The Bank of England has set up a six-month Synchronisation Lab to test synchronized settlement of tokenized assets in British pounds using its next-generation RTGS core ledger, RT2. Starting in spring 2026, 18 firms from market infrastructure, banking, fintech and decentralized technology will explore delivery-versus-payment and payment-versus-payment use cases across tokenized securities, collateral, foreign exchange and digital money.

Apple and Google have agreed to modify their UK mobile app stores after the UK regulator classified them as holding strategic market status in October last year. The companies plan to introduce clearer and more transparent rules for developers, with changes due to start as soon as April this year. Apple also faces a separate antitrust lawsuit in a Dutch court, linked to alleged unfair practices in its app store.

Ripple has introduced Ethereum and Solana staking within its institutional custody platform through an integration with staking provider Figment, allowing clients to access protocol rewards without running validator infrastructure. The move underscores that XRP itself does not currently offer protocol-level staking, even as XRP-focused products recently recorded larger weekly inflows than comparable Ethereum and Solana products.

The Bank of England is working with Chainlink to test atomic settlement between central bank money and tokenized assets using Chainlink’s CCIP. The Synchronisation Lab was introduced in October 2025 and is expected to operate for about six months from spring 2026, with 18 organizations selected to trial RTGS and DvP use cases.

Coinbase’s Base App is phasing out its Farcaster-powered social feed and ending the Creator Rewards program on February 15, 2026, with final payouts on February 18, 2026. The platform is repositioning itself as a trading-first application centered on onchain, tradable assets, after previously distributing over $450,000 to more than 17,000 creators in six months. Founder Jesse Pollak and Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong both emphasize that the app will prioritize retail traders and high-quality assets while still supporting Farcaster, mini apps, and the broader Base ecosystem.

On February 10, 2026, Kaito AI announced a partnership with Polymarket to build attention markets that quantify social media mindshare and sentiment. The first prediction pairs are slated to begin launching in March, with dozens expected initially and potentially thousands by year end, covering influencers, brands, and trends.

NBK Chairman Timur Suleimenov said on Tuesday that Kazakhstan will establish a national crypto-custodial service by May, according to statements quoted by Zakon.kz. He noted the legal framework was largely completed in 2025 and that regulated crypto circulation will start in 2026. Officials also outlined plans for a strategic reserve that could reach $1 billion and confirmed a $350 million NIC allocation for coin purchases.

On 10 February 2026, SEC Commissioner Mark Uyeda said tokenization of securities is progressing from concept to early real-world pilots. He emphasized a technology-neutral stance, noting that tokenized assets remain subject to existing custody, disclosure, and investor protection rules, with pilot programs and no-action letters used to vet models.