Rails Taps Stellar to Launch Onchain Vaults for Institutional Derivatives Liquidity
Rails announced the launch of Institutional‑Grade Vaults on the Stellar network, enabling broker‑dealers and fintechs to access crypto perpetuals through a single backend. The solution separates the centralized matching engine from on‑chain custody, with client assets held in audited smart‑contract vaults and PnL snapshots recorded every 30 seconds as Merkle roots. Rails processed over $3.4 billion in trading volume and targets options trading by Q2 2026. The move aims to reduce counter‑party risk that plagued prior exchange failures.
MetaMask Integrates Ondo to Offer 200+ Tokenized U.S. Stocks Inside Crypto Wallet
MetaMask has integrated Ondo Finance’s Global Markets platform to bring more than 200 tokenized U.S. stocks, ETFs and commodities into its self‑custodial wallet. The feature is limited to eligible mobile users in supported non‑U.S. jurisdictions, allowing them to buy and...
MetaMask Adds Tokenized US Stocks, ETFs, Commodities via Ondo
MetaMask is adding tokenized U.S. stocks, ETFs and commodities to its Ethereum‑based wallet through a partnership with Ondo Global Markets. Starting Tuesday, eligible non‑U.S. users can swap USDC for 1:1 Ondo tokens that track the value of 200 underlying assets....
Why some Payments Companies Want to Be Banks
Payments companies such as PayPal, Stripe, Affirm, Revolut and Checkout.com are applying for state and federal banking charters to gain direct access to credit‑card networks and eliminate reliance on partner banks. A special‑purpose charter, first granted to Fiserv, would let...
Why some Payments Companies Want to Be Banks
Fintech powerhouses such as Stripe, PayPal, Affirm, Revolut, Fiserv and Checkout.com are applying for federal or state banking charters. Analysts say the move promises greater control over payment settlement, cost savings and the ability to offer FDIC‑insured accounts. A special...
Thread Bank's Chris Black Sees Opening in Bank Charter Boom
Thread Bank CEO Chris Black says the surge of crypto and fintech firms applying for national trust charters creates a strategic opening for established banks. He argues that while the charter is commoditized, disciplined capital, liquidity and risk management give...
Kraken Parent Company Payward Posts 33% Growth in Full-Year Revenue
Payward, the parent of Kraken, reported a 33% jump in adjusted 2025 revenue to $2.2 billion, driven by a 34% rise in transaction volume to $2 trillion. Trading activities generated 47% of revenue, with EBITDA reaching 26% ($531 million). The firm also disclosed...
Fireblocks Integrates Canton Network for Regulated Onchain Settlement
Fireblocks announced integration with the Canton Network, enabling its platform and NYDFS‑chartered trust entity to custody and settle Canton Coin on a privacy‑enabled, permissioned blockchain. The move lets banks, custodians and asset managers apply existing policy controls and workflow automation...
AI Agents Now Socializing, Boosting Knowledge Work Productivity
AI agents are no longer just working for us. They are starting to hang out with each other. Moltbook is a social network where AI bots interact without humans, while real-world data shows agents are mostly used by highly educated workers...
Best SMS Marketing Company and Provider Guide: Choosing a Reliable, Efficient, and Affordable Global Two-Way SMS Marketing Platform
Businesses across e‑commerce and finance rely on global SMS marketing platforms to deliver timely notifications, verification codes, and interactive messages. The guide evaluates providers on reliability, two‑way capability, true global coverage, operational efficiency, and scalable affordability, highlighting ITNIO TECH as the...
Best AI-Assisted PDF Tools of 2026: Top Tools for Extracting Answers and Insights From PDFs Using Conversational AI
AI‑assisted PDF tools are reshaping how professionals extract insight from dense documents by allowing natural‑language queries, summaries, and clause extraction. Adobe Acrobat leads for broad, everyday use by embedding conversational AI into a mature editing suite, while ChatPDF targets researchers...
Digital Assets Firm Circle Outlines Product Roadmap for 2026
Circle announced a 2026 product roadmap centered on Arc, its new Layer‑1 blockchain designed as an Economic OS for web3 finance. The plan expands USDC and other digital assets across multiple networks while introducing the Circle Payments Network and StableFX...
