Under $10M: Gemini’s European Exit Finds a Buyer in KAST
Hey FinTech Fanatic!
Under $10 million. That’s reportedly what Gemini got for its UK and European business.
The crypto exchange has sold those operations to Singapore-based KAST, according to CoinDesk, citing a person familiar with the matter. Gemini declined to comment.
The sale itself isn’t a big surprise. Back in February, Gemini said it would wind down its UK, EU and Australian business and cut about 25% of its global workforce, keeping its focus on the US and Singapore.
What I find interesting is who’s buying. KAST is a stablecoin payments company, founded by former Circle executive Raagulan Pathy, which raised an $80 million Series A in March.
And it isn’t hiding its plans. “We are actively in the market for M&A, as our revenue and footprint grows,” a KAST spokesperson told CoinDesk.
So one company is pulling back to its core markets, while a younger one uses the moment to pick up a footprint in the UK and Europe.
It also comes at a quiet time for crypto deals. According to Architect Partners, crypto M&A in the third quarter reached $2.2 billion across 67 deals, down 83% by value from the previous quarter.
The big question is whether more crypto firms trim their footprint, and whether stablecoin payments companies become the natural buyers. Definitely one to watch.
Anyway, plenty more happened in FinTech today.
Let’s dive in, and I’ll be back in your inbox on Monday!
Cheers,
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Come for the run, stay for the conversations, and bring a friend along! Save your spot. See you there! 🙌
INSIGHTS
💡 Paddle: The Age of AI-Native Building: From Launching Software to Building Global Businesses. Paddle is hosting a virtual launch event exploring how AI is reshaping software development, growth, distribution, pricing and monetization. Speakers include Andrew Davies, Chief Innovation Officer at Paddle, Elena Verna of Lovable, and other industry leaders discussing AI-native business models, agent-driven discovery and the economics of AI products. The event will also introduce the Paddle AI Toolkit, featuring the Paddle Plugin, Docs MCP, Billing MCP and Agent Skills, designed to help developers integrate billing workflows, run localized pricing experiments and take AI-powered products global. More details here
FINTECH NEWS
🇸🇬 Mastercard opens its largest Asia Pacific Innovation Centre of Excellence in Singapore. The 7,200 sq ft site will serve more than 40 markets and houses an AI Centre of Excellence focused on agentic commerce, fraud and scams. Mastercard plans more than 250 specialist roles in Singapore by end-2029.
🇺🇸 Polymarket cuts staff and contractors as it prepares for a possible 2027 IPO. The prediction market has not disclosed how many roles were affected, with more than half of those let go reportedly contractors. Polymarket told CNBC its annualised revenue now exceeds $1.8B, up from more than $1B in June.
🇮🇱 Nayax's Q3 revenue rises 23% YoY to $128M. Adjusted EBITDA grew 33% to $24.2M, while transaction value rose 25.5% to $2.2B. Including the recently completed IPS acquisition, Nayax raised its full-year revenue guidance to $530M–$540M.
🇬🇧 FNZ to close offices in several markets as it restructures. Interim CEO Stephen Welch told staff the wealth platform will shut offices in Singapore, the Nordics, Spain, Italy and France, focusing on the UK, Australia, New Zealand and the US. A significant number of jobs are expected to go.
🇬🇧 Late repayments at UK consumer lenders rise 24%, GoCardless and Aryza find. Average late repayments rose from 9.3% to 11.5%, with motor finance up 44%. In the survey of 250 senior lending staff, 98% said they were interested in lender-initiated payments.
#FINTECHREPORT
💡 Coinbase Q3 2026: $718.7M Profit, but Investment Gains Tell a Different Story. Coinbase reported $1.216B in revenue, down 35% YoY, and net income of $718.7M. However, nearly all of that profit came from gains on crypto investments, with adjusted net income falling to $77.7M. Beyond the headline figures, prediction markets surpassed $200M in annualized revenue, USDC balances reached a record $22B, and subscriptions and services accounted for 49% of net revenue. The results highlight Coinbase’s shift towards an “Everything Exchange” spanning trading, stablecoins, subscriptions and prediction markets. Read the full Q3 earnings analysis here
PAYMENTS NEWS
🇦🇷 Pomelo's Abdul Assal on closing the gap between global networks and local card programmes. Pomelo Global Card lets businesses launch card programmes in more than 150 countries through one integration, funded in dollars and stablecoins. Pomelo handles issuing, processing, compliance and chargebacks.
