Financial systems appear faster than ever, yet the underlying movement of money has changed far less.

Payments are authorised within seconds, yet settlement, the point at which value actually transfers between institutions, can still take days. Beneath the surface, the system that moves money has not kept pace with the economy it serves.

Over the past decade, the industry has focused on optimising the surface, with faster payments, better interfaces, and fintech platforms making money movement feel instant. Beneath that layer, however, the core architecture has barely changed. Settlement still happens in batches, liquidity remains fragmented across jurisdictions, and capital is positioned in advance to manage timing rather than deployed dynamically. This is where the real constraint sits.

As businesses operate across time zones and make decisions continuously, the gap between how the economy functions and how financial systems move value is becoming more visible. The shift now underway is not about replacing the system, but upgrading it by introducing new infrastructure alongside traditional rails.

These systems are not in competition. Traditional infrastructure continues to provide trust, compliance, and regulatory oversight, while new rails introduce speed, programmability, and the ability to move value more continuously. Together, they form a more efficient financial stack.

This transition is already visible.

Stablecoins, increasingly used as settlement instruments, now process trillions of dollars in monthly volume. While still largely driven by trading activity, their role is expanding into payments, treasury, and settlement use cases, signalling that new forms of settlement infrastructure are gaining traction beyond crypto-native environments. The question is no longer whether these rails will be adopted, but how they can be integrated efficiently and within a regulated framework.

As Phil Sham, co-founder and CEO of Aquanow, explains, “We are seeing institutions across payments, logistics, and financial services looking to integrate new rails to enable more continuous movement of value. In practice, this depends on the availability of on- and off-ramps, robust compliance frameworks, and seamless integration into existing systems. The technology enables the shift, but reliable infrastructure makes it usable.”

This is where the UAE has established a clear lead.

Rather than treating digital assets as a separate category, the country has built a regulatory environment that allows them to operate within established financial frameworks. Through ADGM, VARA, and the Central Bank, clear pathways have been defined for issuance, distribution, and use, creating the conditions for institutional adoption.

This approach is also shaping how digital money itself is designed. The recent launch of USDU, a fully backed USD stablecoin issued within ADGM and aligned with UAE regulatory frameworks, reflects a more mature phase of the market, where instruments are built for institutional settlement, with supervision, reserve transparency, and integration at their core.

The capabilities are now in place. The focus is shifting to connectivity and usability and this is where infrastructure providers play a critical role. “Aquanow,” continues Sham, “operates as a connective layer between traditional financial institutions and digital asset infrastructure, providing the liquidity and rails needed to integrate these capabilities into existing systems. This allows institutions to upgrade how value moves without rebuilding core infrastructure or altering their regulatory posture.”

With time the distinction between traditional and digital systems is becoming less relevant, while the ability to connect infrastructure and move liquidity efficiently is becoming central. Finance is not being replaced. It is being re-engineered around how value actually needs to move for today’s financial markets.

The UAE has officially announced the Eid Al Adha holiday period for federal government employees, with ministries and public sector entities set to close for five days later this month.

According to the UAE Government Media Office, citing the Federal Authority for Government Human Resources (FAHR), the public holiday will run from Monday, May 25, 2026, until Friday, May 29, 2026. Official working hours across federal entities will resume on Monday, June 1.

The announcement effectively creates an extended break when combined with the preceding and following weekends, as the country prepares for one of the most significant occasions in the Islamic calendar.

Eid Al Adha commemorates sacrifice, charity and community, and is traditionally marked across the UAE with prayers, family gatherings, travel and hospitality activities.

The confirmation of the federal holiday comes as Dubai’s Knowledge and Human Development Authority (KHDA) also announced matching Eid break dates for private schools in the emirate, aligning educational institutions with the broader national holiday period.

Dubai private schools will remain closed from May 25 to May 29, with classes resuming on June 1, creating a nine-day break for many students and school staff when weekends are included.

The synchronised holiday schedule is expected to drive a seasonal uplift across travel, retail, hospitality and leisure sectors, with residents likely to take advantage of the extended break for regional travel and family activities.

The Eid Al Adha holiday framework also aligns with the UAE’s unified academic calendar and broader efforts to standardise public sector holiday schedules across the country.

