The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) has signed a new agreement with the Stellar Development Foundation to expand the agency’s use of blockchain-based payments after completing pilot projects in five countries, signaling a broader role for public blockchain infrastructure in its development programs.

The agreement follows 16 months of research and pilot programs in Haiti, Syria, Kenya, Guatemala and The Gambia, with additional projects in Colombia and Papua New Guinea, the agency said Monday. According to UNDP, the next phase will establish the process for country offices to use blockchain payments across a wider range of programs.

UNDP said the pilots produced measurable results. In Syria, a Cash for Work program that recorded payments onchain reduced distribution costs from 10% to 2%, while a pilot in Haiti continued processing payments during a cellular network outage. 

Blockchain payment networks, particularly those supporting stablecoins, have increasingly been promoted as a way to improve cross-border payments and remittances, especially in regions where access to traditional banking services is limited. The announcement marks one of the clearest examples of a UN agency moving beyond limited blockchain trials toward broader use of the technology for humanitarian purposes.

Source: UNDP

Last month, UNDP launched a Blockchain Advisory Group at the Proof of Talk conference in Paris, France, to help guide its use of blockchain technology across development programs. Beyond digital payments, the group will explore how blockchain can support digital public infrastructure and improve public systems.

Related: Kbank teams with Ripple on overseas blockchain remittance trial

Stablecoins gain ground in remittance markets

UNDP’s expanded use of blockchain payments reflects a broader push to modernize cross-border payments in emerging markets, where limited access to traditional banking and high remittance costs have made stablecoins an increasingly attractive alternative.

Ripple recently acquired an equity stake in African fintech Flutterwave as part of a broader effort to expand the use of its RLUSD stablecoin and the XRP Ledger across Africa, where remittances remain a major source of household income.

Latin America is also emerging as a key market for stablecoin-powered remittances, with issuers targeting payment corridors in Argentina, Bolivia, Colombia and Venezuela.

The most active remittance channels across Latin America. Source: Claudia Wang

Former UN under-secretary-general Vera Songwe said the growing importance of digital payments extends beyond remittances. Speaking at the World Economic Forum’s annual meeting in January, Songwe said that stablecoins are becoming “more important than aid” in some developing economies because they provide access to digital financial services where traditional banking remains out of reach.

“650 million people don’t have access to a bank account in Africa,” Songwe told the WEF attendees. “With a smartphone, you have access to stablecoins, so you can save in a currency that is not exposed to fluctuations of inflation and making you poor.”

Related: Bybit Pay enters South Africa through MoneyBadger integration

The UK Financial Conduct Authority has published a 147-page roadmap warning that autonomous AI systems could transform retail financial services while increasing the need for programmable digital payment infrastructure.

The UK’s Financial Conduct Authority has released a detailed review outlining how artificial intelligence is moving beyond assisting consumers to making financial decisions on their behalf, raising new questions about regulation, governance, and the future of digital payments.

Prepared under the leadership of outgoing executive director Sheldon Mills, the report, AI and the future of retail financial services, describes a financial system where AI agents continuously manage savings, investments, insurance, and payments instead of relying on occasional human instructions. The regulator said this transition requires updated rules that balance innovation with consumer protection.

In the report’s foreword, Mills wrote, “The central shift is from human-led, episodic financial activity towards services that are AI-enabled, continuous and delegated.”

Published after the FCA opened a review into advanced AI in January, the report presents seven recommendations for future policy. Among them are creating trusted protocols for agentic finance and expanding the regulator’s AI Lab to help financial firms test AI models in a controlled environment.

Agentic AI increases demand for programmable money

Rather than focusing only on today’s chatbot technology, the FCA describes the rapid emergence of “agentic AI,” where software can independently carry out financial tasks across an autonomy spectrum. At the highest level, the report says, humans become observers while AI systems continuously manage financial decisions.

