Interactive Brokers announced on Jan. 16, 2026 it will accept 24/7 stablecoin deposits across 170 markets, enabling round-the-clock funding and faster access to trading. The move highlights growing integration of crypto rails into mainstream brokerage infrastructure.
PNC CEO Bill Demchak said on Friday’s earnings call that stablecoins should be treated either as payment instruments or as money-market-style investment products, not both. He warned the dual role creates regulatory and liquidity uncertainty for banks and consumers.
BVNK has partnered with Visa to provide stablecoin infrastructure for Visa Direct pilot programs, enabling pre-funded stablecoin payouts to recipients' wallets in select approved markets. The partnership was announced 14 January in San Francisco and taps Visa’s $1.7 trillion money-movement network.
Visa has partnered with crypto bank BVNK to enable companies to send stablecoin payouts instantly to digital wallets, including outside regular banking hours. The feature targets faster payroll, vendor and cross-border transfers by removing reliance on traditional settlement windows.
Pakistan has signed an agreement with a firm tied to World Liberty Financial to explore using its dollar-pegged stablecoin (WLFI) for cross-border payments, a source said. The move aims to test faster, cheaper remittances and FX settlement.
A crypto infrastructure firm announced a $250 million initiative to expand stablecoin payment rails, aiming to let projects operate like digital banks on blockchain. The move underscores growing industry emphasis on payments built on crypto rails as an alternative to traditional banking.
Ripple is repositioning XRP as core financial infrastructure, using major acquisitions and newly secured regulatory licenses to steer the token into corporate treasury management, cross‑border payments, and broader tokenized finance. The move signals a push to make XRP a utility for settlement and liquidity rather than just a speculative asset.
Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse re-emerged in early January to present a positive 2026 outlook after the company secured a key UK license. He emphasized scaling payments, expanding institutional partnerships, and increasing XRP utility.
A Ripple-backed company announced a major deal on Jan 9, 2026 aimed at accelerating XRP adoption, highlighting growing institutional and global market interest. The move could boost liquidity and real-world payment use cases for XRP if executed alongside regulatory clarity.
Siemens has adopted JPMorgan’s blockchain for foreign-exchange transfers. The bank is preparing to expand JPM Coin across both privacy-focused and public networks.