Monoup news digest: main updates from fintech industry
Friday news from Monoup is on air, and today we're breaking down the biggest stories of the week.
This year is shaping up to be the year of stablecoins, and Chainalysis forecasts suggest this trend will only become more pronounced over the next decade. The company extrapolated current data into the future to project how much stablecoin volume could emerge — and where it might come from. Read on for what the numbers actually mean.
AML regulation, as usual, continues to dominate fintech headlines. The US is preparing changes that fundamentally shift how commercial banks approach compliance procedures. Collect the documents and file them away — that approach no longer satisfies regulators. Banks will be expected not only to verify their customers before entering into a business relationship, but to actively monitor those relationships throughout their duration. Tracking client behavior, transaction patterns, and identifying specific risk signals will become a baseline requirement for every US bank, regardless of size or systemic importance.
We unpack all stories in detail below.
$719 Trillion in Stablecoins by 2035
According to Chainalysis, stablecoin transcation volume could reach $719 trillion by 2035 through organic growth alone — no extraordinary catalyst required, just continued movement along the crypto payment adoption curve.
On top of that, a set of additional factors could push this figure toward $1.5 quadrillion. The primary driver is generational wealth transfer. Between 2028 and 2048, up to $100 trillion will shift from Boomers to Millennials and Gen Z. Nearly half of these younger generations already hold crypto. Chainalysis estimates this transition could add $508 trillion to annual stablecoin volumes by 2035. It's worth noting that these projections are based specifically on trends in Western Europe and North America — regions where Boomers have accumulated substantial capital. This “great wealth transfer” is expected to accelerate stablecoin adoption, as many heirs may choose to convert part of their inheritance into crypto — some for preservation, others for trading growth.
One striking detail from the same forecast: stablecoin payment volumes are projected to match those of Visa and Mastercard somewhere between 2031 and 2039. This will place increasing pressure on traditional payment networks, whose fee structures remain far from competitive with crypto rails — and whose speed and user experience continue to lag behind.
US AML Is Shifting from Procedures to Action
A group of American regulators is proposing changes to bank compliance program requirements, bringing them in line with the AML Act. The core of the proposed shift: move compliance off paper and into practice.
Where financial institutions previously focused on collecting the right documents and placing them in a folder — a process largely bureaucratic and rooted in box-ticking — regulators now expect banks to take ownership of ongoing monitoring. That means actively tracking payments and client activity on a continuous basis.
Banks will also be required to focus on the highest-risk areas as defined by the government and remain adaptive. This could include specific industries, individuals, companies, or transaction patterns associated with them. The goal is a US financial system that is more resilient to external risks and faster at identifying violations or suspicious activity.
The proposed changes apply to all national banks, including smaller community institutions. If adopted, the ripple effects will likely reach merchants and customers of smaller PSPs that operate as partners of these banks.
It's also worth remembering that the scope of oversight extends beyond US citizens — anyone conducting business on US territory or using its financial infrastructure falls within reach. That's a significant portion of global business and individuals.
UK Merchants to Receive Protection Against Sudden Account Closures
From 28 April, all UK-licensed PSPs and EMIs will be required to give customers 90 days' notice before closing an account, along with a detailed explanation of the reasons. This window gives businesses time to transition to alternative providers and avoid being left without payment processing capability.
The requirement to provide detailed reasoning will likely be one of the harder elements to implement in practice. Most institutions have built their processes around vague, standardized language — “for internal reasons” being the standard — and meaningful disclosure will require procedural changes.
Protection applies only to micro-enterprises: businesses with fewer than 10 employees and annual turnover below €2 million.
The rule also only applies to contracts entered into on or after 28 April 2026. Existing agreements are formally excluded. So even if you qualify as a micro-enterprise, the date your contract was signed could still work against you.
High-risk merchants remain the most vulnerable group. Even those who meet the headcount and turnover thresholds may find their accounts closed far more quickly in practice. The line between a shift in risk appetite and a business decision on one side, and a cited “AML policy violation” on the other, is extremely thin. By invoking the latter, an EMI or PSP can still close an account within a single day — just as before. For many digital businesses, this law will not work in practice.
That's the week in payments from Monoup. Stay connected with us on Telegram to be the first to know, and explore our in-depth reviews and analysis on the website under MonoTalks.
