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28 May 2026, 00:55

BIS completes Project Agorá tokenization pilot with seven central banks

BitcoinWorld BIS completes Project Agorá tokenization pilot with seven central banks The Bank for International Settlements (BIS) has concluded a prototype test for Project Agorá, its ambitious initiative to develop a token-based international wholesale payment system. The pilot was conducted in collaboration with seven central banks and over 40 private financial institutions, marking a significant step in the exploration of distributed ledger technology (DLT) for cross-border settlements. How the prototype works According to a BIS report, the prototype tokenizes both central bank reserves and commercial bank deposits on a shared distributed ledger. This design allows for atomic settlement, a mechanism that eliminates credit and settlement risks by ensuring transactions are either completed in full or not at all. The system processes payments in seconds and enables all parties to monitor payment status in real-time, a significant improvement over current multi-day settlement processes. Participants and expansion Central bank participants included the Bank of Korea, the New York Federal Reserve Bank, the Bank of England, and the Bank of Japan. South Korean commercial banks involved in the pilot were KB Kookmin Bank, Shinhan Bank, and Hana Bank. On the same day the BIS announced the completion of the prototype, the Bank of Canada also confirmed it had joined the project, signaling growing international interest in the initiative. Why this matters for global payments Project Agorá addresses a long-standing inefficiency in cross-border payments: the reliance on correspondent banking networks that introduce delays, costs, and settlement risks. By using a shared ledger and tokenized assets, the BIS aims to create a more transparent, faster, and secure system. While still a prototype, the successful test demonstrates that central banks and commercial banks can operate on a common platform, potentially reshaping the infrastructure for international wholesale payments. Conclusion The completion of Project Agorá’s prototype test represents a concrete milestone in the evolution of central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) for wholesale use. With continued participation from major central banks and the addition of new members like the Bank of Canada, the project is positioned to influence the future design of global payment systems. Further development and regulatory considerations will determine whether this prototype transitions into a live operational system. FAQs Q1: What is Project Agorá? Project Agorá is a BIS-led initiative to explore a token-based wholesale payment system using a shared distributed ledger. It aims to improve the speed, transparency, and security of cross-border payments between central banks and commercial banks. Q2: What is atomic settlement? Atomic settlement is a mechanism that ensures a transaction is either fully completed or not executed at all, eliminating the risk of one party fulfilling their obligation while the other does not. In Project Agorá, this is used to remove credit and settlement risks. Q3: Which central banks participated in the pilot? The pilot involved the Bank of Korea, the New York Federal Reserve Bank, the Bank of England, and the Bank of Japan. The Bank of Canada has since joined the project. This post BIS completes Project Agorá tokenization pilot with seven central banks first appeared on BitcoinWorld .

27 May 2026, 21:06

Circle and Nium Partner to Fuel USDC Cross-Border Crypto Payments

Cross-border payments platform Nium and stablecoin issuer Circle Internet Group Inc. have launched a partnership to connect onchain digital dollar settlement with traditional last-mile fiat payouts. Circle Internet Group Connects USDC Settlement with Nium Cross-Border Infrastructure The collaboration integrates Nium into the Circle Payments Network, an infrastructure stack operated by Circle Technology Services LLC. Through

