HSBC and Standard Chartered net deposit tokens on Swift’s ledger
The first live interbank transaction on Swift’s blockchain-based ledger did not settle on the ledger.
Karthik Subramanian
Digital Assets Correspondent
Karthik Subramanian is a founder, writer, and technology consultant with nine years in the crypto ecosystem. He covers token economics, L1/L2 infrastructure, DeFi protocols, wallets/custody, and the bridge between crypto and forex—broker technology, liquidity, and macro drivers. Karthik’s writing focuses on clear, practical frameworks that help professionals evaluate new products and on-chain innovation alongside FX market realities.
August 2026
Shinhan signs Solana for the same won fund it gave Plume
Shinhan Asset Management signed a Solana, Etherfuse and Orca MOU for a won-denominated tokenised fund seven days after an identical Plume deal. It is a bake-off.
FASB sets three tests for stablecoins as cash equivalents
FASB's proposed Topic 230 update sets three tests for stablecoins to count as cash equivalents, and adds a disclosure rule for every filer.
Citi folds bitcoin into Custody+ without naming a key holder
Citi unveiled Custody+ on August 18, 2026 and will custody native bitcoin this year. What the release omits on keys, segregation and finality matters more.
BlackRock tokenises 12 money market share classes on Kinexys
BlackRock has tokenised 12 share classes across six ICS money market funds holding $311bn, minted on Ethereum via JPMorgan's Kinexys. What actually changes.
Northern Trust taps Lukka to service crypto it does not hold
Northern Trust engages Lukka for digital asset reporting across 100+ blockchains and 400+ exchange sources - servicing crypto it exited custody of in 2023.
14 crypto platforms hit EU transaction ban from August 25
The EU's 21st sanctions package puts 14 crypto platforms under a transaction ban from August 25, plus a country-level tool that names no jurisdiction yet.
MUFG tests on-chain JGB repo on Canton with tokenised cash leg
MUFG's JGB repo proof-of-concept on Canton Network targets atomic on-chain settlement of bonds and digital money, the leg Broadridge's $8trn DLR still skips.
Bitwise files to record BSOL shares on Ethereum beside DTC
Bitwise's post-effective amendment would let BSOL shares sit in DTC book-entry or tokenised form on Ethereum. The control point is the transfer agent.
Fireblocks runs the wallet layer for Cari’s tokenised deposits
Fireblocks supplies the wallet layer for Cari's inter-bank tokenised deposit network. The deposits stay on bank balance sheets, and nothing is live yet.
Anchorpoint ships HKDAP as HSBC’s twin licence stays idle
Anchorpoint's HKDAP stablecoin went live on 12 August, four months after the HKMA licensed it and HSBC on the same day. It is not a bearer instrument.
Qualified custodian gap: 13 NY charters, 15 OCC applications
The SEC withdrew its qualified custodian overhaul in 2025. Institutional crypto custody now rests on 13 New York trust charters and a staff no-action letter.
Coinbase’s ADGM tokenisation licence stops short of a trading venue
Coinbase's ADGM permission covers arranging deals and custody, but not operating a trading venue. What the Abu Dhabi tokenisation hub can and cannot do.
Bit2Me engine, Cecabank licence: Spain’s rented crypto stack
Cecabank's crypto custody runs on Bit2Me's engine, and Cecabank owns equity in its own vendor. Why Europe's banks now rent the digital-asset stack, not build it.
The Broker Back Office Becomes One Data Layer
The constraint on most brokerages is not strategy but infrastructure that cannot pass data between functions.
Google Play blocks 29 offshore crypto apps in Korea, FIU flagged 14
Google Play has blocked 29 offshore crypto exchange apps in Korea, but the FIU formally referred only 14 - the app store is now the market-access gate.
Circle’s 11 Arc validators are the settlement establishment
Circle named 11 founding Arc validators including DTCC, ICE, Visa and BlackRock. A permissioned set of incumbents is not a decentralised network at all.
OFAC sanctions Shelbit and Aban Tether over IRGC crypto flows
OFAC sanctioned Shelbit and Aban Tether on August 7, blocking 14 wallets across five chains and closing the gap that June's Iran exchange sweep left open.
Yellow Card takes $40m from the bank its rails disintermediate
SC Ventures led Yellow Card's $40m round. Its CEO says the endgame is banks settling onchain with no payments companies in the flow — including his own.
Tether takes Hadron to Saudi Arabia, nine rivals already live
Tether's Hadron enters Saudi real-estate tokenisation with First Data and BKN301 — but REGA's sandbox closed in April and nine platforms are already live.
Also filing this week: Rick Steves and Abdelaziz Fathi.