Sky Blog
The promise of decentralized finance (DeFi) was that it would replace often conflict-ridden financial intermediaries and hierarchies with automated systems that we could trust. The reality, however, is that DeFi has not eradicated conflicts or trust issues but shifted them …
As AI systems evolve, there’s been a surge of attention and anxiety around how they are reshaping the workforce. The conversation often centers on which jobs are at risk of automation and what machines are capable of. While these are …
Large language models (LLMs) are rapidly becoming integral to financial analysis, from parsing earnings calls to predicting stock market reactions to news. But a critical question remains: When we feed these models more information, do they perform better? Our recent …
Tariffs have been front-page news for the last few months, virtually since the moment that the Trump Administration came into office. Along with this news has come considerable commentary on the impact the tariffs may have on the U.S. and …
Stablecoins have emerged as a central pillar of the digital asset ecosystem, offering a bridge between traditional fiat currencies and decentralized finance. The GENIUS Act, a stablecoin regulation proposal, is advancing with bipartisan support through the U.S. Senate.[1] Given …
As regulators and policymakers across the federal government press forward with creating long-sought rules of the road for the cryptoasset industry, several recent developments bear particular significance for the promise of the decentralized internet, or Web3. Among these is the …
The under-pricing of initial public offerings (IPOs) has puzzled researchers for decades. First-day returns average around 15 percent, translating into billions of dollars left on the table by issuers and picked up by investors allocated shares in the IPO. The …
The startup ecosystem fuels America’s economy in ways few other sectors can match. It has also ridden waves of boom and bust, with periods of explosive growth followed by cool-downs. During these market downturns, capital becomes scarce and investors must …
The private credit market has undergone a remarkable expansion, with assets under management (AUM) growing from approximately $42 billion in 2000 to over $1.7 trillion by 2023.[1]
Like many transformative asset classes, private credit appears to be following a …
The U.S. Federal Reserve is 12 banks, not one. Each serves a different region of the country and brings insights from that region into the process of formulating nationwide monetary policy. Each also provides a variety of banking services to …
Margins serve as a critical mechanism for mitigating default risk in centrally cleared derivatives. Brokerage firms, acting as intermediaries, may impose supplemental margins on investors beyond those required by clearinghouses. A January 2025 policy report from global financial regulators recommended …
In April 2025, the landscape of U.S. crypto regulation shifted significantly. Three of the country’s principal bank regulators – the Federal Reserve, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) – jointly …
In a new article, we investigate how prediction markets—digital platforms designed originally for distilling dispersed knowledge into accurate forecasts—are steadily morphing into what look and feel like online gambling venues. That shift creates a regulatory puzzle, with consequences for market …
On April 8, 2025, a sweeping rule issued by the US Department of Justice (DOJ) took effect. The rule imposes restrictions—and in some cases, outright prohibitions—on US companies in connection with certain types of data brokerage, vendor relationships, employment arrangements, …
Over recent decades, the massive globalization of finance has led many observers to expect widespread harmonization of nations’ financial regulations. Yet, while there has been a remarkable degree of harmonization in some areas, at least at the regional level, considerable …
The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) is the U.S. agency responsible for insuring all bank deposits and facilitating all bank resolutions. Yet, as only one of three bank regulators, the agency relies on the Federal Reserve (Fed) and Office of …
Most financing agreements define “Events of Default” as being triggered not only by serious defaults, such as a borrower’s failure to repay its debt, but also by relatively minor or technical “secondary” defaults not involving debt repayment. Typical examples of …
On February 25, 2025, the Division of Enforcement (Enforcement Division) of the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) released an Enforcement Advisory on Self-Reporting, Cooperation, and Remediation (Advisory). The Advisory is the Enforcement Division’s “sole policy on self-reporting, cooperation, and …
Less than two years after announcing a more aggressive approach to enforcement, the CFTC Division of Enforcement has issued a new policy on self-reporting and cooperation credit that replaces all previous Division policies on enforcement matters, stressing a more balanced …