EBay on Tuesday rejected an ambitious $56bn takeover bid from the much smaller GameStop GME.N on doubts over the financing of the deal, while underscoring its turnaround efforts that have boosted growth.

Analysts and investors have doubted whether the half-cash, half-stock bid from the $12bn videogame retailer for a company nearly four times its market value would close.

EBay stock has been trading far below the offer price of $125 per share since the offer was made earlier this month. Its was down 1.1 per cent at $107 on Tuesday in premarket trading, while GameStop fell nearly 4 per cent.

“We have concluded that your proposal is neither credible nor attractive,” eBay chairman Paul Pressler said. “eBay’s Board is confident that the company, under its current management team, is well-positioned to continue to drive sustainable growth.”

GameStop did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The rejection could lead to a hostile bid as GameStop CEO Ryan Cohen had said he was willing to take the offer directly to eBay shareholders, possibly by calling a special meeting.

Cohen has argued that by combining GameStop and eBay he could cut costs and find synergies to create a much bigger enterprise.

He has said he could boost eBay’s profitability by replicating GameStop’s cost-cutting drive and use its 600 US stores into a physical network to help turn eBay into a tougher rival to Amazon.

The proposed deal is drawing attention in a robust mergers and acquisitions and among retail investors, for whom Cohen has been a hero since he helped rally a short squeeze in 2021 that hammered hedge funds such as Melvin Capital.

The offer has also irked some GameStop investors. Michael Burry, of “The Big Short” fame, sold his stake in the company after the offer, warning that it would saddle GameStop with debt and dilute shareholders.

Both eBay and GameStop sell collectibles such as trading cards but their mainstay businesses are different. While eBay earns fees by connecting buyers and sellers online without holding inventory, GameStop buys goods wholesale and resells them through physical stores.

From the start, Wall Street reacted with surprise and suspicion to Cohen’s offer, asking how GameStop could swallow a company four times its size.

In an interview on CNBC, Cohen, dressed in a black leather jacket and T-shirt, did not offer much explanation on how GameStop would finance the $56bn purchase price.

When pressed, Cohen said the deal would be paid for with cash and stock. His short answer prompted awkward silences in the interview.

Cohen wrote to eBay’s board that he would serve as the combined company’s CEO and would take no salary, cash bonuses or golden parachute.

The 40-year-old billionaire cemented his fame and fortune by co-founding and then selling online pet foods retailer Chewy and then by making a big bet on GameStop at a time the retailer had a market valuation of $250m.

Cohen was appointed GameStop’s chairman in 2021 and assumed the CEO role after his handpicked CEO, a former Amazon executive, was fired in June 2023.

Saudi oil giant Saudi Aramco on Sunday reported adjusted net income of $33.6bn for Q1 2026, up from $26.6bn a year earlier, as it highlighted operational resilience amid geopolitical tensions and shipping disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz.

Cash flow from operating activities fell to $30.7bn in the quarter from $31.7bn a year earlier, while free cash flow declined to $18.6bn from $19.2bn, which the company said was impacted by a $15.8bn build in working capital.

Aramco said its gearing ratio rose to 4.8 per cent as of March 31, compared with 3.8 per cent at the end of 2025.

Capital expenditure reached $12.1bn in the quarter as the company continued to invest in growth projects.

The board declared a first-quarter base dividend of $21.9bn, up 3.5 per cent year-on-year, which will be paid in the second quarter.

Aramco said its East-West Pipeline was ramped up sharply to its maximum capacity of seven million barrels per day during the quarter, helping support exports via Saudi Arabia’s west coast amid shipping constraints in the Strait of Hormuz.

The company added that its domestic and international storage capacity provided additional optionality, while strategic investments in critical infrastructure and contingency planning helped maintain operational continuity.

“Aramco’s first-quarter performance reflects strong resilience and operational flexibility in a complex geopolitical environment,” president and chief executive Amin H Nasser said in a statement.

“Our East-West Pipeline, which reached its maximum capacity of seven million barrels of oil per day, has proven itself to be a critical supply artery, helping to mitigate the impact of a global energy shock and providing relief to customers affected by shipping constraints in the Strait of Hormuz,” he said.

“Despite these headwinds, Aramco remains focused on its strategic priorities and is leveraging both its domestic infrastructure and its global network to navigate disruption.”