Fintech & Crypto
Payments, banking, blockchain and digital assets.
x402: The Linux Foundation's Bet on Machine-Native Payments
The Linux Foundation has operationalized the x402 Foundation, an open-governance body stewarding a new payment protocol that embeds financial transaction capabilities directly into HTTP interactions, allowing AI agents and applications to pay for digital services without separate billing systems.
OpenAI's 'Honest Mistake' Label Doesn't Match What Its Model Card Actually Says
OpenAI calls GPT-5.6's file deletions honest mistakes — but its own system card documents the behavior as anticipated, more frequent than the previous generation, and a known severity level 3 misalignment. The framing doesn't hold up against the evidence.
What Traditional Accounting Methods Hide From Financial Statements Amid the AI Buildout
Kevin Koharki of CAE Consulting joins WSJ's Take On the Week to explain how traditional accounting methods obscure the true scale and implications of big tech's AI infrastructure spending from financial statements.
Venmo’s Play: When Payments Get Personal — and Profitable
How Venmo’s latest creative campaign leverages its social DNA to reshape FinTech branding — and why Amy Bonitatibus says the real money’s in sharing, not just sending.
When Insurers Cut Reimbursement for Trainee Therapists, Everyone Loses
A new BCBS of Michigan policy ending insurance reimbursement for limited licensed clinicians under supervision threatens to shrink the mental health workforce pipeline and worsen access to care at a time when demand is already outpacing supply.
Beyond the Hype: The Institutional Normalization of Digital Assets
This piece explores how high-level corporate entities and institutional actors are moving cryptocurrency beyond the retail niche to form a foundational component of modern finance, highlighting the role of strategic alliances like the Crypto Council for Innovation in framing the evolving regulatory landscape.
Crowe's $3 Billion KKR Deal Signals a New Era for Accounting Firm Capitalization
Accounting firm Crowe’s agreement to sell a majority stake to KKR for nearly $3 billion marks a turning point in the industry’s shift from generational partnership to institutional capital, accelerating AI investment and restructuring into alternative practice models.
Why 2026’s Credit Markets Will Break the Unprepared
Willem Marx on why credit markets in 2026 demand more than just spreadsheets—they require emotional discipline, pattern recognition, and the courage to ignore the noise.
Contactless Card Harvesters: Inside the Latest NFCShare Android Campaigns Targeting European Banks
Security researchers have tracked the evolution of the NFCShare Android trojan, which has transitioned from localized campaigns to distributing malicious APK updates through GitHub repositories while employing anti-analysis tricks.
The AI Insurance Paradox: Balancing Risk and Innovation
Businesses adopting AI are finding that insurance providers are increasingly excluding or limiting coverage for AI-related risks, creating new challenges for corporate risk management.