Invest ideasNews
8 Apr 2026, 13:30
2018 Footage Of Ripple CEO Saying They’re Taking Over SWIFT Resurfaces, But How Have They Fared Since Then?
A viral footage from 2018 has resurfaced online, showing CEO Brad Garlinghouse boldly declaring that Ripple was taking over SWIFT (Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunications). At the time, the crypto payments company was still in its early growth phase, aggressively positioning itself as a faster and more cost-effective alternative to SWIFT. Today, Ripple has evolved significantly in various aspects, including regulation, payments, global adoption, partnerships, banking, and more. Ripple CEO Makes Bold Claim To Surpass SWIFT During the 2018 Bloomberg interview, Garlinghouse was asked whether he believed Ripple could ever take over SWIFT. The CEO responded calmly, “I think what we’re doing and executing on a day-by-day basis is in fact taking over SWIFT.” He stated that the company had already signed with more than 100 banks, noting that some of the largest SWIFT-enabled financial institutions in the world are already using Ripple’s technology. Related Reading: Analyst Who Called Bitcoin Price Crash Above $100,000 Predicts Crash To $29,000 Garlinghouse’s statement reflected confidence in Ripple’s growth potential and its ability to transform global payment systems. He pointed to practical, real-world applications, explaining that a remittance company adopted Ripple’s technology in 2018 and lowered the price per transaction from $20 to just $2, leading to a staggering 800% surge in usage overnight. According to him, this type of growth and dynamic is what Ripple can address, while SWIFT has struggled to support. Despite his bold vision, many in the crypto community today remain skeptical. One possible reason for this doubt is that SWIFT has served as the backbone of international financial communications since 1973. Hence, it has built decades of strong credibility, trust, compliance, and security standards—areas where Ripple, by comparison, is still developing. However, despite these long-standing advantages, SWIFT falls short in many areas that Ripple aims to improve. The system relies on processes that take 1-5 days for transactions to settle, while Ripple executes transfers in seconds. In addition, SWIFT’s transfers also cost $25-$50 per transaction, while the average all-in costs for institutional payments on Ripple range from $0.001-$0.01 per transaction, a staggering contrast. One of SWIFT’s biggest flaws today is that it does not move money directly; instead, it sends messages about money while still relying on pre-funded Nostro accounts. This reliance is the key area where Ripple has a huge advantage. While SWIFT’s pre-funded accounts and use of intermediaries slow payments, Ripple’s On-Demand Liquidity (ODL) leverages XRP as a bridge currency to speed up transfers. The crypto company converts the sender’s currency into XRP, moves it across the ledger, and then converts it to the receiver’s currency—all of which is done in seconds. How Ripple Has Evolved Since 2018 Fast-forward to today, Ripple has overcome major hurdles since 2018, including resolving its almost seven-year legal battle with the US SEC and gaining clearer regulatory guidance and recognition. At the same time, the company has continued to expand globally while enhancing the XRP Ledger (XRPL) with new updates and stronger security features. Related Reading: XRP Analyst Reveals Why The Altcoin Is Set To Hit $27 So far, the company continues its efforts to either rival or work with SWIFT. It has established partnerships with hundreds of banks, payment providers, remittance firms, and other institutions. Ripple has also expanded its offerings through various strategic acquisitions, including Hidden Road, Metaco, GTreasury, and others. As a result, the crypto firm now extends its services beyond payments to include custody, settlement, treasury management, and more. Recently, one of Ripple’s biggest milestones was gaining conditional approval from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) for a national bank charter. A full license would officially designate Ripple as a federally recognized bank, bringing the company one step closer to its goals. Featured image created with Dall.E, chart from Tradingview.com
8 Apr 2026, 12:54
White House Council of Economic Advisers: Stablecoin Yield Doesn’t Threaten Small Banks
A White House report found that banning stablecoin yield products would boost community bank lending by just 0.02%.
8 Apr 2026, 12:12
Morgan Stanley Debuts Bitcoin ETF as Price Slump Rattles Holders
Morgan Stanley is set to become the first Wall Street bank to launch its own Bitcoin-tracking exchange-traded fund, a milestone for the digital-asset ecosystem that underscores how deeply the original cryptocurrency has embedded itself in the financial mainstream — even as the market around it has cooled.
