Crypto10 September, 20263 min read
Nu Global Taps Sygnum for Stablecoin Custody as Brazil Tightens Cross-Border Crypto Rules
This article is an automated aggregation of coverage from news outlets. Our editorials offer in-depth analysis curated by the NewsCord team.
Nu Global partners with Sygnum to power stablecoin custody for multi-currency accounts. Nu Global launched on September 10 and expands into the United States.
Brazil curbs stablecoin rails
Nu Global, a multi-currency account launched on September 10, lets customers hold and trade stablecoins and cryptocurrencies including Bitcoin and Ethereum, with Sygnum supplying custody, trading and fiat-to-crypto conversion infrastructure behind the product. The partnership is offered through Nu Global AG, a Swiss entity under Nu Holdings, and it pairs a Mastercard-branded virtual card with stablecoin holdings while Sygnum provides a bank guarantee covering customer assets under Swiss banking law, according to a joint press release from the two companies on Thursday. The launch lands as Brazil’s central bank, the Banco Central do Brasil, moves the opposite way at home, with Resolution BCB 561 published April 30 and taking effect October 1 barring regulated electronic FX (eFX) providers from settling the offshore leg of cross-border transfers in stablecoins or other cryptoassets.
The rule targets the licensed payment firms Brazilians use for cross-border transfers, and the article says firms including Nomad and Braza Bank had built stablecoin settlement into their operations. Brazil’s federal tax authority estimates stablecoins account for roughly 90% of the $6 billion to $8 billion in monthly crypto volume moving through the country, per data reported by CoinDesk.
Banks eye crypto infrastructure
UniCredit Bank is seeking a technology provider to build infrastructure for digital asset trading, custody and access to tokenized investment products, with discussions described as still in the early stages by people familiar with the matter told Bloomberg on Friday.
The areas of interest include crypto custody and brokerage capabilities, tokenized investment products and stablecoin-based fixed-income securities, as UniCredit looks to expand beyond its current offerings.
The article places the effort alongside other banks experimenting with digital asset and stablecoin infrastructure, including America’s fifth–largest commercial bank, U.S. Bank, which completed a live cross-border payment using its proprietary USBDC stablecoin on Wednesday.
It also points to London-headquartered Standard Chartered launching spot Bitcoin (BTC) and Ether (ETH) trading for institutional clients in the United Arab Emirates on Sept. 3, and to Israel’s largest bank, Leumi, partnering with Galaxy Digital in August to offer Bitcoin, Ether and Solana (SOL) trading through the bank’s investment platform with the launch expected in early 2027.
Cointelegraph says it approached UniCredit for comment on what technology provider might fill the infrastructure gap, but the report does not name a specific vendor.
Tokenized bonds and custody charters
India’s securities regulator and central bank launched a tokenized corporate bond pilot, with three companies issuing a combined 10.25 billion rupees (about $107 million) through the new market infrastructure. On Thursday, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) said Demat 2.0 allows corporate bonds to be issued and held as digital tokens on a distributed ledger owned by the country’s statutory depositories, and the system connects to the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) wholesale central bank digital currency (CBDC) through its Unified Market Interface. SEBI said the infrastructure allows issuers to receive funds on the day of bidding instead of two to three days later, and it said atomic settlement removes the delay between the movement of money and bonds while smart contracts can automate interest and redemption payments.
Separately, Block Inc. applied for a U.S. banking charter to create Builders Bank, submitting an application to the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency to establish Builders Bank & Trust, N.A. as a national trust bank. In a statement attributed to Builders Bank president and CEO nominee Lee Woolley, Block said it believes Builders Bank is “well positioned to support Block’s broader vision of economic empowerment,” and the proposal would provide custody and related fiduciary services for Bitcoin and stablecoins if approved.