27 May 2026, 20:35

ClickHouse triples annualized revenue to $250M, charts path toward IPO

BitcoinWorld ClickHouse triples annualized revenue to $250M, charts path toward IPO Database provider ClickHouse has crossed $250 million in annualized revenue run rate, tripling its business from the previous year, according to Yury Izrailevsky, co-founder and president of product and technology. The company expects the figure to reach the high nine figures by the end of the year. This rapid growth, combined with a $15 billion valuation from a January funding round, positions the less-than-five-year-old startup for a potential initial public offering within the next few years, Izrailevsky told Bitcoin World. Revenue surge and premium valuation ClickHouse’s annualized revenue run rate has jumped from roughly $83 million to $250 million in one year. The company was valued at $15 billion in January after a $400 million Series D funding round led by Dragoneer Investment Group. That valuation implies a steep multiple of over 60 times annualized revenue — a premium that reflects both the company’s growth trajectory and its position in the AI infrastructure market. The revenue growth is fueled by demand for ClickHouse’s open-source database, which is designed to process massive datasets required by AI agents. The company generates revenue by selling managed cloud services, a model that Izrailevsky says ultimately costs clients less than self-managing the open-source version. “It is something that’s a little counterintuitive, but it also has been a big tailwind for us,” he said. IPO readiness and strategic hires ClickHouse has taken concrete steps toward going public. Last fall, the startup hired Jimmy Sexton, who previously ran investor relations at Snowflake — one of ClickHouse’s main competitors — as chief financial officer. Bringing on a CFO with public market experience is widely viewed as a signal that a company is preparing for an IPO. ClickHouse joins a growing list of tech startups signaling plans to go public as the IPO window is expected to open more broadly. SpaceX’s anticipated June debut, followed by highly expected listings from OpenAI and Anthropic later this year, could set the stage for a wave of tech IPOs. Acquisition strategy and market position The company has already acquired six startups, including Langfuse, which helps developers track and evaluate AI agent performance. Izrailevsky indicated that ClickHouse plans to remain acquisitive, targeting “relatively young, but showing very promising technology” startups — typically open-source — that complement its core product suite. ClickHouse’s technology was originally developed inside Russian search giant Yandex 17 years ago and spun out as an independent startup in 2021. The company now has over 4,000 customers, including Anthropic, Meta, Capital One, and Decagon. Its database is optimized for the high-speed analytics workloads that underpin many modern AI applications. Why this matters ClickHouse’s growth story is significant for several reasons. It demonstrates strong demand for infrastructure that supports AI workloads, particularly in data analytics. The company’s open-source model and managed cloud services offer a competitive alternative to proprietary databases like Snowflake. And its potential IPO would be a bellwether for the broader market for enterprise tech IPOs, especially in the AI infrastructure space. For enterprise customers and investors, ClickHouse’s trajectory signals that the market for AI-optimized data infrastructure is expanding rapidly. The company’s ability to triple revenue while maintaining a premium valuation suggests that its technology and business model are resonating with large-scale customers. Conclusion ClickHouse has tripled its annualized revenue to $250 million and is positioning itself for an IPO within the next few years. With a $15 billion valuation, a strong customer base, and a clear strategy for acquisitions and public market preparation, the company is emerging as a key player in the AI infrastructure landscape. Its progress will be closely watched by investors, enterprise buyers, and competitors alike. FAQs Q1: What is ClickHouse’s annualized revenue run rate? ClickHouse has crossed $250 million in annualized revenue run rate, tripling from roughly $83 million the previous year. Q2: When is ClickHouse expected to go public? Co-founder Yury Izrailevsky indicated the company could pursue an IPO within the next few years. Hiring a CFO with public market experience is seen as a preparatory step. Q3: Who are ClickHouse’s main customers? ClickHouse has over 4,000 customers, including Anthropic, Meta, Capital One, and Decagon. Its database is used for high-speed analytics and AI workloads. This post ClickHouse triples annualized revenue to $250M, charts path toward IPO first appeared on BitcoinWorld .

