News & Events

Canada will establish its first sovereign wealth fund, the Canada Strong Fund, with an initial federal endowment of C$25 billion, as Prime Minister Mark Carney seeks to drive long-term growth and reduce dependence on the United States. Carney said the fund will support nation-building projects in energy, trade, critical minerals, transport and data, while allowing Canadians to share directly in the gains.

The move marks a major shift in federal economic policy and reflects Carney’s view that Canada’s close ties with the U.S. have become a vulnerability amid tariffs and trade uncertainty.

Read the original article here: https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/other/canada-announces-new-sovereign-wealth-fund/ar-AA21PVi9?ocid=BingNewsVerp

Stablecoin activity accelerated sharply in Q1 2026, with transaction volumes hitting $4.5 trillion and supply climbing to a record $315 billion, according to market research cited by Andreessen Horowitz. The data suggests stablecoins are moving beyond crypto trading and into everyday payments and financial services, helped by growing regulatory clarity in the United States.

Tether remained the largest issuer, with USDT’s supply rebounding to about $188 billion and accounting for roughly two-thirds of the market. Adoption is being driven by faster settlement, lower costs and expanding use in consumer and business payments. In contrast, major payment firms such as Mastercard, Visa and Stripe continue to invest in stablecoin infrastructure.

Read the original article here: https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/other/stablecoin-payments-hit-45t-as-tether-leads-market/gm-GML4D1A7ED?ocid=BingNewsVerp

India is expanding its e-rupee pilot into welfare payments for agriculture and subsidised food distribution, in a bid to reduce leakage and corruption in its roughly $80 billion subsidy system. The Reserve Bank of India’s programme, backed by the World Bank, state authorities and Punjab National Bank, now has about 10 million users, though it still trails far behind UPI in scale.

Officials say the programmable nature of the CBDC can ensure funds are used only for intended purposes while easing upfront payments for farmers. The move is being seen as an effort to give the e-rupee a clearer real-world use case, similar to China’s wider CBDC rollout.

Read the original article here: https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/other/india-expands-e-rupee-welfare-pilot-as-western-union-readies-stablecoin/gm-GML0252636?ocid=BingNewsVerp