11 Finovate Alums Raised More than $1.4 Billion in Q4; More Than $3.3 Billion in 2025

11 Finovate Alums Raised More than $1.4 Billion in Q4; More Than $3.3 Billion in 2025
By David Penn Posted on
Categories: abacus, Avalara, Basis Theory, Feedzai, Funding, Kaaj AI, Kobalt Labs, MoEngage, Offset Labs, Qolo, Quarterly Funding, Ripple

Finovate alums raised more than $1.4 billion in the final three months of 2025. The funding total in the fourth quarter of the year is the best Q4 for alum funding in more than a decade. The historic Q4 also takes the annual total capital raised by Finovate alums to levels not seen since 2021.

As we learn more about the overall level of fintech funding in the fourth quarter and for the full year, it will be interesting to see if this impressive performance by Finovate alums reflects broader investment trends in the industry.

Previous Annual Comparisons

  • 2024: $553 million
  • 2023: $1.2 billion
  • 2022: $2.7 billion
  • 2021: $8.4 billion

A total of 46 Finovate alums reported funding in 2025, totaling more than $3.3 billion. This figure represents the largest fundraising year for Finovate alums since the blow-out year of 2021 in which more than $8 billion was raised.

Previous Quarterly Comparisons

  • Q4 2024: More than $132 million raised by seven alums
  • Q4 2023: More than $307 million raised by 11 alums
  • Q4 2022: More than $380 million raised by 15 alums
  • Q4 2021: More than $1.2 billion raised by seven alums

The pattern of billion+plus Q4s arriving every other year continued in 2025. 11 Finovate alums reported raising more than $1.4 billion in the fourth quarter of this year. This includes one company’s investment (Qolo’s fundraising in October) for which the amount is unknown. The last time Finovate alums raised a comparable amount in funding in the fourth quarter was in 2014, when 26 alums raised more than $1.4 billion.

Top Quarterly Equity Investments

The top equity investments of the quarter were the $500 million secured by both Avalara and Ripple. Also among the top fundraisings of the quarter was the $280 million raised in two separate, back-to-back rounds by MoEngage.

Here is our detailed alum funding report for Q4 2025.

October: More than $108 million raised by four alums

November: More than $1.1 billion raised by five alums

December: More than $191 million raised by two alums

If you are a Finovate alum that raised money in the fourth quarter of 2025, and do not see your company listed, please drop us a note at [email protected]. We would love to share the good news! Funding received prior to becoming an alum not included.

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Fintech Rundown: A Rapid Review of Weekly News

Fintech Rundown: A Rapid Review of Weekly News
By David Penn Posted on
Categories: Coinbase, Finastra, Fintech Rundown, Pendo, SoFi, VISA

Welcome to Finovate’s final Fintech Rundown of 2025! DeFi and crypto have dominated the fintech news in recent weeks, with some companies in the space launching stablecoins and stablecoin-related services, while others announce expansion into new markets. We will update this post over the next several days to keep you informed on the final big headlines of the year.

Investing and wealth management

An investor group led by Permira and Warburg Pincus has announced plans to acquire Clearwater Anaytics in a transaction valued at $8.4 billion.

DeFi and crypto

Coinbase launches Stablecoins-as-a-Service solution, Custom Stablecoins.

Cryptocurrency exchange Bybit re-launches in the UK.

SoFi launches fully reserved stablecoin.

US-based digital currency platform CoinFlip opens its Crypto Center in Mexico City.

AI

Pendo announces the general availability of its Agent Analytics solution.

Insurtech

AI-native commercial insurer Nirvana Insurance raises $100 million in Series D funding.

Payments

Visa and Aldar announce strategic collaboration and live implementation of end-to-end voice-enabled agentic payments.

Digital banking

Financial services software company Finastra announces opening of new offices in Atlanta and in Trivandrum, India.

Fraud prevention and financial crime

ComplyAdvantage partners with Sutherland to launch an AI-powered compliance solution for banks and fintechs.

