on their laurels. Further growth can be found on the horizon for those who are equipped with the right knowledge to be able to pursue cross-border payments effectively.

  • Blockchain & Crypto
  • Digital Payments

Author

Dan Brightmore

Published

16 January 2025

Estimated Read time

2Mins

Industry leaders join forces to host groundbreaking event during ETHDenver 2025 where Stablecoin innovation meets B2B finance

PayPal, Deloitte, and Bitwave will co-host On-Chain B2B Payments Day. A transformative event dedicated to accelerating the global adoption of Blockchain powered B2B payments.

Exploring Blockchain technologies

On-Chain B2B Payments Day will bring together hundreds of senior financial leaders, accountants, auditors, and enterprise executives on February 27 at ETHDenver. They will explore how stablecoins and Blockchain technologies are reshaping the future of payments for businesses.

“With the broader adoption of blockchain networks and digital assets, stablecoins play a critical role,” said Deloitte Tax LLP Partner, Global Tax Leader – Blockchain & Digital Assets, Rob Massey. “Business transactions take on a whole new dynamic when these ‘programmable’ funds interact with the software applications on a near real time basis. Furthermore, with that, we end up with unique tax, accounting and risk considerations.”

Redefining payments with Blockchain

The Blockchain event will be presented alongside ETHDenver – the annual conference for Ethereum developers and Blockchain advocates. On-Chain B2B Payments Day kicks off with a networking brunch and panel discussion featuring some of the leading voices in payment innovation. The event is sponsored by NetSuite alongside other key industry contributors.

“Stablecoins offer an unprecedented opportunity to transform payment operations for global business,” said Bitwave Co-Founder and COO, Amy Kalnoki. “At Bitwave, we expect to see on-chain payments become one of the fastest-growing areas of Blockchain adoption in 2025. Moreover, this event will provide financial leaders with insights into how on-chain technology will redefine cross-border payments, liquidity management, and real-time reporting.”

Why Attend On-Chain B2B Payments Day?

  • Gain Practical Insights: Learn from financial experts about accounting, tax, and regulatory frameworks for building a compliant and future-ready payment practice.
  • Discover Real-World Use Cases: Explore how stablecoins are transforming B2B payments, from accounts receivable (AR) to accounts payable (AP) and beyond.
  • Engage with Industry Leaders: Connect with top decision-makers from leading enterprises, institutions, and crypto-native organisations advancing on-chain payments between vendors and payers.

Bonus: Take the “Bitwave Vendor Payment Pledge” and join an exclusive network of business partners accepting stablecoin invoice payments.

  • Blockchain & Crypto

Author

Dan Brightmore

Published

17 December 2024

Estimated Read time

2Mins

FICO’s use of Blockchain for AI model governance wins Tech of the Future: Blockchain and Tokenisation award

Global analytics software leader FICO has won the Tech of the Future – Blockchain and Tokenisation award. The Banking Tech Awards in London recognised FICO for its innovative work using Blockchain technology for AI model governance. FICO’s use of blockchain to advance responsible AI is the first time blockchain has been used to track end-to-end provenance of a machine learning model. This approach can help meet responsible AI and regulatory requirements.

More information: https://www.fico.com/blogs/how-use-blockchain-build-responsible-ai-award-winning-approach-0

FICO: Blockchain Innovation

FICO’s AI Innovation and Development team has developed and patented an immutable blockchain ledger. It tracks end-to-end provenance of the development, operationalisation and monitoring of machine learning models. The technology enforces the use of a corporate-wide responsible AI model development standard by organisations. It demonstrates adherence to the standard with specific requirements, people, results, testing, approvals and revisions. In addition to the Banking Tech award, Global Finance recognised FICO’s blockchain for AI technology with The Innovators award last year.

Responsible AI

“The rapid growth of AI use has made Responsible AI an imperative,” commented Dr. Scott Zoldi, chief analytics officer at FICO. “FICO is focused on technologies that ensure AI is used in an ethical way, and governance is absolutely critical. We are proud to receive another award for our groundbreaking work in this area.”

FICO is well-known as a leader in AI for financial services. Its FICO® Falcon® Fraud Manager solution, launched in 1992, was the first fraud solution to use neural networks. Today it manages some four billion payment cards worldwide. FICO has built advanced analytics capabilities into FICO® Platform, an applied intelligence platform for building decision management solutions.

See the full list of Banking Tech Award winners for 2024.

  • Artificial Intelligence in FinTech
  • Blockchain & Crypto

Author

Bryan Daugherty

Published

12 December 2024

Estimated Read time

3Mins

Bryan Daugherty, Global Public Policy Director at the BSV Association (BSVA) and Co-Founder at SmartLedger Solutions, on how blockchain technology provides the accountability and cybersecurity needed to prevent widespread IT catastrophes across sectors

By Embracing Blockchain, We Can Create a Safer Digital Future

The rapid increase in cyberattacks poses a severe threat to businesses. These attacks are becoming more sophisticated and costly by the day. The average cost of a data breach in the UK is £3.58 million, and in the US now $9 million. It typically takes 200 days for organisations to detect a breach, followed by another 70 days to contain it. These delays expose significant vulnerabilities in traditional data management systems. They rely heavily on third parties, making them prime targets for cybercriminals.

Blockchain technology offers a transformative solution to these challenges by creating a secure, decentralised model that can effectively mitigate risks. It provides an opportunity for both individuals and organisations to take control of their data. Therefore, improving cybersecurity and ensuring operational resilience.

The Problem with Centralised Systems

Traditional cybersecurity systems are built on centralised models, where data is stored in one location or through third-party intermediaries. This structure makes them attractive targets for cybercriminals, creating a “honeypot” of information that can be breached. A concerning statistic is that, for over a decade, organisations have taken an average of 200 days to detect breaches. Despite claims from cybersecurity vendors that they provide “instant detection,” real-world results show significant gaps in protection, putting data at risk for extended periods.

Blockchain: Game-Changing Cybersecurity Features

Blockchain’s decentralised model provides a powerful alternative. By distributing data across a global network of nodes rather than a central location, blockchain makes it exponentially harder for cybercriminals to compromise large datasets. Even if one node is breached, the entire system remains intact. This eliminates the single point of failure that centralised systems suffer from.

Another key feature of blockchain is its immutability. Once data is recorded on a blockchain, it cannot be altered or erased, making tampering nearly impossible. Therefore, this ensures any unauthorised access is immediately detectable, enabling quicker response times and minimising damage.

Real-Time Threat Detection with CERTIHASH

Blockchain’s potential in cybersecurity is already being realised through solutions like CERTIHASH’s Sentinel Node. A blockchain-based tool that provides real-time threat detection. Built on the BSV blockchain, CERTIHASH can detect breaches within 10 seconds or less, offering a proactive approach to cybersecurity. This is a significant improvement over traditional systems, which often take months to identify breaches, leaving organisations vulnerable to prolonged data exposure.

By leveraging blockchain, cybersecurity shifts from being reactive to proactive. This gives organisations the tools they need to stay ahead of evolving threats and safeguard data more effectively.

Overcoming Misconceptions About Blockchain

Despite the clear advantages of blockchain, many organisations remain hesitant to adopt the technology, often due to misconceptions. Furthermore, some still associate blockchain with cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin, which have been linked to ransomware. This outdated view overlooks blockchain’s real potential as a secure, decentralised data management tool.

Blockchain is not just about crypto; it’s about creating a new standard for data integrity and security. Moreover, it offers decentralised, tamper-proof records that give users control over their own identity and data, reducing reliance on vulnerable third-party systems.

