Mastercard has unveiled standards and infrastructure that will help verify interactions using blockchain networks. The new Mastercard Crypto Credential is meant to ensure that financial institutions, governments, brands and crypto organizations are meeting defined standards for the types of activities they would like to pursue...
Citi India tapped Contour to conduct its first blockchain-enabled letter of credit transaction. It was the banking giant’s first transaction using Contour, a digital trade finance network of which Citi is a founding member bank, according to a Monday (April 17) press release. Contour’s decentralized...
As the crypto industry contagion continues to spread and add casualties, bitcoin is conversely looking steady. Bitcoin, the first and most widely recognized virtual currency, is often viewed as a stand-in or proxy for the entire digital asset industry more broadly. While, admittedly, just one...
The bitcoin miner formerly known as Riot Blockchain has rebranded itself as Riot Platforms. Riot Platforms said in a Tuesday (Jan. 3) press release that the new name reflects the fact that it is diversifying its business while remaining driven by bitcoin. Already active in...
As central banks roll out central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) for both wholesale and retail use cases, public-private partnerships are expected to play a pivotal role. This is especially true for cross-border payments, where wholesale CBDCs are anticipated to improve transaction efficiency and security. Public-private partnerships are...
Nine in 10 of the world's central banks are pursuing digital currency projects, but private sector expertise and buy-in will be pivotal to their success, Anish Jain, CEO of WadzPay, tells PYMNTS in the December edition of the "Blockchain Payments Tracker."
Blockchain network Solana is trying to distance itself from one-time booster Sam Bankman-Fried. As Bloomberg News reported Thursday (Dec. 29), the company has drawn scrutiny within the industry over concerns about Solana’s ties to Bankman-Fried and his failed cryptocurrency exchange FTX. As such, the report...
The International Monetary Fund has identified central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) as more efficient alternatives to physical cash that promise to lower transaction costs, promote financial inclusion, limit illicit activity and improve the functioning of monetary policy. At the same time, public-private partnerships are essential...
The BoE has said blockchain technology isn’t yet a critical infrastructure in the financial system. But it holds open the possibility that some blockchains may become so. In a post on its website published on Wednesday (Dec. 21), the Bank of England (BoE) writes that...