8 Apr 2026, 12:01
Wirex and Utorg Bring Seamless Crypto-to-Card Spending to 2M+ Users Worldwide
London, UK, April 8th, 2026, Chainwire Wirex BaaS provides Utorg’s consumer wallet ecosystem with non-custodial card infrastructure, IBAN banking rails, and global payment acceptance — going live in weeks, not months Wirex , a full-stack crypto card issuer and Banking-as-a-Service (BaaS) provider, today announced a strategic partnership with Utorg (utorg.com), a global fintech company building consumer and business infrastructure for the stablecoin economy, working with EU-regulated fintech companies behind Utorg’s rapidly growing onchain-financial application — serving more than 2 million users across 190+ countries . Through Wirex BaaS, Utorg will embed fully compliant card issuance and banking infrastructure directly into its consumer platform — giving users the ability to hold assets in self-custodial wallets, and spend their balances at merchants worldwide through a Wirex-powered payment card. The move advances Utorg’s vision of making digital assets practical for everyday use by combining self-custody, global payments, and local financial rails into a single consumer experience. Wirex BaaS: Powering Utorg’s Card Infrastructure Through a single API integration, Utorg gains access to Wirex’s complete BaaS stack: Non-Custodial Card Issuance — Virtual and physical debit cards that let users spend their crypto holdings while maintaining full self-custody, with Apple Pay and Google Pay integration. EUR & USD IBAN Accounts — Named virtual IBANs with SEPA Instant and Faster Payments connectivity, supporting fiat on- and off-ramps across 30+ countries. Real-Time Crypto-to-Fiat Conversion — Instant conversion at point of sale with zero prefunding requirements, making every transaction seamless for the end user. DeFi Yield with Enterprise Controls — Integrated yield opportunities on idle balances with full compliance and risk management. Utorg has built a global platform that connects local payment systems with the rapidly expanding stablecoin economy. Through its infrastructure and consumer-facing products, the company enables users to seamlessly move between fiat and digital assets while maintaining full control over their funds. Utorg’s application brings together self-custodial wallets, instant crypto purchases, and embedded financial tools designed to make crypto accessible to everyday users. With Wirex BaaS, Utorg now extends this ecosystem further — enabling users to spend their digital assets globally across more than 80 million merchants in over 130 countries . “Our BaaS platform exists so that builders like Utorg can focus on their product instead of piecing together payment infrastructure from scratch,” said Daniel Rowlands, General Manager, Onchain Finance at Wirex . “Utorg has built something exceptional — a frictionless on-ramp experience loved by hundreds of thousands of users globally. With Wirex BaaS, they now have the card and banking rails to complete that journey from purchase to spend. That’s what full-stack BaaS makes possible.” “We built Utorg to bridge the gap between the traditional financial system and the emerging stablecoin economy,” said Eugene Petrakov, Co-founder at Utorg . “Our goal is to give users a simple way to buy digital assets, keep them in self-custodial wallets, and use them in everyday life. Partnering with Wirex allows us to extend that experience further by enabling global spending directly from the same environment where users manage their crypto.” The partnership positions Utorg alongside a growing roster of crypto-native platforms choosing Wirex BaaS as the backbone for their payment card programmes, joining the likes of Cardano, Simple App, COCA, Chimera Wallet and Collective Memory. About Wirex Wirex is a global payments platform serving both consumers and businesses, offering card-based payment products alongside card issuance and banking infrastructure for partners. Trusted by over 7 million users since 2014, Wirex has processed $20 billion+ in transactions across 130 countries. As a principal Visa and Mastercard member, it makes crypto spendable anywhere — instantly and effortlessly. Users can visit wirexapp.com . About Utorg Utorg is a fintech company building infrastructure and consumer applications for the global stablecoin economy. Founded in 2020, the company connects traditional payment networks with digital asset markets, enabling users and businesses to seamlessly move between fiat and crypto. Utorg provides self-custodial wallets, instant crypto purchases, and integrated financial tools designed to make digital assets usable in everyday life. Today, its platform serves more than 2 million users across 190+ countries and continues to expand its ecosystem of payment and stablecoin financial services. Users can visit utorg.com . Contact Marketing Lead Arina Gaisina Utorg Labs [email protected]
8 Apr 2026, 10:09
BBVA, BNP Paribas, and Citi Back SWIFT’s Blockchain Ledger as Ripple Custody Link Adds Intrigue
Major Banks Back SWIFT’s Blockchain Push, Strengthening Ripple Integration SWIFT is accelerating blockchain adoption in traditional finance with a new 24/7 real-time cross-border payment ledger. More notably, leading banks BBVA, BNP Paribas, and Citi are already backing the initiative, showing growing institutional confidence , according to crypto analyst SMQKE. All three banks are already Ripple Custody clients via Metaco, illustrating the merging of traditional banking and blockchain innovation. SWIFT’s announcement also names CaixaBank, signaling a broader commitment among leading financial institutions to harness blockchain for faster, more efficient cross-border payments. Well, what is quite intriguing is the fact that Ripple Treasury is bridging blockchain and traditional finance through its ClearConnect Gateway, linking major banks like Bank of America, Citibank, Deutsche Bank, Goldman Sachs, HSBC, JPMorgan Chase, PNC, U.S. Bank, and Wells Fargo. By combining blockchain speed with global banking reach, Ripple is positioning itself as a central hub for next-generation financial connectivity. Major Banks Eye Faster, Transparent Cross-Border Payments BBVA has been part of the Ripple network since 2017 and expanded into Ripple Custody in 2025, while BNP Paribas uses Ripple’s ClearConnect to streamline transactions. Over 100 major banks, including Santander and Bank of America, are now piloting Ripple’s blockchain solutions, highlighting strong institutional adoption for cross-border settlements. The recent integration of Ripple Treasury with SWIFT marks a major milestone. By combining SWIFT messaging tools with digital asset accounts like XRP and RLUSD, Ripple enables banks to harness blockchain’s speed and transparency without losing access to SWIFT’s global network. This positions Ripple as a bridge between traditional finance and the digital asset economy. The combined force of SWIFT’s blockchain-ledger strategy and Ripple’s infrastructure is poised to transform cross-border payments. By linking traditional banking with digital assets, this integration can slash settlement times, boost transparency, and lower transaction costs, all within regulatory frameworks. As Ripple Treasury and SWIFT converge, the boundary between conventional finance and blockchain blurs. Backed by major global banks and active pilots, this collaboration could redefine how money moves worldwide, ushering in an era of faster, more efficient, and fully interoperable payments. Conclusion The SWIFT–Ripple Treasury collaboration signals a transformative shift in global finance. By combining blockchain speed with the reliability of traditional banking, it enables faster, more transparent, and cost-efficient cross-border payments. With major banks participating and live pilots underway, the initiative underscores the growing role of digital assets like XRP and points to a future where blockchain and conventional finance converge seamlessly.
