Institutional

Japan’s three megabanks, Mizuho, MUFG and SMBC, announced on October 16 that they completed a joint yen stablecoin pilot for cross-border payments, conducted in July. The test points to a new model for bank-issued digital money, with real transactions targeted for fiscal 2026. How the Yen Stablecoin Pilot Worked Three major Japanese megabanks and two…

Anthropic’s initial public offering (IPO) may carry a price tag about $500 billion lighter than investors once expected.  Some current and prospective investors have reportedly discussed a valuation of around $1.5 trillion for the November listing.  Why Did a 45% Jump Leave Investors Wanting More? The lower figure came from investors who attended Anthropic’s investor…

Bitcoin’s one-year volatility has fallen to 43%, a level that now sits within the range of S&P 500 stocks, according to a new Grayscale report. The comparison could help ease concerns among traditional investors, as inflation data keeps markets on edge. What Volatility Means for Bitcoin Volatility measures how much an asset’s price moves over…

At every major financial conference this year, it seems impossible to escape the latest AI hype train.  A ubiquitous gospel has been preached that autonomous AI agents are right on the verge of taking over global finance, effortlessly throwing around serious capital and running the economy on behalf of their human owners. But is that…

Bank of America received a $1.2 billion bill from the US Treasury a day before its earnings report. On Tuesday, the Treasury hit the second-largest US bank with more than $1.21 billion in anti-money-laundering and sanctions penalties. The bank said the charge will cut third-quarter net income by about 17 cents per share. A $1.2…

Nearly half of institutions planning to add crypto exposure in 2026 cite better infrastructure as a reason. Custody, settlement, and risk controls rank among the main reasons, according to a Coinbase and EY-Parthenon survey of 351 firms. The question has moved from what an exchange lists to how it lets capital move in and out.…

The first decade of crypto can be seen as a sequence of bubbles, hacks, memes, and projects that disappeared almost as quickly as they appeared.  I see a decade of financial experimentation.  An open, global laboratory operating 24/7, with an unusual combination of innovation, speculation, fraud, successes, and failures.  Not everything created in that environment…

Samsung Electronics will publish preliminary Q3 earnings guidance on Thursday. Analysts expect operating profit of 106.1 trillion won ($79.1 billion), which would mark a fourth straight record quarter. Demand for artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure is still outrunning memory supply. However, memory price gains slowed during the quarter, leaving investors questioning whether chip margins have topped…

Gold’s price swings are now affecting corporate dealmaking, with Perseus Mining’s chief executive saying companies struggle to agree on valuations.  Craig Jones said mergers and acquisitions (M&A) activity remains high, but not many deals are reaching completion. Gold’s Takeover Wave Hits a Valuation Wall Reuters noted that elevated bullion prices have driven a string of…

Amber Premium is moving deeper into blockchain infrastructure. The digital asset platform, owned by Nasdaq-listed Amber International, has joined XDC Network as a masternode validator through its Singapore business, Sparrow Tech. That means Amber will now help verify transactions and support the network itself. For a company better known for crypto trading and wealth management,…