Top Fintech News Around the World — July 11, 2026
A pivotal two-week window for US digital dollar policy: the CBDC ban became law through 2030 while the GENIUS Act's July 18 rulemaking deadline looms. The IMF warned of stablecoin-amplified currency runs in emerging markets. Binance pivoted EU strategy and expanded in Asia. Three infrastructure funding rounds (Infinia, Jota, GrailPay) showed continued VC appetite. South Korea launched its first government-backed stablecoin pilot, and Indonesia-India advanced QR payment linkage talks.
TLDR
- US CBDC ban becomes law through 2030 via the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act; stablecoin carve-out exempts private tokens with privacy protections comparable to cash
- GENIUS Act deadline one week away (July 18); six federal agencies must finalize stablecoin implementing rules; OCC framework serves as baseline
- IMF warns dollar stablecoins may amplify currency runs in fixed exchange rate economies; recommends temporary regulatory limits during acute currency pressure
- Binance keeps EU plans alive after Greek MiCA withdrawal; regulators from multiple EU states invited the exchange to apply; expands in Philippines via BlockShoals partnership
- Infinia raises $13.5M Series A led by Bain Capital and Variant Fund to connect banking systems (Pix, SPEI) with digital asset rails in emerging markets
- Jota raises $30M Series A led by Haun Ventures for AI-powered WhatsApp banking in Brazil; launches Jota 2.0 autonomous AI agent
- Kord raises £6.4M Series A for AI fraud prevention in UK regulated sectors (property, legal)
- GrailPay raises $10.5M Series A for B2B risk decisioning infrastructure for agentic payments
- [ASIA] South Korea Gyeonggi Province launches first government-backed blockchain stablecoin pilot using zero-knowledge proofs and proof-of-reserves; runs August 2026 through February 2027
- [ASIA] Indonesia and India in "very advanced" talks to connect QRIS and UPI payment systems by end of 2026; covers 1.5 billion people
Top-10 notes
Follow-up reference notes
| # | Title | Seed Question |
|---|---|---|
| REF-1 | Section 1101 CBDC Ban Provisions — 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act | What specific provisions does Section 1101 contain regarding the CBDC prohibition, and what are the exemption criteria for stablecoins? |
| REF-2 | GENIUS Act Six-Agency Rulemaking — OCC, FinCEN/OFAC, FDIC, NCUA, Treasury Proposals | What specific rulemaking proposals have each of the six agencies published, and what are the key differences? |
| REF-3 | IMF Working Paper — Stablecoins and Fragility in Fixed Exchange Rate Regimes | What case studies from Bolivia and Argentina does the IMF paper cite, and what regulatory measures does it recommend? |
| REF-4 | Binance EU/Asia Licensing Strategy — MiCA Pivot and Philippines Expansion | Which EU member state is Binance in talks with for MiCA authorization, and what Asia licenses is it pursuing? |
| REF-5 | Infinia Technical Architecture — Connecting Pix, SPEI with On-Chain Settlement | What technical architecture does Infinia use to connect Pix and SPEI with on-chain settlement? |
| REF-6 | Jota AI WhatsApp Banking — Jota 2.0 Autonomous Agent and Fala Tap Voice Payments | How does Jota's AI-powered WhatsApp banking platform work, and what features does Jota 2.0 include? |
| REF-7 | South Korea Gyeonggi Province — ZKrypto Zero-Knowledge Stablecoin Pilot | What zero-knowledge proof technology is ZKrypto using, and how does the proof-of-reserves mechanism work? |
| REF-8 | Indonesia-India QRIS-UPI Payment Linkage — Technical Integration and Timeline | What technical integration challenges exist for connecting QRIS and UPI, and what timeline milestones have been announced? |
| ← Back to Daily Fintech News Index |