On-Chain Vault Services Could Give Banks an On-Ramp to Crypto Markets
On‑chain vaults are smart‑contract wallets that automatically allocate stablecoins to the highest‑yielding DeFi strategies. They provide non‑custodial, 24/7 redeemable exposure with yields ranging from 3.7% to over 7%, outpacing many traditional money‑market funds. The piece argues banks could adopt these vaults to offer on‑demand, higher‑return products, integrating stablecoin custody into existing banking platforms. This would help banks retain customers and tap the rapidly expanding crypto market while leveraging their regulatory advantages.
Meld Secures $7m to Expand Global Stablecoin Network
Meld, a digital‑asset infrastructure provider, closed a $7 million strategic funding round led by Lightspeed Faction. The capital will fund expansion of its global stablecoin network, sales force, and customer‑success capabilities. Meld’s platform links more than 150 fiat currencies to a...
Goldman Surges Past Estimates, Despite Apple Card Costs
Goldman Sachs reported fourth‑quarter 2025 earnings that topped Wall Street forecasts, posting $14.01 earnings per share and $4.62 billion net income, well above analyst expectations. Revenue slipped to $13.45 billion, missing estimates, largely because the Platform Solutions unit logged a $1.68 billion loss...
Feedzai and Matrix USA Launch Global Partnership to Modernize Financial-Crime Prevention with AI-Native Defenses
Feedzai, the AI-native risk‑operations platform, has partnered with Matrix USA to create a global Center of Excellence that accelerates AI‑driven fraud and anti‑money‑laundering (AML) deployments for banks. The collaboration blends Feedzai’s real‑time detection engine with Matrix USA’s advisory and integration...
KH Brokers and LaunchVector: A Transparent Comparison for E-Commerce Investors
KH Brokers and LaunchVector dominate the e‑commerce acquisition niche with contrasting business models. KH Brokers acts as a brokerage, delivering a high‑volume, vetted deal pipeline that has facilitated over $14 million in Flippa transactions and offers 100 % ownership at modest profit...
Crypto Market News Today: CLARITY Act Draft Groups XRP and Solana with Bitcoin as DeepSnitch AI Shows 100X Potential
A draft of the U.S. "Clarity Act" proposes that tokens such as XRP, Solana and Dogecoin receive the same legal treatment as Bitcoin and Ethereum if they become the primary asset in a U.S.-listed exchange‑traded product by Jan. 1. The provision...
Slips Raises $3.5M in Series Seed Funding
Los Angeles‑based peer‑to‑peer betting platform Slips raised $3.5 M in a Series Seed round led by Las Olas Capital and Sunset Bay Capital, with participation from Andrew Schwartzberg and other strategic investors. The funding will be used to upgrade the technology...
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Top 10 Payroll Software In Qatar [2026 Updated]
The 2026 update lists the top ten payroll software options for businesses operating in Qatar, highlighting features such as WPS file generation, attendance integration, and employee self‑service. It outlines seven key criteria for selecting a solution, including compliance with Qatar’s...
Mastercard, Visa, Revolut Lose UK Court Fight as Judge Backs Cap on Cross-Border Card Fees
A London High Court judge affirmed the UK Payment Systems Regulator’s authority to set a cap on cross‑border interchange fees, delivering a legal defeat to Mastercard, Visa and fintech Revolut. The ruling clears the path for the regulator to design...
Central Banks Hit Next Stage in Agora Cross-Border Payment Project
Central banks and commercial banks have entered the next testing phase of Project Agora, a BIS‑led initiative to build a multicurrency unified ledger that tokenizes commercial bank deposits alongside wholesale central bank money. The Federal Reserve Bank of New York...
House Democrat Joins EWA Effort
A bipartisan draft of the Earned Wage Access Consumer Protection Act was introduced in the House, with Republican Rep. Bryan Steil filing the bill and Democrat Rep. Ritchie Torres announcing co‑sponsorship. The legislation adds mandatory fee disclosures, defines “tips,” requires...
Where Financial Institutions Fit in the AR/AP Value Chain
In this episode, Hugh Thomas of Javelin Strategy maps the complex AR/AP value chain and explains how banks and card networks can find sustainable roles without overreaching into procurement. He highlights successful partnerships—such as Mastercard with SAP Taulia and Visa’s...
