Cryptocurrency - Long Reads, News, Articles & Research: Finextra

Tornado Cash: The end of sanctions, a decentralised future, and financial privacy

Madhvi Sonia Head of Content at Finextra

Tornado Cash: The end of sanctions, a decentralised future, and financial privacy

In a monumental shift in regulatory policy, the US government has reversed its decision to sanction Tornado Cash, the decentralised cryptocurrency mixer that has been a subject of intense debate since 2022. As reported by CoinDesk, Tornado Cash has been “accused of helping North Korea’s Lazarus Group launder stolen funds from its various hacks a...

24 March 2025 /crypto

Are CBDC projects moving forward without public buy-In?

Bazil Sansom Research Fellow at Warwick Business School

Are CBDC projects moving forward without public buy-In?

Central banks worldwide are accelerating retail CBDC (central bank digital currency) initiatives, with a notable drive on the digital Euro, and the digital pound. Yet skepticism and resistance are on the rise. Commercial banks fear deposit outflows and costs and see CBDC as an unwelcome intervention in their business model. Meanwhile, public mistru...

21 March 2025 /crypto

Banking the future: Stablecoins pave the way in 2025

Miles Paschini CEO at FV Bank

Banking the future: Stablecoins pave the way in 2025

While the financial world continues to march ahead with digital transformation, one innovation has risen above the rest: a bridge that connects the world of traditional finance with the burgeoning digital asset industry — stablecoins. In 2025, stablecoins are going to grow increasingly relevant in changing the face of banking, with their vast pote...

10 February 2025 /crypto

Token achievement: How and why decentralised exchanges are starting to take off

Olga Klein Assistant Professor of Finance at Gillmore Centre of Financial Technology at Warwick

Token achievement: How and why decentralised exchanges are starting to take off

The still-nascent market for tokenisation and decentralised exchanges received a boost in November, when the UK Government announced plans to issue digital versions of its bonds. Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves said in her Mansion House speech on that the Government was planning to issue a ‘digital gilt instrument’ (DIGIT). Economic Secre...

07 February 2025 /crypto

Hamish Monk Senior Reporter at Finextra

$Trump: The new presidential meme coin

Donald Trump’s inauguration on 20th January was followed by a salad of executive orders, including the ejection of the USA from the Paris climate accord, the termination of birthright citizenship, the renaming of the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America, withdrawal from the World Health Organisation (WHO), the enforcement of a two-sex gender poli...

22 January 2025 /crypto

Digital asset regulation: Integrating the DTI standard

Rowan Varrall Associate Director at DTI Foundation

Digital asset regulation: Integrating the DTI standard

In the rapidly evolving world of crypto and digital assets, regulators are being forced to adapt to new challenges posed by digitalisation. The main challenge is establishing an integrated regulatory framework which supports market transparency and competition, allowing global standards to incentivise further innovation and growth in the industry....

19 December 2024 /crypto

Stablecoins under MiCA: What it means to be compliant

Rowan Varrall Associate Director at DTI Foundation

Stablecoins under MiCA: What it means to be compliant

In the rapidly evolving world of crypto and digital assets, regulatory frameworks are crucial for ensuring market integrity and investor confidence. Nearly three years after its initial proposal, the Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) Regulation was published in the EU Official Journal in June 2023, establishing a comprehensive EU regulatory framewo...

06 September 2024 /crypto

Stablecoin currency exchanges are impacting traditional FX trading

Ganesh Viswanath-Natraj Assistant Professor at Gillmore Centre, Warwick

Stablecoin currency exchanges are impacting traditional FX trading

Stablecoins are cryptocurrencies that maintain a peg to traditional fiat currencies like the US dollar or Euro. The most prominent examples by market capitalization are Tether (USDT) and USD Coin (USDC), both of which uphold a 1:1 parity with the US dollar. As of July 2024, the total market value of stablecoins has surpassed $160 billion USD. Thes...

14 August 2024 /crypto

Stablecoin: How will it impact the UK payments regime?

Bazil Sansom Research Fellow at Warwick Business School

Stablecoin: How will it impact the UK payments regime?

When I pop to my local newsagents for my Friday night treat, it is still jarring to find I must spend at least £3 when using my debit card. This means instead of one, I have to buy two bars of chocolate. It’s not good for my waistline (even with ‘shrinkflation’), and it is not ideal for the shop owner either. They are trying to cover the fees impo...

16 July 2024 /crypto

Hamish Monk Senior Reporter at Finextra

How to realise the benefits of CBDCs

With a good amount of responses to Finextra’s introductory short read, ‘What is CBDC?’ we follow up to address the prevailing commentary: “What would be the main purpose of introducing digital currency?” The answer to this can be given in terms of the benefits of central bank digital currency (CBDC). In this article we respond to our community by ...

11 June 2024 /crypto

Madhvi Sonia Head of Content at Finextra

Is Europe ready for MiCA?

Europe is currently at the tipping point of regulating cryptocurrency. The European Union has passed the Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA), which will establish uniform rules for crypto-assets across the EU market. Some of which many believe consumers have been in dire need of for some time. This is an excerpt from the Future of Digital B...

07 June 2024 /crypto

US Elections 2024: Will a crypto-savvy President be preferred after the FIT21 bill?

Madhvi Sonia Head of Content at Finextra

US Elections 2024: Will a crypto-savvy President be preferred after the FIT21 bill?

May 2024 saw the US House of Representatives pass FIT21 – the Financial Innovation and Technology for the 21st Century Act – in what has been dubbed a watershed moment for the nation’s digital asset ecosystem. Moreover, a recent Harris poll of 1,700 people sponsored by bitcoin ETF issuer Grayscale revealed that a staggering 77% believe that a US p...

30 May 2024 /crypto

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