A Decentralised, Secure Future

As global reliance on centralised systems grows, so do the vulnerabilities they present. A single point of failure can lead to widespread outages, as seen in numerous cyberattacks and technical malfunctions. Blockchain, with its decentralised architecture, offers a robust alternative that enhances the security and resilience of critical systems. By distributing data across multiple nodes, blockchain ensures continuity even during attacks or outages.

Conclusion

Investing in blockchain cybersecurity is no longer optional. With cyber-attacks growing in scale and sophistication, organisations must adopt cutting-edge technologies to protect their data, operations, and customer trust. Blockchain’s decentralised and tamper-proof architecture offers the key to building a safer, more secure digital future. One where businesses and individuals alike can operate with confidence, free from the constant threat of cybercrime.

  • Blockchain & Crypto
  • Cybersecurity in FinTech

Author

Dan Brightmore

Published

21 November 2024

Estimated Read time

2Mins

Mastercard integrates its Multi-Token Network (MTN) for tokenized deposits and tokenized assets with Kinexys Digital Payments (formerly JPM Coin)

Mastercard’s blockhain Multi-Token Network (MTN) has connected to Kinexys Digital Payments as a payment settlement solution. This will enhance the availability of B2B cross-border payments to business applications on MTN.

Kinexys Digital Payments is a next-generation payment rail powering real-time value transfer. Also, it uses commercial bank money and is offered through Kinexys by J.P. Morgan, the firm’s Blockchain business unit.

Mastercard’s MTN Blockchain meets JP Morgan’s Kinexys

Mastercard’s MTN brings together a set of API-enabled, blockchain-based tools and standards for innovative business models under one platform.

Kinexys by JP Morgan and Mastercard are respectively providing solutions designed to improve the efficiency of commercial transactions. Furthermore, these solutions aim to improve the cross-border payment experiences common for such transactions. They will achieve this by providing greater transparency and faster settlement as well as reducing time zone friction.

By integrating Mastercard MTN’s connectivity with Kinexys Digital Payments, mutual customers of MTN and Kinexys will be able to settle B2B transactions through a single API integration.

Kinexys – JP Morgan’s Blockchain business unit

“At Kinexys, we believe our solutions can play a transformative role in the ecosystem for digital global commerce and digital assets, where the value proposition of commercial transaction venues is enhanced by the availability of commercial bank payment rails that can natively integrate with any digital marketplace or platform. We look forward to supporting our clients engaging with the MTN ecosystem and collaborating further with Mastercard in the digital space.”

Naveen Mallela, Co-Head of Kinexys by JP Morgan

MTN – Mastercard’s Multi-Token Network

“For years, both Mastercard and Kinexys by JP Morgan have been committed to innovating for the future of digital asset and commercial infrastructure. By bringing together the power and connectivity of Mastercard’s MTN with Kinexys Digital Payments, we are unlocking greater speed and settlement capabilities for the entire value chain. Moreover, we are excited about this integration and the new use cases it will bring to life, leveraging the strengths and innovations of both organisations.”

Raj Dhamodharan, executive vice president, Blockchain and Digital Assets at Mastercard

  • Blockchain & Crypto
  • Digital Payments

Author

Dan Brightmore

Published

12 November 2024

Estimated Read time

3Mins

Other key findings include surge of info-stealers and botnets, an increase in evasive malware and a rise in network attacks across the Asia Pacific

WatchGuard® Technologies, a global leader in unified Cybersecurity, today released the findings of its latest Internet Security Report. The quarterly analysis details the top malware, network, and endpoint security threats observed during the second quarter of 2024. 

Among the report’s key findings was that 7 of the Top 10 malware threats by volume were new this quarter. Furthermore, this indicates threat actors are pivoting toward new techniques. The new top threats included Lumma Stealer. This advanced malware is designed to steal sensitive data from compromised systems. Also, a Mirai Botnet variant, which infects smart devices and enables threat actors to turn them into remotely controlled bots. And a LokiBot malware, which targets Windows and Android devices and aims to steal credential information. 

Cybersecurity fears for Blockchain

WatchGuard’s Cybersecurity Threat Lab also observed new instances of threat actors employing “EtherHiding”. A method of embedding malicious PowerShell scripts in blockchains such as Binance Smart Contracts. In these instances, a fake error message linking to the malicious script appears on compromised websites, prompting victims to “update your browser”. Malicious code in blockchains poses a long-term threat. As blockchains are not meant to be changed, theoretically, a blockchain could become an immutable host of malicious content. 

“The latest findings in the Q2 2024 Internet Security Report reflect how threat actors tend to fall into patterns of behaviour. Certain attack techniques become trendy and dominant in waves,” said Corey Nachreiner, CSO, WatchGuard Technologies. “Moreover, the report illustrates the importance of routinely updating and patching software and systems to address security gaps and ensure threat actors cannot exploit older vulnerabilities. Adopting a defence-in-depth approach, which can be executed effectively by a dedicated managed service provider, is a vital step toward combating these cybersecurity challenges successfully.”

Additional key findings from WatchGuard’s Report include: 

  • Malware detections were down 24% overall. This drop was caused by a 35% decrease in signature-based detections. However, threat actors were simply shifting focus to more evasive malware. Moreover, in Q2 2024, the Threat Lab’s advanced behavioural engine that identifies ransomware, zero-day threats, and evolving malware threats, found a 168% increase in evasive malware detections quarter-over-quarter. 
     
  • Network attacks increased 33% from Q1 2024. Across regions, the Asia Pacific accounted for 56% of all network attack detections, more than doubling since the previous quarter.
     
  • An NGINX vulnerability, originally detected in 2019, was the top network attack by volume in Q2 2024. It had not appeared in the Threat Lab’s Top 50 network attacks in previous quarters. The vulnerability accounted for 29% of total network attack detection volume, or approximately 724,000 detections across the US, EMEA, and APAC. 
     
  • The Fuzzbunch hacking toolkit emerged as the second-highest endpoint malware threat detected by volume. The toolkit serves as an open-source framework that can be used to attack Windows operating systems. It was stolen during The Shadow Brokers’ attack of the Equation Group, an NSA contractor, in 2016. 
     
  • Seventy-four percent of all browser-initiated endpoint malware attacks targeted Chromium-based browsers, which include Google Chrome, Microsoft Edge, and Brave.
     
  • A signature that detects malicious web content, trojan.html.hidden.1.gen, came in as the fourth most-widespread malware variant. The most common threat category caught by this signature involved phishing campaigns. These gather credentials from a user’s browser and deliver this information to an attacker-controlled server. Curiously, the Threat Lab observed a sample of this signature targeting students and faculty at Valdosta State University in Georgia. 
  • Blockchain & Crypto
  • Cybersecurity in FinTech

Author

Dan Brightmore

Published

11 November 2024

Estimated Read time

3Mins

UBS Digital Cash aims to increase efficiency, transparency and to enable the programmability of money movements for corporate and institutional clients

Cross-border payments often lead to delayed settlements. As a result, this creates a fragmented view of liquidity positions for companies. The aim is to increase transparency and security with blockchain-based payments via UBS Digital Cash. Moreover, this should in turn facilitate timely payment processing. In addition, companies should be able to manage intraday-liquidity and adjust liquidity buffers on their accounts more easily in the future. This is thanks to greater visibility of their total cash positions.

USB Digital Cash with Blockchain

Andy Kollegger, Head UBS Institutional & Multinational Banking, says: ”UBS Digital Cash going forward aims to enable our clients to make cross-border payments in a much more efficient and transparent way. Furthermore, Blockchain-based payment solutions for cross-border payments are a strategic focus for UBS. With the successful UBS Digital Cash pilot, we have reached another important milestone.”

