banks

Belarus High-Tech Park (HTP) has registered the country's first two cryptocurrency banks. The two institutions first obtained HTP resident enterprise status and then need to be certified by the National Bank of Belarus and included in the cryptocurrency bank registry, with the specific names of the institutions not yet disclosed.According to the relevant decrees issued by Belarus this year, cryptocurrency banks can combine digital token operations with banking, payment, and other related financial services.

According to CoinDesk, Barclays, HSBC UK, Lloyds, Monzo, Nationwide, NatWest, and Santander have completed the world's first interbank tokenized pound deposit customer transaction through the UK's tokenized deposit scheme.Among them, Lloyds, NatWest, and Barclays completed two remortgage transactions, with funds automatically released upon completion after being locked; three banks, including HSBC, completed peer-to-peer payments simulating online shopping.The platform was built by Quant, with EY responsible for project management, and Yearn Finance drafting the rules. The project plans to establish a company and create a rulebook, intending to issue three digital bonds that can be traded using tokenized deposits in the first quarter of 2027.

The Federal Reserve Board (Fed) plans to establish rules for payment stablecoins issued by banks, requiring that each $1 token be backed by at least $1 in approved reserve assets and generally completed customer redemptions within two business days. If the issuer consistently falls below the minimum capital requirements, they may be required to liquidate reserve assets and redeem all tokens.Reserve assets may include U.S. dollars, Federal Reserve bank balances, certain bank deposits, U.S. Treasury securities with a remaining maturity of no more than 93 days, qualified repurchase agreements, and qualified investment funds, with some tokenized forms of assets potentially included. If reserves are insufficient, the issuer must notify the Fed and restore adequate backing; otherwise, they must liquidate reserves and redeem tokens pegged to the dollar. The Fed intends to require issuers to hold standardized capital against operational and certain credit risks, with a capital charge of 2% for the first $20 billion of issued stablecoin and 1% for amounts exceeding $50 billion.Another proposal allows state member banks that hold deposits to apply to establish subsidiaries for issuing payment stablecoins. The "GENIUS Act" stipulates that once the application is substantively complete, the Fed must make a decision within 120 days. Fed Governor Michael Barr stated that stablecoins should be reliably and promptly redeemable at par in various market conditions and when issuers encounter problems, and he called for the final rules to clarify universal redemption rights. He also expressed concern about the threshold for triggering regulatory or enforcement actions for anti-money laundering deficiencies needing to reach "significant or systemic" levels. The public comment period will be 60 days following the publication in the Federal Register.

Oracle announced the expansion of its Digital Assets Data Nexus platform, adding payment execution integration, configurable wallets and smart contract controls, as well as AI-driven transaction monitoring and risk analysis features.This upgrade supports connecting existing bank payment systems with digital asset transaction execution through the ISO 20022 messaging standard, helping banks establish a unified operational model for the flow of funds between traditional currencies and digital currencies, while enhancing ledger visibility, compliance controls, and operational efficiency. The platform will also support integration with Oracle Banking Payments and Swift Ledger, covering application scenarios such as tokenized deposits, stablecoins, CBDCs, digital bonds, and real-world assets. Oracle stated that the relevant features are planned for release in fiscal year 2027.

The six major banks in Canada announced a joint exploration of a tokenized Canadian dollar deposit system, aimed at accelerating the transfer of funds between financial institutions and ultimately connecting with other digital asset programs. TD Bank announced on Tuesday that the Bank of Montreal, Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce, National Bank of Canada, Royal Bank of Canada, Scotiabank, and Toronto-Dominion Bank Group have jointly formed this joint venture project, with the possibility of more banks joining in the future.The first phase of the project will focus on promoting the transfer of tokenized deposits among participating banks. The parties stated in a joint statement that the first phase aims to enable efficient circulation of tokenized deposits among Canadian financial institutions, with the long-term goal of connecting with other emerging digital asset programs. Tokenized deposits are digital representations of funds and assets already held by banks, differing from independent stablecoins issued by crypto companies; this system allows for 24/7 programmable payments within a regulated banking system.Canada's move comes as global banks compete to put deposits on the blockchain. In the United States, regional banks are building a shared tokenized deposit network, while JPMorgan, Citigroup, and Wells Fargo have also launched their own institutional products. Recently, Swift has begun testing cross-border payments for tokenized deposits. Additionally, the Bank of Canada, Royal Bank of Canada, and Toronto-Dominion Bank completed the Project Samara test in March this year, issuing, trading, and settling CAD 100 million (approximately USD 71 million) bonds on a distributed ledger; in May, Shopify and National Bank of Canada also supported the launch of a regulated digital Canadian dollar.

According to Dealroom.co citing Bloomberg News, a consortium of 10 banks has provided Crux AI with a $22 billion loan secured by chips. Crux AI is the AI cloud service joint venture launched by Blackstone and Alphabet in May, which officially started last week.The loan will be used to purchase Google-customized TPUs. Crux AI has received a $5 billion equity investment from Blackstone, with Google providing TPUs, software, and services, planning to produce the first batch of 500 megawatts by 2027. Named lending institutions include Goldman Sachs, Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation, Barclays, BNP Paribas, and Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce.

According to an analysis by Cointelegraph of the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) MiCA registration data, the number of banks on the EU MiCA crypto service provider list has doubled from about 40 on June 26 to about 80 on September 16, with the proportion rising from about 17% to nearly 23%, approaching one-quarter. During the same period, the total number of registered Crypto Asset Service Providers (CASP) increased from 243 to 349, but the proportion of non-bank service providers decreased from about 84% to 77%, reflecting a relative shrinkage.Germany is the main driving force behind this round of bank expansion, with several cooperative banks and commercial banks recently appearing on ESMA's MiCA registration list, including Volksbank, Raiffeisenbank, and VR Bank. Germany's largest bank, Deutsche Bank, also announced on Wednesday plans to launch digital asset custody services for institutional and corporate clients in Europe. A spokesperson for the bank told Cointelegraph that regulatory approval under MiCA is expected in October.Unlike crypto companies that need to apply for CASP authorization, banks can provide crypto asset services through the notification procedure stipulated in Article 60 of MiCA, allowing them to bypass the standard CASP authorization process by simply submitting the required information to their national regulatory authority at least 40 working days before offering the service for the first time.

