Stephen Ashworth

Stablecoins deliver near instant settlement and offer obvious utility across three verticals: payments, trading and collateral. The collateral use case is under discussed--especially for derivatives. Variation margin (VM) is "cash" collateral that moves throughout the system daily to reflect mark to market and balance risk. Losers pay the winners. The size of these cashflows can be humungous--depending on market conditions. But, traditional collateral calls and batches are slow and clunky--exposing intermediaries to unsecured risk. Sometimes, it takes days to settle VM. Weekend stresses are particularly scary--as crypto markets rebalance, traditional markets wait. If not immediately addressed, this basis will likely cause the next systemic stress. So today, more collateral must be locked up as initial margin. This reduces capital efficiency. Now that we have regulated stablecoins coming into the system, it's time for the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission to start thinking about allowing fully backed stablecoins to serve as variation margin. This is an important step in closing the gap. Done right, swifter VM settlement/risk rebalancing will reduce systemic risk and enhance capital efficiency. Critics will worry about "depeg" risk. GENIUS should mitigate some of this risk. But as long as we have fractional banking, and uninsured deposits sit at banks-- this risk remains. So, what's the solution? Create a special class of stablecoins that are not exposed to bank counterparty risk? Further regulate banks to mitigate bank counterparty risk for stablecoin reserves? I'm eager for thoughts here.

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I just read Citi’s Stablecoins 2030 report and it feels spot on. #Stablecoins are shifting from crypto niche to core financial infrastructure. What’s especially timely: nine European banks (including ING) have announced a consortium to launch a #MiCA-compliant euro stablecoin, expected in 2026. This shows how quickly institutional adoption is moving. Exciting is the fact that the entity behind it is Netherlands-based and under De Nederlandsche Bank oversight. Just as ChatGPT accelerated AI into the mainstream, stablecoins may be experiencing their “GPT moment” in finance. Citi also makes clear that stablecoins, bank tokens, and tokenized deposits will coexist, each finding its role depending on trust, regulation, and integration needs. Bank tokens may take the lead in corporate finance, while stablecoins could prove most valuable for digital-first businesses and frontier markets. Rather than a zero-sum battle, this feels like steady progress toward a more connected and programmable financial system > one that runs 24/7 and adapts to new demands. Follow BCNL Foundation as we have many ecosystem activities around adoption and institutional finance. For example, on November 13th we organize a Digital Asset Investment Event in #Amsterdam with Loyens & Loeff. #BCNL

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This potentially has to be one of the most important annoucements in the digital asset space since FaceBook announced LIBRA and forced central banks to look at CBDCs...... I spend 15+ hours a week writing Digital Bytes https://lnkd.in/ev-WMFzG reading and researching who, who, why and where blockchains and digital assets are being used globally in various industries and have done so for over eight years, so I don't make this statement lightly!!!!!! A stablecoin, backed by some of the world's biggest banks linked to the economies of the G7, is HUGE news and shot across the bow of global payments. SO WHAT. https://lnkd.in/espkBbcb Well according to McKinsey payments globally generate of $2.3 trillion of income p.a. and if the cohort of the worlds' biggest banks start using a stablecoin based on the G7 economies cross border payments and institutional settlement could change for ever and the cost of moving money will fall. This could be great for the world economy as the Bank of International Settlement estimates that a 10% adoption of digital money could increase economic GDP by 1% and the G7 really do need higher growth given the massive debt many have... Efi Pylarinou Thomas Power James Tylee Anton Golub Antony Abell

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🚨 Breaking: IG Group Buys Australian Crypto Exchange for £87 Million 🚨 IG Group (LSE: IGG), the London-listed broker with over £2.9 billion in client assets and over 400,000 active clients, has announced the acquisition of Independent Reserve, a regulated Australian crypto exchange with 129,400 funded accounts and A$1.7 billion in assets under custody. The deal, valued at A$178 million (£87m) or 5x FY25 revenues, marks a bold step in IG’s crypto strategy, expanding its footprint across Asia-Pacific and the Middle East. Independent Reserve will continue to operate under its existing leadership, retaining a 30% ownership stake, with IG holding an option to acquire the remainder based on future performance. 🔑 Why this matters: ETFs & Retail Investing: IG has been expanding its multi-asset platform, offering ETFs, shares, FX, and now crypto, aiming to become a one-stop shop for retail and institutional investors. Crypto Growth: Independent Reserve generated A$35.3m in FY25 revenues, nearly doubling year-on-year, and serves an average of 116,000 monthly active customers. Strategic Expansion: The acquisition follows IG’s earlier £160m purchase of Freetrade (UK commission-free trading platform), strengthening its position in equities and ETF trading for younger investors. 🌍 With ETFs continuing to attract record inflows in Europe and the U.S., IG’s dual focus on low-cost ETF investing and regulated crypto trading positions it at the heart of the next wave of digital and traditional finance convergence. 📊 The transaction is subject to regulatory approvals from MAS (Singapore) and FIRB (Australia), with closing expected in early 2026. #IGGroup #ETFs #Crypto #DigitalAssets #RetailInvesting #Fintech #MergersAndAcquisitions #WealthTech #ARKInvest

