Nium Acquires Cypher
Hey FinTech Fanatic!
Nium has acquired crypto infrastructure startup Cypher, adding on-chain wallet expertise to its global payments platform.
The deal reflects where the market is heading. Cross-border payments, stablecoins, and digital assets are no longer developing as separate industries. More infrastructure providers are trying to connect traditional payment rails with blockchain networks, giving businesses a single way to move money across both fiat and digital currencies.
For Nium, the acquisition also strengthens its position with FinTechs, wallets, and Web3 companies looking for compliant infrastructure that works across both worlds.
There's much more waiting below.
We also explore why David Birch believes AI — not humans — could become the biggest user of stablecoins, take a practical look at Know Your Transaction (KYT) and why it has become essential for on-chain products, and break down Affirm's latest quarterly results, where strong growth is finally translating into meaningful profitability.
See what else is shaping FinTech. 👇 See you on Monday!
Cheers,
INSIGHTS
📰 Know Your Transaction for On-Chain Transfers: Process and Sumsub API Integration by DashDevs. In this article, Igor Tomych, CEO of DashDevs, outlines how KYT strengthens transaction monitoring, AML compliance, and wallet risk analysis, and explores the integration of Sumsub's APIs to support secure, compliant blockchain payments. Read the full article here
PODCAST RECOMMENDATION
🎤 Why BlackRock actually cares about stablecoins by DashDevs. In episode 162 of FinTech Garden, Igor Tomych discusses with David G.W. Birch why institutions are embracing digital assets, how AI could become the primary user of stablecoins, and the role of digital identity in next-generation financial infrastructure. Watch the full podcast here
Why BlackRock Actually Cares About Stablecoins by DashDevs
FINTECH NEWS
🇺🇸 Barclays has initiated coverage of Strategy with an overweight rating and a $130 price target, placing the Bitcoin-focused company alongside Visa and Mastercard in the U.S. payments and FinTech sector. The move reflects growing institutional recognition of Strategy's Bitcoin treasury model as part of the broader financial services landscape.
🇺🇸 Block has agreed to pay $45 million to settle allegations from 46 U.S. states that Cash App misled users about fraud protections and account security. The settlement requires the company to strengthen customer support and fraud resolution processes while expanding access to live phone and chat assistance.
🇺🇸 ArcOne AI expands AI orchestration across banking. ArcOne BankOS™, an AI orchestration platform across major banking domains, adds new AI agents, data connectors, and governance capabilities to help banks deploy AI at enterprise scale across complex, multi-system environments.
#FINTECHREPORT
🚨 Affirm finally answered the profitability question.
And the scale behind it is massive. FY Q3 numbers are here👇
DIGITAL BANKING NEWS
🇺🇸 Sony gets conditional approval to establish a US trust bank. The charter will allow Sony to bring the entire stablecoin lifecycle in-house under a single federal regulator rather than relying on a third party's state trust charter and patchwork of state money transmitter licenses.
🇫🇷 Revolut announces 8 million customers in France, making it the neobank's fastest-growing European market. The company is also expanding its presence with a new Western Europe headquarters in Paris, set to open in 2027, as it continues investing in regional growth and operations.
🇱🇹 Revolut cleans house in Lithuania. The company is strengthening its anti-money laundering and fraud controls with AI-powered transaction monitoring as it responds to increased regulatory scrutiny. Continue reading
🇨🇴 Banco Plata is authorized to begin operations in Colombia, completing the approval process required to operate as a regulated financial institution. The company is now entering the final stage before launching its financial products and services in the Colombian market.
BLOCKCHAIN/CRYPTO NEWS
🌍 OKX founder Star Xu confirms new authorization in Europe. In his recent statement, Xu explained that the new authorization allows OKX to provide a larger suite of financial products for its European users while strictly operating under the European Union's Markets in Financial Instruments Directive regulatory framework.
🇺🇸 BitGo introduces quantum protection for institutional Bitcoin wallets. The new security tools are “designed to help institutions assess, manage, and reduce quantum-related exposure across UTXO-based wallets,” BitGo said. Keep reading
PARTNERSHIPS
🇺🇦 UKRSIBBANK BNP Paribas Group and Mastercard unveil Ukraine’s First World Legend card pairing bespoke design with elevated lifestyle privileges. The premium metal card offers exclusive benefits across travel, dining, entertainment and luxury services, including concierge support, VIP lounge access, Fast Track lanes and Mastercard Collection experiences.
