Polygon Labs to Acquire Coinme, Sequence
Polygon Labs announced a $250 million acquisition of Coinme and Sequence. The Coinme deal will close in Q2 2026, while Sequence is expected to finalize this month, pending regulatory approvals. Coinme brings regulated stablecoin and crypto‑payment licenses across 48 U.S. states, and Sequence adds cross‑chain wallet infrastructure. Together, the combined platforms have processed over $1 billion in off‑chain sales and more than $2 trillion in on‑chain value transfers.
Netcapital Announces First Tokenized Offering as Markets Shift to Digital Securities
Netcapital, a FINRA‑regulated funding portal, announced its first tokenized offering, partnering with PureWave Hydrogen Corp. to issue a securities‑based token representing hydrogen‑drilling assets on the Mid‑Continent Kansas shelf. The revenue‑generating security is touted as the first of its kind, highlighting...
British Business Bank Boosts Midlands SMEs with New ART Business Loans Partnership
The British Business Bank has added Midlands‑based ART Business Loans as the fourth accredited delivery partner for its Community ENABLE Funding programme. The partnership unlocks up to £7 million for West Midlands SMEs, contributing to a £150 million lending target over the...
HashKey Capital Announces Initial Closing of $250M Fund IV to Enable Blockchain Adoption
HashKey Capital announced the initial closing of its fourth vehicle, the HashKey Fintech Multi‑Strategy Fund IV, with $250 million in commitments and a $500 million target. The fund builds on Fund I’s more than 10× DPI, signaling strong investor appetite for blockchain exposure. It...
BNP Paribas Launches Unified Asset Management Platform for European Markets
BNP Paribas has launched a unified asset‑management platform that merges AXA Investment Managers, BNP Paribas Real Estate Investment Management and BNP Paribas Asset Management. The combined entity now oversees more than €1.6 trillion in assets, including a €1 trillion liquid‑assets franchise and a €300 billion alternatives...
Digital Bank OakNorth Extends £4 Million Revolving Credit Line to Verso Wealth Management
OakNorth has granted Verso Wealth Management a £4 million revolving credit facility to fund its aggressive acquisition strategy of independent financial adviser firms across the UK. The digital‑first lender, which has deployed $18 billion in financing, offers flexible, covenant‑light capital that preserves...
Coinbase Might Pull Its Backing From Key Market Structure Bill Impacting Stablecoin Transactions
Coinbase warned it may pull its backing from a pending market‑structure bill if the legislation curtails rewards for stablecoin users, a key component of its revenue model. The bill, slated for introduction Monday, could restrict such incentives to licensed financial...
Real Estate Focused Zillow Pushes Into Transactions Amid US Property Market Slowdown
Zillow is pivoting from lead‑generation fees to a performance‑based "success fee" model, taking up to 40% of agents' commissions on deals closed through its platform. CEO Jeremy Wacksman frames the shift as a move toward a more lucrative, integrated transaction...
DriveWealth’s Harry Temkin’s Excited About Fintech in 2026 – Here’s Why
DriveWealth chief digital officer Harry Temkin says 2026 will be a breakout year for embedded finance, driven by the firm’s API‑based brokerage‑as‑a‑service and fractional‑share technology. The platform lets investors buy as little as one cent of a stock, offers price‑improvement...
Enhanced Real Estate Services Introduced by ADGM’s Registration Authority to Support Regional Investors
Abu Dhabi Global Market’s Registration Authority has rolled out an integrated suite of smart real‑estate services, building on its 2025 digital platform. The enhancements introduce regulated off‑plan agreement terminations, reservation‑agreement registration, rapid SMART Valuation certificates, and upgraded leasing and broker...
Nuvei, FreedomPay Create Unified Payments System
Nuvei and FreedomPay have announced a partnership that combines FreedomPay’s Next Level Commerce platform with Nuvei’s scalable payments infrastructure to deliver a single, unified payments solution for enterprise merchants. The joint offering enables brands to launch new in‑store and digital...
VC Firm Index Ventures Finalizes Mega-Exits, Plans Ahead for 2026
Index Ventures capped a landmark year with two blockbuster exits: a $2.2 billion windfall from Figma’s 2025 IPO and a pending multi‑billion‑dollar payout from Google’s acquisition of Wiz. These outcomes underscore the firm’s knack for early‑stage bets in high‑growth software and...
