🏦 Institutions Are All In – This Week in Web3 Payments (Feb 17, 2025) 🚀

👋 Welcome to PayFi Weekly by Transak, your essential digest of everything happening in stablecoins, Web3 payments, crypto-for-remittances, and more!

In the past week, a major fintech giant sets its sights on crypto, stablecoin regulation takes a step forward, and institutions continue stacking digital assets. Oh, and Tether just made a move you wouldn’t expect. 👀

Let’s dive into the second week of February 2025!

🔥 Top Stories of the Week

🏛️ Congress moves on stablecoins. Two new bills aim to bring clearer regulations to the U.S. stablecoin market. Read more

💷 Digital pound on hold? The Bank of England governor is cooling on launching a CBDC. More details

⚽ USDT scoring big! Tether partners with Juventus FC, bridging crypto payments with the sports world. Details

💰 Institutional Adoption

🏦 Michigan proposes a crypto reserve bill! Another state looks to back its treasury with digital assets. Read here

🇭🇰 A stablecoin for Hongkongers. Standard Chartered, HKT, and Animoca Brands Collaborate on HKD-Backed Stablecoin. Know more

🏢 State Street & Citi looking into crypto custody. Could this be the next big step for institutional stablecoin settlements? Full story

🌍 Abu Dhabi invests $437M in Bitcoin! Strengthening crypto’s role in cross-border financial reserves. Details

🇮🇳 Hitachi invests in India's Spydra. A strategic move to foster innovations in Web3, CBDCs, and blockchain technology. Details

⚖️ Regulatory Developments

🏛️ Wyoming for state-backed stablecoin! The state is on the verge of launching the first fully reserved, state-specific stablecoin to fund public services. Read more

💬 Fed Governor advocates for bank-issued stablecoins. A call for a regulatory framework enabling banks and institutions to issue their own stablecoins. More details

🤝 Tether engages with U.S. lawmakers. The stablecoin leader is actively collaborating on shaping forthcoming regulatory frameworks. Full story

📢 Community & Innovation

🔗 Tectum mainnet goes live! Enabling instant stablecoin and crypto payments through SoftNote technology. More info

📱 Tether invests in ZenGo Wallet. Pushing stablecoin adoption to the next level. More info

💳 Klarna plans to integrate cryptocurrency services. The European payment giant aims to offer crypto options to its users. Detail

🔥 That’s it for this week! Stay tuned for next week’s PayFi Weekly! 🚀