Month: January 2026

A new Coinbase Institute report argues that the most important divide in global finance is no longer rich versus poor, but between those who have direct access to capital markets and those who do not, which it describes as the “brokered” versus the “unbrokered.” The report estimates that traditional intermediated rails exclude roughly four billion unbrokered individuals from owning productive assets or raising capital at scale. Closing this gap, it argues, will require rebuilding core market infrastructure so smaller investors and issuers can participate directly rather than through layers of…

South Korea’s financial regulators are reviewing a long-standing practice that effectively ties each cryptocurrency exchange to a single banking partner, as part of a broader examination of competition in the country’s crypto market, according to local media. Business outlet, the Herald Economy, citing government officials familiar with inter-agency discussions, said a review effort is being coordinated between the Financial Services Commission (FSC) and the Fair Trade Commission as policymakers evaluate whether existing practices contribute to market concentration.  Although the “one exchange–one bank” model is not explicitly codified in South Korean…