🇱🇹 Genome launches Visa and Mastercard acceptance for online merchants. The Lithuanian e-money institution offers a hosted payment page or host-to-host integration, with settlement in EUR, USD or GBP as early as the next business day. Apple Pay and Google Pay support is planned.
🇪🇪 Creditstar Group launches the Monefit credit card in Estonia. The group's first card carries a fixed 20% annual interest rate and no application, monthly or annual fees. Approved customers receive a virtual Mastercard straight away, with a physical card on request.
🇸🇬 DBS PayLah! adds Alipay and Weixin Pay merchant QR payments in China. More than 3 million users can now pay at more than 100 million merchants across mainland China with no extra transaction fees. The wallet already supported UnionPay QR payments there.
🇸🇬 UOB expands payment options for customers travelling to China. The bank will add an updated UnionPay card and QR code payments in its TMRW app by end-2026, covering more than 100 million merchant locations in China. The card carries zero foreign exchange fees worldwide.
DIGITAL BANKING NEWS
🇬🇧 Metro Bank launches a formal sale process. The UK lender's board unanimously backs a strategic review that includes a sale, with Morgan Stanley advising. The move follows years of cost cuts, and Metro says it is not in active talks with any bidder.
🇩🇪 BaFin fines Deutsche Bank €8M over the Postbank customer migration. The regulator imposed €5.5M for inadequate arrangements to handle a surge in complaints and €2.5M for delayed securities-account transfers. Deutsche Bank said it accepts BaFin's decision and has fixed the issues.
🇵🇾 Paraguay partially refunds depositors of collapsed digital bank Ueno. The central bank, which took over Ueno on 3 November, said 1,812,348 eligible depositors have received at least part of their money through the deposit guarantee fund. Most funds have not yet been recovered.
🇩🇪 N26 plans a digital private retirement account in Germany with Franklin Templeton. Subject to certification, the state-subsidised account is due to launch on 1 January 2027, with Franklin Templeton as exclusive partner for the standard portfolio. Existing customers can pre-register in the app.
ARTICLE OF THE DAY
💡 Incognia: If I Ran Fraud at a Bank, Here’s Where I’d Start with AI Agents. There’s a lot of attention on detecting AI agents and Know Your Agent (KYA), but what should banks do once they’ve identified one? In his latest The Signal: FinServ column, Incognia CEO and Co-founder André Ferraz sets out four priorities: checking whether an agent’s action makes sense for the customer, moving away from SMS and email OTPs for new-device authorisation, giving agents limited permissions that grow as they earn trust, and treating agent detection as an ongoing game of whack-a-mole. Incognia says that in its analysis of more than 300 million transactions, 86.2% of reported scams showed no observed physical-world relationship between sender and recipient. Read the full analysis here
BLOCKCHAIN/CRYPTO NEWS
🇺🇸 Payward adds tokenised UK and European stocks. Kraken's parent now offers tokens tracking more than 200 UK- and EU-listed companies through xStocks, though UK-based investors remain excluded, as are US investors. Hong Kong-listed stocks are expected in the coming weeks.
🇺🇸 Ripple's bank-lending system on the XRP Ledger moves closer to launch. The two required amendments have about 63% and 66% validator support, short of the 80% threshold held for two weeks. Lenders would deposit tokens into vaults for brokers to lend to banks and payment firms.
🇯🇵 Nomura weighs a sale of crypto unit Laser Digital, Bloomberg reports. The Zurich-based business was founded in 2022, and Marex is reportedly assessing a deal. Nomura's European operations posted a fourth straight quarterly loss in the three months to September.
🇷🇺 Bank of Russia sets rules for organised cryptocurrency trading. The Ministry of Justice has registered the ordinance, allowing exchanges to begin trading from 22 November once the central bank agrees their trading rules. Exchanges must keep order registers, monitor trading and report to the regulator.
🇮🇹 Satispay adds commodities and crypto to its investment offering. Users can now invest in commodities such as gold and in cryptocurrencies through exchange-traded products from €1, with fractional purchases and recurring plans. Upvest provides the infrastructure and executes orders.
🇸🇬 OKX SG lets VIP customers buy McLarens with crypto. Through a partnership with dealer Eurokars Supersports, buyers convert crypto to SGD via the OKX SG OTC desk, with McLaren Singapore receiving fiat only. The OKX Card can also be used for servicing and parts.