27 May 2026, 19:50

Remote hits $300M ARR, credits AI for 50% jump in revenue per employee

BitcoinWorld Remote hits $300M ARR, credits AI for 50% jump in revenue per employee Remote, the seven-year-old Amsterdam-based payroll services provider, has crossed $300 million in annual recurring revenue and reached cash-flow positive status. But the company says the more significant milestone is internal: a 50% increase in revenue per employee driven by widespread adoption of artificial intelligence across all departments. AI adoption beyond the engineering team CEO Job van der Voort told Bitcoin World that AI tools are now embedded in nearly every function at Remote, not just in the engineering or product teams. Employees across the organization have built internal applications on Remote Labs, an internal marketplace powered by the company’s own technology. Van der Voort described using multiple Claude instances simultaneously on his laptop to build tools for himself and the company, including a Slack agent that summarizes discussions and experiments with agentic AI. The result: Remote is generating more revenue without adding headcount. The company says its core payroll business has grown more than 300% year over year, a figure van der Voort attributes largely to AI adoption, though the company has not provided independent verification of that specific number. How Remote is scaling without hiring Remote’s approach mirrors a broader trend in tech: using AI to restructure how companies scale. Instead of expanding headcount proportionally with revenue, Remote has deferred hiring plans in some departments and invested more in upskilling existing employees and increasing AI spending. Van der Voort said the company has not cut jobs, but acknowledged that hiring plans in certain areas were scaled back. “What we’re doing now very actively is evaluating: ‘Do we actually need more people, or do we want to spend more time on upskilling the people that we have to use AI tools, and directly spending more money on AI?'” AI-powered coding has also accelerated development. Van der Voort said the volume of code contributions from engineers has risen more than 60% over the last year, with more than 85% of all code now written by AI in the most recent month. Opening AI capabilities to clients Remote is now extending its internal AI capabilities to customers through Remote Build, a service that deploys engineers directly with clients and prospects to create custom workflows similar to those Remote uses internally. Van der Voort described these as “forward-deployed engineers” who help organizations implement AI-driven automation for payroll and compliance processes. The company also recently launched Remote MCP, an interface based on the Model Context Protocol, which allows AI agents and external platforms like BambooHR and Workday to securely access payroll and compliance data. This enables clients to interact with Remote’s platform through natural language interfaces like ChatGPT or Claude, potentially bypassing the traditional user interface entirely. “If you use ChatGPT or Claude, you can control all of Remote; if you really wanted to, you don’t have to interact with our platform anymore,” van der Voort said. “I think that’s where the future goes.” Why this matters for the broader AI adoption debate Remote’s trajectory provides one of the clearer data points yet in the ongoing conversation about AI’s real business impact. The company is not just using AI to move faster — it is using it to restructure how it scales. More revenue per employee, deferred hiring, and an expanding product surface area without proportional headcount growth is the operating model many companies are chasing. Van der Voort also emphasized that Remote serves all types of businesses, not just remote or distributed workforces. The vast majority of its clients employ people in traditional office settings, he said. “We do payroll for everybody, period.” While AI costs are rising, van der Voort said the company’s increased efficiency creates room to absorb those expenses. “Our spend on AI is increasing, but we keep track of it, so it’s something that we’re happy with; and because we become more efficient as a company, we have some space to spend that on AI and those initiatives.” Conclusion Remote’s financial and operational results offer a concrete example of how AI can reshape a company’s growth model. The startup’s focus on automating complex payroll and compliance workflows — rather than building an all-in-one HR platform — appears to be paying off as AI makes those processes more efficient. Whether other companies can replicate Remote’s results will depend on their ability to embed AI across their organizations, not just in isolated departments. FAQs Q1: How did Remote achieve a 50% increase in revenue per employee? By adopting AI tools across all departments, including internal apps built on Remote Labs, AI-powered coding, and agentic AI assistants that automate repetitive tasks and improve productivity without adding headcount. Q2: What is Remote Build? Remote Build is a service that deploys engineers directly with clients and prospects to help them create custom AI-driven workflows for payroll and compliance, similar to the tools Remote uses internally. Q3: Has Remote cut jobs due to AI adoption? No. Van der Voort said the company has not laid off employees, but has scaled back hiring plans in some departments and shifted spending toward AI tools and upskilling existing staff. This post Remote hits $300M ARR, credits AI for 50% jump in revenue per employee first appeared on BitcoinWorld .

