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…

Ripple Partners With Saudi Bank Unit on Blockchain Infrastructure

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…

Ripple Expands in Middle East with Riyad Bank Partnership

Key Notes Ripple and Riyad Bank recently entered a strategic partnership to explore blockchain. Their goal is to strengthen financial services across Saudi Arabia. This partnership comes after Ripple secured an EMI license in Luxembourg. San Francisco-based blockchain payments firm Ripple Labs Inc. has bagged a major deal with Riyad Bank in the Middle East. Reece Merrick, the Managing Director of Middle East and Africa at Ripple, announced the new development on X, citing that it is a move targeted at advancing Saudi Arabia’s financial future through blockchain innovation. Jeel…

OCC Proceeds With Trump-backed WLF Bank Charter Application

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The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency said no political or personal financial ties will impact the procedural review of World Liberty Financial’s bank charter application. The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency has knocked back US Senator Elizabeth Warren’s bid to pause the review of World Liberty Financial’s application for a national trust bank charter, a move she sought until US President Donald Trump divests his stake in the crypto platform.   The OCC’s Jonathan Gould confirmed on Friday that WLF’s application will be evaluated under existing regulatory…

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 $507M in USDT to Bypass Sanctions, Elliptic Reports

Key Notes The Central Bank of Iran built a dollar-linked reserve using USDT on TRON and Ethereum to avoid traditional banking restrictions. Funds initially flowed through Nobitex exchange before shifting to cross-chain bridges following a major hack in June 2025. The strategy mirrors Venezuela’s approach to managing dollar scarcity while leaving auditable traces on public blockchains. Iran’s central bank used at least half a billion dollars in USDT to ease a currency crisis and work around sanctions-driven limits on dollar access, according to a new Elliptic report. The blockchain analytics…

Coinbase CEO Corrects France Central Bank Chief on Bitcoin Issuance at Davos

Key Notes Armstrong stated Bitcoin is more independent than central banks because no country, company, or individual controls the decentralized protocol. Villeroy de Galhau said he trusts central banks with democratic mandates more than what he termed private issuers of Bitcoin. The Coinbase CEO called competition between Bitcoin and fiat currencies the greatest accountability mechanism on deficit spending. Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong pushed back against the Governor of the Bank of France during a World Economic Forum panel on January 21 after the central banker expressed skepticism about Bitcoin BTC…

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.”…

India Proposes Linking BRICS Central Bank Digital Currencies: Report

Key Notes According to two sources, India’s central bank wants BRICS nations to unify their CBDCs. The goal is to reduce reliance on the United States dollar. President Donald Trump has previously threatened tariff sanctions, a move that could be revived if this proposal passes. Two sources have reported that India has published a proposal for countries under the BRICS bloc to link their Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs). The central bank of the Asian giant strongly believes that this move will facilitate cross-border trade and tourism payments. Ultimately, this…