Mobile Banking Malware Surge and Supply Chain Vulnerabilities Examined in New Report
Cybersecurity firm Kaspersky reported a 56 percent jump in Android banking trojan detections in 2025, accompanied by a 271 percent surge in unique malicious APKs, now exceeding 255,000. The report also found that supply‑chain attacks affected 31 percent of surveyed organizations, rising to 36 percent among large enterprises, making them the top‑rated threat. Attackers are leveraging messaging apps, compromised websites, and pre‑installed firmware backdoors such as Triada to infiltrate devices. Kaspersky recommends strict app sourcing, regular updates, zero‑trust architectures, and rigorous vendor vetting to curb both mobile and enterprise risks.
Elite Option Experts / eliteoptionexperts.com – Financial Conduct Authority | FCA
The UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has issued a public warning about Elite Option Experts, operating at eliteoptionexperts.com, for offering unauthorised investment services. The regulator flagged the site as non‑compliant, highlighting that it is not authorised to provide financial advice...
Coinbase CEO Highlights UK Regulatory Risks as US Stablecoin Framework Advances and Global Adoption Surges
Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong warned that proposed UK stablecoin caps could erode the country’s fintech edge, while the United States has moved ahead with the GENIUS Act, establishing the first federal framework for payment stablecoins. The legislation mandates 100% reserve...
Pakistan Passes Virtual Assets Act, Creates Regulator for Digital Asset Sector
Pakistan's parliament approved the Virtual Assets Act 2026, creating the Pakistan Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (PVARA) to license and supervise cryptocurrency service providers. The authority, initially formed by a 2025 presidential ordinance, now has permanent legal standing. PVARA will enforce...
Fixed Income Electronic Trading Platform Trumid Achieves New Average Daily Volume Milestone in February
Trumid’s electronic fixed‑income marketplace posted a record $10.2 billion average daily volume in February, a 37% year‑over‑year increase and the first time it breached the $10 billion mark. Market share rose 13% YoY, while its RFQ tool surged 148% to a $1.6 billion...
Nordic Private Capital Markets Demonstrate Resilience, Report Reveals
PitchBook’s 2026 Nordic Private Capital Breakdown shows the region’s private capital market outperformed Europe in 2025, with venture capital investment rising 15.6% to €6.5 billion despite a 20% drop in deal count. Median deal size reached a record €2 million and AI‑focused...
Binance Aims to Enhance Operational Resilience in Crypto Trading with ISO 22301 Certification
Binance has secured ISO 22301 certification for its Business Continuity Management System, confirming robust plans to keep trading, wallet and support services running during disruptions. The standard requires third‑party audited, tested processes, marking a step beyond generic risk policies. This achievement...
Hong Kong Regulators Widen GenA.I. Sandbox Across Financial Services
Hong Kong’s financial regulators have broadened the GenA.I. Sandbox into a cross‑sector programme called GenA.I. Sandbox++, covering securities, asset management, insurance, pensions and stored‑value facilities. Launched on March 5 by the HKMA, SFC, Insurance Authority and MPFA in partnership with Cyberport,...
Spreedly Activates Agentic Commerce Channel
Spreedly announced the launch of an agentic commerce channel that lets AI‑driven agents initiate transactions through merchants’ existing payment service provider relationships while the merchant remains the record of sale. The new channel runs on Spreedly’s open payments platform, preserving...
Cyclops Nabs $8M For Stablecoin, Crypto Payments Platform
Cyclops announced an $8 million strategic investment from Castle Island Ventures, F‑Prime and Shift4 Payments to launch a payments‑industry‑focused stablecoin and crypto platform. The founders—Pat Duffy, Alex Wilson and David Johnson—bring experience from The Giving Block and Shift4’s crypto initiatives. The...
Fideo Intelligence Expands Dark Web Monitoring
Fideo Intelligence has broadened its dark‑web monitoring to deliver early‑stage fraud signals for banks, fintechs, PSPs and merchants. The upgraded service surfaces synthetic identity creation, account takeovers and credential‑replay attacks before they reach a transaction. Integrated into its Verify and...
T54’s Building The Trust Layer For Agentic Commerce
Chandler Fang founded t54 to create a trust layer for the emerging agentic commerce market, leveraging his JPMorgan and Ripple experience. The startup aims to give AI agents verifiable identities, credit‑like scores, and real‑time risk assessment, enabling them to book...