In the pilot, transactions with multinational clients and banks were successfully carried out. These included domestic transactions within Switzerland and cross-border payments in US dollars, Swiss francs, Euros and Chinese yuan. Additionally, the pilot also included the transfer of liquidity between various UBS companies. UBS plans to expand and develop its UBS Digital Cash offering in further steps.

The advantages of Blockchain-based payments solutions

Pilot participant Janko Hahn, Head Treasury Operations at Autoneum, says: “The UBS Digital Cash pilot showcased the key advantages of blockchain-based payment solutions. They make cross border transactions faster, on time and provide a seamless traceability, which is a huge benefit when operating in a global market.”

Xiaonan Zou, UBS Head Digital Assets, Group Treasury, adds: ”We see the interoperability between UBS Digital Cash and other digital cash initiatives as key for the financial industry. In addition to their role in correspondent banking, they also have the potential to streamline and simplify the settlement of tokenised assets in the capital market.”

How does UBS Digital Cash work?

For the payment process, UBS Digital Cash uses a private blockchain network to which only the permissioned clients have access. The settlement is performed via smart contracts, which, for example, automatically execute payments as soon as predefined conditions are met. Client transfers at UBS are recorded and processed in a digital system for recording transactions. They are independent of currency, practically in real time and around the clock. UBS Digital Cash complements UBS’s involvement in a wide range of market initiatives. These include the Swiss National Bank-led project Helvetia for real wholesale Swiss franc Central Bank Digital Currency (wCBDC), as well as the Agorá project, led by the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) together with seven central banks, to unlock central bank money and tokenised deposits from commercial banks in the cross-border payment context.

About UBS

UBS is a leading global asset manager and the leading universal bank in Switzerland. In addition, the company offers diversified wealth management solutions and focused investment banking functions. With the acquisition of Credit Suisse, UBS has assets under management of $5.7 trillion as of the fourth quarter of 2023. UBS supports its clients in achieving their financial goals through personalised advice, solutions and products. Headquartered in Zurich, Switzerland, the company operates in more than 50 markets around the globe. UBS Group AG shares are listed on the SIX Swiss Exchange and the New York Stock Exchange.

  • Blockchain & Crypto

Author

Dan Brightmore

Published

7 November 2024

Estimated Read time

2Mins

Bitget announces $100k seed funding through ‘Pitch n Slay’ roadshow competition

Bitget has launched the ‘Pitch n Slay’ roadshow competition, aiming to provide financial support, professional guidance and exposure for female entrepreneurs. This will be delivered through collaborations with organisations such as World of Women, Women in Web3, Bitget Wallet, Foresight Ventures and Morph. The initiative is designed to help female leaders expand their projects.

Bitget Blockchain boost for female entrepreneurs

The final will be held during DevCon in Bangkok, Thailand on November 15. The shortlisted “Pitch n Slay” project contestants will present their optimised projects to investors and a jury panel. The jury members include Gracy Chen – CEO of Bitget; Taya A – CEO of World of Women; Min Xu – Partner at Foresight Ventures; along with other outstanding Web3 leaders. Three winners will have the opportunity to share $100k seed funding.

Blockchain4Her

Bitget is the third largest exchange for crypto derivatives with a user base, surpassing 20 million registered accounts globally. Furthermore, it is one of the largest platforms for cryptocurrency copy trading. Meanwhile, the daily trading volume on Bitget exceeds 10 billion USDT, reflecting its significant market presence.

“Bitget is committed to gender inclusivity with women making up more than 45% of our management team. We are also dedicated to creating an inclusive culture for the LGBT community. Through the Blockchain4Her program we hope to create more growth opportunities for women-led startups We’ll continue to expand this platform, creating pathways for growth and amplifying women-led startups in Web3.”

Gracy Chen, CEO, Bitget

About Bitget

With a background in traditional finance, Bitget’s founding team discovered blockchain technology in 2015. But it was viewed as “tulip mania” by the industry back then. In 2018, we became intrigued by cryptocurrency after studying the Bitcoin whitepaper and Ethereum ecosystem. We believed that cryptocurrency would play an important role in the future and even benefit the unbanked groups.

Born in a bear market, Bitget insists on putting users first, focusing on product innovation, and advocating long-term development with the spirit of earnestness. The company aims to inspire people to embrace crypto and improve the way they trade, one at a time.

  • Blockchain & Crypto

Author

Dan Brightmore

Published

21 October 2024

Estimated Read time

2Mins

DBS Token Services, marks new milestone in financial services with blockchain

DBS has announced the introduction of DBS Token Services. The new suite of banking services integrates tokenisation and smart contract-enabled capabilities with award-winning banking services. It aims to unlock new transaction banking capabilities and operating efficiencies for its institutional clients with blockchain.

DBS Token Services via Blockchain

DBS Token Services unlocks instant, 24/7 real-time settlement of payments. It integrates the bank’s Ethereum Virtual Machine-compatible permissioned blockchain. This is the core payment engine and multiple industry payment infrastructure for DBS. In addition, smart contracts enable programmability for institutions to govern the use of funds according to predefined conditions. Enhancing security and transparency. Using a permissioned blockchain provides DBS full control over these services. It enables the bank to harness the benefits of blockchain technology while adhering to compliance standards.

The project is the culmination of several years of industry collaborations and experimentation in digital money innovations. The suite of solutions includes Treasury Tokens, Conditional Payments, and Programmable Rewards. It exemplifies how established financial institutions can leverage blockchain technology and smart contracts to deliver new client experiences.

Lim Soon Chong, Group Head of Global Transaction Services, DBS Bank

“To capture the massive shift of human and corporate activity to on-demand digital services, companies and public sector entities are reimagining their operating models and customer engagement strategies. A new generation of ‘always-on’ banking services is essential to support this shift and transformation.

“By leveraging tokenisation and smart contract capabilities, DBS Token Services enables companies and public sector entities. They can optimise liquidity management, streamline operational workflows, strengthen business resilience, and unlock new opportunities for end-customer or end-user engagement. It marks a significant step forward in transaction banking. It demonstrates how established financial institutions can leverage blockchain technology to deliver new ground-breaking features and experiences.”

DBS: Shaping the future of finance with Blockchain

Since 2016, DBS has been a driving force in several industry initiatives led by the Monetary Authority of Singapore. It has been exploring the potential of blockchain technology in enhancing Singapore’s financial landscape. Key initiatives include Project Ubin, Project Orchid and Project Guardian.

DBS Token Services continues to explore broader applications of blockchain enabled solutions. These include the tokenisation of securities and digitalisation of trade finance. These innovations reflect DBS’ ongoing commitment to building a more robust and innovative banking landscape..

  • Blockchain & Crypto

Author

Dan Brightmore

Published

17 October 2024

Estimated Read time

3Mins

WaveBL Completes a new groundbreaking network connectivity Proof of Value (POV) with Swift, the participation of five global banks, and leading ocean carrier eBL Issuer MSC

WaveBL, the leading blockchain based electronic Bill of Lading (eBL) platform, has completed a groundbreaking Proof of Value (POV). It worked with Swift and the participation of five global banks. Lloyds, Emirates NBD Bank, Federal Bank Limited, and other banks. Furthermore, MSC Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC), a leading ocean carrier acted as an eBL issuer on WaveBL.

The POV successfully demonstrated the transfer of structured electronic document presentations (including eBLs) originated on the Platform. They were sent to and between Swift members, and back to the Platform, all as part of a Letter of Credit (LC) transaction. The process was executed utilising a series of Swift FIN messages and FileAct transfers from WaveBL to the different banks. The process maintained possession and title management of the electronic trade documents on WaveBL’s ledger of issuance.