Lower Volatility, Bigger Allocations: Ark Invest Sees Bitcoin Entering Its Next Chapter
Ark Invest says Bitcoin has entered an institutional maturity phase, driven by spot Bitcoin ETFs and digital‑asset‑treasury strategies that now hold roughly 12% of the total supply. In the 18 months since ETFs were approved, they have attracted more than...
Stablecoins and Self-Custody Are Driving the Rise of Crypto Neobanks
Crypto builders are moving from protocol development to neobank‑style services, leveraging stablecoins to offer on‑chain spending, saving, and borrowing. Projects such as ether.fi and Polygon have accelerated this shift through product launches and acquisitions aimed at stablecoin payments infrastructure. The...
Fintech IPO Wave: What 2026's Public Listings Mean for Investors and Innovation
2026 is set to become a watershed year for fintech as a wave of high‑profile IPOs—led by Stripe, Revolut, Plaid and other AI‑enabled firms—hits public markets. The surge is driven by regulatory reforms that streamline licensing in the UK and...
Bitcoin Rips as ETF Flows Flip Bullish
Bitcoin surged toward $98,000 as spot and futures ETFs recorded a net inflow of $1.71 billion this week, reversing the prior week’s $681 million outflow. The inflows extended to ETH, SOL and XRP ETFs, pushing the Crypto Fear & Greed Index up...
AI Security Platform WitnessAI Raises $58m to Expand Globally
WitnessAI secured $58 million in strategic funding led by Sound Ventures, aiming to accelerate global expansion and broaden its AI security suite. The platform provides enterprises with real‑time visibility and control over large‑language models and autonomous AI agents, addressing governance gaps...
Galaxy Closes First $75M Blockchain-Based Loan Deal on Avalanche
Galaxy Digital closed its first tokenized collateralized loan obligation on Avalanche, financing roughly $75 million and anchored by a $50 million allocation from Grove, an institutional credit protocol. The CLO, named Galaxy CLO 2025‑1, backs Arch Lending’s over‑collateralized Bitcoin and Ether consumer loans...
TNS Connects to Japan Alternative Market
Transaction Network Services (TNS) has added a direct connection to the Japan Alternative Market (JAX), extending its market‑data infrastructure across the Asia‑Pacific region. The new link delivers JAX’s data feeds through TNS’s managed global network, offering clients low‑latency, reliable access....
Banking Circle Opens Branch in the Czech Republic,
Banking Circle announced the launch of a new Czech Republic branch, adding direct Czech koruna (CZK) payment capabilities for global clients. The office will serve small‑to‑medium banks, payment service providers and fintechs, offering local accounts and virtual IBANs. This follows...
Bilt Introduces Credit Cards with Mortgage Rewards
Bilt has launched Bilt Card 2.0, adding three credit cards—Blue, Obsidian and premium Palladium—that let users earn points on mortgage payments for the first time. The cards also introduce Bilt Cash, a new rewards currency that pays 4% on everyday non‑housing spend....
Capital.com Granted CMA Licence in Kenya
Capital.com has secured licence number 244 from Kenya’s Capital Markets Authority, authorising it to operate as a Dealing Online Foreign Exchange Broker. The approval enables the firm to offer regulated online forex and trading services to Kenyan clients, with full onboarding,...
Digital Assets: Figment, Ledger, Lombard Partner to Enable Earning Opportunities for Bitcoin Holders
Figment, Ledger and Lombard have launched a joint solution that lets Bitcoin holders earn yields while keeping their coins in self‑custody. The system swaps deposited BTC for Lombard’s LBTC token, which accrues rewards via the Babylon Bitcoin Staking Protocol. Figment...
Wealthtech NAO Partners ARK Invest Europe
Berlin‑based wealth‑tech platform NAO has teamed with ARK Invest Europe to launch the ARK Private Innovation ELTIF, a regulated Irish ELTIF 2.0 fund that gives retail investors exposure to mid‑to‑late‑stage private tech companies from a €1 minimum. The fund allocates roughly...
