Author: William Torsney

China is preparing a significant upgrade to its digital currency architecture, with the next generation of the digital renminbi scheduled to take effect from January 2026. The shift marks a decisive move away from treating the e-CNY as purely digital cash and toward a model that more closely resembles digital deposit money, embedded within the banking system. For Europe, the change offers a timely reference point as lawmakers and the European Central Bank refine the design of the digital euro. According to senior officials at the People’s Bank of China, the new framework reflects more than a decade of experimentation…

Crypto companies are becoming increasingly visible players in US political finance, with new disclosures showing large donations flowing to a political action committee aligned with Donald Trump ahead of the 2026 midterm elections. The contributions underline how sharply the digital asset industry is engaging with electoral politics as regulatory decisions loom. According to recent Federal Election Commission filings cited by Cointelegraph, crypto-linked firms donated more than $21 million to MAGA Inc., a super PAC backing Trump and allied Republican candidates. The largest contributions came from Foris DAX, the parent of Crypto.com, which reportedly gave $20 million across two donations, alongside…

The future of the digital euro is approaching a decisive moment. In the first half of 2026, lawmakers in the European Parliament are expected to vote on the legislation that would allow the project to move from preparation to potential launch. Yet despite years of technical work by the European Central Bank, the political outcome remains uncertain. Recent coverage from payments and crypto-focused outlets has highlighted the fragile state of parliamentary support. Centre-right and right-leaning MEPs remain sceptical, questioning whether a public digital currency would deliver tangible benefits for citizens or simply duplicate existing private payment solutions. Some have floated…

The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) has confirmed that 75 jurisdictions have formally committed to implementing the Crypto Asset Reporting Framework, marking a significant step toward global tax transparency in the fast-growing crypto sector. According to a new monitoring update, most participating countries aim to begin exchanging crypto asset tax information from 2027 or 2028. The update, published by the Global Forum on Transparency and Exchange of Information for Tax Purposes, provides the clearest picture so far of how governments plan to extend automatic tax reporting rules to crypto assets. The framework is designed to close gaps that…

India’s central bank has delivered one of its clearest warnings yet on the risks posed by stablecoins, arguing that private digital currencies could undermine monetary sovereignty, weaken financial stability, and accelerate informal dollarisation. In its Financial Stability Report for December 2025, the Reserve Bank of India positions central bank digital currencies as a necessary public counterweight to the growing influence of privately issued digital money. The report arrives as stablecoins continue to expand globally, both in market capitalisation and in their use for cross-border payments. For the RBI, this growth is not a neutral technological development but a structural challenge…

Trump Media & Technology Group has announced plans to distribute digital tokens to its public shareholders, a move that highlights how listed companies are experimenting with blockchain-based rewards while carefully navigating securities regulation. The initiative, confirmed at the end of December, sits at the intersection of equity markets, crypto infrastructure and regulatory caution. According to an official statement from Trump Media & Technology Group, the company intends to issue one digital token for every whole share of its DJT stock held on future record dates. The tokens are described as “digital utility tokens” rather than financial instruments, and the company…

Chinese investors have channelled around $188 million into listed companies linked to the digital yuan ecosystem, according to market data reported by Yahoo Finance, as Beijing signals a deeper institutional role for its central bank digital currency. The surge underlines how China’s fast-moving CBDC strategy is already influencing capital markets, while Europe’s digital euro remains in a legislative and design phase. The inflows reflect net buying in mainland Chinese equities associated with digital currency infrastructure, including payment technology, wallet services, cybersecurity, and settlement systems. Analysts cited by Yahoo Finance linked the renewed investor interest to recent policy signals suggesting that…

The European Central Bank’s digital euro project is increasingly framed as more than a new form of public money. If EU lawmakers approve the legislation in 2026 as the ECB hopes, and issuance follows around 2029, it could become a new, public payment backbone across the euro area, one that directly challenges today’s market structure dominated by Apple Pay and Google Pay at the device layer and Visa and Mastercard at the scheme layer. That matters because Europe’s card and wallet ecosystem is deeply dependent on non-European providers. ECB officials have repeatedly highlighted that more than two-thirds of euro area…

Hong Kong regulators are preparing legislation that would bring crypto dealers and custodians under formal statutory supervision from 2026, marking another step in the city’s effort to build a tightly regulated but open digital asset market. According to the Securities and Futures Commission, the government aims to introduce new laws covering virtual asset dealers and custodians after completing public consultations on the proposals. The framework would require firms providing brokerage-style crypto services or safeguarding client assets to obtain licences and comply with prudential, governance, and risk management standards. The move is designed to close gaps in Hong Kong’s existing crypto…

The European Union will begin applying its new crypto tax transparency regime from January 2026, bringing digital assets into the same automatic information-sharing framework long used for bank accounts and securities. The rules, set out under DAC8, significantly expand the ability of tax authorities to track crypto holdings and transactions across borders. DAC8 is the latest update to the EU’s Directive on Administrative Cooperation and is designed to close what policymakers describe as a major blind spot in tax enforcement. While crypto trading and custody have grown rapidly in recent years, reporting obligations have lagged behind, allowing gains to go…