Major U.S. banks are grappling with significant financial losses due to rising unpaid debts. Bank of America, Citigroup, and Goldman Sachs have reported combined losses of $4.1 billion.
Citigroup revealed in its recent earnings report that it faced $2.28 billion in net credit losses for Q2, up by $780 million from the previous year. CEO Jane Fraser noted a slowdown in consumer spending, especially among average Americans, with growth now primarily driven by wealthier clients.
Bank of America also reported substantial losses, with net charge-offs reaching $1.5 billion for Q2, a dramatic 66% increase from the previous year. The bank’s reserve for credit losses also rose significantly to $1.5 billion.
Goldman Sachs disclosed $359 million in net charge-offs for the last quarter. Other large banks, including JPMorgan Chase and Wells Fargo, have similarly struggled, with JPMorgan reporting $2.2 billion in losses and Wells Fargo $1.3 billion in charge-offs.
The Federal Reserve Bank of New York recently warned about escalating U.S. household debt, which surged to $17.69 trillion in the first quarter of this year, marking a $640 billion increase from the previous year.
Anchorage Digital, a federally chartered crypto custody bank, is urging its institutional clients to move away from major stablecoins like USDC, Agora USD (AUSD), and Usual USD (USD0), recommending instead a shift to the Global Dollar (USDG) — a stablecoin issued by Paxos and backed by a consortium that includes Anchorage itself.
Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin has voiced concerns over the rise of zero-knowledge (ZK) digital identity projects, specifically warning that systems like World — formerly Worldcoin and backed by OpenAI’s Sam Altman — could undermine pseudonymity in the digital world.
A new report by the European Central Bank (ECB) reveals that digital payment methods continue to gain ground across the euro area, though cash remains a vital part of the consumer payment landscape — particularly for small-value transactions and person-to-person (P2P) payments.
Geopolitical conflict rattles markets, but history shows panic selling crypto in response is usually the wrong move.