KakaoBank, Cross River, and U.S. Bank Advance Stablecoin Initiatives Across Global Markets
Hey Digital Banking Fanatic!
Ever wondered what it looks like when banks begin treating stablecoins as core infrastructure instead of a side experiment?
Today I’m seeing three moves that point exactly in that direction...
Starting in Asia, KakaoBank is preparing a won-pegged stablecoin as it explores how on-chain assets can integrate with mainstream retail banking.
Across the US market, Cross River Bank is rolling out stablecoin payments infrastructure for institutional clients, offering programmable rails built for on-chain settlement.
And joining this momentum, U.S. Bank is also testing custom stablecoin issuance on the Stellar network, evaluating how public blockchain rails can support compliant, bank-issued digital assets.
Together, these developments highlight how banks and FinTech players are positioning stablecoins as an emerging layer for payments, liquidity, and operational efficiency.
Stay tuned and take advantage of the latest Digital Banking updates! 👇 I’ll be back in your inbox tomorrow with more movements.
Cheers,
INSIGHTS
🌍 Euromoney’s report, Europe’s Best Digital Banks: The Future of Retail Banking, highlights the top 20 banks setting the standard in digital strategy and customer experience 👇
NEWS
🇰🇷 KakaoBank plans to launch its own won-pegged stablecoin and seeks fresh hires. Kakao is reportedly establishing blockchain infrastructure for its own stablecoin and has opened new recruitment for blockchain service backend developers.
🇺🇸 U.S. Bank is testing custom stablecoin issuance on the Stellar Network. The collaboration reflects SDF’s mission: helping to unlock equitable access to the global financial system by making the rails beneath everyday financial services more inclusive, interoperable, and efficient.
🇨🇳 FinTech firm Revolut plans to set up in Hong Kong as Paul Chan touts the city’s strengths in the UK. The move comes as Hong Kong officials court global investors and highlight renewed confidence in the city’s business environment. Keep reading
🇪🇸 N26 expands its offering with personal loans in Spain. N26 introduces a flexible overdraft with a fixed interest rate of 11.63% APR. With these new products, N26 reinforces its commitment to offering flexible, transparent, and competitive financial solutions adapted to the real needs of its clients.
🇧🇷 Nu Empresas launches Collections Assistant, a complete and free billing solution to eliminate operational effort and give entrepreneurs more confidence. With it, Nu Empresas clients gain greater control over their receivables, optimising this management, preventing payment delays, and improving cash flow.
🇿🇦 Billionaire Patrice Motsepe-backed bank TymeBank hits 12 million clients. Incoming CEO Cheslyn Jacobs says TymeBank has reached 12 million customers, putting it on par with or ahead of several major South African banks as competition intensifies.
🇫🇮 Tuum secures strategic partnership extension with Multitude Bank to power long-term growth and innovation. The agreement reinforces Tuum’s role as a trusted core banking technology partner while underscoring Multitude Bank’s strategy of working with best-in-class technology innovators to deliver scalable, efficient, and customer-centric banking solutions.
🇬🇧 The Bank of London CEO, Christopher Horne, reportedly steps down. He will be succeeded by Chief Financial Officer Tony Bullman, who joined the UK clearing bank from UBS in March. Keep reading
🇨🇳 Mox Bank launches Travel Pick & Go insurance. The bank introduced the product to meet rising customer demand for flexible, transparent, and convenient travel protection ahead of the festive travel season, providing coverage that can be tailored to a wide range of journeys.
🇺🇸 MoneyLion to pay $1.75M to settle CFPB lawsuit accusing it of bypassing the Military Lending Act’s 36% interest cap through mandatory membership fees tied to loans for service members. The settlement bans the FinTech from exceeding the cap in any form and follows CFPB claims that borrowers were forced to keep paid memberships and sometimes couldn’t cancel them.
🇬🇧 Nasdaq AxiomSL expands RegTech deployment with Revolut, accelerating global growth. The growing partnership will see Nasdaq support Revolut’s global expansion, helping to ensure rapid and scalable compliance with new requirements, reducing the complexity of maintaining separate reporting frameworks for each country.
🇬🇧 Xapo Bank opens access to BTC-Denominated Yield Product, following $100 million initial phase. The new yield product sits alongside Xapo Bank’s suite of wealth products, including Bitcoin and USD savings accounts, giving members a trusted way to grow their wealth while maintaining the safety and simplicity of the Xapo product suite.
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Exciting developments in digital banking are happening right now. Looking forward to more updates
Great roundup as always, Marcel. Item #1 is particularly telling, seeing major players like U.S. Bank and KakaoBank advancing stablecoin initiatives feels like a tipping point for institutional adoption. The gap between TradFi and DeFi is closing faster than expected!