According to the FCA, more than 20 frontier AI models have been introduced since late 2025, accelerating the development of autonomous financial services far faster than previous regulatory expectations anticipated.

Mills also warned that financial institutions are moving beyond recommendation engines. “Firms are moving from systems that recommend actions to systems empowered and trained to take them, and consumers will soon gain agents that act on their behalf,” he wrote.

Research cited by the FCA found that one in five UK adults would already consider allowing AI to make financial decisions autonomously.

As these AI systems become capable of executing multiple transactions without human approval, the report notes that traditional banking infrastructure may struggle to support machine-speed financial activity. Because stablecoins and tokenized bank deposits operate on programmable distributed ledger networks, they can settle transactions instantly through automated execution instead of relying on conventional multi-day settlement processes.

The report therefore identifies programmable forms of digital money as infrastructure that could support autonomous financial services if adoption continues.

Human accountability remains central despite automation

Alongside the technological opportunities, the FCA dedicates significant attention to governance and legal responsibility. It warns that firms cannot delegate accountability to algorithms even if AI systems execute financial decisions independently.

Industry participants consulted during the review highlighted growing uncertainty over legal liability. According to the report, one chief executive suggested that financial markets could eventually require a “Turing test” to distinguish between genuine human decisions and autonomous algorithmic activity.

Commenting on the publication, Emma Banymandhub, chief executive of The Payments Association, said the review reinforces the need for firms to address governance before autonomous AI becomes commonplace.

“The FCA’s Mills Review reinforces that firms should treat agentic AI as an accountability and governance issue now, while providing greater confidence to innovate responsibly as AI adoption accelerates.”

She added that AI offers significant opportunities for financial services, but its long-term success depends on clear accountability, sound governance, and maintaining consumer trust.

Ahead of the report’s release, Mills also told the Financial Times that responsibility cannot be transferred to software. “You need a human on the hook for what they’re doing,” he said, underlining the FCA’s position that management remains accountable even as financial services become increasingly automated.

Key Highlights

• MSFT shares decline following announcement of 4,800 workforce reductions
• Gaming division absorbs 3,200 layoffs as part of strategic realignment
• Microsoft stock trades near $386 amid restructuring concerns
• Multiple gaming studios transitioning away from Microsoft ownership
• Growing AI investments and sluggish gaming margins drive cost reduction efforts

Shares of Microsoft (MSFT) dropped 1.15% to close at $386.00 Monday following the company’s disclosure of 4,800 workforce reductions. The cuts represent roughly 2.1% of the tech giant’s total employee base, with the Xbox gaming segment bearing the most significant impact. This development intensifies questions surrounding Microsoft’s expense management, gaming roadmap, and artificial intelligence investment trajectory.

Microsoft Corporation, MSFT

Tech Giant Initiates 4,800-Person Workforce Reduction

Microsoft confirmed the workforce reductions would commence without delay as the organization reshapes certain operational divisions. Company leadership positioned the action as one component of an expanded cost management initiative. The announcement arrived amid mounting pressure from deteriorating stock performance.

MSFT shares declined throughout morning trading hours before experiencing modest recovery during midday activity. The stock eventually found support around the $386 threshold as investors digested the news. Meanwhile, the broader Nasdaq Composite index posted gains, highlighting the divergence in Microsoft’s trajectory.

The technology leader has implemented various expense reduction tactics throughout the current year. Last April, Microsoft extended voluntary separation packages to specific employees based in the United States. Corporate communications indicated that more than one-third of qualifying personnel opted into the program.

Gaming Unit Undergoes Significant Organizational Changes

The gaming operation will absorb the most substantial portion of position eliminations. Microsoft intends to eliminate 3,200 Xbox-related positions, with 1,600 roles terminated Monday. Additional reductions will roll out progressively through the conclusion of fiscal 2027.

This restructuring impacts approximately 20% of the Xbox workforce. Microsoft additionally plans to spin off multiple development studios from corporate ownership. Compulsion Games and Double Fine Productions will return to independent studio status.