Describing the Flow of the POV with WaveBL

The POV involved two eBLs – one straight and one negotiable – both issued by MSC on the WaveBL platform. The eBLs were first sent to an exporter on the WaveBL platform. Here, commercial documents like a packing list, invoice, and certificate of origin were added. These were then sent to the advising bank by the platform over the secure and resilient Swift network, using an MT message and a FileAct document transfer. In turn, the advising bank and the issuing bank exchanged the presentation between them while WaveBL’s ledger maintained the tracking of possession and title of the contained eBLs.

Ultimately, the issuing bank released the documents to the LC applicant, who is the importer, including the endorsement of the negotiable eBL from the issuing bank to the order of the importer on the Platform. All of which was instructed to the platform through a Swift MT message. This streamlined process allows for payments to be received within hours, rather than days. This is often the case with transactions that involve the physical transfer of documents. Similarly, with the eBLs surrendered back to MSC on the platform, the importer was able to collect the goods at the port of destination without delay.

Strengthening the supply chain-trade finance connectivity: The WaveBL Swift gateway

This groundbreaking POV underscores WaveBL’s dedication to making its network fully integrated with the financial system. This allows customers to seamlessly interact with Swift members and among participants themselves. For Swift members, electronic trade documents could soon be exchanged via WaveBL using their existing Swift infrastructure. And without requiring the installation or use of any specialised software or service.

WaveBL anticipates that the concept led through this POV will further its mission of creating seamless connectivity between the supply chain and financial markets. It will drive the shift towards 100% adoption of eBLs, as outlined in the FIT Alliance Declaration of September 2023. WaveBL is also looking forward to becoming the first electronic trade document provider to achieve full connectivity with the entire Swift community. This allows all banks a simple, standardised way to receive and send electronic bank presentations originated on the platform.

Innovative approach by leading banks

The participating banks have all previously demonstrated exceptional innovation by using WaveBL as their entry point to the eBL market. They gained experience by exchanging electronic trade document presentations in live commercial transactions. As part of the POV, WaveBL, Swift and the banks established a joint working group. This was aimed at analysing the methodologies and structure of the Swift MT messages and the electronic presentations proven during the POV. Moreover, their involvement highlights a commitment to advancing trade finance through digitisation and cutting-edge technologies for document exchange. WaveBL is eager to continue working with the joint working group as its expected integration with the Swift network unfolds.

Boaz Lessem, Chief of Legal Regulation and Partnerships, WaveBL:


“As the eBL market continues to grow, this POV solidifies our vision of seamless connectivity between WaveBL and Swift, providing a new, standardised solution for banks that prefer not to use the platform’s interface directly. By leveraging Swift’s trusted infrastructure, banks will now be able to exchange electronic trade documents with ease. Enabling greater flexibility and efficiency in trade finance. I believe this connectivity will lead the way to an increased value proposition for the electronic transformation to eBLs. I thank the Swift team for its ongoing leadership and support as part of this POV, driving forward this important initiative in trade finance digitisation.”

  • Blockchain & Crypto

Author

Dan Brightmore

Published

24 September 2024

Estimated Read time

3Mins

PayPal Ventures, the global venture capital arm of PayPal, announced additional investment in Chaos Labs. This investment underscores PayPal Ventures’ confidence…

PayPal Ventures, the global venture capital arm of PayPal, announced additional investment in Chaos Labs. This investment underscores PayPal Ventures’ confidence in Chaos Labs’ potential and their blockchain products.

Chaos Labs: Edge

Chaos Labs’ recent launch of Edge, a new decentralised oracle protocol, has garnered significant attention within the industry. Edge has already secured a remarkable $30 billion over the last 2 months. It has been adopted by leading exchanges such as Jupiter, the top perpetuals exchange on Solana. And also by GMX, the leading exchange on Arbitrum.

Edge offers a comprehensive, low-latency oracle solution. It combines accurate price data with actionable market intelligence. Its advanced architecture ensures the security and efficiency of DeFi applications. Furthermore, providing insights into market dynamics and security risks. Edge monitors the market for specific risk signals, performs the offchain data parsing and computation, and outputs one actionable data point.

Omer Goldberg, CEO and Founder of Chaos Labs on the PayPal Ventures investment

Omer Goldberg, CEO and Founder of Chaos Labs, said, “We’re excited to receive the strong confidence and additional support from the PayPal Ventures team. Edge by Chaos is the culmination of our entire company’s work and expertise. Edge Price, Risk, and Proofs deliver meaningful and unmatched contextualised risk and price data for assets including stablecoins and other real-world-assets. In addition to the crypto assets and venues that provide access to them.”

Last month, Chaos Labs announced a $55 million Series A funding round led by Haun Ventures, including prominent new investors such as F-Prime Capital, Slow Ventures, and Spartan Capital, and existing investors including PayPal Ventures. Chaos Labs has experienced significant growth, tripling its customer base and securing billions in trading volume, loans, and incentives.

PayPal committed to Blockchain

PayPal Ventures’ investment aligns with PayPal’s ongoing commitment to the blockchain ecosystem. In May 2024, PayPal launched its stablecoin, PYUSD, on the Solana blockchain.

Amman Bhasin, Partner at PayPal Ventures, said, “Our continued investment in Chaos Labs reflects our belief in their vision to create a safer crypto ecosystem. And move more financial services on chain. Chaos Labs has emerged as a leading risk authority in the sector and we are thrilled to witness their evolution as they launch innovative products like Edge to mitigate oracle vulnerabilities.”

About Chaos Labs

Chaos Labs leads the blockchain risk management industry with innovative solutions for the evolving onchain financial landscape. It enables protocols to verify stability across all market conditions, merging offchain observability with onchain risk parameter adjustments. Backed by leading venture capital firms, Chaos Labs continues to set new standards for security and responsiveness in onchain finance. Founded in 2021, Chaos Labs is headquartered in New York City.

About PayPal Ventures

PayPal Ventures is the global corporate venture arm of PayPal. We invest for financial return in companies at the forefront of innovation in fintech, commerce enablement, digital infrastructure, and crypto/blockchain technologies. Through the expertise, experience, and vast network of PayPal Ventures – and the companies we invest in – we are helping to bring transformative solutions to market faster. For more information, please visit: www.paypal.vc 

  • Blockchain & Crypto

Author

Dan Brightmore

Published

5 September 2024

Estimated Read time

4Mins

The 2008 global financial crisis exposed vulnerabilities in the traditional financial system. In response, blockchain technology emerged, offering a solution. …

The 2008 global financial crisis exposed vulnerabilities in the traditional financial system. In response, blockchain technology emerged, offering a solution. 

With its ability to address these weaknesses, blockchain holds significant potential to transform the banking industry. This article will explore how blockchain can be used in banking and the benefits it offers for a more secure and efficient financial industry.

Introduction to Blockchain in Banking

Blockchain technology is changing the way data is stored and shared. It’s a digital record spread across a network of computers. This system uses cryptography for security, allowing authorised participants to update the records without needing a central authority.

Once information is added to the blockchain, it’s impossible to alter or erase. To add new entries, network participants verify transactions using complex algorithms.

Traditionally, banks and payment systems rely on intermediaries to facilitate transactions. However, blockchain’s distributed network allows for direct consensus and verification between participants, streamlining the entire process.

Blockchain Case Study: Payment Processing

Central and commercial banks around the world are exploring blockchain for payment processing. This interest extends to cross-border payments, traditionally dominated by companies like SWIFT and Western Union.

