Alpaca Finance Institutional Newsletter #53
Highlights
- Visa and Circle expand USDC usage
- SBI expands Ripple remittance services in southeast Asia
- US senate confirms Philip Jefferson as Federal Reserve vice chair
Visa has expanded its stablecoin settlements to include USDC on the Solana blockchain, improving cross-border payments. Meanwhile, Circle’s USDC is accessible on Base and Optimism networks, with Coinbase enabling transfers to Base. Circle is working with partners to transition users to the new version, although some decentralized exchanges still use the old one. This move by Visa and Circle signifies a growing integration of cryptocurrencies into mainstream financial systems.
SBI Group’s international remittance service, SBI Remit, is partnering with Ripple and SBI Ripple Asia to offer an XRP-based remittance service to bank accounts in Southeast Asian countries, including the Philippines, Vietnam, and Indonesia. SBI Remit has been using Ripple’s payment services for international remittances since 2017 and introduced crypto-based solutions in 2021. This expansion aims to facilitate fast and cost-effective remittances, leveraging XRP as a bridge currency. The rollout is expected within the current month, and SBI partnered with Tranglo to make this expansion possible.
The U.S. Senate has confirmed Philip Jefferson as the next vice chair of the Federal Reserve. Jefferson, a Federal Reserve governor since 2022, received an 88–10 vote in favor of his confirmation. He will serve as vice chair alongside Chair Jerome Powell until 2036, replacing Lael Brainard. Additionally, the Senate is expected to vote on extended terms for Fed Governor Lisa Cook and Adriana Kugler, with terms ending in 2037 if confirmed.
News
- Indian central bank-backed NPCI begins blockchain recruitment
- South Korean Hana Bank enters crypto custody business with BitGo
- US Senate confirms Philip Jefferson as Federal Reserve vice chair
- Coinbase launches crypto lending platform for US institutions
- SBI expands Ripple remittance tech to banks in Vietnam, Indonesia, Philippines
Products
- London Stock Exchange to create traditional assets trading platform on blockchain
- Bybit debuts AI-powered ‘TradeGPT’ for market analysis and data-driven Q&A
- Visa taps into Solana to widen USDC payment capability
- MetaMask launches feature to sell ETH for fiat
Regulation
- Australian lawmakers reject Andrew Bragg’s crypto bill
- South Korea plans to submit bill to freeze North’s crypto assets
- US Treasury, IRS propose cryptocurrency regulations for brokers
- CFTC commissioner calls for crypto regulatory pilot program
Funding
- Cronos Labs begins recruitment phase for $100M accelerator program
- New $20M fund eyes blockchain gaming and tokens
- Shima Capital backs domain name startup D3 Global in $5 million round
- Story Protocol launches with $54 million round led by a16z to tap IP ownership