8 Apr 2026, 10:07
What Is Russian Oil Asset Reserve (ROAR): Is This The Next Big Thing Or Scam?
The Russian Oil Asset Reserve, known by its ticker symbol ROAR, is a crypto token launched on the Solana blockchain in early April 2026. It operates as a narrative-driven meme coin rather than a traditional financial instrument, with its primary appeal rooted in geopolitical storytelling around Russian energy dominance. Marketed as a “sovereign energy protocol,” ROAR positions itself at the intersection of cryptocurrency and global oil markets, using dramatic imagery of Siberian crude reserves, pipelines, OPEC influence, and a rising Eastern alliance to attract traders seeking the next big hype cycle. The token trades primarily on decentralized exchanges such as Meteora and other Solana-based platforms, with a fixed supply of roughly one billion tokens and no major centralized exchange listings. At first glance, it seems hermless. But there is much to uncover on why to stay away from this coin. Source: Tradingview What is Russian Oil Asset Reserve (ROAR)? ROAR’s promoters paint an enticing picture. Official-looking websites such, describe the token as “backed by real Siberian energy in the new world order,” claiming that each unit is “conceptually pegged” to verified Siberian crude reserves and that holders gain “direct exposure to the most powerful commodity on Earth.” Social media campaigns and influencer videos have amplified this narrative, sometimes falsely suggesting that Russian leadership or state entities are behind the project, complete with AI-generated clips purporting to show high-level endorsements. However, these claims collapse under scrutiny. ROAR is not backed by any physical oil reserves, nor is it redeemable for barrels of Siberian crude or any other tangible commodity. There is no legal mechanism, escrow, or audited collateral tying the token’s value to actual energy assets; the “conceptual peg” is purely marketing language with zero enforceable backing. Independent analyses and even one of the project’s own secondary websites explicitly state that it is a “speculative digital asset on the Solana blockchain” and is “not backed by physical oil reserves or any government entity.” Who Is Behind ROAR Crypto? This is the exact same campaign and method that was used for previous tokens like United States RX, Golden Dome, and US Oil Reserve crypto. All these tokens claimed to be backed by officials and all ended up being scams and went to zero later. This is probably the same or multiple teams following the same playbook. They create a token, pay promoters across Instagram, TikTok, and other social platforms to push short videos and reels, and that is likely how you ended up hearing about it. ROAR crypto is almost certainly a rug-pull scam or, at best, a low-effort meme coin riding on political sentiment, and you probably should stay away. Be aware and always DYOR. Best Wallet Token Targets Early Mover Upside as ROAR Tests Narrative Limits Traders who want energy narrative exposure are essentially buying a social bet with no commodity floor. That’s a valid trade for some risk profiles. It’s not a foundation. For traders hunting earlier-stage exposure with a clearer value thesis, Best Wallet Token ($BEST) presents a different entry structure. The project is a multi-chain wallet infrastructure play with a presale that has raised over $11 million, offering staking APY above 100% in early tiers and a product layer – actual wallet utility – that doesn’t depend on a single macro narrative staying relevant. The pivot logic is straightforward: meme coin upside is real but short-cycle. Infrastructure tokens with staking mechanics and product utility tend to retain holders through the volatility that shakes out pure narrative plays. ROAR might 10x on a news hook. Best Wallet targets compounding through structural demand. Research Best Wallet Token at bestwallet.com before the next presale tier closes. The post What Is Russian Oil Asset Reserve (ROAR): Is This The Next Big Thing Or Scam? appeared first on Cryptonews .