Consumer Fintech Chime Leverages AI to Enhance Financial Services
Chime announced a sweeping AI integration across its ChimeCore platform, now powering roughly 70% of member interactions through chat and voice tools. The AI rollout has more than doubled satisfaction scores since 2022 and cut service‑related costs by 60% by...
Financial Infrastructure Fintech Plaid Highlights Data Access, Risk Management Advancements in 2025
Plaid’s 2025 year‑in‑review highlighted the launch of over 220 new products and features aimed at fraud mitigation and credit services. The fintech expanded its network to more than 200 financial institutions, adding both emerging platforms like Ramp and established banks...
AI Enabled Tools Are Transforming Wealth and Asset Management Industry : Research
Artificial intelligence has become a strategic driver for wealth and asset managers overseeing $74.2 trillion in assets. A FNZ‑ThoughtLab survey of 500 institutions across 16 markets shows 73 % of executives deem AI essential and 88 % report positive outcomes, with many recouping...
Open Banking : UK Finance Unveils Proposal for Wave 2 Commercial Variable Recurring Payments
UK Finance, backed by Deloitte, has published a commercial model for Wave 2 of commercial variable recurring payments (cVRP), extending Open Banking into high‑volume e‑commerce scenarios. The proposal outlines fee structures, purchase‑protection mechanisms and projected outcomes to lower merchant costs while...
Dublin Regtech Fenergo Assists SMBC America with Digital Onboarding
Fenergo has secured two high‑profile partnerships, deploying its client lifecycle management platform for SMBC Americas and development bank FMO. SMBC will use the solution to automate KYC, reuse verified data across entities, and speed up onboarding as part of a...
Malaysia’s Anti-Graft Chief Warns of Crowdfunding Abuse as NGOs Face Probe
Malaysia’s anti‑corruption chief, Azam Baki, warned that the absence of dedicated crowdfunding legislation has enabled abuse of public donations, prompting investigations into three prominent NGOs. He cited cases where money raised for mosque construction was redirected to family members, highlighting...
YouHodler CEO Ilya Volkov’s 2026 Crypto Predictions for Stablecoins, AI, Lightning, Bitcoin and More
YouHodler CEO Ilya Volkov predicts that by 2026 Bitcoin will shift from a speculative token to a macro‑hedge akin to gold, with sovereign funds and pension managers taking modest positions. The Lightning Network is expected to double cross‑border remittance volumes,...
Insurtech Cowbell to Focus on Business Growth, Global Expansion with Key Appointment
Cowbell, an adaptive cyber and specialty insurer, announced its “Next Cycle” initiative aimed at sustained growth, operational profitability, and aggressive global expansion. The plan follows its recent entry into Australia and includes five strategic drivers such as international cyber expansion...
WisdomTree Halts XRP ETF Launch Plans in the US
WisdomTree announced it is withdrawing its U.S. XRP exchange‑traded fund application, ending plans to launch the product domestically. The firm continues to offer a Physical XRP fund in Europe, listed on Deutsche Börse Xetra, the Swiss Exchange and Euronext. The...
Dead Coins : Over 50% of Cryptocurrencies Have Failed, Report Reveals
CoinGecko’s latest report shows that 53.2% of all cryptocurrencies tracked on GeckoTerminal have become “dead coins” as of Dec 31 2025, equating to 11.6 million failed projects. The surge accelerated in 2024‑2025, with 86.3% of total failures occurring in 2025 alone, driven by...
Fintech Infrastructure Platform Alpaca Expanded APIs, Clearing Capabilities in Past Year
Alpaca, the fintech infrastructure provider, reported a year of aggressive product and geographic expansion, adding advanced API features such as Level 3 multi‑leg options, high‑yield cash accounts, and a real‑time tokenization network. The company secured $52 million in Series C funding, obtained regulatory...
Fintech-Focused SPAC Lafayette Digital Prices $250m IPO in Nasdaq Debut
Lafayette Digital Acquisition Corp. I priced a $250 million IPO, selling 25 million units at $10 each on Nasdaq under the ticker ZKPU. Each unit contains one Class A share and a quarter of a redeemable warrant, with full warrants exercisable at $11.50...
DeFi Adoption: Chainlink Continues to Support Onchain Finance Heading Into 2026
Chainlink cemented its role as a backbone for on‑chain finance in 2025, expanding from government data feeds to major banking and tokenization projects. The U.S. Department of Commerce used Chainlink Data Feeds to publish macroeconomic statistics, while Mastercard, UBS and...
