Tag Archives: settlement

SWIFT – Tokenized Payments/Deposits – Parsing the Hype

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Last week SWIFT announced that 17 of its member banks tested its new blockchain ledger, positioning the network for “tokenized cross border payments” (SWIFT press release). Cue the headlines. My view: this is a me too announcement from an incumbent that is meaningfully behind, and it does not change the trajectory of where tokenized money is actually settling.

The real story is that the big banks are not waiting for SWIFT. They are building their own tokenized deposit networks, joining Canton, integrating with commercial customer platforms like Fireblocks, and quietly redrawing the settlement map. SWIFT gets to be one option among many, useful when a correspondent bank leg or a customer requirement forces its inclusion. It is no longer the default.

Regular readers will recognize this thesis from prior posts. See JPMorgan, Citi and TCH: Tokenized Deposits ON Chain, Augustus Protocol and Emerging Settlement Standards, and the 101 Update on CBDCs, Stablecoins and Tokenized Deposits for the underlying architecture and taxonomy. This post extends the thesis by explaining what the SWIFT announcement actually tells us and what it does not.

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Mastercard Explores Vocalink Sale

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The Financial Times reports that Mastercard is exploring a sale of Vocalink, and is also considering a divestiture of the real-time payments unit it built from its 2019 acquisition of the Nets Group’s account-to-account assets. Taken together with April’s $1.8 billion acquisition of stablecoin infrastructure provider BVNK, this is a clean strategic pivot: Mastercard is walking away from a decade-long attempt to build a services layer on top of bank-owned A2A rails, and redirecting that capital toward digital asset infrastructure. It is the right call. It also raises a question Mastercard should be asking itself very carefully before the BVNK integration gets too far along.

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Augustus Protocol & Emerging Settlement Standards: The Crypto Clearing Bank Arrives

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In May 2026, Augustus (formerly Ivy) received conditional OCC approval to establish the first “AI-era clearing bank” a federally chartered national bank built on a stablecoin-native core designed for 24/7 programmable clearing. The announcement has drawn attention for its ambition: replacing legacy correspondent banking infrastructure with always-on, machine-initiated settlement. But beneath the compelling narrative lies a more nuanced reality about the structure of U.S. financial settlement and the commercial dynamics that govern it.

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Merchant Litigation Settlement – Good News for V/MA

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For anyone who has followed payments industry equities or competitive dynamics over the past two decades, yesterday’s ruling from Judge Brian Cogan felt like a long-exhaled breath. After 21 years of litigation, multiple failed settlement attempts, and a high-profile 2024 rejection, the Visa/Mastercard merchant interchange lawsuit finally has a path forward. Judge Cogan granted preliminary approval of the amended settlement on June 9, 2026 — and on balance, this is good news for the networks, for merchants, and for the broader ecosystem.

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V/MA Settlement – Tiered Acceptance

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Quick Take on WSJ – V/MA Near Deal w/ Merchants

Merchants have long expressed frustration over card costs, but it’s critical to separate signal from noise. Their issue isn’t with network fees—those average just 5 to 7 basis points and fund the global infrastructure that securely moves trillions. The real pressure point is interchange, often 250 basis points or more for premium rewards cards. That imbalance has shaped years of litigation, and now a potential reset is emerging.

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Stablecoins Will Drive Network Growth

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Drivers, Current Efforts and My View of the Big Picture Opportunity. Do Stablecoins represent the greatest network expansion opportunity of the next decade? I think so…

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Everyone knows I’m a big fan of Visa and Mastercard. Why not? They are the most successful commercial networks in the history of man. The power of banking is unlocked within the networks that connect them (see Power of Bank Networks) and V/MA are the largest “connectors” in the world (banks, consumers, businesses). While many pundits see stablecoin as a threat to cards, I don’t see it that way at all. In fact, I think Stablecoin-based innovation will help drive a new phase of growth in the networks (as well as dollarization). 

Today’s blog provides background on the current network efforts in stablecoin settlement. I’m also attempting to outline the “why” and business case for card networks expanding their role, the number of nodes on the network, and the political dynamics at work behind the scenes. Why read this? In my view this subject is the core of a bull case for network expansion.  IMHO Investors should not look at stablecoins as a threat to V/MA, but rather as another network where V/MA can deliver value and grow the network at a massive scale.. A once-in-a-generation opportunity.

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Stablecoin Plays and Players – Issuers, Infrastructure, and Innovators

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Today’s blog is focused on private companies, business models, and competitive dynamics shaping the stablecoin “industry”. Note Google Gemini was used in discerning company performance and focus.

No we are not going to drill into every company in Block’s DeFi market overview, Stablecoin Liquidity, or the 172 companies in CB Insights Stabllecoin industry map…  but rather some highlights and how the market is likely to evolve in near term. Even though I”m focusing on just a few of the companies below, this is still a rather long 25 pages.

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Stablecoins: Bank Strategy – Just Another Rail

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Bankers View: Stablecoins, Deposits, and the Future of Payments

Summarizing my 20 odd tweets yesterday. Note that I don’t necessarily agree with the banks’ strategy, but I do understand it. Given that most of the press is focused on how Stablecoins will destroy banking, I thought a banker’s view would be a useful counterbalance.

The buzz around stablecoins continues, often painting a picture of banks demise. As a former banker I thought I’d share my view on the topic and explain the bank strategy (as I see it). While stablecoins present novel tech, the notion that they will supplant established retail banking relationships is a bunch of “hooky”. Big banks aren’t just watching from the sidelines; they are best positioned to integrate this new rail, much like they’ve absorbed countless payment innovations before.

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Real-Time Settlement Coming to US Cards?

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US Payment Infrastructure is in the midst of completing a major renovation. 

  • The Clearing House (TCH) Real-Time Payment (RTP)

  • FedNow

  • JPM’s ONYX (now renamed Kinexsys)

Let me preempt the #1 question most of you are about to ask “are card volumes at risk”? Nope, why on earth would banks want to walk away from the most profitable retail banking product in the history of man (see Future of Retail Banking)!?

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