Photo by Aaron Burden on Unsplash

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OnePay Becomes Infrastructure for Agent-Led Commerce

OnePay Becomes Infrastructure for Agent-Led Commerce
By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: Daily news
  • OnePay has joined Google’s Agent Payments Protocol (AP2), moving the Walmart-owned fintech from traditional payments into providing infrastructure for agent-led, AI-driven commerce.
  • Unlike networks such as Mastercard, PayPal, and American Express that provide payment rails within AP2, OnePay is joining as a credential provider that will define how AI agents store credentials, interpret user intent, select payment instruments, and disclose financing options.
  • By positioning itself upstream of transactions, OnePay is aiming to govern the rules and guardrails of autonomous payments.

OnePay, the Walmart-owned digital banking platform, announced yesterday that it is joining Google’s Agent Payments Protocol (AP2). The partnership moves OnePay from offering traditional payments to becoming infrastructure for agentic payments.

Google launched AP2 in September 2025 to provide an open, standardized framework for digital payments. AP2 connects banks, fintechs, and merchants with its protocol that creates a common language for how AI agents can transact on behalf of users.

While OnePay joins heavyweights such as Mastercard, PayPal, and American Express in enlisting in AP2, it will not serve in the same capacity as the payments players, which are providing the payment rails. Instead, OnePay is joining as a credential provider, meaning the company will focus on how payment credentials are stored, secured, and reused by AI agents, how the user intent is expressed, how agents choose between different payment instruments, and how financing options are disclosed. Essentially, OnePay is taking on the role of defining the rules and guardrails that govern agent behavior.

For OnePay, joining AP2 positions the company as critical infrastructure for agent-led commerce. By acting as a credential provider within AP2, OnePay helps solve how agents securely store, select, and reuse payment credentials while respecting user constraints like spending limits, merchant rules, and financing preferences.

“We’re excited to collaborate with Google and the broader ecosystem to bring these ideas to life,” said OnePay CTO Moe Matar. “As AI begins handling more of the everyday work in commerce, consumers deserve a payments infrastructure that is fast, trustworthy, and aligned with their intent.”

Notably, this move positions OnePay upstream of payments. Since it was founded in 2020, the company has focused on facilitating transactions. Today’s announcement indicates OnePay has much bigger plans as it broadens its scope into governing how autonomous commerce decisions are made.

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CoinJar, Australia’s Top Cryptocurrency Exchange, is Coming to America

CoinJar, Australia’s Top Cryptocurrency Exchange, is Coming to America
By David Penn Posted on
Categories: Alumni News, CoinJar
  • Australian digital currency exchange CoinJar announced its expansion to the US.
  • As part of its expansion to the US, the company is unveiling its intelligent, AI-powered assistant, CoinJar AI, for customers in both the US and Australia. CoinJar AI helps users query the platform for portfolio information and market activity data.
  • Founded in 2013 and headquartered in Melbourne, Australia, CoinJar won Best of Show in its Finovate debut at FinovateEurope 2015 in London. Asher Tan is CEO.

Digital currency exchange CoinJar, which won Best of Show in its debut at FinovateEurope 2015, is coming to the US. As part of its expansion to the US, CoinJar will launch CoinJar AI, an intelligent AI-powered assistant, integrated directly into its exchange platform that helps users access portfolio information and data on market activity.

“The US market has reached a point where we can plan and build with greater confidence,” CoinJar CEO and Co-Founder Asher Tan said. “That applies not only to market access, but to the kinds of tools we can responsibly deploy for users. CoinJar AI shows what becomes possible when regulation and technology move forward together. It’s no coincidence we’re launching this capability first in the US, where oversight is evolving in a way that supports innovation while maintaining strong consumer protections.”

CoinJar’s expansion to the US has been years in the making, but recent shifts in policy and political leadership—e.g., the passage of the Genius Act and the return of Donald Trump to the White House—have only bolstered reasons for the move. “Right now, the president has his own memecoin,” Tan said in an interview with the Australian Financial Review. “It’s a change of temperature in the US, and that changes a lot.”

In a statement, the company highlighted the growing interest within the cryptocurrency and digital asset space for embedded, AI-driven trading tools capable of operating in regulated environments. CoinJar is one of a small group of digital asset exchanges that are bringing AI-enabled portfolio and market analysis tools integrated into the core platform to the American market.