Anchorage Digital Marks 5 Years of Federal Regulation in Crypto Banking
Anchorage Digital celebrated five years since the OCC granted it the first federal bank charter to a crypto firm, proving that digital‑asset services can operate under strict U.S. banking supervision. The company built a crypto‑native compliance stack, attracted billions in...
KPMG Ireland Shares Updates on Credit Markets, Mission-Critical Infrastructure
KPMG Ireland’s latest reports highlight tightening credit markets, rising default rates and heightened borrower distress, especially for SMEs. They also flag power constraints as a decisive factor for data‑centre expansion, with grid‑access delays pushing firms toward hybrid energy solutions and...
Binance and Coinbase Continue to Serve Pivotal Role in Global Crypto Adoption : Analysis
In 2025, Coinbase and Binance cemented their status as the world’s leading crypto exchanges, each pursuing distinct strategies that accelerated digital‑asset adoption. Coinbase focused on U.S. regulatory compliance, launching perpetual futures, acquiring Deribit and expanding spot markets to over 350...
Digital Assets Platform Kraken Selected as Custody Partner for Ethena’s USDe
Kraken Custody has been chosen as the official custodian for Ethena’s USDe synthetic dollar, providing institutional‑grade protection for the stablecoin’s backing assets. The partnership includes monthly attestations and weekly proof‑of‑reserves reports, reinforcing transparency and risk management. Simultaneously, Kraken announced a...
Hong Kong’s Financial Sector Is Undergoing Digital Transformation, Enabled by Web3 Technologies : Analysis
Hong Kong’s financial sector is in the midst of a digital overhaul, using regulatory flexibility and tech advances to cement its role as a global finance hub. Stock Connect now accounts for roughly 25% of daily trading volume, while the...
Crypto Trading : Lighter Now Part of Perpetual Futures DEX Market with Retail-Focused Model
BitMEX reports that the perpetual futures DEX market is booming in 2026, with Lighter ($LIT) emerging as a retail‑focused contender backed by Robinhood. The Ethereum Layer 2 platform launched its mainnet in October 2025, offering zero‑fee trading for retail users while charging...
Pakistan’s Crypto and Fintech Sector Expands, Poised for Steady Growth in 2026
Pakistan is accelerating its digital finance agenda in 2026, leveraging the Digital Pakistan Vision to attract foreign capital and expand blockchain, Web3, and virtual‑asset initiatives. Government outreach to Middle‑East fintech leaders highlighted the Raast instant payment system and new digital...
Fintech Platforms to Help US Consumers Accept Settlement Payments From Tech Firms, Payouts From Govt Agencies in 2026
Fintech platforms are set to streamline a wave of 2026 payouts, from government benefits like Social Security’s 2.8% COLA increase to large corporate settlements such as Amazon’s $2.5 billion FTC agreement and Google’s $700 million Play Store case. The IRS will finish...
Fintech Firm Togetherwork Shifts Headquarters to Austin, Set to Generate 250 Jobs
Fintech firm Togetherwork announced it will relocate its corporate headquarters from Atlanta to Austin’s South Congress Avenue, occupying a 20,000‑square‑foot office. The move is expected to generate roughly 250 new jobs over the next 18‑24 months, expanding its U.S. footprint...
UK FCA to Receive Funds From Fraudulent Peer to Peer Lender
The UK Financial Conduct Authority seized £265,523.96 from Andrew Currie, the operator of the collapsed peer‑to‑peer lender Collateral Ltd. Currie, convicted of fraud in 2023, misused roughly £17.9 million of investor money, leaving about £11 million unrecoverable. The confiscation order serves as...
Report Claims Two UK Crypto Exchanges Used to Support Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC)
A TRM Labs report alleges that two UK‑based crypto exchanges, Zedcex and Zedxion, processed roughly $1 billion in transactions, most of which were USDT transfers on the TRON blockchain linked to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). The analysis shows IRGC‑related...
Andreessen Horowitz Raises $15 Billion to Invest in American Dynamism, More
Andreessen Horowitz announced a $15 billion capital raise to back a suite of venture strategies, including a dedicated $1.176 billion American Dynamism fund. The allocation spans growth ($6.75 billion), apps and infrastructure ($1.7 billion each), bio‑health ($700 million), and other initiatives ($3 billion). Ben Horowitz emphasized...