Binance founder CZ posted on X: Why do some people think banks need to be afraid of blockchain, or that banks need protection? Blockchain is a faster, cheaper, and easier way to transfer value. Blockchain is an open technology that anyone can use, including banks.

According to The Wall Street Journal, informed sources said that the database used by the Federal Reserve to monitor banks experienced a failure last month that lasted more than a day. This failure involved the Federal Reserve's National Information Center, which is used to provide bank-related data to regulators.It is reported that the National Information Center database experienced a failure lasting over 24 hours around August 5. Senator Elizabeth Warren stated in a letter that this database failure raised concerns about how staff cuts at the Federal Reserve might affect system maintenance and bank regulatory work.

U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessenet stated on social media: The CLARITY Act is crucial for ensuring that the United States wins the global new technology race. This is also the reason Congress passed the GENIUS Act, aimed at ensuring the construction of revolutionary financial technology infrastructure for stablecoins in the United States.Bessenet noted that ensuring the continued prosperity of the U.S. community banking sector has been a consistent focus since he took office. The government's dual emphasis on promoting the development of new digital technologies and appropriately adjusting community bank regulations is key to driving U.S. economic growth in both sectors. The final draft of the CLARITY Act advances this mission by granting the Treasury Secretary additional powers to take action when changes in the facts of deposit outflows adversely affect community banks.Bessenet stated: If stablecoins harm community banks, he will not hesitate to use these tools to ensure they are fully protected. Community banks are vital to the performance of the U.S. economy and Main Street growth; economic security is national security, and community banks play an important role in this principle.

According to South Korea's "JoongAng Ilbo," China's semiconductor industry is organized through collaboration among the central government, local governments, state-owned financial institutions, and enterprises, forming a system for fundraising, factory construction, and infrastructure support. The China National Integrated Circuit Industry Investment Fund has a first phase of 138.7 billion RMB, a second phase of 204 billion RMB, and a third phase of 344 billion RMB, totaling 686.7 billion RMB, with investments in companies such as SMIC, Hua Hong Semiconductor, and Yangtze Memory Technologies.Changxin Memory, established for 10 years, has risen to fourth in global DRAM market share, with a net loss of 21.13 billion RMB over the past three years, while R&D and equipment investments during the same period reached 185.2 billion RMB, with Hefei's state-owned capital providing about 80% of the funding for early projects. South Korea's Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix are responsible for investments, employment, technology development, and support for partners. The South Korean government plans to guide 622 trillion KRW in private investment by 2047 and provide 17 trillion KRW in low-interest loans and 1.1 trillion KRW in semiconductor ecosystem funds, but most of the burden will fall on enterprises.Park Kyung-soo, Executive Vice President of the Korea Semiconductor Industry Association: The semiconductor industry will fall behind in the next upturn if investment stops; even during downturns, R&D, equipment investment, and orders for materials and components must be maintained, requiring long-term policy, financial, and tax support. China is catching up with a national-level support system, and South Korea also needs a response system involving the government, political circles, financial institutions, and enterprises to act together.

Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong stated, "Community banks will have stronger competitiveness and opportunities to win the market if they adopt stablecoins. Coinbase is collaborating with Moov to help over 1,000 community banks integrate stablecoin-related capabilities into their existing systems. This will bring faster settlement speeds, lower costs, and real-time access to funds. The discussions in Washington regarding stablecoins and community banks overlook the most important point: stablecoins are an opportunity."

According to the Nikkei, SWIFT has launched a pilot project in collaboration with 17 banks including Citigroup, Mitsubishi UFJ, Wells Fargo, Bank of New York Mellon, UBS, and BNP Paribas to test tokenized deposit cross-border payments.The goal of this pilot is to achieve 24/7 instant transfers between different banks and reduce the cost of cross-border payments.

The central banks of the United States, Japan, and the United Kingdom will announce their monetary policy decisions this week, with the market focusing on whether the Federal Reserve will initiate its first interest rate hike in three years.Iran and Gulf countries are negotiating shipping management in the Strait of Hormuz to address high crude oil prices.

According to a report by Decrypt, a new report released by the Bank for International Settlements shows that advanced AI technology has shortened the time window for banks to fix vulnerabilities before attackers exploit software flaws. It warns that periodic security assessments and scheduled patch updates have increasingly become insufficient to meet the challenges, with the time window from vulnerability discovery to exploitation reduced from weeks to minutes.The report focuses on the banks' response capabilities, arguing that financial institutions must accelerate the speed of software fixes and expedite the related authorization decision-making processes.

According to Bloomberg, U.S. regulators released a statement on Friday announcing a proposed guideline on third-party risk management for banks. The Federal Reserve, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, and the National Credit Union Administration stated that the proposal aims to help banks and credit unions "better align and customize their third-party risk management practices to match the risks of various third-party relationships."Federal Reserve staff indicated in a memorandum that as this plan is introduced, banks are increasingly outsourcing certain functions and relying on third-party relationships to improve efficiency and reduce costs. The plan will be open for public comment, is non-binding, and aims to focus institutions' regulatory attention on a principles-based approach to such risks. Federal Reserve Governor Barr opposed the proposal, citing concerns about the standards for "significant financial risks."