Founded in 2013 and headquartered in Melbourne, Australia, CoinJar made its Finovate debut at FinovateEurope 2015. At the conference, the company won Best of Show for its technology that enabled users to buy, sell, receive, and spend both digital and traditional currencies. A pioneer among Australian fintechs, CoinJar is the longest-running cryptocurrency exchange in the country and is regarded as the #1 cryptocurrency exchange in Australia. To date, the company has helped more than 800,000 customers in the UK, Australia, Ireland, and the US buy, sell, and spend billions of dollars in Bitcoin, Ethereum, and 60+ other cryptocurrencies.

In addition to its exchange and crypto wallet, CoinJar also offers institutional DeFi solutions. These products include CoinJar Clear, which enables fintechs to integrate cryptocurrency trading capabilities into their platforms via secure APIs, and CoinJar Payout, which empowers companies to integrate Bitcoin, Ethereum, and 60+ other cryptocurrencies into their cashback, rewards, or loyalty programs.

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How Citi is Thinking About Fintech Funding Trends with Mary Joseph

How Citi is Thinking About Fintech Funding Trends with Mary Joseph
By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: Speaker series

As the macroeconomic landscape changes and startup valuations adjust, financial services companies face new questions about where to spend their funds. Both investors and founders find themselves asking questions about what future funding will look like, which fintech niches are the most promising, and how startups can thrive with tighter funding restrictions.

At FinovateFall 2025 in New York, Citi’s Senior Vice President of Strategic Investments, Mary Joseph, shared her perspective on these trends with William Mills, CEO of The William Mills Agency. During the conversation, Joseph shared her outlook on current funding dynamics, sector leadership, and what founders should consider as they build resiliency and relevance into their businesses.

I think there was a time when companies could raise and raise and raise and spend and spend and spend, and the view was that, you know, at some point in the future, investors would be able to recoup that investment, right? Because the IPO market was hot, we were seeing more mergers and acquisitions. That’s not the case now, right? So we need to see companies that are really strong in terms of what they’re offering to the market.

Mary Joseph leads Citi’s global investments in fintech and B2B SaaS startups, focusing on opportunities that enhance Treasury and Trade Solutions and broaden the bank’s technology ecosystem. Before her current role, she worked within Citi’s Investment Banking fintech M&A advisory team and also served as a venture investor at GreenHouse Capital, where she focused on early-stage fintech innovation across Africa and the Middle East. She holds an MBA from The Wharton School and a BA from Columbia University.

Citi is a strategic player in fintech investment. Through its strategic investments arm, Citi aims to partner with companies that complement its core banking and corporate finance services, while also helping startups gain access to enterprise scale and regulated banking capabilities.

Photo by Tima Miroshnichenko

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SoFi Launches SoFiUSD Stablecoin, But Could it Actually be a Tokenized Deposit?

SoFi Launches SoFiUSD Stablecoin, But Could it Actually be a Tokenized Deposit?
By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: Daily news, SoFi, Thought Leadership
  • SoFi has launched SoFiUSD, a fully reserved US dollar token issued by SoFi Bank, positioning itself as a stablecoin infrastructure provider for banks, fintechs, and enterprises seeking faster, always-on settlement.
  • Although branded as a stablecoin, SoFiUSD’s cash-only backing and on-demand redemption model place it closer to a tokenized bank deposit.
  • SoFi’s approach aligns more closely with JPMorgan’s JPM Coin than with non-bank stablecoins like KlarnaUSD, underscoring a growing divide between bank-issued tokenized deposits and fintech-issued stablecoins as programmable money adoption grows.

Lending and wealth management fintech SoFi is entering the stablecoin market today. The San Francisco-based lending and wealth management company has launched SoFiUSD, a fully reserved US dollar token issued by SoFi Bank.

The new tool blurs the line between a traditional stablecoin and a tokenized bank deposit. The distinction between these two terms matters, as banks and fintechs are increasingly taking different approaches to bringing regulated money onto blockchain rails.

