Kraken Raises $500M as Valuation Climbs to $15B
Hey FinTech Fanatic!
Kraken is reportedly seeking $500 million in fresh funding at a $15 billion valuation, up from $11 billion in 2022 🤯
This comes as Kraken accelerates its expansion in Europe, supported by a new MiCA license and the June launch of its cross-border payments app, 'Krak.'
Could this be a step toward its public debut in early 2026?
There’s more on Kraken, scroll down for the full story and the latest in Crypto & FinTech 👇
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FINTECH NEWS
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🇺🇸 eToro launches 24/5 trading for the top 100 US stocks and announces tokenized assets rollout. Clients can trade selected stocks, from Mastercard and Snap to Alphabet, outside of the regular market opening times. Continue reading
🇮🇳 Decentro rewards early employees with an ESOP buyback after crossing Rs 45,000 crore in payment volume. The buyback initiative offers employees the opportunity to liquidate up to half of their vested stock options at valuations delivering 3X to 10X returns on original strike prices.
🇺🇸 Wise listing fight leaves proxy advisers bruised. British FinTech Wise may have won shareholder approval for its move to a US listing this week, but the proxy advisers that supported it could end up as losers. Keep reading
🇯🇵 Interactive Brokers targets the Japanese market with tax-free investment accounts. Interactive Brokers Securities Japan now offers these accounts alongside the firm’s existing trading platform that covers more than 160 global exchanges. The accounts support investments in stocks.
PAYMENTS NEWS
🇬🇧 Checkout.com and Visa partner to launch Card issuing. Leveraging Visa’s global payment network, Checkout.com will issue physical and virtual cards on behalf of Checkout.com merchants, significantly enhancing capital efficiency by eliminating pre-funding and accelerating cash flow.
🇬🇧 What is Payment Orchestration, and why scaling businesses shouldn’t ignore it? by Solidgate. Companies are turning to simplify integrations across markets, streamline financial reconciliation, improve acceptance rates, cut costs, and boost checkout conversions, making it a critical tool for modern online commerce. Read the full article
🇲🇽 Technology to be strengthened following money laundering allegations at CIBanco and Intercam. It all began in late June when the U.S. Treasury Department accused them of money laundering and drug trafficking. "This is quite serious; you're talking about the reputation of three Mexican financial institutions. How much of it could have been prevented?" said Karen Arroyo, head of new business for ACI Worldwide in Latin America.
🇪🇺 ECB says U.S.-backed stablecoin use in the EU could weaken its monetary autonomy. If U.S.-backed stablecoins, digital assets that are backed by the dollar, gain traction for use in the EU, the effect could be similar to the impact of the U.S. dollar on developing economies.
🌍 Damisa launches local payment rails and on/off-ramp services across six GCC markets. Effective immediately, partners can enable instant, frictionless transactions in native GCC currencies, directly through local bank accounts, removing traditional cross-border complexities and banking delays.
🇬🇧 Klarna receives FCA authorisation, paving the way for cashback and balance features. Klarna balance will allow Brits to hold and manage funds in a Klarna account. Customers will be able to top it up using their debit card, shop with Klarna, receive refunds directly into it, and earn cashback when they make purchases.
🇧🇷 Boku has received Payment Institution authorisation from the Central Bank of Brazil, marking a significant milestone in its commitment to local payments and financial inclusion. With this licence, Boku will introduce Pix Automático to global merchants, enabling recurring payments for subscriptions, streaming services, and digital goods.
🇨🇦 Mastercard and BMO expand Global Money Transfer service to nearly 70 destinations. With the addition of new destinations and currencies, BMO’s Canadian personal banking clients will now be able to reach family and friends in almost 70 destinations across Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Asia Pacific, Latin America, and the Caribbean.
OPEN BANKING NEWS
🇬🇧 JP Morgan's plans to charge for consumer data access: The forerunner for premium APIs?. Moshe Winegarten, Chief Revenue Officer, Ecommpay, believes JP Morgan's decision to start charging FinTech companies for access to customer bank account information represents a uniquely American approach that wouldn't be possible in Europe due to the region’s regulatory framework.
DIGITAL BANKING NEWS
🇧🇷 Nubank's partnership with Netflix reveals the new season of Wednesday. The initiative features a film inspired by the series and showcases solutions for customers to take the next step in their finances. Seeking ways to connect with its customers, the company has been solidifying partnerships in the entertainment industry over the past two years.
🇩🇪 Audi F1 Team inks title sponsorship deal with Revolut. Revolut will make its motorsports sponsorship debut with this partnership. The firm stated that its goal with the partnership is to accelerate its consumer base to 100 million customers. Meanwhile, Revolut is weighing buying a US bank to get a licence. Acquisition would be a faster route for FinTech to start lending in the US than applying for a permit of its own.
