Category: Research

The operational launch of stablecoin payments by Trip.com (the international arm of Ctrip) marks a critical inflection point in the global financial architecture. While ostensibly a commercial upgrade for travelers, this event serves as a live "stress test" for a post-SWIFT payment rail. It occurs against a backdrop of intensified regulatory hardening in Beijing, where the People’s Bank of China (PBoC) has reiterated the illegality of private stablecoins while aggressively upgrading its sovereign digital currency, the e-CNY. This report analyzes the divergence between Chinese corporate pragmatism (using US-dollar stablecoins offshore for efficiency) and state strategy (building a sovereign, surveillance-ready financial intranet).

2025 marks a pivotal year for the blockchain industry—its "bubble era" of mindless expansion is fading, and long standing myths (surplus blockchains, tokenization panacea, decentralized utopia) are being dismantled. The industry is entering a phase of "de-cryptoization," where survival depends on integrating with real-world value rather than clinging to self-referential speculation.

Crypto payment cards have emerged as a critical bridge between digital assets and mainstream commerce, enabling users to spend cryptocurrencies (or crypto-backed fiat) at millions of merchants globally via Visa/Mastercard networks. Yet, few users realize that most crypto firms do not initially issue their own cards—instead, they rely on BIN sponsorship (Bank Identification Number sponsorship), a foundational partnership model borrowed from early fintechs like Revolut and Monzo. This research article explains the mechanics of BIN sponsorship, analyzes the unique challenges crypto firms face in leveraging this model (e.g., stricter regulatory scrutiny, cross-border compliance, and crypto-specific risk management), and proposes a phased framework for crypto companies to launch and scale payment cards. By aligning BIN sponsorship strategies with regulatory maturity and user growth, crypto firms can balance speed-to-market with long-term control over their payment infrastructure.

Crypto payment cards have emerged as a critical bridge between digital assets and mainstream commerce, enabling users to spend cryptocurrencies (or crypto-backed fiat) at millions of merchants globally via Visa/Mastercard networks. Yet, few users realize that most crypto firms do not initially issue their own cards—instead, they rely on BIN sponsorship (Bank Identification Number sponsorship), a foundational partnership model borrowed from early fintechs like Revolut and Monzo. This research article explains the mechanics of BIN sponsorship, analyzes the unique challenges crypto firms face in leveraging this model (e.g., stricter regulatory scrutiny, cross-border compliance, and crypto-specific risk management), and proposes a phased framework for crypto companies to launch and scale payment cards. By aligning BIN sponsorship strategies with regulatory maturity and user growth, crypto firms can balance speed-to-market with long-term control over their payment infrastructure.

Stablecoins have emerged as a transformative force in global finance, offering near-instant settlement, reduced transaction costs, and programmability that outperforms traditional payment rails like SWIFT and ACH. However, their widespread adoption remains constrained by a critical bottleneck: local on/off ramp facilities—the infrastructure enabling conversion between fiat currencies and stablecoins. This research article, drawing on data from Deutsche Bank’s 2025 report The Stablecoin Plateau – From Disruption to Integration, examines stablecoins’ current market position, key use cases (B2B cross-border payments, remittances, and emerging market financial inclusion), and the disproportionate impact of local on/off ramps on their scalability. It argues that without robust, affordable, and accessible local ramps—especially in emerging markets—stablecoins will fail to realize their potential to disrupt traditional finance or drive financial inclusion.

Real-World Asset (RWA) tokenization has emerged as a transformative force in global finance, unlocking trillions of dollars in traditional assets—from real estate to fixedincome securities—for blockchain-enabled liquidity, accessibility, and efficiency. Among these assets, Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) stand as a cornerstone of traditional securitization, yet their legacy operational model, plagued by slow settlement, fragmented compliance, and siloed stakeholder systems, has become a critical bottleneck to RWA’s scalable adoption. This research explores how the Chainlink Digital Transfer Agent (DTA) Technical Standard addresses these inherent inefficiencies, bridging traditional REIT securitization workflows with blockchain’s core strengths to redefine the future of RWA tokenization.