SoFiUSD will allow SoFi, an OCC-regulated insured depository institution, to serve as a stablecoin infrastructure provider for banks, fintechs, and enterprise platforms with an aim to streamline operations with the faster and more efficient money movement that stablecoins offer. SoFi’s new stablecoin will enable partners to leverage SoFi’s framework to issue white-labeled stablecoins or integrate SoFiUSD into their own settlement flows.

SoFiUSD will be used for:

  • Settling SoFi’s crypto trading business
  • Offering third parties such as card networks, retailers, or businesses faster, safer settlement 24/7
  • Powering SoFi Pay for international remittances and point-of-sale purchases
  • Serving as an alternative form of payment for Galileo’s partners
  • Acting as a secured dollar-denominated asset for companies operating in countries with volatile currencies

“Blockchain is a technology super cycle that will fundamentally change finance, not just in payments, but across every area of money,” said SoFi CEO Anthony Noto. “With SoFiUSD, we’re using the infrastructure we’ve built over the last decade and applying it to real-world challenges in financial services. Companies today struggle with slow settlement, fragmented providers, and unverified reserve models. SoFi is helping address these gaps by combining our regulatory strength as a national bank with transparent, fully reserved on-chain technology to provide a safer and more efficient way for partners to move funds.”

While SoFi is calling SoFiUSD a stablecoin, its reserve model acts more like a tokenized deposit. That’s because the token is fully backed by cash held at SoFi Bank and redeemable on demand, representing bank deposits on-chain. This structure removes liquidity and credit risk and positions SoFiUSD as regulated bank money rather than a crypto instrument.

SoFi may be using the term “stablecoin” for three reasons. The first is market familiarity, as the term “stablecoin” is more widely recognized than tokenized deposits. The second is regulatory ambiguity, since US regulators have yet to formally define how tokenized deposits should be treated. The third is interoperability, with “stablecoin” indicating compatibility with today’s on-chain payment rails.

By launching what is effectively a tokenized deposit, SoFi joins a small but growing group of regulated banks experimenting with blockchain-based bank money, most notably JPMorgan Chase, which launched JPM Coin in November. Like JPM Coin, SoFiUSD keeps reserves inside the banking system and uses on-chain rails to modernize settlement rather than to create a parallel form of money.

The tokenized deposits approach stands in contrast to KlarnaUSD, Klarna’s recently announced stablecoin, which is issued by a non-bank and backed by reserves held outside the issuer’s balance sheet. While KlarnaUSD is designed to improve payments efficiency for cross-border commerce, SoFiUSD’s approach leverages a bank charter to embed stablecoins directly into deposits, lending, and treasury workflows.

As banks and fintechs experiment with programmable money, the distinction between bank-issued tokenized deposits and non-bank stablecoins may prove critical in determining which models scale beyond payments into the core of financial services.

Photo by Dawid Sokołowski on Unsplash

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UPSTACK on Empowering Businesses with Strategic Tech Advisory and Innovation

UPSTACK on Empowering Businesses with Strategic Tech Advisory and Innovation
By David Penn Posted on
Categories: FinovateFall 2025, Interview, Speaker series

Businesses today are confronted with a dizzying array of options when it comes to digital modernization and embracing technological innovation. Decision-making when it comes to technology investment is often slow, and the costs incurred when those investments do not work out as planned can be painfully high. Poor solution choices have resulted in failure rates of up to 75%, according to some estimates, and even those investments that do succeed often come with hefty price tags that can put a drag on revenues.

To learn what companies in the financial services space can do to make better technology choices, I caught up with Charlie Day, SVP, Sales and Advisory, at UPSTACK, at FinovateFall 2025 earlier this year. UPSTACK is a technology advisory platform that helps businesses reduce costs, accelerate deployment, and simplify IT decision-making. The company offers vendor-agnostic expertise, with recommendations powered by both AI and UPSTACK’s vendor experience, all informed by the firm’s proprietary dataset.

In this conversation, Day explains how UPSTACK combines a focus on long-term relationships, human expertise, and AI-powered insights to drive business success and help companies achieve their goals in an ever-evolving technology landscape.