🇬🇧 Monument CEO Ian Rand says bank is ‘certainly capable’ of turning a profit next year, just not at the cost of long-term shareholder value. Monument Bank is eyeing its first full year of profitability in 2026 after the UK challenger passed £6bn in deposits, up from just shy of £1bn at the end of 2023.
🇬🇷 Bulgarian Fibank launched in Greece, and it’s all digital. With a track record of financial stability, rising investor confidence, and an innovative digital platform, Fibank is now setting its sights on regional growth, beginning with a direct market entry in Greece.
BLOCKCHAIN/CRYPTO NEWS
🇺🇸 Coinbase reaps growing rewards from Circle ties and USDC economics: JPMorgan. The total value of Circle-related economics to Coinbase shareholders is estimated at $55 to $60 billion, the bank said, suggesting the market may be underestimating the strategic importance of the USDC ecosystem.
🇺🇸 Coinbase begins supporting virtual asset payments and deposits through Samsung Pay, starting in North America, with plans to expand to more countries in the future. Samsung Pay is widely used in the global market along with Apple Pay and Google Pay.
PARTNERSHIPS
🇬🇧 CellPoint Digital and XanderPay introduce a new standard in hospitality payments. This collaboration enhances CellPoint Digital’s existing platform with XanderPay’s specialized capabilities in remittance and reconciliation, offering hotel brands and property owners a seamless, end-to-end payment solution.
🇨🇦 Republic Technologies leverages Kraken to advance Ethereum infrastructure. By integrating Kraken's execution capabilities, Republic can streamline treasury deployment in support of its validator operations, contributing to improved operational efficiency and performance.
🇺🇸 Amex teams with Navan on virtual card security. The partnership is to offer unique virtual card numbers with embedded expense controls for U.S. business and corporate cards. Continue reading
🇺🇸 Splitit partners with Antom. Through the partnership, Splitit's installment technology will be seamlessly integrated into the checkout experience for merchants using Antom's platform. They will be able to split purchases into monthly payments directly at checkout, using their existing credit cards, with no underwriting or additional fees.
🇫🇷 Orange Money and JUMO offer small loans. According to Orange Money Group, the collaboration will allow it to offer new microcredit services, leveraging JUMO's expertise in asset allocation and credit risk management. Read more
🌍 OpenPayd partners with Kraken to launch instant fiat movement to UK and European users. Through this partnership, OpenPayd’s digital asset infrastructure is integrated to enable users to move money seamlessly through programmable domestic and international transfers as well as virtual IBANs.
🇬🇧 Kaldi teams with WealthKernel to turn everyday cashback into investments. This partnership enables Kaldi to use WealthKernel’s core infrastructure services, including onboarding, custody, and trading API, to power its platform. Keep reading
🇬🇧 Thought Machine partners with Zopa Bank to support the launch of its flagship bank account, Biscuit. Because of this cloud-native partnership, Zopa can provide innovative financial services faster, revolutionising core banking through digital scalability.
🇺🇸 Regula and Indicio partner to transform identity verification with Verifiable Credentials. Together, the two companies will deliver a breakthrough in portable digital trust by issuing document and biometric identity verification solutions as tamper-proof Verifiable Credentials.
🇺🇸 JPMorganChase and Coinbase launch a strategic partnership to make buying crypto easier than ever. This collaboration introduces features designed to enhance access and optionality for our mutual customers. Read more
DONEDEAL FUNDING NEWS
🇺🇸 FinTech firm Quartr raises $10M to expand public market insights. The new capital will support Quartr’s international expansion. With new offices in New York and Dublin, the company is strengthening its local presence to access top-tier tech and sales talent.
🇺🇸 Wingspan lands $24M to streamline contractor payroll. The funding will be used to accelerate Wingspan Embed's growth and expand the company's AI-driven automation to streamline administrative tasks. Continue reading
🇺🇸 Kraken seeks $500M at $15B valuation ahead of rumoured 2026 IPO. The company could be looking for a windfall amid a recent boom in initial public offerings, which has so far netted big money for trading platforms such as eToro and crypto stablecoin issuer Circle Internet Group.
🇬🇧 Due launches stablecoin API, extends seed round to $7.3M to empower businesses with Borderless Payments Solution. The additional capital supports the launch of Due’s new API platform, enabling businesses to seamlessly access stablecoin payments as blockchain technology reshapes global finance.
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M&A
🇫🇷 Worldline in talks to sell non-payments unit. The payments processor has entered exclusive talks over selling its digital services business to Magellan Partners in a €410 million deal. In June, the firm's share price cratered after multiple media outlets alleged that it had covered up client fraud to protect revenue.
MOVERS AND SHAKERS
🇫🇷 Worldline announces a renewed management team to lead its transformation. Madalena Cascais Tomé will assume the role of Head of Financial Services, Anika Grant will join as the new Chief People Officer, and Srikanth Seshadri will be the new Chief Financial Officer. Read more
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