payments

According to DL News, a South Korean forgery gang is selling fake official documents to users via Telegram, prioritizing payments in cryptocurrency or digital gift cards. Among them, a counterfeit Yonsei University diploma is priced at about $200, a certificate of enrollment is quoted at about $100, and a fake diploma from overseas universities is priced at about $341.The report points out that the gang also offers forged materials such as driver's licenses, proof of relationship, certificates of no criminal record, and bank loan documents. South Korean police stated that the number of arrests for forgery cases nearly doubled from 2021 to 2023.

At the "Crypto 2026: From Cryptocurrency to Smart Economy" themed forum held in Hong Kong, guests including Sign partner Sarah, HashKey Chain Senior Business Development YuYi, Monad Greater China Ecosystem Head Harvey Chen, OmenX Chief Marketing Officer Gisele, and SVP Chain Market Head Celest engaged in a roundtable discussion on "The Revaluation of Crypto and the New Cycle."Regarding why they remain firmly invested in Crypto amid the AI boom, Sarah pointed out that the hotter AI gets, the more use cases there are for Crypto assets, and future transactions between AI Agents will rely on digital assets. YuYi believes that the bear market is precisely when the wheat is separated from the chaff, with compliant RWA (such as Hong Kong's first physical silver token) being implemented, speculative assets being eliminated, and the era of on-chain infrastructure arriving. Harvey Chen stated that high-performance public chains are the foundation for supporting large-scale applications, and Monad is committed to this. Gisele noted that Crypto addresses fairness and value transfer, complementing AI's focus on efficiency. Celest emphasized that AI lacks a native value system and increasingly requires Crypto to provide value authentication and decentralized trust.On the changing understanding of Crypto's value, the guests unanimously agreed that the industry is shifting from "issuing tokens for the sake of issuing tokens" to pursuing sustainable business models, with greater focus on capital efficiency, low costs, and 24-hour settlement as practical values. The value of public chains should be assessed based on real business scenarios and user transaction volumes, rather than narratives and financing.Regarding future growth engines and entrepreneurial advice, the guests generally expressed optimism about compliant RWA, AI payments, and sovereign blockchain directions, advising entrepreneurs to focus on real application scenarios, avoid empty concepts, and maintain a long-term construction mindset.

According to official news, on April 18 at 20:00, AINFT under Bai B.AI will jointly hold a special cooperation seminar on "Payment Systems under the AI Economy" with the PKUBlockchain Association of Peking University. This seminar is based on the emerging context of Web 4.0 and aims to explore in depth how payment, as a key infrastructure, drives the paradigm shift of AI from "content generation" to "transaction decision-making." Both parties will collaboratively delve into the innovative practices in the AI economic ecosystem and financial transaction system through a deep dissection of the intersectional narrative of AI and PayFi, reshaping the boundaries of future intelligent finance.

According to PaymentsJournal, stablecoin payment infrastructure provider PhotonPay announced a comprehensive upgrade to its payment capabilities, officially moving towards the new paradigm of Agentic Payments. At the core of this transformation is the shift in finance from "directive" to "intent-centric," enabling AI agents to autonomously plan and execute complex financial pathways.It is reported that PhotonPay has divided its system into three main modules: global network layer, core execution layer, and intelligent decision-making layer. AI agents can automatically complete the entire process of procurement triggers, payment path optimization, dynamic exchange rate optimization, and compliance review based on preset goals, achieving machine-to-machine (M2M) cross-border capital flow, covering over 200 countries and regions, and supporting real-time processing of financial decisions.In terms of market prospects, McKinsey predicts that by 2030, the global Agentic Commerce driven by AI agents will reach a scale of $3 trillion to $5 trillion, which also provides important market endorsement for PhotonPay's strategic layout.

According to market news, Circle has launched a new solution for high-frequency USDC payments across blockchains. Developers can use the Cross-Chain Transfer Protocol (CCTP) to have local fulfillers make advance payments on the recipient's designated chain, with the platform later completing cross-chain settlement.This model can reduce the operational burden caused by individual cross-chain transfers and is suitable for platforms that handle a large number of payments daily. Compared to the traditional CCTP process of destroying and minting USDC one by one, the new solution supports batch settlement, reduces the number of destructions on the source chain, and eliminates the need for signature infrastructure on the target chain. Circle also demonstrated the process based on the Arc Testnet and Ethereum Sepolia.

Gobi Partners announced an investment in Transak. Founded in 2019, Transak provides fiat and digital asset exchange capabilities through a single API for financial institutions, unifying KYC, AML, risk monitoring, and local payment integration.This investment aims to support Transak in expanding into the Asian market. Transak has established its Asia-Pacific headquarters in Hong Kong and plans to deepen integration with payment networks and banking partners in the ASEAN region.

According to Cointelegraph, Visa has launched the "Intelligent Commerce Connect" service, which supports AI agents to complete purchase payments on behalf of consumers in commercial scenarios worldwide.

Morph's latest report on the status of stablecoins indicates that by 2030, stablecoins are expected to account for about 10% of global cross-border payments. The current annual transaction volume of stablecoins has reached $33 trillion, surpassing the combined $25.5 trillion of Visa and Mastercard.The application of stablecoins in the real economy is continuously expanding, with approximately 60% of the capital flow driven by B2B payments, and significant growth in corporate adoption in scenarios such as cash management and procurement. Morph predicts that by 2026, the annual settlement volume of stablecoins may exceed $50 trillion, and by 2027, AI agents are expected to become the main initiators of transactions, with the market size potentially reaching $1.9 trillion by 2030.

