Big LOL. Every year, within the crypto ecosystem, we get our guaranteed laugh sequence with the announcement of the banking system shutdown during the Christmas holidays. It didn't fail: this year, the French Banking Federation (FBF) indicated that interbank transfers will be blocked from December 25 to 28. You can still place your orders, but don't expect them to be settled during this window. The reason: the closure of the European settlement system (TARGET2), managed by the ECB, during weekends and holidays. This four-day "blackout" is very annoying and forces corporate treasurers and individuals to anticipate their liquidity flows, or risk having their funds stuck in interbank pipes. Note: instant transfers and Wero are not affected, but they are far from being the default standard for all flows in the real economy. But did you know it's 1000 times worse in the United States? The American banking system, falsely perceived as the benchmark, actually suffers from a major structural complexity. Far from being a monolithic block, it is a mosaic of over 4,000 commercial banks operating under overlapping jurisdictions (federal and state). This fragmented architecture generates considerable friction for economic agents: 👉 It incurs high costs: the lack of unified standardization makes simple transfers ("Wire Transfers") expensive, often costing between $25 and $50 for a domestic operation. 👉 And systemic slowness: the national clearing system (ACH) operates in batches with settlement delays often between 24 and 48 hours. A latency that weighs on corporate cash management. In the end, we are often encouraged to pay by check to avoid these inconveniences, as @cateland from @KulipaXYZ explained to me this morning during an excellent event organized by @FiptoHQ. The financial system deserves better, which is why stablecoins are a significant revolution for the payments industry. ...