Federal Reserve Governor Christopher Waller says the central bank is entering a "new era" in payments - one that openly embraces decentralized finance (DeFi), distributed ledgers, and digital asset innovation as part of the mainstream financial system. Speaking Tuesday at the Fed's first-ever Payments Innovation Conference in Washington, Waller said the central bank intends to play an "active role" in the crypto revolution transforming the global payments landscape.
S&P Global has entered the crypto arena with the launch of the S&P Digital Markets 50 Index, a first-of-its-kind benchmark tracking both digital assets and publicly traded crypto-related companies. Developed with Dinari, a U.S. platform specializing in tokenized public securities, the index includes 35 equities and 15 cryptocurrencies drawn from S&P's digital asset suite. In other words, the index will combine 15 major cryptocurrencies with 35 crypto-related stocks.
The group of Democrats, which included Senate Banking ranking member Ruben Gallego (AZ), Kirsten Gillibrand (NY), and Catherine Cortez Masto (NV), stated in the first page of the document that digital assets legislation should be guided by certain values, include "protecting financial privacy while denying bad actors access to the financial system." In the fifth section of the framework, they outlined what this looks like. The outline included the following points:
"The objective is to expand that sphere materially more than what we have today," Al Niama added. He'll help lead the crypto company's outreach to large financial institutions.
In June 2025, JPMorgan expanded its Bitcoin and crypto lending framework to allow clients to use Bitcoin ETFs as collateral. It began factoring Bitcoin holdings into net worth evaluations, aligning them with traditional assets.
"Partnering with Coinbase accelerates our ability to bring innovative, crypto financial solutions to our clients. We will also provide PNC's best-in-class banking services to Coinbase. This collaboration enables us to meet growing demand for secure and streamlined access to digital assets on PNC's trusted platform."
"Bit Origin is evolving beyond mining infrastructure to engage directly in the value and utility of digital assets," said Jinghai Jiang, CEO and Chairman of Bit Origin.
BBVA, the second-largest bank in Spain, has officially launched Bitcoin trading and custody services for all retail customers in country, allowing customers of legal age to buy, sell, and hold Bitcoin and crypto.
"Mubadala's increased exposure to the iShares Bitcoin Trust not only signifies its investment strategy but also highlights the growing institutional interest in cryptocurrencies."