Several successful blockchain implementations in banking serve as case studies. In 2015, Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA) teamed up with Ripple, a fintech company specialising in blockchain solutions for international payments. Their goal was to build a system using blockchain to speed up settlement processes between CBA’s different branches.

Westpac, another major Australian bank, followed suit in 2016 by partnering with Ripple to create a cost-effective system for cross-border payments using blockchain.

Blockchain Case Study: Trade Finance

Trade finance, handling all aspects of domestic and international commerce, relies heavily on banks to facilitate transactions. Traditionally, this involves managing risk, providing credit, and allowing both exporters and importers to participate. However, the system often suffers from slow and outdated paper-based documentation.

Recognising this need for improvement, leading institutions like Standard Chartered and HSBC have joined groups exploring blockchain technology for trade finance. One example is Voltron, a platform designed by R3 and CryptoBLK to digitise letters of credit. 

Pilot projects across 14 countries with over 50 companies and banks participating yielded notable results, reducing letter of credit processing time from five days to less than 24 hours. Building on this success, Voltron rebranded as Contour in 2020, launching a digital trade finance network with R3 and other banks as supporters. 

Blockchain Case Study: KYC

Know Your Customer (KYC) processes are a slow hurdle in banking as they can take weeks to complete. The system also suffers from wasted effort, as each bank asks new clients for the same information. 

This inefficiency creates high costs for banks. Compliance burdens are heavy, and penalties for not following the rules are significant. The constant changes in regulations make it difficult for banks to stay compliant.

Chris Huls of Rabobank proposed a solution—storing KYC information on a blockchain. This secure and transparent technology acts as a shared platform for customer data. Once a bank completes KYC, a summary can be uploaded to the blockchain. Authorised institutions can then access this information, eliminating repetitive checks.

Benefits Realised

Blockchain technology offers a new way to store and manage data. Unlike traditional databases, blockchain spreads data across a network of computers and creates a public record that’s difficult to tamper with. 

Any attempt to change a record in one place would be caught by other computers in the network. This system eliminates the possibility of any single entity manipulating information.

Furthermore, blockchain promotes transparency. Transactions are visible to anyone who wants to see them, with tools allowing real-time tracking. This can lead to faster processing times for consumers, potentially reducing transaction completion to minutes, regardless of location or time.

Inter-bank transfers can also benefit from blockchain’s efficiency and security. Large sums involved in these transactions come with risk and cost during the current multi-day settlement process.

Lessons Learned and Future Outlook

These case studies demonstrate the technology’s ability to streamline transactions, reduce friction, and enhance security. The technology also promotes transparency and immutability of data.

However, a major challenge remains—ensuring customer data privacy. Public blockchains, with their inherent openness, create obstacles. Permissioned blockchains with strong encryption offer some solutions, but cybersecurity concerns still exist. Building trust and widespread adoption requires addressing these data privacy issues.

Regulatory uncertainty presents another hurdle. Currently, there’s no central authority overseeing and regulating blockchain protocols. The need for some form of governance is apparent, but careful consideration will need to be given to the distribution of power within such a system.

  • Blockchain & Crypto

Author

Dan Brightmore

Published

28 August 2024

Estimated Read time

4Mins

The growth of international trade and global mobility has fueled the demand for efficient cross-border payments solutions. Legacy systems are…

The growth of international trade and global mobility has fueled the demand for efficient cross-border payments solutions. Legacy systems are often slow and expensive, with multiple middlemen and complicated procedures.

With its decentralised and secure nature, blockchain technology offers a compelling alternative. Furthermore, as the cross-border payment market is expected to reach $290 trillion by 2030, blockchain and digital payments are emerging as strong contenders to streamline international transactions.

Introduction to Blockchain in Cross-Border Payments

While blockchains are not designed exclusively for payments, they offer a powerful foundation for streamlining cross-border transactions. Unlike traditional banking systems restricted by national borders, blockchains are global by nature. Also, in a blockchain payment system, payers and payees use a shared network with common data formats. This enables direct transactions to and from anywhere.

Traditional card and banking networks are controlled by individual institutions. Blockchains distribute this authority. Anyone with an internet connection can participate in these permissionless networks. Moreover, this removes the control of centralised systems, making them more accessible for both merchants and customers.

Benefit 1: Speed

Traditional reliance on central authorities can slow down transaction processing. For example, depositing a check on a Friday might not show up in the recipient’s account until Monday because of limited bank hours.

Blockchain technology operates 24/7 and enables much faster settlement times. On some blockchain networks, transactions can be finalised in minutes. This efficiency is especially beneficial for cross-border payments.

Benefit 2: Cost Savings

A report by Jupiter Research shows that by 2030, banks could save over $27 billion in cross-border settlements. This efficiency comes from blockchain eliminating the need for intermediaries. Also, consumers often pay banks or notaries for verification, but blockchain removes this dependency and its fees.

Benefit 3: Security

Traditional and centralised databases use a single point of access, making them vulnerable to cyberattacks. Blockchain technology offers a stronger alternative. It distributes encrypted data across a network of interconnected computers.

This system, called a distributed ledger, makes tampering very difficult. Any change would need to be reflected across the entire network at once. Additionally, blockchain allows controlled access. Only authorised participants can see or modify specific data. This granular control significantly reduces the risk of unauthorised access and fraud.

Benefit 4: Transparency

A key strength of blockchain technology is its transparency. This comes from a fully traceable and tamper-proof transaction record. Therefore, every transaction on the blockchain is permanent and unchangeable.

Once verified by the network, it cannot be altered or deleted. This permanence applies even to attempts to modify a transaction. Moreover, hanging it would require altering every single block after it in the chain, a nearly impossible task.

Benefit 5: Improved Liquidity Management

Liquidity describes how easily you can buy or sell something without affecting the price. For digital currencies, more liquidity means steadier prices with less fluctuation.

Blockchain technology has the potential to change how companies handle liquidity. By offering real-time information on a company’s financial health and available cash, blockchain helps treasurers. They get a complete picture of the company’s cash across all entities, departments, bank accounts, and locations, accessible at any time.

Transparency from blockchain technology empowers treasurers to make more accurate cash flow forecasts. It also helps them allocate cash resources more efficiently, for example, in supply chain finance and refinancing activities.

Benefit 6: Reduced Error Rates

Unlike traditional systems where human errors can occur, blockchain uses a network of computers for verification. Thousands of computers on this network work together to confirm each transaction, making errors much less likely.

Even if one computer makes a mistake, it only affects its copy and is rejected by the rest of the network. This strong verification process creates a highly accurate record of information.

Benefit 7: Better Compliance

Financial regulations create a complex compliance challenge for institutions. Blockchain technology offers a solution with its secure, transparent, and permanent record of transactions. It simplifies compliance processes for regulators, who can monitor and audit transactions more easily.

Blockchain can also streamline customer onboarding and anti-money laundering (AML) efforts. Secure identity management using blockchain streamlines these procedures and guarantees accurate records.

Conclusion

Blockchain technology promises a future of secure, efficient, and streamlined cross-border payments. With its shared record of transactions, it significantly reduces fraud and data breaches. By removing middlemen, blockchain also allows for faster, cheaper transactions with greater transparency throughout.

  • Blockchain & Crypto

Author

Published

16 August 2024

Estimated Read time

3Mins

From fraud detection to reinsurance: the top five applications for blockchain technology in insurtech.

A blockchain is a digital record stored in encrypted blocks linked by a computer network. It uses a decentralised ledger to offer data security without relying on third parties. Its penetration into various industries, including insurance, has led to a new wave of innovations.

