Kraken in Talks to Buy 15% Stake in DeFi Lender Aave at $385 Million Valuation
Hey FinTech Fanatic!
For a mainstream player like Kraken, buying a stake in DeFi’s largest lending platform is a smart move to protect its business as traditional trading fees drop. Is it Kraken betting on the future of money being in DeFi protocols?
Traditional corporate investments usually buy a piece of a company's profits, but in DeFi, all the platform's revenue flows directly to the everyday users who hold the network's tokens.
If corporate giants begin buying up massive chunks of these tokens just to control how the networks operate, it could trigger a fierce power struggle between corporate boardrooms and internet communities over who really owns the future of finance.
To protect that corporate money, we will likely see the rise of highly regulated lending pools that require strict ID verification, moving away from the wild-west anonymity of early crypto.
Everything in FinTech moving markets and money, right below. See you tomorrow. 👇
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#FINTECHREPORT
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FINTECH NEWS
🇪🇺 GCash owner Mynt seeks up to US$1.5 billion in record Philippine IPO. Mynt is preparing what could become the country’s largest IPO, aiming to raise up to US$1.5 billion by selling up to 9.23 billion shares. The FinTech’s listing would surpass the country’s previous IPO record if completed at the proposed price.
PAYMENTS NEWS
🌎 Airwallex has launched Airi, a consumer wallet that lets customers save payment details once and check out with a single click across participating merchants. The company says Airi can deliver up to 3x faster checkout and up to 14% higher conversion with no extra setup or fees.
🌎 Getnet launches card machine with conversational generative AI. The device interprets voice commands, such as the sale amount and payment method, then automatically prepares the transaction for the customer to complete. It includes the GetAI assistant, a conversational tool that helps merchants with questions about products, services, and operational processes.
🇺🇸 X has begun rolling out X Money to select Premium+ users, introducing a cash sweep program offering up to US$10 million in FDIC insurance. The service also includes a 6% APY, a Visa-backed debit card, peer-to-peer transfers, and cashback, with a broader rollout planned for mid-2026.
🇬🇧 Wise Group plc reports Full Year 2026 financial results. The company reported FY2026 net revenue of $2.5 billion, up 19% year over year, with active customers rising 21% to 19 million and cross-border volume increasing 31% to $243 billion. The company also introduced FY2027 guidance and plans a new share purchase program exceeding $500 million.
DIGITAL BANKING NEWS
🇩🇪 Banisi promotes its digital banking transformation with cards powered by Pomelo. Banisi is advancing its digital transformation by integrating Pomelo’s card infrastructure to enhance its banking platform. The bank is adopting Visa debit card issuing and processing capabilities, with plans to add credit, tokenization, 3D Secure, and dynamic CVV solutions.
🇦🇪 Revolut reveals priorities for its UAE platform. The British FinTech has revealed that customers in the UAE will initially gain access to its core payments and multi-currency platform when it launches locally, with additional financial products expected to be rolled out as the company expands. Read on
🇬🇧 Revolut is changing its remote-first approach for its 2027 graduate and intern programs, requiring new recruits to work from an office at least three days a week. The FinTech said early careers benefit from in-person collaboration and mentoring, while flexibility remains for other employees.
BLOCKCHAIN/CRYPTO NEWS
🇺🇸 Crypto infrastructure firm BitGo has cut 15% of its workforce as CEO Mike Belshe said the company is refocusing on security, trading, stablecoins, settlement, and AI-powered infrastructure. The layoffs come amid wider crypto industry job cuts linked to efficiency and market pressures.
🇺🇸 zerohash has launched Staking-as-a-Service, enabling banks, brokerages, and FinTech platforms to offer crypto staking through a single API integration. The solution manages blockchain infrastructure, validators, rewards, and compliance, starting with Ethereum support and Solana coming soon. Staking is available across the U.S., outside of California, Maryland, New Jersey and Wisconsin.
🇺🇸 Polymarket confirmed that hackers stole users’ funds after a third-party breach allowed malicious code to be injected into its website for some users. The prediction market platform said it contained the incident, is contacting affected users, and will fully refund victims. Read on
🇺🇸 Coinbase-backed Ethereum layer-2 network Base resumed block production Thursday after a disruption of roughly two hours that halted the blockchain. In an update, the Base team said the chain has resumed working and internal nodes were syncing correctly, though it continues to investigate the root cause of the incident.
PARTNERSHIPS
🇱🇰 Seylan Bank enables Google Pay for Mastercard cardholders in Sri Lanka. With this launch, Seylan Bank customers can add their Mastercard cards to Google Wallet and make fast, secure and contactless ‘Tap & Go’ payments through their NFC-enabled Android smartphones. Payments can be made locally and internationally at all Mastercard acceptance locations, without the need to carry a physical card.