🇮🇱 Mastercard taps Israeli FinTech Neema to challenge the traditional cross-border payments model. Under the agreement, Mastercard Move will use Neema's technological infrastructure to enable businesses and individuals abroad to transfer money to Israel in real time.
🇮🇳 Paytm to roll out Soundbox in Jakarta with Flip. The collaboration aims to improve payment acceptance by providing instant voice confirmation of QRIS digital payments, helping merchants verify transactions more efficiently. Read on
🇬🇧 UK digital bank Monzo has joined forces with ClearScore for a service designed to simplify the debt consolidation process. Using ClearScore's Clearer technology, Monzo says it will now automatically find and settle a customer’s existing borrowing directly with lenders.
🇺🇸 PayPal is expanding PYUSD to the Polygon network, enabling native issuance of its stablecoin and integration with Polygon's Open Money Stack. The move is designed to simplify global business payments and support broader adoption of PYUSD for cross-border settlement.
🌍 Swift rolls out new blockchain ledger to bring 24/7 banking to 17 global giants across six continents. The platform enables round-the-clock cross-border payments using tokenized deposits while settling through existing banking rails, marking a significant step toward interoperable digital asset infrastructure.
DONEDEAL FUNDING NEWS
🌎 Infinia secures $13.5 million Series A to connect traditional banking with digital assets across emerging markets. The new injection of capital will be used to secure additional regional regulatory licenses and accelerate expansion across its core operational markets in Latin America, Africa, and Asia.
🇦🇺 FinTech LendUs raises $5m in a seed round to embed home loan comparisons into consumer platforms. The seed funding will be directed toward expanding the company's partner network and deepening its technology stack as it targets broader integration across consumer platforms nationally.
🇿🇦 South African FinTech Bridgement raises $20mln as banks back AI-powered business lending. The company uses real-time financial data to deliver business loan decisions within minutes and has provided more than R2 billion in funding to small businesses since its launch.
🇮🇳 WeRize raises $7 million in a pre-series C round led by Sony Innovation Fund. WeRize said the newly raised funds will be deployed to strengthen its proprietary artificial intelligence and technology infrastructure while expanding its portfolio of financial products.
🇮🇳 Oolka raises Rs 130 crore in Series A led by Accel at a Rs 730 crore valuation. Oolka will use the capital for expansion, working capital needs, capital expenditure, and general corporate purposes. Read more
🇩🇪 Klarna secures a €900 million financing facility in Germany to support the growth of its Fair Financing products. The deal is expected to fund up to €5 billion in German consumer loans over the next two years while improving Klarna's capital efficiency.
🇲🇽 Nexu secures a $143M credit line from HSBC. With the funds, Nexu will finance more than 10,000 vehicles through Nexu’s partner automakers, increasing access to credit for consumers across the country. Continue reading
🇫🇷 Aria raises €7m and secures a €240m facility for invoices as it looks to expand its financing capacity and combat the late payments crisis affecting businesses across Europe. The fresh funds are earmarked for AI tooling investment, recruitment, and bringing new clients onto the platform.
M&A
🇺🇸 Nium acquires Cypher, expanding its fiat-to-on-chain money movement infrastructure. The Cypher acquisition brings Nium deep operational knowledge of how to build and scale products for crypto-native users while navigating the unique technical requirements of the blockchain ecosystem.
MOVERS AND SHAKERS
🇬🇧 Revolut appoints Former Chase UK Chief Kuba Fast as CEO of Revolut Bank UAB. Fast brings a wealth of experience from JPMorgan Chase, where he was instrumental in the successful launch of Chase UK. His background combines the agility of FinTech with the rigorous regulatory standards of traditional Tier-1 institutions.
🇯🇵 Revolut Technologies Japan names Daisuke Aranami Representative Director and CEO, succeeding Yoko Makiguchi, who will focus on launching new businesses in Japan. Arato previously led Microsoft Japan's financial services division.
🌍 ClearBank appoints Ken Johnstone as Chief Product Officer to accelerate product innovation across the UK and Europe. At ClearBank, Ken will join the Group Executive team and will be responsible for advancing the company’s product proposition across payments, accounts and embedded banking, supporting clients across FinTech, financial services and corporates.
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