Ninja Theory and Undead Labs have agreed to terms for acquisition by alternative ownership groups. Microsoft continues evaluating alternatives for its French-based Arkane Studios location. These organizational shifts signal a comprehensive recalibration following extended periods of substantial gaming sector investments.

Artificial Intelligence Expenditures and Gaming Challenges Influence Strategic Direction

Microsoft has committed significant capital toward artificial intelligence infrastructure, cloud computing expansion, and gaming acquisitions. However, financial analysts have raised doubts regarding the potential return on these investments. The company’s equity value has experienced notable declines in 2026, elevating the importance of fiscal restraint.

Microsoft clarified that artificial intelligence technology did not directly displace the affected employees. Nevertheless, the organization acknowledged that AI continues reshaping operational workflows. This statement indicates an evolving approach to workforce allocation and capital deployment priorities.

The Xbox business has encountered difficulties competing against Sony and Nintendo in the console marketplace. Microsoft has simultaneously expanded game availability across competing platforms as hardware unit sales remain underwhelming. Therefore, these latest reductions point toward heightened emphasis on profit margins, platform economics, and sustained operational efficiency.

Coinbase (COIN) sent users a false “breaking news” alert saying Norway’s soccer team beat Brazil 3-2 in a World Cup knockout match before the game had even started.

The alert said Erling Haaland scored twice in the match at MetLife Stadium. Coinbase’s own prediction-market page still listed the game as weather-delayed at the time.

Users posted screenshots of the notification on X on Sunday. Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong replied to one saying he was looking into it with the team. According to one post, the alert was sent at 10:26 a.m. ET. The match didn’t start until 4 p.m.

Max Branzburg, the company’s head of consumer & business products, later clarified that the incorrect story was fixed and the firm “made some updates to avoid these types of inaccuracies in the future.”

“It’s awesome to see the power of AI-enabled 24/7 insights for trading, but obviously still need to tune it to address these types of issues,” Branzburg wrote on X.

The actual match did see Norway beat Brazil, and Haaland scored twice. The final score was 2-1.

The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) is moving from blockchain pilots to a wider rollout of blockchain-based payments after signing a new agreement with the Stellar Development Foundation. The initiative builds on 16 months of testing in multiple countries and aims to define how UNDP country offices can use blockchain payments across a broader set of development and humanitarian programs.

According to UNDP, the new phase will focus on creating a repeatable process that offices can apply, following pilot projects in Haiti, Syria, Kenya, Guatemala and The Gambia, with additional work reported in Colombia and Papua New Guinea. UNDP said the pilots generated measurable outcomes that helped justify the next step.

Key takeaways

• UNDP has signed an agreement with the Stellar Development Foundation to expand blockchain-based payment usage across programs beyond initial pilots.
• Pilot results cited by UNDP include lower distribution costs in Syria and continued payments during a cellular network outage in Haiti.
• The next phase is intended to standardize how UNDP country offices adopt blockchain payments across a wider range of activities.
• The move reflects a broader push to modernize cross-border and aid-related payments in regions with limited access to traditional banking.

From pilot projects to a scaled deployment

UNDP’s agreement with the Stellar Development Foundation follows research and pilot deployments conducted over 16 months. UNDP said it is now preparing a framework that country offices can use to deploy blockchain payments more systematically, rather than treating the technology as a one-off trial.

UNDP’s announcement points to the operational lessons it claims to have learned during implementation. In Syria, the agency cited a Cash for Work program where payments recorded onchain reportedly reduced distribution costs from 10% to 2%. Separately, a pilot in Haiti continued processing payments during a cellular network outage, an issue that often disrupts delivery in areas where connectivity is unreliable.

For investors, builders, and aid technologists, this matters because it signals how a major public-sector organization is thinking about blockchain not just as a theoretical tool, but as payment infrastructure that must work under real-world constraints—cost pressure, network interruptions, and uneven access to financial rails.