Fasset Names Rafiza Ghazali MD, Consumer Banking
Fasset, the global banking and investment platform, has appointed veteran banker Rafiza Ghazali as Managing Director of Consumer Banking, effective 1 February 2026. The hire comes as Fasset moves to launch the world’s first stablecoin‑based Islamic digital bank after receiving provisional approval...
AI’s Energy Bottleneck Fuels Deflation, Pressures the Fed
AI is changing productivity, inflation, and also monetary policy 🤖📉 On @bitsandbips, @CampbellJAustin, @ramahluwalia & @perkinscr97 are joined by @DivesTech to unpack: ⚡ AI’s energy bottleneck 🏦 Pressure on the Fed ₿ Why Bitcoin enters the picture Timestamps: 🚀 00:00 Introduction ⚖️ 6:36 Why the DOJ probing...
The Ultimate Guide to Bitcoin Mining Hosting Companies in 2026
Independent testing of ten Bitcoin mining‑hosting providers using identical Antminer S23 Hyd units revealed a stark performance gap, with the top tier delivering over 105% annual ROI and the lowest falling below 50%. OneMiners.com emerged as the clear leader, posting a...
PayZen Appoints Ken Brause as CFO to Support Next Phase of Growth
PayZen, an AI‑driven patient affordability platform, announced Ken Brause as its new chief financial officer. Brause brings finance leadership experience from fintech firms DailyPay and OnDeck, focusing on strategic finance, capital markets, and scaling fast‑growing businesses. His role will oversee...
Ethereum’s Surprising Usage Drop Suggests the Network Solved the Wrong Problem with Fusaka Upgrade
Ethereum’s Fusaka upgrade, rolled out in December 2025 and January 2026, raised the blob target from six to fourteen and the maximum from nine to twenty‑one, aiming to lower roll‑up costs by expanding data‑availability capacity. A MigaLabs study of 750,000...
10% Cap Threatens Access, Fuels Predatory Lending
The 10% credit card cap has split financial services. Fintechs see opportunity. Banks see disaster. But here's what I see from outside the US: → Displaced borrowers won't all find better alternatives. Many will end up with payday lenders at 400% APR. → American...
Loyalty in Banking Is Now Fragmented: How Chime Is Winning the Era of Soft Switching
Customers are increasingly opening secondary checking accounts and quietly shifting their primary banking relationship to new providers, a behavior dubbed “soft switching.” JD Power data shows that in Q3 2025, 52% of new checking accounts were additional accounts, with 72% of those...
Asia’s Payment Boom Fuels Surge in New Fraud
Visa just exposed 5 new fraud patterns exploding in 2026 — and they're hitting hard in Asia. • Account takeover up 300% via social engineering • AI-generated deepfakes fooling KYC • Mule networks using instant payments (PIX/UPI) • Synthetic identities surging in Asia • Card-not-present...
Banks Deploy AI Agents, Yet Governance Still Lagging
57% of banks expect AI agents in risk/compliance. 56% in credit/KYC. But nearly half are still creating roles to supervise them. Governance chasing deployment. https://t.co/5M2Opq6LQC https://t.co/QLL4lGpUqf
Strategy’s Preferred 'STRC' Drops Below Par After Ex Dividend Date
Strategy’s Variable Rate Series A Perpetual Stretch Preferred (STRC) fell below its $100 par value in pre‑market trading after the latest ex‑dividend date. The preferred offers an 11 % annualized yield on a $100 stated amount, and the dip aligns with typical...
Q4 Wins Global AI Award for Finance Innovation
Q4 @q4tweets wins AI in Finance & Banking category in Global AI Awards Q4, the investor relations (IR) platform offering AI-powered tools for earnings communications, investor targeting, sentiment analysis. Corporate finance functions getting agentic capabilities https://t.co/6a7IvPvaGJ
Societe Generale Works with Swift to Settle Tokenize Bonds Using Cash and Stablecoins
Société Générale’s digital‑asset unit SG‑FORGE partnered with SWIFT to settle tokenized bonds using its MiCA‑compliant EURCV stablecoin, the first native stablecoin integrated with the global messaging network. The trial demonstrated end‑to‑end processes—including issuance, delivery‑versus‑payment, coupon payments and redemption—across both fiat...