PayPoint’s Merchant Rentals Taps EIT to Expand Payment Terminal Options
Merchant Rentals, a PayPoint Group subsidiary, has signed a strategic partnership with European Information Technology (EIT) to broaden its payment‑terminal portfolio. The collaboration adds vendor‑agnostic devices from Castles, PAX and Verifone to Merchant Rentals’ financing catalogue, giving merchants greater choice....
Basware Appoints Chief Marketing Officer
Basware announced the appointment of Kira Mondrus as its new Chief Marketing Officer, joining the executive team reporting to CEO Jason Kurtz. Mondrus brings over 20 years of B2B technology marketing experience, most recently scaling Tricentis from $13 million to more than $500 million in...
OneMiners USA Hosting – Georgia: Reliable, Scalable, and Cost-Efficient ASIC Mining Infrastructure
OneMiners is transitioning from a pure crypto‑mining host to a next‑generation compute infrastructure provider, leveraging its 20 MW Georgia ASIC‑hosting campus and a forthcoming 30 MW gas‑powered data‑center in South Carolina. The Georgia facility offers transparent, tiered electricity pricing starting at $0.060/kWh...
“Singapore Banks Remain Cautious and Selective”: Web3 Firms Face Higher Compliance Demands
Singapore continues to cement its status as Asia’s premier Web3 hub, thanks to the Monetary Authority of Singapore’s clear, principles‑based regulatory framework and government‑backed sandbox programmes. Leading exchanges and fintechs such as OKX, Crypto.com and ChainUp cite regulatory certainty, strong...
Binance Comments on October 10 Crypto Market Flash Crash
On October 10, 2025 a flash crash driven by $100 billion in Bitcoin derivatives open interest and global trade tensions disrupted crypto markets, causing liquidity strains and temporary Binance transfer delays. Binance’s asset‑transfer system showed zero balances for some users for 33 minutes...
Tom Lee Discusses Macro, Regulation, On‑Chain Finance Evolution
Looking forward to a great conversation with @fundstrat (Tom Lee) today at Ondo Summit at 10:40am EST. We'll discuss the macro environment, regulation, and the evolution of onchain finance.
Crowdcube Highlights the Growing Role of Liquidity in Equity Crowdfunding
Crowdcube is positioning liquidity as a core feature of equity crowdfunding, introducing secondary‑market tools that let early investors and employees sell portions of their shares without disrupting growth. The platform cites high‑profile exits such as Revolut and Monzo, where secondary...
Flare Unveils New Way for XRP Holders to Earn Yield Through a Massive DeFi Upgrade
Flare blockchain launched a DeFi upgrade that enables lending and borrowing of FXRP through an integration with the Morpho protocol. The new functionality allows XRP holders to earn yield by depositing FXRP or to borrow assets such as stablecoins using...
The Signal: What's New for Platforms & Payments Featuring Matt Downs of Global Payments | Episode 463
In this episode, Matt Downs, President of Integrated and Platforms at Global Payments, discusses the major shifts in platform payments as the industry heads toward 2026, emphasizing that payments have become a growth engine rather than a mere feature. He...
Galaxy Digital Shares Decline 6% After $482 Million Q4 Loss
Galaxy Digital reported a $482 million net loss for Q4 2025, pushing its shares down more than 6 % in pre‑market trading. The loss stemmed from falling cryptocurrency prices and a one‑time $160 million expense. Despite the quarterly deficit, the firm posted $426 million...
PayPal Appoints New CEO
PayPal announced that board member and former HP chief executive Enrique Lores will become its new CEO and president effective March 1, replacing Alex Chriss, who has led the firm since September 2023. The board said the change reflects dissatisfaction with the company’s...
Real-World Assets Don’t Need New Gatekeepers
Joaquin Mendes argues that tokenized real‑world assets (RWAs) are being built on permissioned or centralized blockchains, re‑creating traditional gatekeepers. He contends that regulatory compliance can be achieved on public rollups without sacrificing decentralization. Public rollups inherit Ethereum’s security, offering transparent,...
SoFi Overhauls Its Credit Decisioning System and Risk Decision Logic to Navigate Financial Uncertainty
SoFi has launched the NextGen Strategy, overhauling its credit decisioning system by shifting to debt‑to‑income ratios and education‑based risk matrices. The revamp, led by senior data scientist Yihan Shi, aims to create more explainable, robust approval logic amid volatile macro‑economic...