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The EU never misses a chance to turn a sandbox into a huge regulatory lesson & Gemini’s new rollout in Europe proves it again (for the Nth time) Staking ETH and SOL with no minimums and daily rewards should be simple. Instead it comes wrapped in MiCA paperwork and MiFID II oversight. The headline: up to 6% APR on SOL, variable returns on ETH. The fine print is that cold storage segregation, regulated custody, cross-collateral rules, disclosure standards and risk waterfalls buried in documentation thicker than the Bible. Europe’s love for regulation is legendary. Here even staking yields are treated like bank deposits, hedging strategies like weapons of mass destruction and perpetuals like a threat to social order. Yet the paradox is funny. The same EU that ties crypto firms in knots is also handing them legitimacy. Gemini can now offer 100x perpetuals under MiFID II alongside 140 spot pairs, staking, and cross-margin all in one regulated wrapper. That is a state supervised casino with velvet ropes and fire exits checked twice a day. The IPO target of $2.22 billion suggests investors are buying the story. Europe’s obsession with control may actually make Gemini the safest place to gamble on leverage. Overregulated, yes. But in crypto, maybe that’s the sell.

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🇬🇧🇺🇸 SEC’s Hester Peirce Proposes UK–US Cross-Border Tokenization Sandbox — But No Invite for EU. from Darshana Manikkuwadura (Dash)⚡️🇬🇧 🇱🇰⚡️ Last week, SEC Commissioner Hester Peirce doubled down on her call for a cross-border tokenization sandbox — and this time, she wasn’t pulling punches. Speaking on the future of digital securities, Peirce outlined a framework for a regulatory sandbox between the US and UK to trial tokenized financial instruments in a way that promotes innovation without political baggage. Her message was clear: “Focus on finance, not politics.” This isn’t the first time Peirce has floated the idea. Over a year ago, she responded to the UK’s Digital Securities Sandbox (DSS) consultation with cautious optimism. But now, the vision is firmer: ✅ Bilateral collaboration with like-minded markets ✅ Market-first incentives ✅ Clarity, flexibility, and actual utility for participating firms The sandbox isn’t meant to be just another pilot project where innovation goes to die. Peirce emphasized that real-world applications need room to scale, pivot, and capitalize on user demand in real time — not years after regulators finally catch up. 🔑 “If a regulator were not able to react quickly, the company would have to turn new users away.” That one line speaks volumes. Unlike many policymakers who view sandboxes as safe experimentation zones with no commercial urgency, Peirce gets it: innovation isn't something you run in a lab and shelf for later. Firms building in blockchain and tokenized finance are already live, user-facing, and solving real inefficiencies. They don’t need more theory. They need interoperable, market-driven, legally sound frameworks — now. And here’s where it gets political. While she left room for other like-minded jurisdictions to join the sandbox, she explicitly called out the EU’s approach — particularly its “double materiality” doctrine that injects sustainability goals into financial reporting. Peirce pushed back on the export of EU sustainability disclosure rules, drawing a sharp regulatory divide. Her final words were blunt: “Market integration suffers when two jurisdictions diverge on core matters such as the purpose of financial statements and other securities disclosures.” 💡 Translation? If financial systems can't agree on why they regulate or what outcomes they prioritize (capital formation, efficiency, investor protection), cross-border experimentation will remain fractured. As someone building at the intersection of AI and blockchain, I see this moment as pivotal. If done right, a UK–US sandbox could offer: • Legal clarity for asset tokenization • Regulatory flexibility to scale responsibly • A blueprint for future financial infrastructure Let’s hope this doesn’t stay a speech. The builders are ready. The capital is waiting. And the tech? It’s already live. #Tokenization #BlockchainRegulation #darshanamanikkuwadura Darshana Manikkuwadura (Dash)⚡️🇬🇧 🇱🇰⚡️

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