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Interoperability between payments networks and adoption by established distribution networks are the keys to scale in digital money but their effectiveness depends on consumer confidence. Interoperability requires infrastructure but the right combination of public initiative and private incentive has yet to be found, though it likely lies in not-for-profit utility models. Programmable money can catalyse adoption of digital monies by enabling agentic AI payments and creating a

The perception that Stablecoins are breaking out of their original cryptocurrency niche and impacting both domestic and cross-border payments is overstated. The cost, speed and accessibility advantages of Stablecoins have yet to disrupt existing domestic and cross-border payments services or money market practices. The number of digital wallets capable of accepting Stablecoins is a better measure of the ultimate scalability of Stablecoins than the number of Stablecoin issuers

The main obstacle to tokenised deposits scaling is lack of interoperability between the tokenised deposits of individual banks. Banks are also coming to appreciate the costs and complexities of building the internal systems and procedures to support tokenised deposits. In the long run, tokenised deposits will outperform Stablelecoins in terms of both stocks and flows. Tokenised deposits are also better placed than Stablecoins to deliver the most valuable promise of tokenised

A majority of the audience at the Future of Finance Carbon Credits event picked a shift to compliance markets as the biggest driver of growth in carbon pricing. Securitisation is a potential alternative to the present packaging and distribution of carbon emissions, and can draw on an established modus operandi. An absence of market infrastructure remains a weakness of carbon pricing markets, but there is no confidence that tokenisation offers a plausible way forward. Other te

An audience poll found most still unconvinced carbon is primarily a financial risk, even as European regulators fine banks for carbon shortcomings. Measurement of Scope 3 emissions remains too imprecise for chief financial officers to price with confidence, so capital is shifting toward business-specific projects instead. Data quality remains an issue in carbon pricing tout court, but this should not be treated by companies as an excuse for inaction. A chief financial office

The voluntary carbon credit market has contracted, but the residue that survived is more disciplined than before. Europe's CBAM and Methane Regulation are functioning as de facto tariffs, with costs expected to fall on consumers. Verified emissions data, not climate intent, is becoming the currency that determines which exporters gain or lose market access. Bilateral offtake structures are absorbing activity that public carbon credit markets can no longer reliably price. A ma

Regulatory frameworks are converging conceptually but diverging on where issuers and reserves must sit legally. Institutional buyers already treat Stablecoins, tokenised deposits and CBDCs as distinct tools, not interchangeable substitutes for each other. The dominant Stablecoin issuer remains largely outside the new regulatory perimeter, exposing a gap between rulemaking and market reality. Corporate and treasury adoption, not financial markets infrastructure, is emerging as

The euro is the second most important central bank reserve currency behind the US dollar. Yet it has lacked a Stablecoin presence commensurate with its international status: 99 per cent of Stablecoins are issued in US dollars and euros account for just 0.2 per cent of Stablecoins in circulation worldwide. 37 European banks from 15 countries have now joined forces to address that gap, supplying both the funding and the power to distribute a euro Stablecoin for use as an atomic

Stablecoins are not booming and CBDCs are not dead, especially in Europe where the ECB is pressing ahead with plans for a digital euro in 2028. Different uses-cases will rely on different forms of tokenised money and the private sector is building the necessary infrastructure. Corporates are drivers of change in payments and cash management and may be pioneering the disintermediation of the banks.

Holders of cryptocurrencies are no longer satisfied by capital appreciation alone but increasingly seek income from staking and lending. Holders whose investment mandate, liquidity needs, operational capabilities and risk profile permit staking and lending should nevertheless proceed cautiously. While the risk of “slashing” is exaggerated, research into counterparty, custody and cyber-attack risks will earn rewards for institutional investors

Custody is not glamorous work. Settling securities transactions, safekeeping customer assets and collecting entitlements owed to the owners of those assets cannot compare, in terms of column inches and personal rewards, with mergers and acquisitions or the trading floor. Yet custodians have emerged, ironically in an industry created specifically to bypass intermediaries, as the single most important guarantors of investment and trading activity in the cryptocurrency markets.

The growing interest of institutional investors in cryptocurrencies is allied to rising demand for yield on cryptocurrency investments. This necessitates active management, which creates challenges. Neither Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) nor conventional mutual funds issued under the Investment Company Act of 1940 (’40 Act funds) can accommodate actively traded cryptocurrency funds.

At the turn of the century a disruptive alternative trading platform called Chi-X competed successfully with the established stock exchanges for order flow by cutting transaction costs dramatically. Blockchain technology has promised a similar revolution for more than a decade but failed conspicuously to deliver. The founders of BPX Digital Securities Marketplace, the digital securities marketplace licensed by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) in June 2025, believe they

Tokenisation enthusiasts are frustrated. A technology capable of transforming the entire financial architecture of the world is reduced to searching for “use-cases” where it can mobilise or settle assets cheaper and faster than the status quo provided a “business case” can be made for making the investment. So the time was ripe for a restatement of the case for revolution.

Institutional asset and wealth managers and end-investors are increasingly active in the cryptocurrency markets. This is putting the banks that provide them with trade and post-trade services in the traditional markets under pressure to make it easy for buy-side institutions to access cryptocurrency markets, trade cryptocurrencies, settle cryptocurrency transactions and safekeep and service cryptocurrency assets in custody.

Apex Group helping Coinbase Asset Management add a tokenised share class to a Bitcoin yield fund sounds like a small step, but it could be a giant leap for tokenised funds.

As cryptocurrencies become a standard part of institutional portfolios, asset managers are increasingly focused on generating sustainable yield—without compromising custody, governance, or risk controls. Watch the Webinar Staking has emerged as a core mechanism to earn yield on proof-of-stake networks, and adoption is accelerating as custodians integrate staking services directly into secure custody frameworks. Beyond staking, certain assets—like Bitcoin—generate yield throug

Growing clarity over the regulatory treatment of cryptocurrencies and digital assets has created an opportunity for regulated financial institutions to provide their clients with access to crypto trading, investment and custody services. The question is: should they build an infrastructure in-house, buy a platform from a vendor or outsource the service to an established provider? Webinar Replay Where Finance Finds Its Future podcast by Future of Finance is available wherever

On 21 April 2026 Lingfeng Capital, the Hong Kong based private equity fund, launched its Digital Venture Fund (DVF) on Digital Markets Infrastructure (DMI) platform built by the London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG) to host private funds. Archax, the London-based digital asset exchange, brokerage and custodian, is simultaneously making the DVF available in tokenised form.

This article is sponsored by Summer.fi. Learn more at https://summer.fi/ Institutional crypto has largely solved custody. Assets can be held securely, segregated, and audited at scale. What’s changing in 2026 is how owners of digital assets can utilise those same assets across the market to generate yield and, more importantly, who performs the asset management function on assets that have been deployed. A growing number of asset management firms are stepping on-chain not mer