Why blockchain payments are gaining attention

Blockchain payment networks—particularly those designed to handle stable-value digital assets—have increasingly been promoted as a way to improve cross-border transfers and remittances. The core appeal in emerging markets is straightforward: stablecoins and blockchain rails can potentially reduce friction and access barriers where traditional banking is limited.

UNDP’s decision to expand use of blockchain-based payments adds another data point to a trend already visible in the private sector, where stablecoin infrastructure is being pushed to serve remittance corridors and underbanked populations. It also distinguishes this development from many early “experiments,” since UNDP is explicitly describing a move toward broader integration into ongoing program operations.

UNDP’s roadmap further links payments to a wider set of potential public-good applications of distributed ledger technology, indicating that the agency is not limiting its view to transfers alone.

Connection to UNDP’s broader blockchain strategy

The expanded payments agreement comes after UNDP launched a Blockchain Advisory Group earlier this year. In a move designed to guide the agency’s use of blockchain across development programming, UNDP said the group was unveiled at the Proof of Talk conference in Paris, France.

UNDP indicated that, beyond digital payments, the advisory group will examine how blockchain could support digital public infrastructure and help improve public-sector systems. That matters because it suggests a longer-term internal strategy: payments are one tangible starting point, but the agency appears to be assessing broader use cases where auditability, verifiability, and system resilience may be valuable.

Stablecoins, remittances, and the push for digital access

UNDP’s emphasis on blockchain-based payments aligns with a wider market narrative: remittances remain a major source of household income in many regions, and stablecoin-based systems are increasingly positioned as a way to make those transfers faster and more accessible. In that context, broader corporate activity around stablecoins is becoming more frequent.

Earlier coverage noted that Ripple acquired an equity stake in African fintech Flutterwave as part of efforts to expand the use of its RLUSD stablecoin and the XRP Ledger across Africa. Separately, Latin America has also drawn attention from stablecoin-linked initiatives aimed at payment corridors across countries including Argentina, Bolivia, Colombia and Venezuela.

These developments are occurring alongside remarks from public-policy leaders. In January, former UN under-secretary-general Vera Songwe told the World Economic Forum annual meeting that stablecoins are becoming “more important than aid” in some developing economies by offering a route to digital financial services where traditional banking remains out of reach. Songwe also said that, with a smartphone, people may gain access to stablecoins—framing them as potentially reducing exposure to inflation volatility in environments where that risk affects daily finances.

While UNDP’s announcement does not resolve debates about stablecoins’ regulatory status, long-term viability, or country-specific risks, it does underline that public institutions are actively exploring how blockchain rails can complement or replace parts of legacy payment workflows—especially for cash distribution and time-sensitive transfers.

Readers should watch how UNDP’s “process” for country offices is implemented in practice—whether blockchain payments become a standard operational option across more programs, and how the approach performs under local infrastructure constraints such as connectivity, verification requirements, and partner onboarding.

Bitmine Immersion Technologies says it has boosted its Ethereum treasury, adding $74 million worth of ETH to bring its holdings to 5,742,237 tokens as of Sunday. The update marks a sizable increase from the company’s previous reported balance and comes as US lawmakers move toward a vote on the proposed CLARITY Act, legislation that could reshape how digital assets are regulated.

In the same period, Strategy—one of the most prominent Bitcoin treasury companies—reported selling $216 million worth of BTC to fund dividend payments, cutting its total holdings. Together, the two moves highlight a developing split in how major crypto treasuries are allocating capital across ETH and BTC.

Key takeaways

• Bitmine reported ETH holdings of 5,742,237 as of Sunday, up by 42,197 ETH from its previously disclosed figure.
• The company estimates the latest purchases were worth about $74 million based on ETH’s prior valuation at the time of reporting; ETH has since moved higher.
• Bitmine’s chair Tom Lee linked the company’s ETH focus to rising market expectations for passage of the US CLARITY Act.
• Strategy reported selling $216 million in Bitcoin to fund dividends, reducing its Bitcoin holdings to 843,775 BTC.
• CLARITY’s path in the Senate requires 60 votes, with uncertainty over whether sufficient Democrats will support the bill.

