Author: Oliver Torsney

India’s central bank has proposed that BRICS countries explore linking their official digital currencies to facilitate cross-border trade and tourism payments, according to a Reuters report citing sources familiar with the discussions. The initiative, if taken forward, would place CBDC interoperability firmly on the geopolitical agenda and adds new context to Europe’s own debate over the future role of the digital euro in international payments. According to Reuters, the Reserve Bank of India has recommended that the Indian government include a proposal on connecting BRICS central bank digital currencies on the agenda of the 2026 BRICS summit, which India is…

A major U.S. cryptocurrency bill was abruptly thrown into doubt this week after opposition from Coinbase, underscoring how deeply the industry now shapes financial lawmaking in Washington. The episode offers a revealing counterpoint to Europe’s more cautious, institution-led approach to crypto regulation and the digital euro. The legislation, known as the Clarity Act, was scheduled for a key Senate Banking Committee vote after months of negotiations. It aimed to establish a comprehensive framework for digital tokens, including rules on market structure, supervision and the long-running question of whether crypto assets should fall under securities law. Instead, the vote was postponed…

A senior Chinese official once at the centre of the country’s digital currency strategy has fallen after investigators traced millions of euros’ worth of Ethereum used to conceal bribes. The case of Yao Qian, former head of the People’s Bank of China’s digital currency research institute, offers a stark reminder that blockchain-based assets can leave enduring trails, even when used for corruption. Chinese state media this week detailed how Yao, later a senior official at the China Securities Regulatory Commission, received large bribes in virtual currency while abusing his regulatory influence. The most striking transaction involved 2,000 ether received in…

A bipartisan group of US senators has introduced long-awaited legislation aimed at defining how cryptocurrency markets should be regulated, a move that could reshape global crypto oversight just as Europe presses ahead with the digital euro and MiCA implementation. The bill, unveiled on Tuesday, seeks to draw clearer boundaries between the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, assigning the CFTC a central role in overseeing most crypto spot markets. Lawmakers argue that years of regulatory uncertainty have pushed innovation offshore and left firms navigating conflicting enforcement actions. According to Reuters, the proposal is the product of…

World Liberty Financial, a US crypto firm that says US President Donald Trump is a “co-founder emeritus”, has launched a crypto lending and borrowing platform aimed at expanding the use of its dollar-backed stablecoin, USD1. The move underlines how stablecoin issuers are increasingly building financial services around their tokens as competition with traditional payment and banking infrastructure intensifies. The new service, called World Liberty Markets, allows users to lend and borrow digital assets directly with one another. At launch, it supports the firm’s own USD1 stablecoin and WLFI governance token, alongside Ether, tokenised Bitcoin, and the two largest third-party stablecoins,…

A group of US Republican senators has renewed efforts to block the Federal Reserve from issuing a central bank digital currency, reviving a debate that stands in stark contrast to how the digital euro is being designed and discussed in Europe. The move matters beyond Washington because it highlights fundamentally different political assumptions about state-issued digital money on either side of the Atlantic. In a press release dated 12 January 2026, Jon Husted announced his support for the Anti-CBDC Surveillance State Act, legislation that would prohibit the Federal Reserve from issuing a retail digital dollar. The bill is led by…

BNY Mellon has taken a notable step in the evolution of digital money by launching tokenized deposits for institutional clients, signalling how major banks are adapting traditional cash to blockchain-based financial markets. The initiative allows eligible clients to use on-chain representations of bank deposits for settlement, collateral and margin workflows, without changing the legal nature of bank money. The new service, announced this week, enables institutional clients of BNY Mellon to access digital representations of their existing deposit balances on a permissioned blockchain operated by the bank. The underlying deposits remain conventional bank liabilities, recorded on BNY’s core systems, while…

Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell has said a US Department of Justice investigation into his conduct is politically motivated, linking the probe to his refusal to bow to pressure from President Donald Trump to cut interest rates. Speaking publicly about the case, Powell said the investigation follows subpoenas issued after his June testimony to Congress and concerns a costly renovation of Federal Reserve buildings. He denied misleading lawmakers and argued the scrutiny is instead connected to long-running political attacks on the Fed’s monetary policy stance. According to reporting by Cointelegraph, Powell suggested the probe reflects frustration within the Trump administration…

The scale and nature of crypto-related crime changed markedly in 2025. According to new analysis from Chainalysis, illicit activity on public blockchains reached record levels, driven less by retail scams and more by state-aligned actors using crypto as financial infrastructure. The shift matters for Europe because it reframes digital currencies not just as a market issue, but as a question of monetary sovereignty and security. Chainalysis estimates that illicit crypto addresses received at least $154 billion in value in 2025, a sharp increase on the previous year. While this still represents less than one percent of total on-chain activity, the…

World Liberty Financial has taken a significant regulatory step by applying for a US national trust bank charter, signalling its ambition to operate USD1, its dollar-pegged stablecoin, within the core of the American banking system. The company confirmed that its subsidiary, WLTC Holdings, has submitted an application to the US Office of the Comptroller of the Currency to establish World Liberty Trust Company, a national trust bank. If approved, the structure would allow World Liberty to issue, redeem, and custody USD1 directly, rather than relying on third-party banking and custody partners. The move places World Liberty Financial alongside a growing…