Technological advisory has really shifted into more of a strategic relationship. It’s not just about a transaction, an event, or a sale, but a true, long-term relationship beyond the technology choice. We mix the technology expertise we have with marketing insights—everything from pricing to integration capabilities to how certain selections will mix into their overall IT landscape—to ensure that our customers are making not only the right decision in a short snapshot in time, but also what’s going to keep them achieving their goals over the long term.

Charlie Day brings more than 20 years of experience in enterprise sales and strategic partnerships. He has held leadership roles at 8×8, RingCentral, Oracle, and AT&T. Day has business degrees from the University of New Hampshire and Southern New Hampshire University.

UPSTACK is a vendor-neutral, full-service technology brokerage. Founded in 2017 and headquartered in New York City, the company provides expert advisory and execution services to help businesses make smarter technology decisions. UPSTACK works with companies across the entire technology landscape, including colocation, cloud, connectivity, networking, cybersecurity, AI, and more. With more than 60 customers in the Fortune 1000, UPSTACK recently acquired Breakwater Cloud Advisors, a CX consultancy specializing in contact center modernization, automation, and AI transformation. Christopher Trapp is UPSTACK’s Founder and CEO.

Photo by Sonja Langford on Unsplash

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Tyro Acquires SME Financial Management Platform Thriday

Tyro Acquires SME Financial Management Platform Thriday
By David Penn Posted on
Categories: Alumni News, Tyro
  • Tyro Payments will acquire Australian financial management platform for SMEs, Thriday. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
  • The acquisition will expand Tyro’s banking and payments capabilities, and accelerate delivery of the company’s integrated, cash-flow management solutions.
  • Founded in 2003 and headquartered in Sydney, Australia, Tyro made its Finovate debut at FinovateSpring 2017.

Australia-based fintech Tyro Payments has agreed to acquire SME financial management platform Thriday. Terms of the deal were not immediately available. Tyro said in its statement that the acquisition is part of its strategy to grow its banking and payments capabilities. The transaction will also enable Tyro to accelerate the delivery of integrated, all-in-one cash flow management solutions for its customers.

“Combining Thriday’s smart automation and financial tools with Tyro’s payments and banking capabilities will deliver a more complete and powerful solution for our customers and a platform for further software-driven innovation,” Tyro CFO and Acting CEO Emma Burke said. “We see the acquisition of Thriday as a great win for our business and our customers, and we will continue to pursue M&A opportunities that are aligned with our growth strategy.”

The acquisition is expected to be completed in January 2026, and is subject to customary conditions. The majority of Thriday’s team, including CEO Michael Nuciforo, is expected to join Tyro.

Based in Melbourne, Australia, Thriday offers an integrated banking, accounting, tax, and invoicing solution that serves as a financial operating system for small businesses. The company’s technology automates and streamlines multiple financial administrative tasks for these companies, helping them save time and boost productivity.

“We are excited to join Tyro, a company that shares our commitment to innovation and customer-focused product design,” Thriday’s Nuciforo said. “We look forward to helping Tyro accelerate the delivery of customer solutions that help Australian businesses run smarter and grow faster.”

Tyro made its Finovate debut at FinovateSpring 2017. Founded in 2003 and headquartered in Sydney, Australia, the company provides in-store, online, and on-the-go payment solutions for more than 76,000 merchants throughout Australia. With more than 450 POS partners, Tyro delivers integrated banking and lending solutions to companies in verticals including retail, services, hospitality, and healthcare.

Tyro’s acquisition news follows the company’s November announcement that Nigel Lee, a fintech veteran with more than 25 years of leadership experience, will take over as Chief Executive Officer in January 2025. Lee will replace outgoing CEO Jon Davey.

“I am passionate about the payments industry and have followed Tyro’s story since it was founded in 2003,” Lee said in a statement. “It is exciting to return to Australia to lead one of the country’s most innovative fintechs into its next chapter.”