STABLECOINS NEWS
🇸🇬 Singapore FinTech Association accepts stablecoin membership payments through Triple-A. Members and applicants can pay fees from a digital wallet, with Triple-A converting payments to SGD and settling to the association. Stablecoins sit alongside existing payment methods.
🇬🇧 BVNK lets businesses pay out from stablecoin balances to local bank accounts. Payouts are live in 11 currencies, including MXN, BRL, PHP and EUR, via API or the BVNK portal. The service integrates with Mastercard Move, and more than 40 currencies are planned for 2027.
🇰🇷 South Korea considers rules giving banks control of won stablecoin issuers. Under the Financial Services Commission's draft Digital Asset Basic Act, banks would hold at least 50% plus one share in issuing consortiums. Exchanges and payment firms would handle distribution and settlement.
🇺🇸 SoFi Bank expands its SoFiUSD stablecoin to Polygon. The dollar-backed token, already on Ethereum and Solana, is available to more than 17 million SoFi members to buy, sell, hold and convert in the SoFi app, with 1:1 redemption for US dollars.
PARTNERSHIPS
🇪🇪 Tuum joins the Mastercard Engage partner network. The core banking provider supports tokenisation, push provisioning to Apple Pay and Google Pay, token lifecycle management, and spend alerts and controls. Banks can start due diligence with card-scheme questions already answered.
🇱🇧 Lebanon's General Security launches the Ma'ak platform with BLOM Bank and Mastercard. Residents can renew residency permits, apply for entry visas and request certificates online, paying by local or international card through Mastercard Gateway. Passport renewals are planned in the near future.
🇦🇪 Dubai's VARA and Mastercard sign an MoU to explore regulatory sandboxes. Signed during Dubai Future Finance Week, the agreement covers support for startups, emerging technologies and knowledge sharing. Mastercard brings payments, digital asset and stablecoin infrastructure to the collaboration.
🇺🇸 Guzco partners with Airwallex to automate merchant dispute handling. Ecommerce merchants on Airwallex can hand disputes to Guzco, which collects evidence from the shop, carrier and warehouse and files cases before deadlines. Rollout details have not been disclosed.
🇲🇽 Decathlon adds Kueski Pay in Mexico through dLocal. Customers can now use the buy now, pay later option at Decathlon ahead of El Buen Fin. dLocal expects Mexico's BNPL digital commerce volumes to reach $4B this year.
🇪🇸 Ecommpay partners with Getnet to connect merchants to Bizum in Spain. Merchants using Ecommpay can reach the Spanish mobile payment scheme directly through Getnet's acquiring infrastructure with a single integration. Bizum has more than 30 million users and processes over 3.4 million transactions a day.
🇦🇪 MidChains and Standard Chartered form a banking partnership in the UAE. Standard Chartered will provide the VARA-licensed broker-dealer with fiat settlement, segregated client money accounts and correspondent banking services. The firms did not disclose a go-live date.
🌍 UEFA renews its Ant Group partnership through EURO 2028. Extending the tie-up into a tenth year, Ant Group becomes the tournament's official payment, wealth management and health assistant partner, with brands including Alipay+, Antom and WorldFirst.
🌎 EBANX payment volume for Eneba in Latin America rises 138% YoY. The digital games marketplace accepts local methods including Pix, SPEI, OXXO Pay and Nequi across eight Latin American markets through EBANX. The partnership began in 2023.
🇱🇺 Banque Internationale à Luxembourg selects Fourthline for identity verification. In Fourthline's first partnership in Luxembourg, the firm will provide document and biometric verification through a single API for the bank's domestic and international digital onboarding.
🇵🇱 Bank Millennium adds instalments to BLIK Pay Later. Purchases over PLN300 can be split into 3, 6 or 12 monthly instalments at checkout or later in the app, at 14.5% annual interest and with no arrangement fee.
🇿🇦 Standard Bank integrates Kinexys by J.P. Morgan. Standard Bank's corporate and investment banking unit will use the Blockchain Deposit Account network for faster payments, with opportunities to pilot near real-time cross-border and intra-group settlement. The unit operates in 21 African countries.
🇺🇸 BNY taps Figment to support staking for custody clients. Institutional clients of BNY's Digital Asset Custody platform will be able to stake through Figment's validators, starting with ETH and followed by SOL. A launch date has not been announced.
🇰🇷 DB Securities signs MoU with Sphere to explore digital asset business. The firms plan to cooperate on security token offerings, real-world asset tokenisation and stablecoin-based payments and settlement. Sphere operates SpherePay, a cross-border payment API for enterprises.
