Digital Bytes by Team Blockchain Radio; Powered By Cyber.FM

Here's something that should keep you up at night: what happens to your cryptocurrency and digital assets when you die?

Reid Winthrop, managing partner at Winthrop Law Group, and David Parsons joined hosts James Tylee and Jonny Fry to tackle this increasingly urgent problem. As property, cryptocurrencies, and personal accounts move onto blockchain, the century-old systems that banks traditionally managed—insurance, escrow, and ...

Each year, global finance spends £58 billion on corporate actions processing, with costs rising 10% annually and automation below 40%. Reliance on manual validation, fragmented systems and inconsistent data flows results in widespread inefficiency, high risk and unnecessary expense. Recent industry initiatives using blockchain and AI, similar to the Chainlink-led collaboration involving Swift, DTCC and S&P Global, demonstrate t...

Digital disruption is the new business threat. Old continuity plans focused historically on fires, floods or server outages but, today, centralised failure can mean billion-dollar crypto collapses, regulatory shockwaves or code bugs that freeze assets overnight. Decentralised blockchains flip the script: redundancy and transparency take out single points of failure, making continuity a design feature, not an afterthought. G7 mega-b...

If US dollar stablecoins such as USDT or USDC take over London’s £5-50 million prime property market, the Bank of England could lose control over one of its richest asset classes. Foreign buyers could move capital instantly, bypassing sterling, whilst estate agents’ market in US dollars and settle via smart contracts in hours potentially on a peer-to-peer basis so removing escrow settlement risk. The upside? Hyper-liquid, globally ...

Could Britain accidentally become financially American? The Bank of England governor's shocking endorsement of stablecoins in the Financial Times has sparked a fascinating debate about the UK's potential "dollarization."

James Tylee, a Wall Street veteran with 20 years of algorithmic trading experience, joins Johnny Fry to explore how USD-backed stablecoins might extend American financial dominance to British shores. With the $250 b...

AI agents could be handling $1.7 trillion worth of your shopping decisions by 2030 – and Helen Disney, founder of Unblocked, explains exactly how this transformation will unfold.

In this fascinating return to Digital Bytes, Disney breaks down the evolution from traditional e-commerce to "d-commerce" – decentralized commerce powered by blockchain technology and cryptocurrency. She envisions a future where AI agents automati...

Stablecoins are increasingly flowing through global payment rails. But here is the catch: in the US, they are still not legal tender - only US coins and Federal Reserve notes qualify. The IRS even classifies stablecoins as property, meaning every payment could trigger capital gains tax. But winds are shifting. The proposed Stablecoin Transparency and Accountability for a Better Ledger Economy (STABLE) Act of 2025 could make USD sta...

OFSI’s July 2025 Cryptoassets Threat Assessment warns UK crypto firms that sanctions risk has shifted from fringe to frontline. The agency maintains suspected breach reporting is inconsistent and has been likely under-reported since 2022, with most issues arising inadvertently via delayed attribution, indirect exposure to designated persons (DPs) and weak due diligence. Three dominant jurisdictions pose threats: Russia, North Korea...

The US can no longer ignore crypto’s role in global finance with institutional adoption surging and Trump’s proposal for a US Strategic Crypto Reserve is a bold but divisive move. Supporters see it as a hedge against inflation and a way to solidify America’s dominance in digital assets but critics warn of political flip-flopping, regulatory chaos and conflicts of interest. So, will the US lead the next financial evolution, or will ...

Dark pools, long used in traditional finance, are entering crypto whereby bringing stability but challenging decentralisation. By shielding trades from public view, they reduce slippage and protect against predatory strategies such as front-running. For institutions and whales, they unlock liquidity without destabilising markets. Yet this privacy clashes with blockchain’s ethos of transparency and raises regulatory concerns. But wh...

According to OMFIF’s Global Public Investor 2025 report, central banks remain wary of digital assets, with 93% holding no crypto and no plans to change. Whilst family offices and sovereign funds debate gold versus Bitcoin as alternatives to the dollar, central bankers cite legal, technical and liquidity risks. Meanwhile, the US races ahead with the GENIUS Act and talk of a strategic Bitcoin reserve, leaving Europe and others to dec...

Money is a technology coupled with a community - central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) offer the potential of programmable, state-backed money promising efficient taxation, digital public infrastructure and financial inclusion, However, what about the risks, including overreach, surveillance and systemic fragility? Governments need to exercise caution in replacing traditional fiat infrastructure with digital rails because CBDCs m...

Discover how the powerful combination of AI and blockchain is reshaping industries through groundbreaking innovations in smart manufacturing and decentralized identity systems. Antonio Lanotte, a distinguished Chartered Tax Advisor and International Tax Consultant, shares his expertise on this technological convergence that's transforming the digital economy.

• Smart manufacturing leveraging AI for predictive analytics and rea...

The ‘Big Bang’ of US stablecoins - the rise of US dollar-backed stablecoins is quietly reshaping global finance. Offering instant, borderless and bank-less transactions, stablecoins such as USDC and USDT are increasingly replacing local currencies in unstable economies - and even challenging central bank authority in developed ones. As they become embedded in global trade, remittances and digital wallets, stablecoins threaten to er...

Discover how the ultra-wealthy are shifting away from traditional currencies to embrace stablecoins for luxury real estate transactions! In this eye-opening episode of Digital Bytes, hosts Jonny Fry, Lee Birkett, and Barry James explore the groundbreaking intersection of digital currencies and property investment.

Lee Birkett shares fascinating insights from his journey in financial services, introducing BIPs and Moneybrain - a rev...

Dive into a fascinating exploration of how stablecoins and CBDCs are reshaping our financial future, featuring expert insights from the Digital Monetary Institute's John Orchard and Lewis McLellan. The discussion reveals how Donald Trump's executive order could potentially trigger a stablecoin boom in the U.S., while the pending Genius Act aims to regulate this emerging sector.

Key highlights:

- The shift from retail to wholesale ap...

As digital currencies and AI systems increasingly shape our daily lives, are we unknowingly trading privacy for convenience - and control for comfort? Could programmable money become a tool for mass surveillance, nudging behaviour and conditioning spending? And, as central banks and tech firms quietly lay the foundation for a fully transparent financial system, who safeguards the citizen? If algorithms engineer our happiness and fi...

The shift to digital money goes beyond mobile payments. It is about transforming outdated, intermediary-heavy financial systems into seamless, programmable and transparent networks. Digital money such as CBDCs, stablecoins and tokenised deposits offer 24/7 access, lower costs and greater financial inclusion. Innovators, institutions and regulators are driving adoption, but challenges such as regulation, interoperability and public ...