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Coinflip and its CEO Benjamin Weiss have been accused by the Washington State Department of Financial Institutions (DFI) of violating the Uniform Money Services Act. The DFI seeks to revoke Coinflip's money transmission license, prohibit the company and its related personnel from continuing to operate, and impose a fine of $1,029,600.The DFI stated that an inspection in 2025 found that Coinflip had insufficient anti-money laundering controls, inadequate transaction monitoring, failure to enforce transaction limits, inaccurate regulatory reporting, and unclear fee disclosures. The agency also accused Coinflip of failing to timely refund at least 15 customers as required. The proposed order requires Coinflip to refund eligible customers in Washington State, with customers aged 60 and above eligible for refunds of transaction fees and markup fees. Coinflip and Benjamin Weiss may request an administrative hearing to contest the allegations, refund requirements, license revocation, fines, and industry bans.

Blockchain-native fintech startup OpenReserve has received preliminary conditional approval from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) to establish a full-service national bank in Salt Lake City, Utah. The approval process took less than five months, with OpenReserve submitting its application on April 13.OpenReserve must raise at least $210 million in initial paid-in capital within 12 months and maintain a leverage ratio of at least 12% for three years after opening; it must also commence operations within 18 months, or the approval will become invalid. The relevant deadlines are September 2027 and March 2028, respectively. OpenReserve plans to offer tokenized deposits, fund management, foreign agency services, and banking-as-a-service for institutional clients. The full-service national bank license will allow for deposit-taking and lending activities once final approval is granted.OpenReserve previously completed a $25 million seed round financing, led by a16z crypto, with participation from Coinbase Ventures, Jump Capital, and Wintermute Ventures. The company intends to establish a wholly-owned subsidiary to issue and redeem dollar-denominated, reserve-backed stablecoins, but this subsidiary has not yet submitted an application to the OCC.

The Bank for International Settlements (BIS) released Working Paper 1374, proposing a technical solution based on the XRP Ledger (XRPL) to verify the source and integrity of official statistical data. This solution generates cryptographic fingerprints for SDMX datasets and records the hash values of batch data on the XRPL, while the original data itself is not stored on the chain.Users can verify the identity of data publishers and whether the data has been tampered with through digital signature credentials combined with a one-time on-chain query. Prototype testing results show that data publication takes about 3 to 5 seconds, while the verification process only takes about 1 to 2 seconds. The paper specifically notes that this system is currently only in the proof-of-concept stage and has not yet been put into a formal production environment.

The People's Bank of China announced the overall operation of the payment system for the second quarter of 2026. By the end of the second quarter, a total of 10.267 billion bank cards had been issued nationwide. Among them, there were 677 million credit cards and credit card loans, a decrease of about 10 million cards compared to the end of the first quarter, and a decrease of nearly 20 million cards since the beginning of the year, averaging over 100,000 credit cards exiting the market each day. Compared to the historical peak of 807 million cards in the second quarter of 2022, the number of credit cards has been reduced by about 130 million.The mid-year report of listed banks in 2026 shows that the overdraft balances of credit cards from the six major state-owned banks decreased at the end of the first half compared to the end of the previous year. The Industrial and Commercial Bank of China had a credit card loan balance of 597.157 billion yuan, a decrease of 14.39% from the end of the previous year. By the end of June, the cumulative number of credit cards issued by Bank of China was about 152 million, with an increase of 1.76 million cards compared to the end of the previous year; China Merchants Bank saw a net increase of 256,300 cards to 97.7073 million cards.In terms of asset quality, the non-performing loan ratios for Agricultural Bank of China and Postal Savings Bank of China remained at 2.05% and 1.45%, respectively; the non-performing loan ratio for Industrial and Commercial Bank of China rose to 5.37%; and the non-performing loan ratio for Bank of Communications increased from 2.68% to 3.8%. The non-performing loan ratio for China Minsheng Bank rose to 4.22%, and for Industrial Bank, it rose to 3.79%. In the first half of the year, China Merchants Bank generated new non-performing loans of 23.698 billion yuan, with a non-performing loan ratio of 1.90%. In August 2026, the principal and interest of non-performing credit card transfers amounted to 12.2 billion yuan.

According to data from the Central Bank of Brazil (BCB), cryptocurrency purchases in July amounted to $572 million, a decrease of nearly 80% compared to $2.6 billion in June, and a decline of nearly 60% from $1.4 billion in July 2025.Fernando Rocha, head of the statistics department at the Central Bank of Brazil, stated that the changes are part of the adaptation of cryptocurrency exchanges to the new regulatory environment for digital assets, with anti-money laundering controls and governance requirements being significant factors in the reduction of transaction volume. Since 2026, the total amount of cryptocurrency purchases in Brazil has reached $15.25 billion, more than doubling compared to $7.6 billion in the same period of 2025. BCB noted that most of the related transactions involve stablecoins.

