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The Eurosystem defined a harmonized policy to allow non-bank payment service providers (PSPs) to access central bank-operated payment systems, including TARGET. Non-bank PSPs include payment institutions (PIs) and electronic money institutions (EMIs). The broader access criteria for TARGET are aimed at enhancing the efficiency of the European retail payments market, fostering competition and innovation in the European payments landscape, and supporting the uptake of instant payments in the European Union. Starting in April 2025, non-bank PSPs meeting certain requirements will be able to access TARGET, including T2 (for settling payments) and TIPS (for settling instant payments). The Payment Services Directive was also amended to introduce the option for non-bank PSPs to safeguard users' funds in an account held with a central bank, subject to the discretion of that central bank.

The cross-border payment applications of Ripple, JPM Coin, and World Wire aim mainly at financial and enterprise institutions. None are designed for the other side of the market.

Selling pressure in cryptocurrencies can create a cascading effect that is hard to recover from. Traders on derivatives exchanges like BitMEX and Deribit must contend with auto-liquidation. Such a margin call-like event happens after there is intense spot market selling of cryptocurrencies for much-needed U.S. dollars on exchanges like Coinbase.

TIME will begin accepting crypto-assets as a form of payment for digital subscriptions through a new partnership with Crypto.com, only in the U.S. and Canada for now, with global access to roll out in the next several months.

A Bank for International Settlements brief discusses the risks connected with big tech activities in finance that may not be fully captured by current regulatory approaches. Current approaches are geared towards individual entities or specific activities, and not the risks that are created by substantive interlinkages within big tech groups and their role as critical service providers for financial institutions. An effective oversight of big tech activities in finance calls for going beyond a piecemeal policy framework and considering recalibrating the mix of entity-based and activity-based rules, in favour of the former in certain policy areas. A step further would be to assess the possibility of introducing a bespoke approach for big techs encompassing a comprehensive public policy framework. In any case, there is a need for enhancing cross-sectoral and cross-border cooperative arrangements.

Sivergate Bank is planning a big push into the USD-backed stablecoin space, focusing on those backed on a one-to-one basis offered by regulated institutions who agree to third-party audits.

BitPay supports settlement in 12 currencies and direct bank deposit in 37 countries. Cryptocurrency settlements are supported in over 200 countries. Cryptocurrency - Bitcoin (BTC), Bitcoin Cash (BCH), Gemini Dollars (GUSD), Paxos (PAX), and Circle USD Coin (USDC)

Kenya's Capital Markets Authority says it "may also be the right time to start thinking about completely transforming capital markets transactions into e-mobile where clients are on-boarded, trade and receive cash through their mobile handsets."

Crypto markets originally developed at the grass roots level, with no regulatory oversight or protection whatsoever. As the investor base broadened and as certain blow-ups highlighted the often-painful lack of rules, the demand for more reliable platforms led to the birth of the market infrastructure we have today. This in turn fueled the growth of investor interest, including that of more restricted participants with deep pockets, and the boost in volumes supported both prices and further innovation. And institutional investor involvement in crypto markets is good, but the outsized weight of its influence has led to the conflation of "crypto potential" with 'institutional needs'... And not all of crypto needs 'regulatory clarity' or institutional participation. Much of it simply needs testing with real users and real incentives with some degree of supervision to ensure fair markets and mitigate illicit use.