Blockchain in insurance improves efficiency and security, creating a better customer experience. This technology can transform the paperwork-heavy insurance industry into an automated digital system. Blockchain-powered storage systems are safer from fraud and theft. The claim processing process is also faster with blockchain technology, as it enables real-time data collection and analysis. 

Many insurance companies have adopted blockchain technology and seen significant benefits. 

Use case 1: claims processing

Blockchain streamlines and speeds up claims processes by the distributed ledger scheme. The ledger allows transparent tracking of the claim process from inception or First Notice of Loss (FNOL) until settled in court or otherwise resolved by the insurer. It contrasts the traditional processes that involve filing, validation, and approval manually, which can be time-consuming. 

Blockchain enables policyholders and insurers to monitor each stage of the process in real-time. Customers gain more control over their data, including access rights.

Use case 2: fraud detection

Combating fraud could also be facilitated by blockchain technology. The immutable ledger used in blockchain can record transactions securely, and once the data is stored, it cannot be altered or deleted. This creates an auditable trail for all transactions, allowing insurance companies to identify suspicious activities indicative of fraud. 

Blockchain can also validate the authenticity, ownership, and provenance of documents submitted while checking for police reports and claims history. This allows fraud detection linked to a specific identity possible. 

Use case 3: policy management 

Insurers can improve their policy management using blockchain. It can provide more secure and transparent data storage compared to traditional systems. 

Blockchain technology streamlined the policy issuance process by employing smart contracts. Smart contracts are digital contracts that self-execute automatically when the parties involved meet the predefined conditions. This simplifies the administrative process and eliminates the need for intermediaries. 

As a less human-dependent system, it also reduces the risk of errors or discrepancies. Human employees can then focus on more complex tasks and reduce overall operational costs. 

Use case 4: reinsurance 

Blockchain improves transparency and efficiency in the reinsurance market. Reinsurance involves transferring risks between insurance companies to mitigate and distribute risks while increasing capacity. Blockchain technology can simplify this process by allowing customers to submit claims similarly to traditional insurance policies but using the blockchain ledger. The security and transparency offered by the immutable and accessible ledger ensure the safety of this process.  

Customers can also get a faster settlement of claims and contracts due to the streamlined process. Payments can be triggered automatically once conditions are met, reducing delays and increasing efficiency. 

Use case 5: Peer-to-Peer Insurance 

Blockchain ensures transparency and efficiency in Peer-to-Peer (P2P) insurance processes. P2P is a collaborative insurance model where a group of people can pool their resources to insure each other against specific risks. This model has various types, such as auto, life, health, and homeowner insurance, and is usually shared by family members or business partners.  

Blockchain can facilitate enhanced security and transparency for P2P insurance policyholders due to the nature of the ledger used. The technology can encode P2P insurance terms and conditions into smart contracts, making it more efficient.

Using blockchain, P2P insurance customers can easily compare quotes from different insurance providers. Customers can also avoid concerns over hidden fees related to agents by using this technology. 

Conclusion 

Blockchain offers many ways for insurance companies to improve their management, services, and products. It provides a more secure environment, reduced operating costs, and efficient claims processes. Its vast potential for the insurance industry is expected to propel more adoption in the future.

  • Blockchain & Crypto

Author

Published

6 August 2024

Estimated Read time

3Mins

The financial technology sector is witnessing a surge in the adoption of blockchain technology, particularly for its transformative capabilities in customer verification.

Traditional methods of identity authentication often face limitations in security and reliability, exposing user data to potential breaches. Blockchain, however, offers a compelling solution. This article explores how blockchain technology is changing the way industries approach customer verification.

Blockchain and Identity Verification and Management

Customer verification is critical in ensuring the security of accounts and transactions. Traditional identity management systems relied on trusted authorities to issue and manage credentials. This centralised nature makes them lack transparency and vulnerable to data breaches.

Blockchain presents a transformative solution for this issue. This distributed ledger technology offers a secure and transparent way to store and manage data. Each piece of information is cryptographically linked within a chain of blocks. Each block in the chain contains a unique cryptographic hash, acting as a digital fingerprint. And, lastly, each block’s hash incorporates the hash of the preceding block. 

This makes it virtually impossible to tamper with the data once recorded. Any attempt to alter information in a previous block would change its hash, triggering a cascade of changes throughout the chain and exposing the tampering. This inherent security significantly reduces the risk of identity theft and fraud compared to traditional methods.

Another core strength of blockchain technology lies in its inherent transparency. Blockchain technology permanently records every transaction and instance of data entry on a shared ledger, accessible to all participants in the network. This fosters trust by promoting accountability and facilitating immediate verification for activities like dispute resolution.

How Blockchain Improves Efficiency

Customer onboarding for financial institutions hinges on verifying a customer’s identity. Traditionally, this involves multiple document submissions across various institutions. Blockchain technology streamlines this process.

One approach involves storing encrypted personal information (PII) like passports or driver’s licences on the blockchain. Customers would then grant permission to specific institutions to verify their identity. This eliminates the need to repeatedly submit documents for each new financial relationship. 

It also creates a more reliable data source for institutions since everyone would be referencing the same information. Additionally, customer control over access simplifies compliance with privacy regulations.

Case Studies

One example of how financial institutions are leveraging blockchain technology for customer verification is Tradle, a Know-Your-Customer (KYC) platform built on blockchain. This platform utilises bots to scan relevant customer information, such as financial data and employment history, providing banks with verifiable background checks to streamline loan approvals. 

The gathered information is then secured on the blockchain for both internal bank transfers and external data sharing, ensuring its immutability and trustworthiness. This approach offers financial institutions a secure and efficient way to conduct KYC checks, potentially reducing processing times and fraud risks.

Future Outlook

The future of digital identity management appears to be closely linked with the potential of blockchain technology. A report by Market Research Future predicts a surging market, reaching a valuation of $17.81 billion by 2030, driven by government initiatives that promote blockchain development worldwide.

Blockchain’s core strengths—security and transparency—offer a compelling alternative to traditional identity management systems. Ongoing advancements in blockchain technology and a growing focus on digital identity security point towards a promising future.

  • Blockchain & Crypto

Author

Dan Brightmore

Published

26 July 2024

Estimated Read time

4Mins

Blockchain technology has elevated transparency and accountability in the finance industry. By ensuring the integrity and security of financial data,…

Blockchain technology has elevated transparency and accountability in the finance industry. By ensuring the integrity and security of financial data, blockchain transforms how financial reporting is done, helps prevent fraud, and secures transactions.

Integrating blockchain into financial systems promotes trust among stakeholders, from investors to regulators. This potential stems from blockchain’s transparency, immutability, and security.

The technology offers investors clarity and security. It provides a transparent view of transaction histories and asset ownership, which reduces the risk of fraud and increases investor confidence.

For regulators, blockchain serves as a tool to improve monitoring and enforcement of compliance with regulations. Moreover, the immutable nature of blockchain records ensures accurate and permanent logging of financial transactions. Additionally, aiding in audit trails and regulatory oversight, particularly in areas like anti-money laundering and know your customer (KYC) rules.

Securing transactions with immutable ledgers

Blockchain’s immutable ledger ensures that once data is recorded, it cannot be easily altered or tampered with. Each piece of information, like transaction details, is stored in blocks and protected by unique hash values.

Hash values are alphanumeric strings generated for each block, linking it securely to the previous block. This chaining ensures that any attempt to change data in one block would invalidate the entire chain. Therefore, making tampering detectable and preventing unauthorised alterations.

The security of blockchain is reinforced by its decentralised nature. Copies of the blockchain are stored across multiple computers in a network, and consensus among these nodes ensures the integrity and originality of the data.