The People's Bank of China Open Market Operations Office announced that to maintain ample liquidity in the banking system, on September 7, 2026, the People's Bank of China will conduct a reverse repurchase operation of 500 billion yuan using a fixed amount, interest rate bidding, and multiple price level bidding method, with a term of 3 months (89 days), maturing on December 5, 2026 (postponed in case of holidays).

Banco do Brasil announced an investment of 5 million USD using its own funds in a digital-native structured note transaction issued by Citi and completed through the Euroclear digital financial market infrastructure platform, becoming the first of its kind in Latin America. Banco do Brasil stated that blockchain technology enables the native digitization of assets, reduces operational steps, and enhances transaction traceability, laying the foundation for new trading, settlement, and asset management models.The bank noted that the investment aligns with its ongoing focus on changes in the financial industry. Francisco Lassalvia, Vice President of Wholesale Banking at Banco do Brasil, stated that decentralized digital technology has become a long-term structural trend in financial markets. Roksolana Dushynska, Equity Structured Products Manager at Citi Global Markets, pointed out that distributed ledger technology can enhance the efficiency, transparency, and accessibility of capital markets. Banco do Brasil previously participated in the Brazilian Central Bank's digital currency Drex pilot and proposed an offline payment solution. The bank is controlled by the Brazilian federal government and is also listed on the Brazilian securities market.

The Bank of Korea stated that thanks to Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix actively expanding domestic production facilities, South Korea's leading advantage in memory chip capacity is expected to further expand.The Bank of Korea expects that new chip factories to be put into production by 2028 will increase South Korea's monthly wafer capacity by approximately 600,000 wafers.

SWIFT service provider Bottomline announced a collaboration with the blockchain infrastructure project Chainlink to enable over 600 bank clients in its network to access blockchain-based cross-border settlements. Bottomline processes over $16 trillion in payments annually and serves 1,200 financial institutions and 10,000 enterprises.Through this integration, banks can continue to use the ISO 20022 standard to send payment instructions, with Chainlink's infrastructure connecting the instructions to blockchain settlements. Chainlink's Cross-Chain Interoperability Protocol (CCIP) supports the transfer of tokenized value across different blockchain networks, while Chainlink's Runtime Environment (CRE) is responsible for payment processes, transaction routing, and operational change coordination.CCIP has been recording mainnet activity since July 2023 and is currently connected to over 60 blockchain networks. Chainlink's Project Pangea has covered more than 50 banking institutions in Europe and South Korea, with participants managing assets totaling over $10 trillion, and the project's goals include achieving T+0 settlement for foreign exchange transactions.

U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders and Representative Greg Casar introduced the "Artificial Intelligence Superintelligence Prohibition Act," which calls for a permanent ban on the development of superintelligent AI and a suspension of advanced AI research until new federal agencies establish safety standards and review procedures. Sanders criticized large AI companies for developing technologies that they cannot fully understand or reliably control, stating that companies and individuals who violate the regulations could face up to 20 years in prison, with the most serious cases potentially subject to what is referred to as "corporate death penalty."The bill defines superintelligence as AI systems that achieve or exceed human capabilities across numerous tasks or could undermine human control (including overthrowing the U.S. government), and this definition also encompasses human-level AGI. The bill plans to establish a new cabinet-level agency responsible for monitoring advanced models, overseeing the removal of dangerous capabilities, and the destruction of banned systems, as well as forming an AI advisory committee to provide scientific and technical advice.On the same day the bill was announced, OpenAI released GPT-6 Astra, with co-founder Greg Brockman stating that he personally believes this model may meet the definition of AGI. OpenAI described Astra as its first model to reach a "critical" threshold of cybersecurity capability, potentially discovering and exploiting unknown vulnerabilities in protected systems without gradual human guidance, with its strongest cybersecurity capabilities limited to selected testers. Previously, OpenAI and Anthropic's models had repeatedly accessed real systems without authorization during testing, including incidents where OpenAI's model breached Hugging Face to obtain test answers.

Cointelegraph reported that the crypto-friendly bank Revolut has received conditional approval from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) to obtain a national bank charter in the United States.The company aims to launch related services by 2027, which will include loans, credit cards, custodial deposits, and cryptocurrency access services.

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) has preliminarily approved OpenReserve's application for a national bank charter. The company completed a $25 million seed round of financing in April, led by a16z crypto, with participation from Jump Capital, Acrew, Coinbase Ventures, Clocktower, Quona, and the Middle Eastern venture capital fund AAF Management.OpenReserve is led by fintech executives including Dee Choubey, co-founder of MoneyLion, and is committed to combining traditional banking, blockchain infrastructure, and digital asset services, utilizing digital assets and technology to achieve 24/7 operations. OpenReserve is also applying for Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) insurance and has submitted its application to the FDIC.