Insurtech CyberCube Warns of Surging Iranian Cyber Risks to Businesses
CyberCube warned that Iranian-linked hacker groups pose a rising cyber risk to U.S. firms, especially in critical sectors, after recent U.S.-Israel military actions. Its AI-driven assessment found 12% of U.S. companies with over $1 billion in revenue at elevated risk, flagging...
Revolut Business Introduces Titan in the UK, Offering 10GB Global Data, Other Incentives
Revolut Business has launched Titan, a premium Visa‑linked corporate card for UK companies, bundling 10 GB of global mobile data, unlimited airport lounge access, and a 1:1 RevPoints rewards scheme. The card integrates real‑time expense tracking, receipt matching, and instant reconciliation...
Digital Bank N26 Bolsters European Expansion Efforts with Madrid Operations Hub
N26 announced a new Centre of Excellence in Madrid, its second dedicated operations hub, to support its expanding Spanish workforce and coordinate banking, customer service, and process functions across Europe. The 2,000‑square‑metre facility complements the existing Barcelona tech centre and...
BNPL Fintech Affirm Shares Insights on Managing Rental Payments
Affirm warns that many renters face predatory BNPL schemes that can charge over 180% APR, turning a simple rent split into costly debt. The fintech highlights its own consumer‑friendly approach, offering a zero‑interest Pay in 4 plan that breaks rent...
EuroCrowd: Germany’s Investment Crowdfunding Market Remains Partially Realized at Best, Undermines Goal of ECSPR
EuroCrowd warns that Germany’s investment crowdfunding market is only partially aligned with the European Crowdfunding Service Provider Regulation (ECSPR). The country continues to rely on the Vermögensanlagengesetz (VermAnlG) and subordinated‑loan structures, creating a parallel regulatory channel that sidesteps ECSPR. As...
EU: End of Temporary Transition Period for Crypto-Asset Service Providers (CASPs) and Electronic Money Tokens (EMTs)
The European Banking Authority’s temporary relief from full PSD2 compliance for Crypto‑Asset Service Providers (CASPs) ended on March 2, 2026, forcing firms to secure payment‑institution authorisation or cease payment services. Providers already approved under PSD2 can continue, while those with pending applications...
BitGo Offers Crypto as a Service in Europe
BitGo Europe GmbH will launch Crypto as a Service (CaaS) across the European Economic Area after securing a MiCA licence from Germany’s BaFin. The company, founded in 2013, already serves over 2,000 institutional clients in 90 countries and went public...
Polymarket Achieves New Trading Volume Milestones Amid Geopolitical Tensions
Polymarket, a decentralized prediction market, has pushed its Iran‑related contract past $529 million in trading volume. The surge places the bet alongside U.S. election markets in activity and highlights the platform’s crypto‑native liquidity. Rival Kalshi, operating under CFTC oversight, is expanding...
AI Agents Are Increasingly Being Leveraged by Crypto Crime Networks, Report Reveals
TRM Labs reports that autonomous AI agents are now handling cryptocurrency fund transfers without human oversight, dramatically accelerating money‑laundering operations. Illegal crypto flows reached $158 billion in 2025, while AI‑powered scams grew roughly 500 % year‑over‑year. These agents can split funds, select...
Circle Launches USDCx on Cardano via xReserve Integration
Circle has integrated its xReserve platform with Cardano, launching USDCx—a dollar‑pegged stablecoin fully backed by USDC—directly on the Cardano network. The token uses Circle’s Gateway and Cross‑Chain Transfer Protocol to move USDC across chains without third‑party bridges, allowing deposits from...
Asia-Pacific Fintech Funding Hits Decade-Low in 2025 as Investors Stay Cautious: KPMG
Fintech investment in Asia‑Pacific fell to a decade low in 2025, totaling $9.3 billion across 763 transactions, down from $11.7 billion in 2024. Venture capital supplied $7.5 billion of that amount, while mergers and acquisitions contributed $1.7 billion and private equity under $0.1 billion. Funding...
Judge Rules Against Binance in Arbitration Bid for Crypto Token Lawsuits
U.S. District Judge Andrew Carter denied Binance’s bid to compel arbitration for class‑action lawsuits alleging unregistered token sales. The ruling holds that Binance failed to adequately notify users of the 2019 arbitration clause and that the class‑action waiver is ambiguous,...
Venture Fundraising Rises in 2025 As AI Pulls Capital Into Fewer, Bigger Rounds: Carta
Venture fundraising on Carta surged to $119.5 billion in 2025, a 16.9% increase from the previous year, marking the strongest recovery since the 2022 market reset. While total deal count dropped 41% to a six‑year low of 4,859 rounds, capital concentrated...