Bitcoin Borrowing Shifts From Short-Term Liquidity to Long-Term Planning: Xapo
Xapo Bank’s 2025 Digital Wealth Report shows that over half of its Bitcoin‑backed loans were issued with 365‑day terms, indicating a shift from short‑term liquidity to long‑term financial planning. While new loan creation slowed in late 2025, outstanding balances continued...
Visa and UnionPay Partner on Cross-Border Money Movement Into Chinese Mainland
Visa and UnionPay have signed an agreement to connect Visa Direct with UnionPay’s MoneyExpress platform, allowing Visa’s global clients to send cross‑border remittances and payouts to more than 95% of debit cardholders in mainland China. The service, slated for a...
Nevada Court Hits Polymarket with Temporary Restraining Order, Tests CFTC Control
A Nevada judge issued a 14‑day temporary restraining order against Polymarket, barring the prediction‑market platform from offering event‑based contracts to state residents. The ruling relies on Nevada gambling statutes, classifying Polymarket’s sports and other event markets as unlicensed wagering rather...
Incumbents’ Trap
Despite rapid growth, UK neobanks still control a small fraction of primary banking relationships, with incumbents holding roughly 94% of primary accounts. About half of UK adults now maintain at least one neobank account, up from 16% in 2018, and...
Bitcoin and Ether Are Tanking, but DeFi Investors Are Refusing to Cave to the Panic
Bitcoin and ether have plunged to multi‑year lows, dragging major crypto prices down sharply. Despite the sell‑off, decentralized finance’s total value locked (TVL) slipped only 12%, from $120 billion to $105 billion, outpacing the broader market decline. Ether deployed in DeFi rose...
Major German Bank Opens Free Crypto Access as MiCA Ends the Legality Debate and Sparks a Bank Rush
ING Deutschland rolled out fee‑free crypto exchange‑traded notes on Feb. 2, giving its 3.2 million brokerage clients access to Bitcoin, Ethereum and alt‑coin ETNs without wallet setup. The offering, supplied by VanEck, includes zero order fees for purchases above €1,000 and optional...
Moscow Exchange to Add SOL, XRP, and TRX Futures Contracts to Crypto Derivatives Lineup
The Moscow Exchange (MOEX) will add cash‑settled futures for Solana, XRP and Tron, expanding its crypto derivatives lineup beyond Bitcoin and Ether. The contracts will be based on newly created token indices and settled in rubles, with trading limited to...
DOJ-Released Emails Suggest Epstein Made $3.2M Coinbase Investment in 2014
U.S. Justice Department emails reveal that Jeffrey Epstein’s network invested roughly $3.25 million in Coinbase in 2014, acquiring 195,910 Series C shares when the exchange was valued at $400 million. The stake was held through LLCs linked to Epstein and later sold in...
Building a Complete Tax Compliance Architecture for Global Scale
Global indirect tax compliance now hinges on three interlinked obligations—real‑time CTC e‑invoicing, periodic VAT reporting, and granular SAF‑T audit files—all derived from the same transaction data. Tax authorities expect these outputs to be consistent by design, turning fragmented point solutions...
Rasyad Wiratma on Today’s Financial Job Market Trends and Outlook
Rasyad Wiratma warns that the 2026 financial job market is undergoing a pivotal transformation driven by technology, tighter regulation, and lingering macro‑economic headwinds. While firms curb hiring for mid‑senior positions, investment in digital finance fuels demand for fintech, data analytics,...
Allica Bank Slashes Commercial Mortgage and Bridging Rates to Take on High Street Banks
Allica Bank, a challenger lender for established UK businesses, announced up to a 1.3 per cent cut to its commercial mortgage and bridging rates to rival high‑street banks. The reduction is part of a broader product simplification that also lowers prices...
$200 Trillion at Risk: The New Threat to Banking
In this episode of Banking Transformed, Jim Marous convenes a roster of banking innovators to discuss how generative AI, digital‑first experiences, and platform‑based models are reshaping the industry amid a looming $200 trillion risk to traditional banks. Guests such as Abbas...
