savings

The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) stated in the frequently asked questions document regarding retail payment regulation conclusions that the removal of surcharges for the designated card networks eftpos, Mastercard, and Visa starting from October 1, 2026, is in the public interest. The RBA will lift the ban on the "no surcharge" rule for the aforementioned networks from that date, with the changes based on Standard No. 3 of 2016 and the revisions to the merchant card payment costs and surcharge standards in 2026. eftpos, Mastercard, and Visa have all decided to implement the no surcharge rule from that date, generally applicable to their credit, debit, and prepaid cards, including cards issued overseas.American Express, UnionPay, and PayPal have also decided to eliminate surcharges, but are currently not formally regulated by the RBA. American Express and UnionPay will withdraw from their existing commitments with the RBA on October 1, 2026, while PayPal's no surcharge rule will take effect on October 5, 2026. This scope is limited to fees charged due to customer card payments and does not include surcharges for weekends, public holidays, booking fees, or service fees. Merchants must comply with the new card organization rules unless exceptions apply; businesses, non-profit organizations, and inter-business card payments do not receive a general exemption.The reforms will be implemented in phases. Starting from October 1, 2026, a lower interchange fee cap will apply to domestic card transactions; from October 30, designated card networks and large acquirers must publish the specified card payment fee information on their websites. From January 30, 2027, large acquirers must disclose how the decrease in interchange fees is passed on to merchant service fees; starting April 1, the interchange fee cap will apply to transactions involving overseas-issued cards acquired in Australia, and acquirers must also provide merchants with more detailed statements. The RBA stated that businesses can still factor the costs of accepting card payments into their overall pricing and may offer discounts for specific payment methods.

Bitcoin News posted on the X platform that Strike has launched the Stacks Bitcoin savings envelope system, allowing users to divide their holdings into up to 5 custom-named buckets, each supporting fee-free regular purchases. Transfers between Stacks and the main balance are fee-free and unlimited, but funds must be transferred back to the main balance before withdrawal.Strike has added an interest of 3.6% on USD cash balances, with interest paid in Bitcoin, and the related assets remain stored in Strike's multi-signature cold storage.

According to The Defiant, a wallet address transferred 150 million USDT from the lending protocol Aave to Spark Savings.This fund transfer occurred as Aave's borrowing rates rose to double-digit levels. Affected by withdrawals, on October 8, Aave's USDT reserves available liquidity on Ethereum amounted to 169.54 million dollars.

According to Cointelegraph, the cryptocurrency exchange OKX has launched the stablecoin savings and payment application OKX Money in parts of Latin America, Africa, South Asia, and the Middle East. The application allows users to deposit into their accounts using over 50 supported currencies, with deposits converted into a dollar-backed stablecoin.Users can hold USDG, USDC, or USDT for transfers and spend using a virtual card or physical card. Eligible customers can earn up to 10% annual percentage yield (APY) on qualifying USDG balances without the need for staking or locking.An OKX spokesperson stated that the product is rolled out market by market to comply with local requirements, and the relevant legal entities and regulatory frameworks vary by jurisdiction. OKX did not disclose specific initial markets. Users can achieve higher tiers by meeting a 30-day average deposit threshold, spending over 30 days, or reaching a higher exchange VIP level. The spokesperson mentioned that rates and eligibility vary by region and customer, and declined to comment on the source of the yields.OKX joined Paxos' Global Dollar Network in July 2025, allowing its users to transact and transfer using USDG. According to Chainalysis data, cross-border flows of stablecoins grew by 77.5% to $22.03 billion in the 12 months ending June 2026, with trade, remittances, and savings being the main use cases. The U.S. GENIUS Act prohibits stablecoin issuers from paying interest or yields, while the EU MiCA prohibits issuers and crypto service providers from offering interest on single currency stablecoins.

Austrian Bitcoin platform 21bitcoin announced that starting today, it will pay an annual interest rate of 1.21% on customers' uninvested euro balances, allowing customers to choose to receive it in BTC form without any exchange fees. The company claims to be the first service provider in Europe to directly pay savings interest in Bitcoin.The interest covers all euros in the account, including funds waiting for the next savings plan purchase or funds reserved for unexecuted limit orders, with no minimum deposit requirement and no lock-in period. The interest is paid by Germany's Volksbank Raiffeisenbank Bayern Mitte eG, which has held shares in 21bitcoin since 2023. Customers' euros are stored in a demand savings form in the bank's segregated trust account, and 21bitcoin states that it will pass on the full interest to customers without retaining any interest margin.This interest rate is a floating rate, and the interest is subject to German withholding tax. This launch follows the earlier introduction of a zero-fee Bitcoin savings plan earlier this year. 21bitcoin was established in 2021, holds an Austrian MiCAR license, and is authorized by Germany's BaFin, reporting over 100,000 users and a trading volume exceeding 650 million euros.

Blockworks co-founder Jason Yanowitz shares the judgment of Apollo's chief economist: agents may trigger bank runs by aggregating household cash.The chief economist stated that agents could transfer household cash from accounts with a national average interest rate of 0.1% to accounts paying 3% to 5%, causing banks to lose a significant portion of their cheap deposits.

Aave founder Stani Kulechov stated that he has submitted comments to the UK HM Revenue and Customs, suggesting improvements to the tax positioning of cryptocurrency collateralized loans and stablecoins.At the same time, he advocates for allowing stablecoins to be included in UK Individual Savings Accounts (ISA) in the future, giving stablecoin lending users the opportunity to enjoy relevant tax benefits.