Amex Ventures Joins $60M Zafran Series C
American Express’s venture arm, Amex Ventures, joined Zafran Security’s $60 million Series C round, alongside Menlo Ventures, Sequoia Capital and Cyberstarts. Zafran offers an AI‑native threat exposure management platform that acts as a “defensive coordinator,” integrating and aligning existing security tools across...
Dune Analytics Introduces Stablecoin Datasets
Dune Analytics has launched a stablecoin dataset designed for enterprise and institutional users, consolidating transfer records, pricing, and token metadata across EVM‑compatible chains, Solana and soon Tron. The offering includes both free and premium tables that normalize balances, label addresses...
Stablecoin Yields in Spotlight as US Senators Raise Deposit Flight Alarm
U.S. Senate Banking Committee leaders raised alarms that stablecoin yields could trigger a deposit flight from traditional banks. Lawmakers worry the high‑interest returns on payment‑stablecoins mimic savings accounts but lack regulatory safeguards. The hearing highlighted the tension between stablecoins’ rapid,...
Fideo Intelligence Launches Verify For Payments
Fideo Intelligence unveiled Verify for Payments, a real‑time identity intelligence API aimed at payment service providers, fintechs, and banks. The solution targets synthetic identity fraud, promising 47% higher detection rates than traditional KYC checks while delivering sub‑second responses. By tapping...
Thredd Supports MuchBetter Israeli Expansion
Thredd, an AI‑first issuer processing platform, announced an expanded partnership with MuchBetter to launch its prepaid card and digital‑wallet program in Israel. The collaboration builds on Thredd’s earlier deployments in the United Kingdom and Canada, providing end‑to‑end processing, security and...
SBI Holdings Teams Up with Startale to Introduce Regulated Yen-Pegged Stablecoin
SBI Holdings has signed an MOU with blockchain firm Startale Group to create Japan’s first fully regulated yen‑pegged stablecoin. The token will be issued as a Type 3 Electronic Payment Instrument, backed by assets held in Shinsei Trust & Banking, and...
Indiana Aims to Advance Crypto Access in Public Retirement Plans Amid Key Federal Regulatory Developments
Indiana’s House Bill 1042, approved by both chambers, requires state‑managed retirement and savings plans to offer self‑directed brokerage accounts with at least one cryptocurrency option, and protects citizens’ ability to use crypto for payments and wallet custody. The measure awaits...
Moderate Credit Growth Expected in 2026 as Lending Normalizes : Analysis
TransUnion projects moderate credit growth for 2026, with mortgage originations rising 4.0% and unsecured personal loans expanding 11.2%. Credit‑card originations are slated for a modest 2.0% increase, while auto‑loan originations may dip 1.5%. The outlook emphasizes disciplined underwriting supported by...
Emerging Opportunities in Venture Capital Ecosystem Analyzed in New Report
PitchBook’s new VC Emerging Opportunities report analyzes over 25,000 early‑stage firms across 12 technology verticals, combining machine‑learning exit predictions with macro indicators. Deal value rose 17.5% year‑over‑year while median pre‑money valuations jumped 28.8%, though first‑time financings fell 19%. SaaS leads...
CCLEAR Launches Reg CF Filing Dashboard Providing Transparency on Issuer Compliance
CCLEAR, a unit of Crowdfund Capital Advisors, unveiled a Reg CF compliance dashboard that aggregates filing data for nearly 9,000 crowdfunding issuers. The tool reveals that 31.4% of issuers are non‑compliant and only 4.1% are fully up‑to‑date with mandatory annual...
Tether Continues Its Diversification Strategy with Investment in Whop
Tether has invested in Whop, a US‑based digital marketplace, though the amount remains undisclosed. Whop will embed Tether’s Wallet Development Kit, enabling self‑custodial USD₮ and USA₮ payments directly on its platform, eliminating reliance on traditional payment rails. The move aligns...
Malaysia Allows Brokers to Offer Digital Asset Trading Under Securities Rules
Malaysia’s Securities Commission issued a practice note allowing licensed stockbrokers with Capital Markets Services licences to provide broking services for approved digital assets under existing securities rules. Brokers must obtain regulator concurrence, use locally registered exchanges or vetted foreign platforms,...
Securities and Exchange Commission Schedules Roundtable to Discuss “Retailization” Of Private Securities
The SEC will host a Private Markets Roundtable on March 4, 2026 to discuss the retailization of private securities. Currently, non‑accredited investors are limited to Reg A and Reg CF, while most private offerings remain inaccessible. Pending legislation could relax accredited‑investor thresholds, adding a...