🇺🇸 MarginEdge Mastercard card targets restaurant Petty Cash. The new MarginEdge Commercial Charge Mastercard is now available as a physical card and will soon be offered in a digital version. According to a recent release, it provides real-time tracking, empowers employee decisions, flags policy violations, and integrates seamlessly into MarginEdge workflows.
🇫🇷 Worldline, Crédit Agricole, and Mastercard have completed the first production agentic payment transaction in France, demonstrating secure AI-driven commerce. This first transaction confirms the partners' ability to deploy payment solutions for agentic commerce, from AI discovery to purchase, and support its development on a European scale.
🇦🇹 Banca Transilvania announced a new stage in its partnership with McLaren Mastercard Formula 1 Team. The BT logo will appear for the first time this season on the McLaren car, steering wheel, and helmets of drivers Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri during the Austrian Grand Prix. The campaign aims to bring fans closer to the Formula 1 racing experience.
🇸🇬 MAS and ABS chart instant payments enhancements with PayNow Generation 2 Study. The potential enhancements to PayNow will better serve the needs of consumers, merchants, businesses and public agencies, and make Singapore's national payments infrastructure more seamless, efficient and accessible to users.
🇺🇸 Uniswap and Spark aim to build a stablecoin FX market as banks and FinTechs enter the industry. The protocols are building shared liquidity and trading infrastructure for a future with hundreds of competing digital currencies on blockchain rails. The goal is to make it easier to move between stablecoins while allowing idle capital to earn yield until it's needed for trading, the companies said.
🌎 Yape has enabled money transfers from Peru to Yape Bolivia, allowing users to send remittances directly through the app. The new feature supports transfers of up to S/500 per day and expands Yape’s regional payments and remittances network as part of its international growth strategy.
🇺🇸 ADI Predictstreet has partnered with Kalshi to expand prediction markets globally during the FIFA World Cup 2026™ and beyond. The companies will develop a co-branded World Cup hub, integrate infrastructure across international markets, and explore Web3, stablecoins, and on-chain settlement.
HOW FINTECH PERFORMED LAST WEEK
📈 A snapshot of last week’s stock moves across public FinTechs:
DONEDEAL FUNDING NEWS
🇺🇸 AI-native wealth management startup Arca emerges from stealth with $64 million in funding, including a $48.5 million Series A. The company combines expert advisors with AI-powered tools, manages more than $1 billion in client assets, and plans to use the funding to grow the client base, expand the advisory team, and develop the platform and brand.
🇺🇸 Techdollar has launched publicly after raising $3 million in pre-seed funding, introducing a lending platform that lets employees, founders, and early investors borrow against pre-IPO equity without selling shares. The company plans to expand its platform, team, and integrations.
M&A
🇬🇧 Kraken Eyes 15% Stake in Aave at $385M Valuation. The move comes as Aave rebuilds from April's KelpDAO exploit, which triggered billions of dollars in deposit withdrawals even though Aave's own smart contracts were never compromised. For Kraken parent Payward, it's a push to diversify ahead of a potential IPO.
🇯🇵 SBI Holdings has agreed to acquire Tokyo-based crypto exchange Bitbank for about $289 million. Once completed, the deal is expected to create Japan’s largest cryptocurrency exchange by assets under custody, with around $6.8 billion in assets and 2.92 million accounts.
MOVERS AND SHAKERS
🇺🇸 Agora appoints Robinhood's Tanya Denisova as new head of operations. In her new role, Denisova states on LinkedIn that she will help build the company's "operational foundation" as it looks to scale "customer operations, treasury management, custody, and the controls and processes needed to serve institutional customers in a regulated environment".
🇺🇸 Affirm has appointed Ryan Schneider to its Board of Directors, effective July 1, 2026. The former Capital One executive and Anywhere Real Estate CEO will also join the Audit Committee, bringing experience in consumer credit, underwriting, risk, and regulated financial services.
🇬🇧 Revolut appointed David Elwell as Chief Compliance Officer and promoted Thomas Wallace to interim Chief Risk Officer following Pierre Decote’s departure. The new appointments take place a few months after Revolut obtained authorization to operate as a bank in the UK, a permit that has taken five years to obtain despite having its headquarters in the country.
🇺🇸 Ramp has promoted co-founder Karim Atiyeh to co-CEO alongside Eric Glyman. Atiyeh, who has led the company’s technology function since its founding, will share the top role as Ramp expands beyond corporate cards into AI spending infrastructure and accounting services.
🇺🇸 Candescent hires Jason Edelboim as new CEO. Edelboim joins the company from iCIMS, a recruitment software specialist which he has led as CEO since January 2024. On LinkedIn, he said he will work to further integrate AI into the Candescent platform, used by around 1,300 banks and credit unions.
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