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10x Banking Accelerates Digital Banking Modernization with audax

10x Banking Accelerates Digital Banking Modernization with audax
By David Penn Posted on
Categories: 10x Banking, Alumni News
  • Finovate Best of Show winner 10x Banking has partnered with audax Financial Technology to accelerate digital banking modernization with banks throughout Asia, Europe, and the Middle East.
  • The partnership will help banks modernize their core operations quickly, but incrementally, keeping technology debt low as they pursue new business models such as Banking-as-a-Service and super apps.
  • Founded in 2016, 10x Banking is headquartered in London, UK. Antony Jenkins is Founder, Chair, and CEO,

10x Banking, which won Best of Show in its Finovate debut at FinovateEurope 2023, has teamed up with audax Financial Technology to bring digital banking modernization to core banking service providers throughout Asia, Europe, and the Middle East. While speed is the headline, deploying systems that are capable of keeping up with the rapid growth of the digital payment and fintech markets is just as important.

“This partnership shows banks don’t need to choose between speed and resilience; they can have both,” 10x Banking Founder and CEO Antony Jenkins said. “By combining 10x Banking’s modern core with audax’s digital agility, banks in high-growth regions can innovate at pace, minimize risk, and deliver lasting customer value.”

In the partnership announcement, 10x Banking underscored research that indicated that a growing number of banks perceive the failure to modernize their core systems as an “existential risk.” In the APAC region, research indicated that 67% of banking executives believed they were falling behind in terms of digital modernization, a sentiment supported by the fact that only 8% reported that they had prioritized core banking at their institutions.

Together, 10x Banking and audax, a banking technology solutions provider supported by Standard Chartered, will empower banks to launch new digital products and services faster than is possible with their current legacy core systems. audax’s expertise in enabling modern banking systems, combined with 10x Banking’s meta core platform capable of processing more than a billion real-time transactions annually, will enable banks to modernize incrementally. This will help them keep overall technical debt low while still reaching new customer segments and launching new business models, ranging from Banking-as-a-Service to super apps.

“Traditional core banking projects take years and cost tens of millions,” audax CEO Kelvin Tan said. “Our partnership with 10x Banking changes that equation entirely. Banks can launch full digital services in as fast as six months for a fraction of the cost. That’s the difference between a digital banking project that only works for major cities versus one that can also reach underserved markets across the regions we serve.”

Singapore-based audax offers a plug-and-play digital banking platform that enables banks to quickly launch scalable, compliant solutions—from Banking-as-a-Service to new digital banks. Founded in 2023, audax includes Standard Chartered and Maybank Islamic among its customers.

Headquartered in London, UK, 10x Banking was founded in 2016. A B Corp-certified core banking platform, 10x Banking handles six billion API calls a month and generates more than three million statements an hour for global institutions.

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Visa Launches USDC Settlement in the US

Visa Launches USDC Settlement in the US
By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: Alumni News, Daily news, VISA
  • Visa has launched USDC stablecoin settlement in the US, enabling issuers and acquirers to settle transactions in Circle’s dollar-denominated stablecoin using blockchain infrastructure.
  • Cross River Bank and Lead Bank are piloting the capability to deliver faster, always-on settlement and improved treasury efficiency while remaining compatible with existing payment rails.
  • The move signals stablecoins’ shift from experimentation to bank-ready infrastructure.

Visa unveiled today that it has launched stablecoin settlement in the United States. The payments giant is partnering with Circle’s USDC dollar-denominated stablecoin to enable US issuers and acquirers to settle with Visa in USDC.

USDC settlement relies on blockchains to offer issuers faster money movement and seven‑day settlement windows that will improve both speed and liquidity, modernized treasury management with automated treasury operations, and interoperability between traditional payment rails and blockchain-based payments.

“Visa is expanding stablecoin settlement because our banking partners are not only asking about it— they’re preparing to use it,” said Visa’s Global Head of Growth Products and Strategic Partnerships Rubail Birwadker. “Financial institutions are looking for faster, programmable settlement options that integrate seamlessly with their existing treasury operations. By bringing USDC settlement to the US, Visa is delivering a reliable, bank‑ready capability that improves treasury efficiency while maintaining the security, compliance, and resiliency standards our network requires.”