Following its official launch, Mantle’s UR joins Ether.fi Cash as a front-runner in the "Defibank" category—blockchain-native financial services that merge traditional banking convenience with web3’s core principles of efficiency and user control. Unlike existing neobanks like Revolut, these platforms leverage blockchain as the "Internet for money," redefining how value is stored, transferred, and settled. This report analyzes their live core functions, contrasts them with Revolut, unpacks traditional banking’s essential roles, and explores how blockchain is disrupting centralized settlement layers (e.g., Visa, Mastercard) to enable real-time, trustless transactions. With UR now operational and Ether.fi Cash gaining traction, both signal a definitive shift from siloed legacy finance to unified, on-chain infrastructure.

This report dissects the compliance framework of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) virtual asset industry, with a focus on the differentiated regulatory rules of three core regulatory systems—Dubai Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (VARA), Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM) Financial Services Regulatory Authority (FSRA), and Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) Dubai Financial Services Authority (DFSA). It integrates an analysis of the UAE’s strategic layout in the virtual asset sector and its unique competitive advantages, while elaborating on the licensing requirements for three key market participants: virtual asset exchanges, virtual asset wallets, and virtual asset custodians. The report aims to provide precise compliance guidance and opportunity insights for domestic and international institutions entering the UAE market.

This report dissects the compliance framework of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) virtual asset industry, with a focus on the differentiated regulatory rules of three core regulatory systems—Dubai Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (VARA), Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM) Financial Services Regulatory Authority (FSRA), and Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) Dubai Financial Services Authority (DFSA). It integrates an analysis of the UAE’s strategic layout in the virtual asset sector and its unique competitive advantages, while elaborating on the licensing requirements for three key market participants: virtual asset exchanges, virtual asset wallets, and virtual asset custodians. The report aims to provide precise compliance guidance and opportunity insights for domestic and international institutions entering the UAE market.

This report examines Revolut’s evolution from a London-based startup to Europe’s most valuable fintech firm, analyzing its disruption of traditional banking models, strategic expansion into cryptocurrency and stablecoin markets, and the growing alignment with the United Arab Emirates (UAE) as a global fintech and crypto hub. Leveraging exclusive regulatory access, including the EU’s MiCA license and UAE’s stored value facilities authorization, Revolut has built a user base of 65 million globally, merging conventional financial services with innovative digital assets offerings. Concurrently, the UAE’s regulatory clarity, tax incentives, and strategic investments have positioned it as a magnet for fintech and crypto giants, exemplified by Revolut’s expanded presence and its CEO’s residency shift to the region.

On October 11, 2025, the cryptocurrency market witnessed its largest liquidation event in history, with $19.37 billion in leveraged positions forcefully closed within 24 hours, dwarfing the $1.2 billion and $1.6 billion seen during the COVID-19 crash and FTX collapse, respectively. Triggered by tariff concerns and amplified by extreme leverage, this crisis exposed systemic vulnerabilities: the fragility of high-leverage perpetual contracts, operational opacity at major exchanges like Binance, and a market structure increasingly analogous to traditional gambling. This report uses the historic liquidation event as a backdrop to objectively analyze crypto market risks, Binance’s transparency failures, and how dece

Nasdaq's proposal (SR-NASDAQ-2025-072) to integrate tokenized securities into its existing market structure represents a significant, regulator-led advancement for asset tokenization. The proposal is meticulously designed to operate within the existing U.S. national market system, leveraging the Depository Trust Company (DTC) for settlement to ensure compliance and investor protection. While this initiative validates the underlying technology of blockchain and presents a long-term bullish case for the convergence of traditional and digital finance, its immediate, direct impact on the native crypto market is likely to be muted. The proposal focuses exclusively on the tokenization of existing, regulated securities rather than creating new, crypto-native assets. Success hinges on regulatory approval, DTC's technical execution, and market participant adoption, with a realistic timeline extending into 2026 and beyond. Overall, this is a foundational step with profound long-term implications, but near-term expectations should be tempered.