B4B Payments Co-Founder Paul Swinton Steps Down From Executive Chair Role
Paul Swinton, co‑founder of B4B Payments, has stepped down from his executive chair role after more than 18 years, transitioning to a non‑executive director position. The fintech, acquired by Banking Circle in 2022, will have its senior leadership absorb his...
Property Owners Get New Way to Verify Insurer Estimates
Two independent adjusters have launched InsuranceClaim123, an AI‑driven platform that lets property owners verify insurer repair estimates for gaps. The service combines permit data, photos, material costs and adjuster expertise to flag missing damage, excessive depreciation or inappropriate repair scopes....
PUPI Presale Launches January 17 via Gempad
PUPI, a character‑driven meme crypto project, will launch its public presale on January 17 via Gempad on Ethereum, pricing each token at $0.02. The sale allocates 50 million PUPI tokens with contribution caps of 0.01‑1 ETH per wallet. After the presale, the token...
Senate Delays Key Crypto Bill Markup
The Senate Banking Committee’s long‑awaited markup of the crypto market‑structure bill was postponed just hours before it was set to begin, leaving the legislation without a new date. Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong withdrew his support, warning that the draft could...
Best Risk Management Strategies for Cryptocurrency Leverage Trading
Cryptocurrency leverage trading offers amplified profit potential but also magnifies losses, especially in volatile markets. Australian platforms such as Immediate Nextgen provide tools like AI‑enhanced analytics, stop‑loss, and take‑profit orders to help traders manage risk. Effective strategies include using conservative...
Using Analytics to Uncover Forced Labor Risks in Supply Chains
Organizations across banking, asset management, retail and manufacturing face mounting pressure to identify and mitigate forced‑labor risks within sprawling supply chains. Regulatory scrutiny and stakeholder expectations are intensifying, exposing gaps caused by opaque ownership structures and inconsistent global standards. Moody’s...
Sygnum Sees Tokenization and State Bitcoin Reserves Taking Off in 2026
Sygnum predicts that US regulatory breakthroughs such as the CLARITY Act and a prospective Bitcoin Act will unlock sovereign Bitcoin reserves, with at least three G20 economies likely to add Bitcoin to their treasuries by 2026. The firm estimates that...
M&A in 2026 May Put More Distance Between Big, Small Banks
Bank‑M&A activity is set to surge in 2026 as regulators slash approval timelines and raise asset‑size thresholds. After 181 deals in 2025, analysts expect the number of announced transactions to double, creating a barbell market where mid‑tier banks grow larger...
Aon Expands Data Center Insurance Program to $2.5bn
Aon announced a $1 billion expansion of its Data Center Lifecycle Insurance Program, raising total capacity to $2.5 billion. The program, launched in 2025, bundles construction, cyber, cargo and operational risks into a single multi‑line solution for data‑center projects from build‑out to...
Root Partners with Kikoff to Simplify Auto Insurance
Root Insurance has teamed up with personal‑finance app Kikoff to embed its auto‑insurance quoting and purchase flow directly within the Kikoff platform. The integration delivers instant, personalized quotes without requiring users to exit the app, leveraging Root’s data‑driven pricing models....
Construction Payroll Services for Contractors
Construction payroll services provide industry‑specific solutions that automate job‑based pay, multi‑state tax compliance, and certified‑payroll reporting. They enable small contractors to outsource payroll without hiring in‑house staff and give larger firms scalable tools for tracking labor costs by project. By...
LHV Bank Tops £1bn in Deposits
LHV Bank announced it has surpassed £1 billion in customer deposits less than a year after launching its retail operations in the UK. The surge stems from a transparent product lineup that includes a current account paying 3.75% AER and an...
Worldline Empowers Agentic Commerce with New AI Capabilities
Worldline announced two new capabilities—Model Context Protocol (MCP) servers and the ConnectAI developer hub—to make its Global Collect payment platform agent‑ready. The MCP acts as a secure bridge that lets large language models initiate payments, refunds, and status checks via...
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Why Financial Control Is Becoming a Technology Problem [Sponsored]
Financial control has migrated from spreadsheets to software architecture as companies digitise operations. Fragmented spend across cloud, SaaS, ads and contractors creates integration‑driven visibility risks, turning finance into a technology discipline. Finance leaders now must understand system permissions and data...