Active Betting on Iran Regime Change on Polymarket
Polymarket users are actively betting on the removal of Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Khamenei, with odds ranging from 18% for a change by January 31, 2026 to 45% for a shift by June 30, 2026. A separate market predicts a joint US‑Israel military action...
UK’s Starling Bank Unveils Tools to Boost Financial Wellbeing in 2026
Starling Bank launched the Last Digit widget, a gamified feature that nudges users to check their balances daily and automatically transfer the balance’s last digit into a savings space. The bank’s research shows daily checkers hold £18,243 on average, 6%...
UK Financial Services Sector Poised for Increased Defense Investment, Report Claims
A KPMG survey of over 150 senior UK financial‑services executives finds 65% anticipate increased investment in national defense by 2026, with 27% expecting a substantial rise. Security spending now tops the priority list, as 38% cite it as the most...
US Private Payroll Growth Report : 41,000 Jobs Added in Dec 2025
US private‑sector employers added 41,000 jobs in December 2025, according to the ADP National Employment Report, falling short of the 48,000 forecast. Growth was concentrated in service‑oriented industries, with education and health services adding 39,000 positions and leisure and hospitality...
California Law Allows State to Claim Crypto From Inactive Accounts
California Governor Newsom signed SB 822, an amendment to the state’s Unclaimed Property Law, that explicitly includes cryptocurrency among assets the state can claim after three years of inactivity. The law requires the state to attempt to locate rightful owners, but...
Petition Filed with Securities and Exchange Commission to Raise Reg CF Funding Cap to $20 Million
A petition filed by Crowdfund Capital Advisors requests the SEC raise the Regulation Crowdfunding (Reg CF) funding cap from $5 million to $20 million. The filing argues the existing limit fragments capital raises and hampers mature, post‑revenue companies seeking Series A financing. CCA cites...
Alphabet (Google) Surpasses Apple in Market Cap as AI Momentum Reshapes Fintech and Web3 Ecosystems
Alphabet’s market value hit $3.88 trillion, edging past Apple’s $3.84 trillion for the first time since 2020. The surge is tied to strong investor confidence in its Gemini AI suite and broader AI strategy. Apple, meanwhile, wrestles with a talent exodus from...
UK Fintech Sector Remains Resilient, Secures $3.6B in Funding in Past Year : Research
The United Kingdom’s fintech ecosystem raised $3.6 billion in 2025, outpacing the next five European nations and edging past India to claim the second‑largest global share behind the United States. Funding accelerated in the second half of the year, climbing 11 %...
Binance Founder CZ Backed YZi Labs Accuses CEA Industries of Shareholder-Hostile Tactics
Binance founder Changpeng Zhao‑backed YZi Labs has accused CEA Industries of deploying a poison‑pill shareholder‑rights plan to block investor influence. YZi, a major stakeholder, lodged regulatory filings to expand the board, reverse recent bylaw changes, and rally an investor coalition....
JP Morgan to Take Over Apple Card From Goldman Sachs
Goldman Sachs is exiting its partnership with Apple Card, taking a roughly $1 billion haircut on outstanding balances. JPMorgan Chase has agreed to assume the Apple Card portfolio, becoming the primary issuer. The card’s delinquency rate sits at 4%, slightly above...
Netcapital Acquires Iverson Design, an AI Supported Design Tool as Part of Transition to Tokenization, Digital Assets
Netcapital announced the acquisition of Iverson Design’s AI‑powered design and visualization assets, paying with 80,000 shares of its common stock. Founder Michael Iverson joins the firm as Chief Design Director and Head of AI Experience. The move is intended to...
Banks Are Banks, Non Banks Are Non Banks, Clarifies the American Fintech Council
The American Fintech Council (AFC) sent a joint letter to the FDIC, CFPB, FTC, OCC and the Federal Reserve asserting that banks and non‑banks must be regulated distinctly. The council emphasized that “banks are banks, and non‑banks are non‑banks” to...
Global Fintech Airwallex Commits €200 Million to Netherlands Expansion Plans
Australian fintech Airwallex announced a €200 million, five‑year investment in the Netherlands, earmarked for expanding its Amsterdam hub and scaling its European operations. The plan includes a 60% increase in local staff, reaching roughly 70 employees by the end of 2026,...