Fintech Focused Banking as a Service Is Reshaping Bank Stability and Consumer Expectations : Analysis
Cornell Law professor Dan Awrey released a working paper titled "Banking, Technology, and Instability" analyzing fintech‑driven Banking‑as‑a‑Service (BaaS). The paper argues BaaS flips traditional outsourcing, with fintechs delegating core banking functions to partner banks, creating regulatory arbitrage. This shift destabilizes...
Bitcoin Whales Intensify Exchange Deposits During Extended Market Downturn : Analysis
On‑chain data shows Bitcoin whales are funneling record‑size deposits into centralized exchanges as the market endures a prolonged bear phase in early 2026. The exchange whale ratio climbed to 0.64, the highest since 2015, while average deposit size reached 1.58 BTC,...
Regtech HYPR Introduces Context-Based Attestation, Enhancing Identity Verification Beyond Traditional Checks
HYPR has launched a context‑based attestation framework to strengthen identity verification across hiring, onboarding, and account recovery. The method layers traditional document, location, and biometric checks with internal role data, workflow cues, calendar events, and peer validations. By continuously cross‑referencing...
North Korea’s Crypto Theft Machine Shows No Signs of Slowing After ByBit Hack : Analysis
Elliptic reports North Korea stole a record $2 billion in cryptocurrency in 2025, pushing its total illicit haul past $6 billion and financing the regime’s weapons programs. The ByBit breach, which yielded $1.46 billion, saw more than $1 billion laundered within six months via...
Adyen Shares Drop Up to 20% Following Cautious Outlook for Future Growth
Adyen posted H2 2025 net revenue of €1.27 billion, a 17% year‑over‑year rise, and total processed volume of €745 billion, up 19% excluding a major client. EBITDA grew 23% to €702 million, delivering a 55% margin, while full‑year 2025 revenue reached €2.36 billion. The company’s...
Yotta’s Fraud Suit Against Evolve Bank Dismissed by San Francisco Judge, Provisionally
A San Francisco federal judge dismissed Yotta Technology’s fraud lawsuit against Evolve Bank & Trust, citing procedural deficiencies and the indispensable‑party rule. The ruling hinges on the bankruptcy of Synapse Financial Technologies, the middleware that linked Yotta’s prize‑linked savings app to Evolve’s...
Betterment Strengthens Client Offerings with Mortgage Partnership and Advisor Model Marketplace Expansion
Betterment announced a nationwide partnership with mortgage fintech Rate, giving eligible clients with at least $100,000 in assets a discount of up to 0.75% on 30‑year fixed mortgages and a $500 closing‑cost credit through December 2026. The platform also launched an...
Figure Technology Faces Major Data Breach Impacting Nearly One Million Customers
Figure Technology Solutions, the largest non‑bank home‑equity lender, disclosed a data breach affecting roughly 967,000 customer accounts. The breach resulted from a social‑engineering (vishing) attack on a single employee, allowing the ShinyHunters group to exfiltrate personal identifiers such as names,...
Monark Markets Secures $8.1M Financing
Monark Markets announced $8.1 million strategic financing led by F‑Prime, with participation from The Treasury, Commerce Ventures, Grit Capital Partners and BBAE Holdings. The fintech’s API‑first platform already powers fintechs such as Apex Fintech Solutions, Altruist Financial and BBAE, giving access...
Midnight Foundation Adds Blockdaemon, Shielded Technologies As Node Operators
Midnight Foundation announced that Blockdaemon and Shielded Technologies have joined Google Cloud and AlphaTON Capital as federated node operators for its fourth‑generation privacy‑enhancing blockchain. The network now counts four strategic partners and aims to secure ten before its mainnet launch...
Web3 Thoughts of the Week: Stablecoins, Bitcoin, Tokenization and AI
Tokenized real‑world assets (RWAs) posted a 36 % on‑chain market‑cap rise this year, outpacing a $1 trillion crypto market decline. Investors are shifting from speculative altcoins to yield‑bearing tokenized Treasury bills, bonds, and money‑market funds, highlighting a liquidity‑driven rotation. Meanwhile, AI is...
European Central Bank Analysis Highlights Stabilizing Euro Area Property Investment Amid Mixed Drivers
The European Central Bank’s latest focus piece finds euro‑area property investment has likely bottomed out in late 2024, with a brief, modest rebound in early 2025 that quickly faded. After a sharp decline that began in 2022, housing investment remains about 7 %...