🇺🇸 Visa adds Western Union's USDPT stablecoin to its settlement network. Visa and eligible partners can now settle VisaNet obligations in USDPT, issued on Solana by Anchorage Digital Bank. The firms also set up a framework to consider other Anchorage-issued stablecoins.
🇲🇺 Payment Options partners with Tribe Payments for acquirer processing. The Singapore-headquartered payment facilitator will use Tribe's platform for direct card acquiring across Asia-Pacific and CEMEA, starting in Mauritius. Payment Options is also exploring Tribe's SoftPOS.
🇧🇷 Itaú Unibanco selects Harness for bankwide software delivery. The bank will standardise software delivery for thousands of engineers on the Harness platform, starting with an initial adoption phase and expanding across the delivery lifecycle in the coming months.
🇸🇬 DCS DeCard expands its Visa partnership to take stablecoin-linked cards global. The cards will reach more than 70 markets in Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Latin America. DCS also offers a Cards-as-a-Service model for FinTechs and digital-asset platforms to issue their own branded cards.
🌏 Samsung Wallet adds ShopeePay QR payments in Singapore and Vietnam. Samsung Pay is also now accepted at Shopee checkout, with Malaysia to follow in the coming months. Users pay through NETS QR in Singapore and VietQR in Vietnam.
🌍 Travelex launches in-store money transfers with Western Union in the UK and Netherlands. The service is rolling out to 124 Asda Travel Money stores and 39 Travelex stores, with transfers to more than 200 countries and territories via bank deposit, mobile wallet or cash pickup.
DONEDEAL FUNDING NEWS
🇵🇭 BillEase secures ₱500M credit facility from PBCOM. The facility, worth about $7.92M, is backed by a pool of consumer loans and funds the BNPL provider's peso loan book. PBCOM joins RCBC and PNB among its domestic bank lenders.
🇬🇧 Griffin raises $20M Series B led by Octagon Partners. The UK bank will use the funding to reach profitability and add card issuing and stablecoin services to its agentic banking platform. Notion Capital, A+ Ventures, Nordic Ninja and Breega also participated.
🇬🇧 Momenta Finance secures up to £200M facility from Lloyds. The £100M senior warehouse facility includes a £100M accordion and will fund unsecured business loans to UK SMEs through brokers. Momenta has raised more than £500M in facilities since 2023.
🇺🇸 1confirmation increases its investment in Polymarket again. Partner Nick Tomaino said the seed-stage fund has taken part in every Polymarket round, making the prediction market an exception to its usual strategy. No amount or valuation was disclosed.
M&A
🌍 Gemini sells its UK and European operations to KAST, CoinDesk reports. The Singapore-based stablecoin payments firm paid under $10M for the units, according to a person familiar with the matter. Gemini keeps its US and Singapore businesses.
🇧🇪 Banqup Group plans to sell its Balkan activities for €11.5M. The buyer is its long-standing local partner in Serbia, backed by local investors. Signing depends on clearance from the Serbian competition authority, and the Croatian business will remain within the group.
AI DEVELOPMENTS
🇺🇸 Coinbase introduces Agent Controls for AI trading agents. Users can now set a per-trade dollar cap, a rolling 24-hour trading limit and an auto-stop that pauses their agent when the portfolio falls past a chosen percentage. Product-level permissions are coming soon.
🇺🇸 Oracle launches AI-powered analytics applications for banks and insurers. Treasury Analytics covers liquidity, funding and market risk, while Customer Analytics tracks profitability and retention. Both are part of the Oracle Financial Services Data Intelligence suite and use Oracle Analytics Cloud's AI Assistant.
🇬🇧 Wirex launches Navoka, an AI agent with its own bank account and card. The invite-only agent has an IBAN, debit card and USDC and EURC wallets, with user-set merchant lists, daily caps and country whitelists. It is now live on Telegram, with WhatsApp and iMessage planned.
🇵🇹 Feedzai helps banks detect AI agents accessing customer accounts. The expanded Digital Trust solution uses device, behaviour and network signals to distinguish trusted personal agents from malicious ones. It also reduces banks' reliance on SMS one-time passcodes.
MOVERS AND SHAKERS
🇸🇪 Klarna names Chris Koegel as Chief Financial Officer. Koegel joins from Robinhood, where he heads corporate finance and investor relations. He starts on 1 January 2027, subject to regulatory approval.
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