Piloting the launch are Cross River Bank and Lead Bank, which are leveraging the Solana blockchain to settle with Visa in USDC. Visa is planning broader availability in the US in 2026. Cross River Bank, a leading infrastructure provider that offers embedded financial solutions, reinforces the importance of true interoperability. “Fintech and crypto innovators increasingly ask us to bring stablecoins into their existing product suite,” said Gilles Gade, Founder, President and CEO of Cross River. “A unified platform that natively supports both stablecoins and traditional payment networks is the foundation for how value will move globally. As one of the first US banks to enable USDC settlement with Visa, we’re demonstrating how a tech-forward, deeply integrated banking partner can connect blockchain networks and legacy systems at scale.”

Today’s announcement comes the same week that Visa Consulting & Analytics launched its Stablecoins Advisory Practice to offer education and guidance on market fit and implementation. VyStar Credit Union and Pathward are early participants in the program, which they will use to find new opportunities in the $250 billion stablecoin market.

Visa, which became one of the first major payment networks to settle in stablecoins in 2023, has been positioning itself at the forefront of the stablecoin revolution. Last month, the company’s monthly stablecoin settlement volume passed a $3.5 billion annualized run rate threashold.

Visa’s move to bring USDC settlement to the US shows that the early momentum in stablecoin activity this year is set to continue into next year as the payment rail moves from experimental to a bank-ready settlement tool. By embedding stablecoin settlement directly into its network, Visa is making programmable, always-on settlement a practical option for traditional banks seeking to improve liquidity management, shorten settlement cycles, and bridge existing payment rails with blockchain infrastructure.

Photo by Jonathan Borba

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Coinbase Bridges TradFi, DeFi Gap; Empowers Retail, Institutional Clients

Coinbase Bridges TradFi, DeFi Gap; Empowers Retail, Institutional Clients
By David Penn Posted on
Categories: Alumni profile, Coinbase

As interest in digital assets and decentralized finance grows among both retail and institutional users, offering a platform that caters to both communities is a major point of differentiation for companies in the DeFi space. Further, companies that provide services that bridge the gap between traditional finance (TradFi) and decentralized finance will be best positioned to serve those retail and institutional users who increasingly need to efficiently manage both traditional and digital assets.

This context helps understand two recent announcements from digital asset platform Coinbase. First, this week, the company announced that it had selected Chainlink CCIP as the exclusive bridging solution for its Coinbase Wrapped Assets. “We chose Chainlink because they are an industry leader for cross-chain connectivity,” Coinbase Senior Director, Product Management, Josh Leavitt said. “Their infrastructure provides a reliable means to expand Coinbase Wrapped Asset offerings.”

A leading oracle platform, Chainlink connects blockchain-based smart contracts with real-world, external data, events, and systems. Integrated with numerous blockchains—including Ethereum, Binance Smart Chain, Avalanche, and more—Chainlink powers thousands of decentralized applications and protocols across DeFi, NFT, and enterprise use cases. The company’s CCIP leverages the same decentralized oracle networks that secure more than 70% of DeFi around the world, and has enabled more than $27 trillion in transaction volume.

Coinbase Wrapped Assets are tokenized versions of cryptocurrencies issued and managed by Coinbase. A 1:1 equivalent of the underlying digital asset, Coinbase Wrapped Assets are built to operate on a blockchain other than its native blockchain. For example, a Coinbase Wrapped Bitcoin can be used on a blockchain, such as Ethereum, that does not natively support Bitcoin.

Coinbase Wrapped Assets include cbBTC, cbETH, cbDOGE, cbLTC, cbADA, and cbXRP. Combined, they have a market capitalization of $7 billion. In partnering with Chainlink, Coinbase will use Chainlink CCIP to provide a foundation for bridging Coinbase Wrapped Assets across and beyond ecosystems.

“CCIP was selected by Coinbase for their cross-chain needs due to CCIP’s security and reliability,” Chainlink Head of Strategic Initiatives William Reilly said. “As the leading publicly-listed firm for digital assets, Coinbase takes security and reliability for their products seriously. I am excited about accelerating the growth of Coinbase’s wrapped assets and look forward to helping bring global finance onchain.”