This robust system not only enhances security but also supports applications like smart contracts. These automate and enforce agreements based on set conditions.

Blockchain for real-time auditing

Blockchain technology enables real-time auditing, thanks to its decentralised and transparent nature. This ensures auditors can verify the authenticity and integrity of financial data without relying on centralised authorities or intermediaries.

This capability not only improves audit efficiency but also strengthens trust and confidence in financial reporting. Furthermore, auditors can track transactions from their inception through to completion in real-time, reducing the risk of errors. By eliminating the need for manual reconciliation and audit trails, blockchain reduces the time and resources traditionally required for auditing processes.

Meeting regulatory demands with blockchain

The technology helps businesses meet complex regulatory requirements more effectively. As data entries are permanent and secure once recorded, blockchain ensures information cannot be altered or deleted. It provides a reliable way to consolidate and verify data needed for regulatory reporting.

For regulators, blockchain simplifies oversight by offering a shared platform where transaction details are transparent and accessible in real-time. Moreover, this decentralised approach eliminates the need for extensive manual checks and balances, making it easier to monitor and enforce compliance across various stakeholders.

The ability to streamline regulatory reporting is particularly evident in industries like reinsurance. Here, blockchain facilitates faster and more accurate reporting among insured parties, insurers, brokers, and regulators.

Case Studies

Several financial institutions have demonstrated improved transparency through their adoption of blockchain technology. For example, J.P. Morgan offers a prominent use case, which launched its Quorum blockchain platform in 2016.

Quorum, based on Ethereum, has been used for various applications like debt issuance and financial transaction settlements. Moreover, this platform enhances transparency by providing a secure and decentralised way to record and verify transactions, reducing the risk of errors and fraud in financial operations.

Similarly, the African Development Bank Group (AfDB) partnered with BanQu to develop the Supply Chain Finance Blockchain. Additionally, this platform aims to streamline supply chain finance for SMEs in Africa, making transactions more transparent and efficient. Also, by leveraging this tech, AfDB improves visibility across the supply chain, ensuring funds are allocated and tracked accurately, thereby enhancing transparency in financial operations.

  • Blockchain & Crypto

Author

Dan Brightmore

Published

22 July 2024

Estimated Read time

4Mins

Blockchain payments are becoming more popular. In 2023, the adoption of blockchain payments like cryptocurrencies reached a new height of…

Blockchain payments are becoming more popular. In 2023, the adoption of blockchain payments like cryptocurrencies reached a new height of 420 million users globally, per a Triple-A report. This number is an 800 percent increase compared to the previous year.

Blockchain is a decentralised digital ledger that records and verifies transactions through a network of computers. Unlike traditional payment methods, blockchain payments occur directly between parties. Each transaction is stored in a ‘block’ linked to previous blocks, forming a chronological chain.

The technology provides enhanced security and speed for cross-border payments. International payments used to be a complex process due to the different currencies and banking systems involved. However, the technology can simplify transaction processes significantly.

Speed and efficiency

Blockchain payments revolutionised traditional cross-border payments by enabling faster and more efficient transfers.

The decentralised network used in blockchain eliminates the need for a central authority. It simplifies the verification for transactions and avoids process delays. The technology also allows direct peer-to-peer transactions with no extra parties.

Thus, settlement speeds are much faster than in traditional banking systems. Unlike traditional ones, blockchain payments can be made within minutes instead of lengthy periods of days.

Cost reduction

Blockchain cross-border transactions come with significantly lower transaction fees than traditional systems. This is mainly due to the absence of intermediaries.

It also allows users to get lower currency fees than traditional modes. Moreover, cryptocurrency options offer no currency fees at all.

Security enhancements with blockchain

The security systems used by traditional banks involve third parties, which often means heightened vulnerability. The additional parties might experience operational issues that can affect the banks. Each third-party involvement adds possible risks to the main payment system. Blockchain payments remove the need for additional parties and enhance security with better transparency.

They use a decentralised network where multiple network participants verify and record each transaction. This makes it nearly impossible for system manipulation incidents to happen.

The technology also allows the use of smart contracts. These are digital contracts stored in a blockchain that automatically enforce themselves when specific conditions are met. These AI-powered contracts reduce reliance on transaction intermediaries and avoid potential fraud or errors. This contrasts with traditional systems, which require third parties to safeguard information

Case studies

Some financial institutions have already used blockchain for cross-border payments. Ripple is a prime example of blockchain technology’s effect on cross-border transactions. Its native cryptocurrency, XRP, plays an important role in this. Cryptocurrency can aid faster and cheaper international transactions. Moreover, its worldwide network of financial institutions allows a near-instantaneous settlement.

In the trade finance sector, cross-border payments play an important role. Platforms like Marco Polo have included blockchain payment options in their services.This simplifies and better secures trade financing transactions.

E-commerce platforms also included these payment options, like Bitcoin, to increase global sales. One of the online platforms that accept Bitcoin payments is CheapAir, an online travel agency. Another one is NewEgg, an e-commerce platform for computer parts and consumer electronics.

Future prospects for blockchain payment systems

Blockchain technology is still evolving and more companies will likely adopt blockchain payment systems. The rising need for faster and more secure global payments is expected to drive the broader adoption of blockchain payments.

Among the future trends that involve blockchain payments for cross-border transactions is the rise of central bank digital currencies (CBDCs). CDBCs are a digital version of national currency that is more efficient for cross-border transactions.

More blockchain-based platforms will emerge and further streamline international trade finance processes. These platforms will facilitate end-to-end trade finance, including documentation, tracking, and payment.

The security for blockchain transactions will continue to develop, as zero-knowledge proofs and advanced encryption are increasingly used.

Partnerships with traditional financial institutions and global payment networks will expand. This can further enhance the accessibility and adoption of blockchain payments.

  • Blockchain & Crypto

Author

Dan Brightmore

Published

16 July 2024

Estimated Read time

4Mins

Blockchain has transformed transaction security. Blockchain platforms use the technology to create a shared digital ledger that records every transaction. This ledger is distributed across a network of computers, making it almost impossible to alter or tamper with the data.

Blockchain also makes financial transactions more efficient. Traditional financial systems often involve multiple intermediaries, such as banks and payment processors. Blockchain removes the need for intermediaries, speeding up the transaction process and decreasing costs.

Still, blockchain’s high level of security is its most essential feature. It helps prevent fraud and unauthorised access, ensuring that users can trust the safety of their financial transactions. This article explores the top ten blockchain platforms that facilitate secure transactions.

Bitcoin (BTC)

Known for its decentralised architecture and security through the proof-of-work consensus mechanism, Bitcoin stands as the pioneering blockchain platform. It offers users a secure method for peer-to-peer transactions, and the BTC token is a reliable store of value globally.

Ethereum (ETH)

Ethereum revolutionised blockchain technology by introducing smart contracts, enabling the creation of decentralised applications (dApps) and various financial services. It has a vibrant developer community and ongoing upgrades, including the transition to Ethereum 2.0 aimed at improving scalability and reducing energy consumption.

Ethereum is ideal for developers and users interested in decentralised applications and smart contracts.

Ripple (XRP)

Ripple specialises in facilitating rapid and cost-effective cross-border payments and remittances, appealing to financial institutions seeking efficiency. It ensures fast transaction speeds and low costs, positioning itself as a competitive option in the global payment landscape.

Ripple is a practical choice for financial institutions needing fast and affordable cross-border transactions.

Stellar (XLM)

Stellar shares similarities with Ripple, focusing on fast and low-cost cross-border transactions but also targeting individual users alongside financial institutions. It aims to simplify the process of international money transfers while maintaining strong security.