According to Bitcoin Magazine, the Bitcoin fintech company Castle announced that it will open its automated Bitcoin financial stack to individual users and launch a pioneering feature in this category: users can choose to receive dividend income in cash or Bitcoin at any ratio.Castle's revenue comes from the perpetual preferred stock STRC issued by Strategy, which was incorporated into the platform earlier this year and currently pays an annualized dividend of 12% on a semi-monthly basis. Users can receive 100% of the dividends in cash, convert 100% to Bitcoin, or choose any ratio between the two. According to the company, most users opt for a compromise solution, using cash to cover daily expenses while automatically reinvesting the remaining portion into Bitcoin with each dividend payout.Castle co-founder and CTO João Almeida stated that investors have long faced a dilemma of choosing between stable income and holding Bitcoin. Castle allows users to achieve both cash flow and long-term upside by automatically converting a portion of the dividends into Bitcoin. Previously, Castle only catered to business clients such as restaurants, gyms, accounting firms, and e-commerce; the opening of personal accounts was due to repeated requests from business owners. Castle was co-founded by Almeida and CEO Stephen Cole and has received investments from Boost VC and Winklevoss Capital.

Irish Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Finance Simon Harris announced the framework for the country's new savings and investment plan via an Instagram video on Sunday, explicitly excluding crypto assets. Savers can hold stocks, bonds, funds, exchange-traded funds, and insurance products, while cryptocurrencies, derivatives, and interest-bearing cash are not permitted. The plan aims to guide approximately $203 billion (€175 billion) in deposits held by Irish households in bank accounts into the investment sector.Every Irish tax resident aged 18 and over can open an account, with contributions within the tax-free allowance being completely tax-exempt, while amounts exceeding this will be taxed at a low fixed rate annually. There are no minimum contribution amounts or lock-in period restrictions, but there is an annual contribution limit. Specific thresholds and tax rates will be announced on the budget day of October 6, with accounts expected to open next year. Research from the Central Bank of Ireland shows that Irish households allocate only 2.3% of their financial assets to direct investments such as listed stocks and bonds, significantly lower than the EU average of 7.5%.Harris also confirmed that the new accounts will not be subject to the "deemed disposal" rule—this rule requires certain funds to be taxed at a rate of 38% every eight years. The government will review this regulation more broadly in the coming weeks. A survey by the Central Bank of Ireland found that about 10% of adults hold crypto assets, primarily young men, with an average holding of approximately €2,266. Prior to the exclusion of crypto assets, Ireland launched its first national anti-money laundering strategy on August 13, enhancing scrutiny of private wallet transfers and due diligence requirements for overseas crypto businesses.

Bitcoin News posted on the X platform that a Trezor user claimed their life savings were stolen after clicking on a Google sponsored search result impersonating Trezor. The phishing page was hosted on Google Sites and allegedly tricked victims into entering their wallet recovery seed.Trezor stated that it is upgrading its response to the report, working to remove the website, and reminding users to never enter their wallet backups or recovery phrases on any website or online form. Google sponsored phishing ads remain a persistent attack vector faced by cryptocurrency users.

According to Cointelegraph, Russia's largest bank, Sberbank, plans to establish cryptocurrency trading infrastructure by December 1 at the latest, which includes a digital repository.Previously, Russia was incorporating cryptocurrency trading, custody, and settlement into its regulated financial system. The digital repository will record the ownership of cryptocurrencies and handle most transactions outside the main blockchain. Sberbank will operate active wallets for customers to make deposits, withdrawals, and transfers.

According to Jinshi News, the president of the Russian Federation Savings Bank stated that the key interest rate needs to be lowered.

The decentralized finance protocol Ethena announced a partnership with Coinbase, and both parties will jointly develop on-chain financial and savings products for Coinbase's over 100 million users, with the first growth plan set to launch next week.Meanwhile, Coinbase Ventures has completed its initial investment in Ethena (ENA) in the public market.

It has been reported that banks in the Hong Kong region are tightening account openings. According to informed sources, in accordance with the requirements of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority, some banks in the Hong Kong region will start tightening the opening of investment accounts from May 26, including the need to sign paper declarations, but there is currently no impact on savings accounts.

According to data released by Binance Research, currently 28% of Binance users allocate at least half of their investment portfolio to stablecoins, a significant increase from 4% in 2020; in emerging markets, this proportion is as high as 36%.

According to Crowdfund Insider, the Dutch bank ClearBank has announced that it has obtained approval for the EU's Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA) and has received a Crypto Asset Service Provider (CASP) license from the Netherlands Authority for the Financial Markets (AFM). It will launch digital asset services, including stablecoins. The bank also stated that it plans to support euro and dollar-based stablecoins (EURC and USDC) in the future to enhance the efficiency of cross-border transfers and payments.In addition, ClearBank announced that it will provide savings account services through Coinbase and will be included in the coverage of the UK's Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS).

CZ posted on the X platform stating that this is a profound topic. Typically, people have lower earning potential when they are young and need to strike a balance between spending, saving, and investing (financial investment or self-investment). The key is to find an almost optimal balance point. The book "Die with Zero" explores this topic in more detail.

Uber and Lyft former executive Travis VanderZanden announced the launch of a Bitcoin-linked savings token called BUCK, which aims to provide users with an approximate target annual return of 7%.

According to Bitcoin Magazine, Fidelity CEO Abigail Johnson said, "I love Bitcoin. I hold Bitcoin. It will play an important role in the savings system."

French Bitcoin savings app Bitstack announced the completion of a $15 million Series A funding round, led by 13books Capital, with follow-on investments from existing shareholders including YC, Serena, and Plug and Play.The new funds will be used for expansion in Europe and product upgrades, including the launch of a VISA debit card with Bitcoin cashback (Stackback) in January 2026. Bitstack claims its goal is to become "the leading Bitcoin savings platform in Europe."