Coinbase’s partnership announcement with Chainlink comes just days after the company reported that it was expanding its institutional collaboration on digital assets with international banking group Standard Chartered. “By leveraging Standard Chartered’s global banking expertise and Coinbase’s leadership in the digital asset space, we are creating a secure and seamless framework for institutions to access and manage digital assets with confidence,” Coinbase Institutional Co-CEO Brett Tejpaul said. “Together, we are driving the evolution of the financial ecosystem and enabling institutions to unlock new opportunities in this rapidly growing market.”

The partnership builds on an existing relationship between the two firms in which Standard Chartered provides banking connectivity to facilitate real-time SGD transfers for Coinbase customers. Standard Chartered has a reputation as a “pro-crypto” financial institution that was among the first major global banks to offer deliverable crypto trading for institutional clients. In addition to its collaboration with Coinbase, the bank has also partnered with crypto platform Crypto.com to enable users in 90+ countries to deposit and withdraw in major currencies through Crypto.com’s app.

Founded in 2012, Coinbase made its Finovate debut at FinovateSpring 2014. Today, the company has $516 billion in assets on its platform and facilitates $295 billion in quarterly trading volume. Co-Founder Brian Armstrong is Chief Executive Officer.

Coinbase also recently published its State of Crypto Q4 2025 report: “Younger investors are rewriting the investing playbook.” The cross-generational report surveyed 4,350 US adults, including 2,005 with investment accounts, on their thoughts about the financial markets and what role digital assets played in their own investing strategies.

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Where Are They Now? Highlights from FinovateEurope 2025 Best of Show Winners

Where Are They Now? Highlights from FinovateEurope 2025 Best of Show Winners
By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: FinovateEurope 2026

Last year’s FinovateEurope conference brought together fintech creators from around the world. At the event, our audience voted for three standout companies that took home Best of Show honors for their demos. Almost a year out from FinovateEurope 2025, and with FinovateEurope 2026 coming up on February 10 and 11, we’re taking a look at how last year’s three Best of Show winners in innovation have continued to grow, influence their markets, and shape the future of financial services technology.

Keyless

At FinovateEurope 2025, Keyless showcased its privacy-preserving biometric authentication solution that replaces traditional, multi-factor authentication with fast, passwordless identity verification using zero-knowledge biometrics.

Nine months later, the company agreed to be acquired by identity and access management company Ping Identity. Keyless’s biometric authentication technology will be integrated into Ping Identity’s platform to expand adoption of secure, privacy-first login experiences across enterprise environments.

This acquisition not only validates Keyless’s technology but it also demonstrates the importance of seamless, secure authentication.

R34DY & ABLEMENTS

Hungarian fintech R34DY and its ABLEMENTS integration platform won Best of Show in London thanks to its solution that aims to simplify complex integrations between legacy core systems and modern microservices architectures.

Since its FinovateEurope demo, R34DY has continued to build on both its product and presence. The company added four main modules to ABLEMENTS, each addressing critical needs in context engineering; completed eight proofs of concept, demonstrating real-world value; and found six flagship use cases for the product, demonstrating diverse applications of the solution.

Overall, R34DY’s platform has attracted attention for its ability to bring context-aware automation and faster time-to-market for banks and fintechs seeking to modernize complex workflows.

Tweezr

Tweezr took Best of Show honors at FinovateEurope 2025 for its AI-powered developer assistant, a tool built to help teams accelerate time-to-market while navigating legacy code and modernization efforts.

Over the past year, Tweezr has continued to refine and expand its platform to help organizations address the notorious difficulty of maintaining and modernizing mission-critical systems without sacrificing stability or productivity. Having been founded in mid-2024, Tweezr is still early in its growth journey, but its tools will be increasingly relevant as firms navigate the intersection of AI solutions and legacy systems.

Looking Ahead: FinovateEurope 2026

While these winners are just a snapshot of the new technologies available in fintech today, they show how the Finovate stage can serve as a springboard to real-world traction, strategic partnerships, and industry recognition.

Join us February 10 through 11 in London for FinovateEurope 2026 to see the next wave of fintech demos first-hand and learn how they will shape the future of financial services. Whether you’re a founder, builder, investor, or enterprise leader, the opportunity to meet, connect, and collaborate with tomorrow’s fintech leaders awaits.

Photo by Philippe BONTEMPS on Unsplash

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