According to Solid Intel, the central banks of France and South Korea are collaborating on a framework for tokenized cross-border payments and digital assets.

Due to the delay in the legislative process of the "Digital Asset Basic Law," several financial institutions in South Korea are providing stablecoin payment services aimed at foreign users to bypass regulatory restrictions and proactively establish infrastructure and partnership networks.Specifically, Hana Financial Group has partnered with Circle and Crypto.com to launch a USDC payment pilot, Danal plans to introduce similar services with Circle and Binance Pay, Crypto.com and KG Inicis have launched a payment gateway, BC Card is testing USDC payment technology with Coinbase, and KB Kookmin Card has applied for a patent for the integration of stablecoin and bank card payments. Analysts say that such services aimed at foreign users are equivalent to a "regulatory sandbox," which helps companies validate their business models before formal policies are implemented.

According to the official announcement, Binance has launched 13 new AI Agent skills, and the AI Agent can now access the full range of Binance products: from advanced derivatives trading and algorithm execution to fiat, payments, yield generation, and tokenized securities.Through a unified interface, the AI Agent can now fully execute end-to-end workflows ------ from research and discovery to trading, settlement, and portfolio management, without the need to switch any tools.

The Central Bank of Cuba (BCC) announced on March 23, 2026, in the Official Gazette, the first authorization for ten enterprises (nine small and medium-sized enterprises and one mixed enterprise) to use cryptocurrency for cross-border payments.The authorized enterprises cover various fields including information technology, catering, transportation, and industry. The license is valid for one year and can be renewed. Enterprises must conduct transactions through virtual asset service providers (PSAV) licensed by the BCC and report transaction details to the central bank on a quarterly basis.

According to Cointelegraph, Mitsubishi Corporation of Japan will adopt the blockchain-based payment system Kinexys developed by JPMorgan for its global business fund transfers, achieving near-instantaneous fund transfers, reducing reliance on traditional banks, and providing 24/7 service.JPMorgan is seeking to expand the platform's daily transaction volume from the current $7 billion to $10 billion, with a cumulative transaction amount exceeding $30 trillion since its launch in 2020.

The Web3 asset data platform RootData has outlined PayPal's Web3 partners, covering key aspects such as wallets, trading liquidity, and on-chain risk control. Structurally, PayPal's crypto layout exhibits a clear "modular assembly" characteristic:User entry side: Wallets like MetaMask and Phantom handle asset management and interaction interfaces;Fund circulation: Crypto infrastructure like MoonPay provides the capability to convert between fiat and crypto assets;Trading and liquidity: Platforms such as Binance and OKX provide market depth and price discovery mechanisms;By integrating mature Web3 providers, PayPal embeds crypto capabilities into its existing payment system, rapidly advancing new businesses such as stablecoins and on-chain payments within a compliance framework. From an industry perspective, PayPal's partnership landscape shows a convergence trend with traditional payment institutions like Visa: that is, building an infrastructure combination around "stablecoin settlement + compliance risk control + user payment entry," accelerating the penetration of crypto assets into the mainstream financial system. Related compilation: PayPal Crypto Partner Network Compilation (Continuously Updated)Crypto projects actively showcasing their partner networks have become a key way to enhance transparency and market trust. It is reported that RootData welcomes Web3 projects to claim data and continues to track and open more project business relationship disclosure channels. The platform has continuously released multiple editions of the crypto project ecosystem map, nominating Web3 ecosystem partners for upstream clients such as Visa, Stripe, and Coinbase.If you wish to nominate your project in future ecosystem maps, please fill out the RootData 2026 Industry Ecosystem Mapping form to supplement your important clients and partners.

Cointelegraph Research's latest report shows that the United Nations Development Programme is applying blockchain technology to the construction of public digital infrastructure, focusing on addressing issues of transparency, collaborative efficiency, and trustworthy data sharing in government systems.The report "New Tech, New Partners" outlines 42 practical cases covering areas such as digital payments, financial inclusion, climate funding, data governance, and community investment, among which 7 focus on digital identity and data systems, primarily distributed in developing economies in Africa, Latin America, Asia, and Eastern Europe. The research points out that UNDP adopts a "pilot---validate---scale" approach, collaborating with governments, developers, and local businesses to first implement small-scale projects and then gradually promote them based on actual results. It also emphasizes a "platform-agnostic" architecture to maintain system openness and interoperability. Furthermore, the report highlights the importance of governance and risk control, stating that the application of blockchain in public systems requires accompanying privacy protection, regulatory frameworks, and audit mechanisms to prevent data misuse and smart contract risks. Overall, blockchain is extending from financial scenarios to public governance infrastructure, becoming one of the important technological options for digital transformation in various countries.

Guy Wuollet, a partner at a16z crypto, stated in Fortune's Crypto Playbook that the crypto industry is maturing and is currently in the "shirt era," not yet fully formalized but having moved beyond the early stages. He pointed out that the dominant trend in the current crypto industry is Wall Street's rapid adoption of blockchain, with traditional financial giants like BlackRock and Fidelity not only offering Bitcoin ETFs but also embracing blockchain technology in the areas of stablecoins and tokenized stocks.Wuollet also noted that the integration of blockchain and AI is laying the groundwork for on-chain agency commerce. He mentioned that a large number of talents from the consumer AI sector are entering the crypto industry because they believe that the first agency payments will occur on-chain, and Stripe also discussed agency payments in its annual letter. Regarding the issue of fragmentation that different payment standards might cause, Wuollet believes that AI models are good at understanding different systems, so this is unlikely to slow down the adoption rate.