The US housing regulator's decision to recognize crypto assets in mortgage applications marks a historic shift from exclusion to integration, opening new pathways to homeownership. Opinion by: Dr. Scott Lehr In the early 2000s, getting a loan in the United States without verifying your income or assets was possible. It was called a “no-doc” or “low-doc” loan. The aim was to help self-employed or contract workers, but it was widely abused. Today, lenders verify income, assets, debt and employment. Whether the centralized fraternity likes it or not, the financial world is changing. What once required W-2 wage-and-tax forms, gatekeepers and credit files is now being rebuilt on transparency, autonomy and a blockchain wallet. Read more
Sygnum’s Fabian Dori says the GENIUS Act brings the U.S. closer to global consensus on stablecoin regulation, paving the way for real-world use cases. The GENIUS Act is poised to change the stablecoin landscape by steering issuers away from yield-based models and toward payment-focused use cases, according to Sygnum chief investment officer Fabian Dori. “The GENIUS Act was recently amended to create a clear separation between interest/yield-bearing stablecoins and those used for payments,” Dori told Cointelegraph. He said this brings the US framework closer to the EU’s Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) regulation, laying the foundation for “global consensus.” Dori added that the real impact of the GENIUS Act goes beyond regulation. “By providing long-sought-after clarity, it gives confidence to organizations and issuers to develop original, innovative ‘killer apps’ that don’t just serve their customers’ current needs, but create demand for entirely new services, including payments,” he said. Read more
Divine Research has issued 30,000 unbacked USDC loans using Sam Altman’s World ID to verify borrowers, targeting underserved users. San Francisco-based lender Divine Research has issued around 30,000 unbacked short-term crypto loans since December, using OpenAI CEO Sam Altman’s iris-scanning platform World ID to verify borrowers. Divine offers loans under $1,000 in the USDC (USDC) stablecoin, mainly to overseas borrowers underserved by traditional finance. It uses World ID to ensure users cannot open multiple accounts after defaulting. “We’re loaning to average folks like high-school teachers, fruit vendors . . . basically anyone with access to the internet can get access to our funds,” Divine founder Diego Estevez told the Financial Times. “This is microfinance on steroids.” Read more