Wise Probe: Brussels prosecutors opened an investigation into Wise over alleged AML failures tied to accounts flagged in hundreds of criminal requests across 30+ countries, with transactions cited around €500m. India Crypto Rails: Coinbase is back in India with direct INR deposits/withdrawals via IMPS plus rupee trading, spot markets, and perpetual futures—aimed at cutting out P2P friction. Open Finance Standards: BIS and GLEIF showcased a cross-border open finance prototype using Legal Entity Identifiers to streamline KYB/AML checks for SMEs. Bank vs Fintech Costs: ICICI Bank is seeking at least Rs 100 crore in recoveries from fintechs via Visa disputes over alleged merchant category misclassification that hit interchange income. Tokenization Push: Datavault AI signed a non-binding $2.0bn structured financing term sheet with an exclusive global tokenization mandate. Crypto Market Mood: Bitcoin hovered near $73.2k as ETF outflows and geopolitical risk drove liquidations and cautious sentiment. Stablecoin Debate: BoE’s Megan Greene said stablecoin popularity may fade as tokenized deposits take over, while ECB’s Isabel Schnabel warned dollar-pegged stablecoins could entrench USD dominance. South Africa Crypto Controls: A court ruling said crypto isn’t money/capital under exchange controls; SARB appealed and new draft rules are in motion. Payments Fraud Tech: Cass CEO Martin Resch urged CFOs to move to “zero-trust” transaction thinking as cheap fake-invoice attacks scale. Core Banking Upgrade: Estonia’s Tuum named Gregor Dobbie CEO to scale AI-driven core banking delivery. Fintech Inclusion (Nigeria): OPay coverage highlighted how agency banking and PoS networks are pulling underserved SMEs and households into formal payments.