HK Fintech Wonder Secures $12m Venture Debt From HSBC to Expand Apac Operations
Hong Kong‑based fintech Wonder has closed a $12 million venture‑debt facility with HSBC Innovation Banking. The financing is earmarked for scaling its payment platform across the Asia‑Pacific region. Wonder plans to use the capital to broaden its product suite, accelerate hiring,...
CB Insights Splits InsurTech Map Into Two Categories
What could we learn from CBinsights' yearly Top 50 InsurTech ? → https://t.co/jPaZFOB8Ju Beyond the startups listed, what I find interesting is how the map is structured. And this year, CBinsights split the map in two categories. https://t.co/95meEVXdmS
How to Find the Right Accountant for Cryptocurrency in the Czech Republic
As cryptocurrency use expands in the Czech Republic, investors and freelancers face increasingly complex tax obligations. A crypto‑specialized accountant brings blockchain‑savvy expertise, handling transaction analysis, capital‑gain calculations, and compliance with Czech tax law. Their strategic planning can minimize liabilities while...
Banks Rethink Blanket Merchant Bans as Regulatory Guidance Evolves
Banks are reexamining blanket merchant bans after regulators removed reputational risk from exam criteria in 2025, prompting a shift toward nuanced, data‑driven underwriting. Maverick Payments’ VP Kyle Becker explained that clear risk‑appetite statements combined with automated KYC/KYB, AI monitoring and...
The Rise of Crypto Day Trading in Norway
Crypto day trading is booming in Norway as high digital literacy, 24/7 markets, and supportive regulation drive participation. Platforms like Blank Finvex give traders fast access, while the country's economic stability and open stance from the Financial Supervisory Authority provide...
Artificial Labs Raises $45M in Series B Funding
Artificial Labs, a London‑based digital broking and underwriting platform for specialty and commercial insurance, secured $45 million in Series B financing. The round was led by CommerzVentures with participation from Move Capital Fund I and existing backers. The capital will fund a...
Healthcare and Financial Wellbeing Startup for over 60s Lateral Raises £2.5M
UK‑based startup Lateral has closed a £2.5 million seed round led by Augmentum, with participation from Triple Point and TinyVC. The funding will launch its inaugural Lateral Health Plan, a combined private‑health cover, care‑navigation service and preventive‑benefit package aimed at the...
Ripple-Backed Custody Secures $280 Million Diamond Tokenization Push in UAE
Billiton Diamond and tokenization firm Ctrl Alt have moved more than $280 million of certified polished diamonds onto the XRP Ledger, using Ripple’s enterprise custody technology to secure the assets. The initiative creates an institutional‑grade tokenization pipeline in the UAE, with...
Elon Musk's xAI Is Hiring Crypto Specialists to Train Its AI Models
Elon Musk's xAI announced a remote Finance Expert – Crypto position to train its frontier AI models on digital‑asset market dynamics. The role will provide high‑quality annotations, evaluations, and expert explanations of on‑chain activity, trading behavior, and risk management. Rather...
RadCred Product Study – Application Friction Metrics in Modern Fintech Apps
Fintech lenders face high application friction from hard credit inquiries, manual document uploads, and opaque processes, leading to early user drop‑off. RadCred’s AI‑driven loan‑matching model compresses the journey to a single form, delivering personalized offers in minutes while using soft...
PAY360 2026: Shaping the Future of Payments
PAY360 2026, the largest global payments conference, will convene over 6,000 innovators at ExCeL London on March 24‑25. Hosted by The Payments Association, the event features more than 200 speakers from banks, fintechs, regulators and tech firms, alongside 150 exhibitors....
Cathie Wood’s ARK Boosts Crypto Shares Amid Stock Pullback
Cathie Wood’s ARK Invest increased its crypto‑linked stock exposure by roughly $27 million, buying shares of Robinhood, Circle, Block, BitMine, Coinbase and Bullish. The purchases were made through its ARK Innovation (ARKK), ARK Blockchain & Fintech Innovation (ARKF) and ARK Next...
Our Bank Is AI Central
Lloyds Banking Group announced a compulsory AI training programme for its entire 67,000‑strong workforce, targeting 100% AI literacy by the end of 2026. The initiative, backed by a multi‑million‑pound digital modernisation budget, starts with a mandatory module on responsible and...