Tag: Bank

South Korea Central Bank Warns Stablecoins Could Complicate FX Controls

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South Korea’s central bank chief warned that Korean won-denominated stablecoins could complicate capital flow management, adding a note of caution to an ongoing debate among lawmakers over whether and how domestic stablecoins should be issued, according to local reports. Speaking at the Asian Financial Forum in Hong Kong, Bank of Korea Governor Lee Chang-yong said authorities are considering a new registration framework that would allow domestic institutions to issue virtual assets, according to a report by Radio Television Hong Kong. He cautioned, however, that stablecoins remain controversial because of their…

Ex-Ripple executive’s USBC, Uphold, and Vast Bank formalize deal for tokenized bank deposits

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USBC, led by CEO Greg Kidd, former Chief Risk Officer at Ripple Labs, announced today that it has reached an agreement on a strategic partnership with Uphold, an on-chain finance infrastructure provider, and Vast Bank, a nationally chartered bank. “Our agreement with Uphold and Vast Bank more clearly defines our vision for bank-regulated digital dollars,” Kidd said in a statement. The definitive triparty agreement formalizes an October 2025 memorandum of understanding and outlines collaboration on the regulatory, banking, and technology stack. The initiative is expected to support tokenized deposits, including…

Ripple Partners With Saudi Bank Unit on Blockchain Infrastructure

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Ripple has partnered with the innovation arm of Riyad Bank, a major Saudi financial institution, to explore the use of blockchain technology within the country’s financial system, signaling growing interest in blockchain-based infrastructure at the institutional level. The partnership was announced Monday by Reece Merrick, Ripple’s senior executive officer and managing director for the Middle East and Africa. Merrick said Ripple is working with Jeel, Riyad Bank’s innovation unit, as part of an agreement to study potential applications of blockchain technology. Source: Reece Merrick The arrangement will take the form…

US Bank Lobby Says Fighting Stablecoin Yields A Top Priority

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The American Bankers Association (ABA) has made cracking down on stablecoin yield a top priority for 2026, amid its ongoing debate with US lawmakers that it will hurt the banking industry’s competitiveness. The ABA said on Tuesday that one of several priorities it has this year is to “stop payment stablecoins from becoming deposit substitutes that slash community bank lending by prohibiting paying interest, yield or rewards regardless of the platform.” Stablecoin oversight topped a list of five priorities, which also included fighting financial fraud, stopping arbitrary interest rate caps,…

Iran‘s Central Bank Acquired $507M in USDt to Prop up Rial: Elliptic

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The Central Bank of Iran reportedly stockpiled more than half a billion dollars worth of USDt amid escalating protests and crypto usage in the country. Blockchain analytics platform Elliptic reported that the Central Bank of Iran (CBI) acquired more than half a billion dollars worth of Tether’s USDt, with indications that the stablecoins were used to prop up the country’s fiat currency. In a Wednesday report, Elliptic said Iran’s central bank had about $507 million in USDt (USDT), the US dollar-pegged stablecoin issued by Tether. According to the platform, it…

Iran’s central bank used $500M in Tether to fight FX collapse and evade sanctions

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Iran’s central bank accumulated more than $507 million in USDT to evade sanctions and access offshore dollar liquidity, according to blockchain analytics firm Elliptic. The report links a network of wallets to the Central Bank of Iran, revealing a coordinated strategy to bypass traditional banking rails. Leaked documents detail two USDT purchases in April and May 2025, paid in Emirati dirhams. The funds initially flowed through Nobitex, Iran’s largest crypto exchange, likely to inject stablecoins into the local market and stabilize the collapsing rial. Following a June 2025 hack on…

Bank of Italy Governor Says Bank Money May Become Tokenized

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Commercial bank money is likely to become fully digital in the future, alongside central bank money, according to Fabio Panetta, the governor of Italy’s central bank, Banca d’Italia. Panetta made the remarks on Wednesday while addressing the executive committee of Italy’s banking association. According to a report by Reuters, Panetta said both digital commercial bank money and central bank money would continue to anchor the monetary system, while stablecoins would only play a complementary role.  He added that the stability of stablecoins ultimately depends on their peg to traditional currencies,…

Coinbase CEO And Central Bank Governor Clash Over Trust At WEF

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The long-running tension between central banks and Bitcoin resurfaced at the World Economic Forum in Davos, where senior executives and policymakers debated regulation versus innovation in digital finance. Trust in money must come from regulated public institutions rather than private crypto issuers, French central bank Governor François Villeroy de Galhau said during a panel titled “Is Tokenization the Future?” on Wednesday. “The guarantee for trust is independence on the central bank side,” Galhau said, adding: “I trust more independent central banks with a democratic mandate than private issuers of Bitcoin.”…

Binance Australia Restores Direct Bank and PayID Transfers for User

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Crypto exchange Binance has reintroduced direct bank transfers in Australia two years after the exchange was abruptly “cut off” from the Australian banking system.  As of last Friday, Binance Australia has relaunched direct fiat bank and PayID deposits and withdrawals to its Australian users.  The rollout began with a small group of users last year, according to a statement on Monday shared with Cointelegraph.   Binance Australia and New Zealand general manager Matt Poblocki said limited fiat access has created friction for local users trying to participate in the digital asset…

Crypto Bank Anchorage Digital Eyeing $400M Raise and IPO

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Institutional crypto platform Anchorage Digital is looking to raise hundreds of millions of dollars of fresh capital as it eyes a potential Initial Public Offering. The raise would be in the $200 million to $400 million range, while a possible IPO is slated for sometime next year, according to a Bloomberg report on Friday, citing people familiar with the matter who asked to remain anonymous. Anchorage’s affiliate, Anchorage Digital Bank National Association, became the first federally chartered crypto bank in 2021 and is now well-positioned to lead stablecoin issuance and…