Latest news by Rick Steves
Why the SEC’s crypto ETF fast track stops at staking
The SEC's generic listing standards, approved September 17, 2025, cut spot crypto exchange-traded product (ETP) launches to roughly 75 days — but staking products sit outside the fast track and still face individual review, splitting…
Prop trading regulation diverges as CFTC acts, ESMA waits
Retail proprietary-trading firms — the "funded trader" challenge industry — now face opposite regulatory trajectories on either side of the Atlantic: US firms are voluntarily registering with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) and National…
Intesa Sanpaolo moves core banking to Google Cloud in Italy
Intesa Sanpaolo has completed the migration of its core banking systems to Google Cloud, the group said on July 2, 2026 — and the way it got there matters more than the destination. Italy's largest…
Crédit Agricole buys 100% of CAWL as Worldline refocuses
Crédit Agricole has acquired 100% of CAWL, the French merchant-payments venture it built with Worldline, buying out its partner's entire stake in a deal completed on June 30, 2026 (FX News Group, July 2026). The…
EU AI Act delay spares credit-scoring AI; Aug 2 duties remain
The EU's Digital Omnibus agreement of May 2026 postpones the AI Act's high-risk regime — including credit-scoring and insurance-pricing systems — to December 2, 2027, but leaves the August 2, 2026 application date alive for…
Microsoft taps Checkout.com for EMEA payments on Xbox, Azure
Microsoft has selected Checkout.com to run card acceptance across Xbox, Microsoft 365 and Azure in Europe, the Middle East and Africa — and the notable part is not the logo, it is the shape of…
Event contracts split the CFTC from state gaming regulators
Sports event contracts have produced the sharpest federal-state jurisdictional split in US derivatives law in a generation: the Third Circuit's April 6, 2026 ruling that the Commodity Exchange Act (CEA) gives the Commodity Futures Trading…
DORA’s third-party oversight splits EU, UK and US resilience rules
The EU's Digital Operational Resilience Act and the UK's critical third parties regime are converging on the same fear — that a handful of cloud and technology providers now underpin the entire financial system —…
SumUp launches a consumer bank account to rival the neobanks
SumUp is crossing the line that separates a payments company from a bank. On July 1, 2026, the London-headquartered merchant-payments group launched a consumer account built around cashback at the small businesses it already serves…
US crypto perp futures split from UK and EU retail rules in 2026
The United States moved crypto perpetual futures onshore in mid-2026, letting Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC)-registered venues list retail-accessible "perps" for the first time — while the United Kingdom keeps its outright retail ban and…