Stellar serves as a viable option for users and institutions seeking accessible and cost-effective solutions for cross-border payments, emphasising simplicity and security.

Hyperledger Fabric

Hyperledger Fabric caters specifically to enterprise needs, offering a permissioned blockchain platform that prioritises security and privacy. Its modular architecture enables tailored solutions for businesses requiring controlled access to data and secure financial transactions.

Implementing and managing Hyperledger Fabric demands substantial technical expertise, limiting its accessibility for non-enterprise users. Enterprises seeking secure and customisable blockchain solutions should consider Hyperledger Fabric for its features and enterprise-grade security.

Cardano (ADA)

Cardano distinguishes itself with a research-driven approach to blockchain technology, emphasising security, scalability, and sustainability. It supports smart contracts and aims to offer a platform that is both secure and capable of accommodating a wide range of decentralised applications.

Cardano’s ecosystem and developer community are still growing, impacting its pace of innovation. However, Cardano remains appealing to users and developers seeking a scientifically rigorous blockchain platform with a focus on security and scalability.

Tezos (XTZ)

Tezos introduces a self-amending blockchain capable of upgrading without hard forks, ensuring long-term stability and continuity. It supports smart contracts and decentralised applications, offering flexibility and security.

While Tezos’ innovative governance model may seem complex to newer users, it offers a compelling option for those interested in a self-amending blockchain with robust security features and a focus on long-term sustainability.

Binance Smart Chain (BSC)

Binance Smart Chain, developed by Binance, emphasises high performance and low transaction costs, making it particularly suitable for decentralised finance (DeFi) applications. It supports a broad range of financial transactions with efficient throughput.

BSC is a preferred option for DeFi developers and users seeking a platform with fast transaction processing and minimal fees, though caution is advised regarding centralization risks.

Polkadot (DOT)

Polkadot excels in interoperability, connecting multiple blockchains to enhance scalability and security across decentralised networks. It offers a scalable platform for developers to build interoperable applications spanning various blockchains.

Similar to Cardano, Polkadot’s ecosystem is still evolving, with ongoing development efforts to broaden its functionalities.

Polkadot appeals to developers interested in building interoperable and scalable decentralised applications across multiple chains.

Solana (SOL)

Solana distinguishes itself with high throughput and low transaction costs, capable of processing thousands of transactions per second. It aims to support scalable decentralised applications, particularly within the DeFi space.

Solana has maintained its appeal among developers and users looking for high-performance blockchain solutions. It continues to be a preferred option for its efficient transaction processing capabilities.

  • Blockchain & Crypto

Author

Dan Brightmore

Published

10 July 2024

Estimated Read time

5Mins

Blockchain technology has come a long way since its emergence in the mid-2000s. Initially associated only with cryptocurrencies, it is now known as a tool that revolutionises the finance industry.

In 2024, blockchain has seen transformative growth. According to a Coinbase report, on-chain projects announced by Fortune 100 companies have increased 39 percent from last year. Furthermore, 56 percent of Fortune 500 executives say their companies were working on on-chain projects.

Major actors in financial services are now embracing blockchain technology. From HSBC, IBM, and Nasdaq to JP Morgan, big names are now driving blockchain innovations. Here, this article explores ten blockchain trends expected to dominate the second half of this year.

1. Decentralised finance (DeFi)

A financial disruptor, DeFi enables peer-to-peer financial services without intermediaries such as banks. DeFi services such as Uniswap, Aave, or SushiSwap offer products and services like lending, trading, and asset management, often at competitive rates.

Under a Decentralised Autonomous Organisation (DAO), governance is placed in the hands of token holders. This results in a more inclusive decision-making process.

2. Smart contracts

Smart contracts are computer programmes that automatically execute agreements when predefined conditions are met.

One example of the financial institutions that have experimented with this is BNP Paribas. In 2020, it announced a collaboration with fintech company Digital Asset to design real-time and settlement applications using DAML smart contracts. It has also been involved in pilot projects for trade finance using blockchain.

Other than finance applications, smart contracts are also used in government services, legal industries, and notaries.

3. Cross-border payments

Most cross-border transactions are complicated and costly. Often, they also involve multiple intermediaries and currency conversions.

Blockchain offers a more efficient and cost-effective solution by allowing funds to be transferred directly between individuals and institutions. Blockchain-enabled payments take only a few seconds compared to traditional payments, which may take 3-5 business days.

Companies like Faster Payments Service, Ripple, IBM World Wire, and Strike have already demonstrated successful blockchain-based cross-border payments.

4. Digital identity verification with blockchain

Last year, 3,205 data compromise cases affected 353 million victims in the US. Nearly all were data breaches, affecting 349 million victims.

Blockchain-based digital identity verification offers a solution to this problem. Personal identity verification protocols like Civic and decentralised identity networks like Sovrin allow users to control their personal information in a way that prevents identity theft and phishing.

Additionally, these platforms simplify and speed up the data verification process, allowing service providers to reduce the time, cost, and resources spent on manual verification.

5. Asset management

Blockchain’s technological capability can reduce the risk of losses when facilitating asset management. Tokenised securities, for instance, allow users to trade digital tokens representing ownership of assets such as stocks, investment funds, and bonds.

An example of this is Paxos Gold (PAXG), an asset-backed digital token with a total market capitalisation of $327 million.

Blockchain also allows for real-time tracking of asset ownership, transactions, and changes throughout the asset lifecycle management.

6. Fraud prevention with blockchain

With blockchain, organisations can permanently track and verify transactions, which makes it a powerful tool against fraud.

Cryptography and encryption techniques help ensure the authenticity and integrity of information, making it difficult to counterfeit. Institutions like Barclays Bank, JP Morgan, and HSBC have already integrated blockchain technology into their payment infrastructures.

7. Supply chain finance

Blockchain-based supply chain finance models are becoming increasingly popular. This is because it allows supply chain partners to share information more easily.

An immutable digital ledger can track all information, from assets to product quality, saving time and money for all parties involved. IBM Food Trust uses this feature in the food supply chain sector. With a permanent, tamper-proof record of every transaction, from farm to table, the technology helps ensure the authenticity and safety of food products.

The Provenance network also uses blockchain to allow consumers to verify the origins and authenticity of products. This system makes sure that product histories are permanently recorded and easily accessible.

8. Blockchain-based trading

This year saw an increasing ownership of digital assets. The global user base for digital currencies reached 562 million people, a significant increase from 420 million in 2023. Within virtual worlds and the metaverse, trading volumes have only been increasing since the bullish run in 2023.

Blockchains can also be used to trade various assets, such as luxury goods, real estate, and intellectual property rights.

9. Internet of Things (IoT)

Blockchain can connect IoT devices to ensure safety in interactions between devices and networks. This feature opens up new opportunities for financial services such as micropayments and decentralised insurance.

Hyperledger Fabric, for example, acts as a distributed transaction ledger for various IoT transactions, helping keep track of millions of connected devices.

Another ledger, IOTA, is specifically designed for the Internet of Things (IoT). It secures sales and trading data streams to facilitate micropayments between IoT devices without transaction fees.

10. Insurance

Smart contracts built on blockchain technology can protect health records and detect fraudulent claims. Aside from that, its ability to automate claims processes can minimise human interference.

Etherisc is a company that claims to be a pioneer in parametric blockchain insurance, having used the technology since 2016. It is a decentralised insurance protocol built on blockchain technology that has developed solutions like flight delay insurance and crop insurance.

Another example is Insurwave, a blockchain-based platform developed by EY and Guardtime in collaboration with insurers and shipping companies.

  • Blockchain & Crypto