Things worth reading: 26th January 2026
Things we’re reading today include … Bank of England admits inflation bungle European life insurers’ systemic risk ‘non-trivial’ European banks take a fresh crack at Wall Street Fintech Adviser Titan Hit With Second SEC Penalty Over “Misleading” 2,700% Crypto Return Claims Lloyds to train all 67,000 staff in AI as banks go digital Fintechs should…
Quantum-proofing money, a report by BIS
My friend Lory Kehoe spotted a white paper by the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) that was released in December discussing Project Leap, a deep technical experiment showing that core payment systems can migrate to post-quantum cryptography without breaking how money moves today. It’s a fascinating paper and an important one for us fintech nerds,…

My next new book: “Intelligent Bank”
I just got a summary of my new book from the publishers. It comes out in the summer but, for those interested, here are the key messages: Core Thesis The book argues that banking is entering its third great technological revolution: Mainframe era → automation and scale Digital era → connectivity, mobile, fintech, experience Intelligence…

What will happen to fintech and crypto in 2026?
How could I write a series of 2026 predictions without a specific focus on fintech and cryptocurrencies? The headlines are that: Systems Become Proactive: Technology shifts from reacting to events to anticipating needs AI Becomes Invisible Infrastructure: Intelligence moves from tools to embedded decision-making Digital Layers Disappear into Daily Life: Identity, security, payments, and compliance…

What is your crypto personality?
Everyone and their weird cousin is invested today. In crypto, of course. Bitcoin, Ethereum, XRP, even Dogecoin, or its low-rank pup Floki. Cryptocurrencies are constantly on the news, social media is buzzing, and one in about a gazillion investors wins big. We’re not even debating here if the notion of digital assets has merit as…

The Top 10 Blogs of 2025
Every year I visit the analytics engine to see which blogs got the most visits. This list is this year’s although, interestingly, the blog entry with the most clicks generally is the one I wrote about who invented WiFi. Regardless, the list this year is interesting as it is mainly about fintech firms like Klarna,…

We will always need intermediaries … just what kind?
I spotted a quote this week: “All truth passes through three stages: first, it is ridiculed. Second, it is violently opposed. Third, it is accepted as self-evident.” — Arthur Schopenhauer My mind immediately moved to bitcoin and cryptocurrency and, specifically, Jamie Dimon. For years, Dimon has said that bitcoin is a scam and yet, now,…

Little Britain: “A rainy island with a hostile tax system is a hard sell”
Many years ago, I was presenting to a country suffering sanctions. No longer able to access the SWIFT network and pretty much excommunicated by most banks worldwide, they were suffering. Of course, they could do nested accounts, where you bury your bank in a pyramid of other banks, but that is pretty complicated, so I…

Spacecoin: a currency for astronauts?
I just got an invite to invest in Spacecoin. What is that? SPACECOIN is a visionary cryptocurrency built for the space economy and designed to offer a decentralized, efficient, and secure platform for interplanetary trade investors and exploration. WTH? My initial reaction was the idea that this is launching a cryptocurrency for those who want…




