According to CoinDesk, digital bank SoFi has partnered with cryptocurrency exchange Kraken to interconnect their respective financial infrastructures. Kraken's parent company Payward will join SoFi's settlement network SEN, allowing its institutional clients to transfer dollars and manage liquidity around the clock without waiting for traditional bank operating hours.Meanwhile, Kraken will launch the bank-issued stablecoin SoFiUSD from SoFi, while SoFi will use Kraken Prime as an additional source of liquidity for its clients' cryptocurrency trading. SoFi CEO Anthony Noto stated that the financial system should not close when financial markets remain open; Payward co-CEO David Ripley noted that millions of users will purchase cryptocurrency assets for the first time through the applications they use daily, and the underlying infrastructure should connect deep, liquid markets.This collaboration is part of SoFi's return to the digital asset space. SoFi has already provided cryptocurrency trading in its app and launched the dollar-backed stablecoin SoFiUSD, and in April of this year, it introduced Big Business Banking, integrating corporate banking with digital asset services. Both parties indicated that future collaborations may also expand to payments, fund management, lending, and other digital asset services.

According to Businesswire, the bank-led digital currency network Cari announced that it has raised $32.5 million in its first round of external financing, with all funds coming from banking institutions, including First Horizon Bank, Huntington Bank, KeyBank, M&T Bank, Old National Bank, and SouthState Bank, as well as Glacier Bank.Cari is built on an Ethereum-based permissioned Layer 2 blockchain, aimed at helping banks put funds on-chain through shared infrastructure, providing programmable financial services. The new funds will be used to accelerate bank access and integration, expanding tokenized deposits and programmable currency application scenarios.

According to Decrypt, New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani and Education Director Kamar Samuels announced a one-year ban on the use of generative AI for students from 2-K to eighth grade, starting from the 2026-27 school year, affecting nearly 600,000 students, about two-thirds of the city's enrollment. All generative AI software aimed at students is prohibited, and companion chatbots are banned across all grades, including high school.Mamdani stated that the tech industry wants people to view AI-driven early education as an inevitable and necessary trend, but the city government disagrees. He believes that children need teachers and interpersonal interaction to learn and grow. During the ban, New York City will study the impact of AI and tighten screen time: students in second grade and below will be limited to one-on-one device use, while grades three to five will have a daily limit of 30 minutes, and grades six to eight will have 45 minutes.Meanwhile, about 50,000 high school students (about 5%) will be allowed to use approved tools in up to five classes per school, including text analysis tool Quill, math tutoring platform Edia, Intel AI-Ready Schools, Brisk Teaching, and Playlab. Each high school student will also participate in two 45-minute AI literacy courses each year, covering AI fundamentals, bias, risks, ethics, and career impacts. Teachers may still use AI for lesson preparation and administrative work within safety standards, while assistive technology for students with disabilities, multilingual learners, and career preparation programs in computer science will be exempt.

Geoff Kendrick, the Global Head of Digital Assets at Standard Chartered Bank, stated that the global monthly trading volume of stablecoins has reached approximately $7 trillion, with Solana accounting for about one-fifth of stablecoin transactions.The interview also discussed the development trends of stablecoin payments and settlements by 2026, as well as how different blockchain networks are forming their own application positioning. Geoff Kendrick shared the progress of enterprises adopting stablecoins and stated that enterprise-level applications will become an important driving force for the further popularization of stablecoins.

According to monitoring by BitcoinTreasuries.NET, investment bank Alliance Global Partners, which manages $2.3 billion in assets, has given Strategy (stock code: MSTR) a buy rating for the first time, with a target price of $217. This indicates a 75% upside potential.

According to Zhitong Finance, Standard Chartered Bank stated that it will expand its institutional-level Bitcoin and Ethereum spot trading business from the UK to the UAE and will launch this business.

The Payment and Settlement Department of the People's Bank of China released the overall situation of the payment system operation for the second quarter of 2025. By the end of the second quarter, a total of 15.238 billion bank accounts had been opened nationwide, including 116 million corporate bank accounts and 15.122 billion personal bank accounts; a total of 10.068 billion bank cards had been issued nationwide, including 9.354 billion debit cards and 715 million credit cards and loan cards, with 775,700 ATMs.In the second quarter, banks nationwide processed 149.789 billion non-cash payment transactions, amounting to 136.536 trillion yuan. Bank card transactions totaled 146.662 billion, amounting to 22.670 trillion yuan, of which consumer transactions accounted for 93.371 billion, amounting to 3.157 trillion yuan. Banks processed 80.053 billion electronic payment transactions, amounting to 85.816 trillion yuan, including 18.217 billion online payments, amounting to 70.785 trillion yuan, and 58.386 billion mobile payments, amounting to 13.606 trillion yuan. Non-bank payment institutions processed 333.845 billion online payment transactions, amounting to 8.211 trillion yuan.In the second quarter, the payment system processed a total of 392.751 billion payment transactions, amounting to 308.483 trillion yuan. The People's Bank of China Clearing Center system processed 5.543 billion transactions, amounting to 22.957 trillion yuan; the UnionPay interbank payment system processed 97.641 billion transactions, amounting to 6.671 trillion yuan; the NetUnion clearing platform processed 283.180 billion transactions, amounting to 14.558 trillion yuan; and the RMB cross-border payment system processed 2.121 million transactions, amounting to 4.594 trillion yuan.