Bitmine increases ETH treasury by 42,197 tokens

Bitmine Immersion Technologies said it increased its Ethereum holdings to 5,742,237 ETH, a gain of 42,197 tokens compared with the level reported in its previous disclosure. Bitmine attributed the change to further accumulation as part of its treasury strategy and referenced the valuation used at the time of the company’s most recent buy activity.

According to Bitmine’s statement, the company’s latest ETH purchases were made when ETH was valued at roughly $1,759, putting the incremental buys at approximately $74 million. At the time of publication, ETH traded around $1,792 per token, meaning the market value of Bitmine’s expanded stack would be higher than the purchase-day estimate.

With the new total, Bitmine holds about 4.8% of Ethereum’s total supply—equivalent to roughly 121 million ETH in aggregate value terms, based on the company’s share-of-supply framing.

Why Bitmine points to US “Clarity” expectations

Bitmine chair Tom Lee said the potential passage of the Digital Asset Market Clarity (CLARITY) Act in the US represents an “important milestone” for the crypto sector—particularly for smart contract platforms like Ethereum.

“[T]he rise in the ETH/BTC ratio in the past few days make sense as markets start to see greater chances of Clarity Act passage.”

The reasoning is straightforward: if US regulatory uncertainty is reduced, investors and institutions may treat major smart-contract networks differently than BTC—potentially boosting relative demand for assets tied to broader application ecosystems.

Bitmine’s framing also mirrors the broader market narrative that ETH could benefit from regulatory clarity aimed at digital assets. While the company’s comments are not a guarantee of outcomes, they provide insight into how at least one large treasury holder is connecting policy expectations to portfolio concentration decisions.

Strategy sells BTC to fund dividends, narrowing its treasury

While Bitmine added ETH, Strategy took the opposite step on Bitcoin. Earlier coverage from Cointelegraph reported that Strategy sold $216 million worth of BTC to fund dividend payments, reducing its total Bitcoin holdings to 843,775 BTC.

That sell-off matters for how markets interpret treasury behavior: it suggests that for some holders, shareholder returns and capital management can outweigh accumulation during periods when the macro or regulatory outlook is in flux. In contrast, Bitmine’s decision to buy ETH implies that its treasury strategy is currently aligned with the belief that ETH may capture upside if the regulatory backdrop improves.

For readers tracking institutional flows, the comparison raises a practical question: when large treasuries rebalance, does ETH strength reflect genuine incremental demand, or does it mainly represent relative repositioning versus BTC?

CLARITY Act approval remains uncertain in the Senate

The CLARITY Act is currently under consideration in the US Senate and is expected to be among the most consequential pieces of crypto legislation. The bill would expand the Commodity Futures Trading Commission’s authority to regulate and oversee digital assets.

Republican lawmakers are pushing for a Senate vote after the chamber returns from state work periods next week, but the bill’s prospects depend on whether enough Democrats support it. As reported in earlier Cointelegraph coverage, uncertainty remains—particularly around the “ethics” provisions—despite Republicans holding a slim majority in the Senate.

To pass, the CLARITY Act needs 60 votes, a threshold that underscores how difficult it may be to assemble the bipartisan coalition required for passage.

For market participants, the key variable is timing: even small changes in the odds of passage can influence positioning across crypto markets—especially for assets like ETH that are often discussed in relation to smart contract and platform regulation.

Traders and long-term investors should watch the Senate scheduling process, alongside any concrete changes to the bill text that could affect support. Until senators commit to a vote count and final language, expectations for “clarity” will likely remain a moving target—and ETH/BTC relative strength may continue to react accordingly.