27 May 2026, 19:05

China Tightens Grip on AI Talent: Travel Restrictions Signal Strategic Shift

BitcoinWorld China Tightens Grip on AI Talent: Travel Restrictions Signal Strategic Shift China is increasingly restricting the international movement of its top artificial intelligence researchers, startup founders, and executives, marking a significant shift in how Beijing manages what it now considers a critical national asset. The measures, which include requiring government approval for overseas travel, reflect a broader strategy to prevent a brain drain in the AI sector as global demand for expertise surges. Escalating Restrictions on Key Figures In March 2025, the Wall Street Journal reported that Chinese authorities had begun advising top AI founders and researchers to avoid traveling to the United States, an early indication of the government’s heightened concern over losing talent to competitors. The restrictions have since intensified. According to The Financial Times, China has barred the two co-founders of the AI startup Manus from leaving the country while regulators investigate whether Meta’s proposed $2 billion acquisition violates foreign investment rules. The co-founders are reportedly exploring options to comply with Beijing’s demands to unwind the deal, including raising approximately $1 billion from external investors to buy back the company. A Broader Strategic Realignment The travel restrictions are part of a wider pattern of economic countermeasures. In 2025, Beijing imposed two rounds of export controls on 14 rare earth materials critical to high-tech military manufacturing. Separately, the government barred state-funded data centers from deploying foreign AI chips. In April 2026, Bloomberg reported that China plans to require government sign-off before tech companies such as Moonshot AI, StepFun, and ByteDance can accept American capital, further limiting U.S. influence over its AI ecosystem. Narrowing the Gap with the U.S. The AI race between the East and the West is closer than ever. Stanford University’s data shows the performance gap between top U.S. and Chinese AI models has shrunk to just 2.7% as of March 2026, down from approximately 31% in 2023. While the United States still leads in model quality and high-impact patents, China is rapidly catching up—and in some areas, outpacing American labs—in publications, citations, and patent volume. This convergence raises fresh questions about how long America can maintain its lead. Why This Matters For investors, tech executives, and policymakers, China’s tightening controls signal a more protectionist and strategically minded approach to AI development. The restrictions could slow cross-border collaboration, increase costs for foreign companies seeking access to Chinese talent, and accelerate the fragmentation of global AI research. For the broader tech industry, the moves underscore the growing entanglement of AI with national security and economic policy. Conclusion China’s travel restrictions on its top AI talent represent a calculated effort to retain expertise and control over a sector it views as central to its future competitiveness. As the technological gap with the U.S. narrows, these measures are likely to deepen, reshaping the global landscape for AI research, investment, and collaboration. FAQs Q1: Why is China restricting AI researchers from traveling abroad? Beijing views AI as both an economic asset and a national security priority. The restrictions aim to prevent a brain drain and retain top talent critical to maintaining China’s competitive edge in the global AI race. Q2: How close is China to matching U.S. AI capabilities? Stanford University data shows the performance gap between top U.S. and Chinese AI models has narrowed to 2.7% as of March 2026, down from 31% in 2023. China leads in publication and patent volume, though the U.S. still leads in model quality and high-impact patents. Q3: What impact could these restrictions have on global AI development? The restrictions could slow cross-border collaboration, increase costs for foreign firms, and accelerate the fragmentation of global AI research. They also signal a more protectionist approach that may affect international investment and partnerships. This post China Tightens Grip on AI Talent: Travel Restrictions Signal Strategic Shift first appeared on BitcoinWorld .

27 May 2026, 17:20

Canada Faces Structural Squeeze in Labour Market, RBC Warns

BitcoinWorld Canada Faces Structural Squeeze in Labour Market, RBC Warns A new report from RBC Economics warns that Canada’s labour market is entering a period of structural tightening, where persistent population growth is outpacing the economy’s ability to create jobs. The analysis, released this week, points to a growing imbalance that could have lasting implications for workers, employers, and policymakers. What the Data Shows RBC’s report highlights that while Canada’s unemployment rate remains relatively low, the quality and distribution of job gains are uneven. The labour force participation rate has climbed as new Canadians and young workers enter the market, but job creation has not kept pace. This has led to a higher number of unemployed individuals per job vacancy, a metric RBC calls a ‘structural squeeze.’ The report notes that sectors such as construction, healthcare, and technology continue to face acute labour shortages, while retail and hospitality are seeing softer demand. Wage growth has been strongest in high-skilled roles, widening income disparities within the workforce. Why It Matters For Canadian workers, the tightening market means increased competition for available positions, particularly for entry-level and mid-skill roles. Employers, especially small and medium-sized businesses, are struggling to fill positions despite offering higher wages. This dynamic could slow business expansion and investment, ultimately affecting Canada’s broader economic growth. Policy Implications The findings add pressure on the federal government to refine immigration targets and invest in skills training programs. RBC suggests that without targeted policy interventions, the structural mismatch between labour supply and demand could persist, limiting Canada’s economic potential. Conclusion RBC’s analysis provides a data-driven look at a labour market under strain. While Canada’s economy remains resilient, the structural squeeze underscores the need for coordinated efforts between government, industry, and educational institutions to align workforce skills with evolving market demands. FAQs Q1: What does ‘structural squeeze’ mean in the context of Canada’s labour market? A: It refers to a persistent imbalance where the number of job seekers exceeds available positions, driven by factors like population growth and skills mismatches, rather than temporary economic cycles. Q2: Which sectors are most affected by the labour market tightening? A: Construction, healthcare, and technology face the most acute shortages, while retail and hospitality show softer demand, creating uneven wage growth and competition. Q3: How could this impact Canada’s immigration policy? A: The report may prompt policymakers to review immigration targets and prioritize pathways for skilled workers in high-demand sectors, alongside investments in domestic training programs. This post Canada Faces Structural Squeeze in Labour Market, RBC Warns first appeared on BitcoinWorld .