October 27, 2025 @ 7:52 am By Tony Zerucha  |  

This week, Ark Labs launched Arkade to public beta, introducing Bitcoin’s first scaling layer for programmable finance since Lightning Network’s debut nearly a decade ago. Alongside the mainnet launch, the company announced Arkade Assets, a native asset framework designed to bring stablecoins and other tokens to Bitcoin’s execution layer, with… Read More

October 27, 2025 @ 7:51 am By Tony Zerucha  |  

Access to tokenized deposits is now available to community and regional banks nationwide with Custodia’s bank-grade blockchain platform and Infinant’s Interlace platform. Vantage Bank, working in partnership with Custodia, invites banks and credit unions to join the consortium, which has developed a turnkey accretive solution… Read More

October 27, 2025 @ 6:49 am By Tony Zerucha  |  

FUTR (TSXV: FTRC) and Zonetail (TSXV: ZONE) this week announced a strategic partnership to launch Canada’s first AI-powered rent-reporting program, enabling renters to build credit and earn rewards simply by paying rent. Rent is the largest monthly expense for millions of Canadians, yet it rarely… Read More

October 27, 2025 @ 4:51 am By Tony Zerucha  |  

Refundly has officially launched to help shoppers track online returns and know when refunds arrive. With billions of dollars in refunds going unreturned each year, Refundly helps consumers ensure they get their money back automatically. Designed by veterans in retail, e-commerce, entertainment, and tech, Refundly tracks… Read More

October 27, 2025 @ 3:53 am By Tony Zerucha  |  

ShopMy, a curated commerce infrastructure company, has raised $70 million in funding at a $1.5 billion valuation. The round was led by Avenir, with participation from Bain Capital Ventures, Bessemer Venture Partners, and Menlo Ventures. The round is also supported by individuals and firms, including… Read More

October 27, 2025 @ 2:50 am By Tony Zerucha  |  

Bybit, the world’s second-largest cryptocurrency exchange by trading volume, has announced a new strategic partnership between Bybit Pay and Idram, Armenia’s established financial service provider and digital payment powerhouse. Joining forces to launch comprehensive payment services in Armenia, Bybit Pay and Idram will enable users… Read More

October 27, 2025 @ 1:48 am By Tony Zerucha  |  

Prove, a provider of digital identity services, has launched Prove Verified Agent, purpose-built to secure the emerging $1.7 trillion agentic commerce market. The Prove Verified Agent solution provides the trust and verification layer for autonomous agents acting on behalf of consumers and businesses, creating an… Read More

October 26, 2025 @ 7:49 pm By Tony Zerucha  |  

Clerq, a payments platform for high-ticket transactions, has secured $21 million in capital to power the future of payments. The funding includes a $12 million Series A round led by 645 Ventures, with participation from existing investors FirstMark Capital, Fika Ventures, Commerce Ventures, and Dash Fund. The Series A also included new strategic participation… Read More

October 26, 2025 @ 7:48 pm By Tony Zerucha  |  

BillGO, a payments technology company, recently released new research examining the state of small business financial health. The study, The Small Business Payments Pulse, highlights how payment delays and fraud are impeding small business growth in 2025. BillGO partnered with Ipsos, a leading global market… Read More

October 25, 2025 @ 2:55 pm By Tony Zerucha  |  

UnifyApps this week announced a $50 million Series B led by WestBridge Capital with participation from ICONIQ and others. The new capital brings UnifyApps’ total funding to $81 million and marks a new phase of scale with Ragy Thomas joining as chairman and co-CEO, alongside… Read More

October 25, 2025 @ 11:45 am By Tony Zerucha  |  

According to a new study commissioned by Green Dot (NYSE: GDOT) and conducted by PYMNTS.com, 94% of enterprises plan to increase their investments in embedded finance, with three out of four planning to increase investments in the next 12 months. Companies are focused on enhancing… Read More

October 25, 2025 @ 11:39 am By Tony Zerucha  |  

Gr4vy, a cloud-based payment orchestration platform, has announced its collaboration with Mastercard to optimize and streamline payment capabilities for global merchants and platforms. The partnership enables merchant customers to integrate Mastercard Merchant Cloud to access advanced payment solutions, including network tokenization, Click to Pay, and… Read More

October 25, 2025 @ 2:37 am By Tony Zerucha  |  

Splitwise, an app for sharing bills and expenses, and Tink have expanded their partnership across Europe. Building on strong momentum in the UK, where Splitwise has seen a 150% increase in Tink account checks and payment initiations this year, the expansion means users in France, Germany,… Read More

October 24, 2025 @ 6:36 pm By Tony Zerucha  |  

The recent AWS outage, stablecoins, and crypto investing dominate the Web3 Thoughts of the Week. AWS out(r)age “The recent Amazon Web Services (AWS) outage has once again highlighted the critical reliance many companies, including Robinhood, have on centralized cloud infrastructure. When a major service provider… Read More

October 24, 2025 @ 6:30 pm By Tony Zerucha  |  

dLocal (NASDAQ: DLO), a payment platform connecting global merchants to emerging markets, this week announced a partnership with Alchemy Pay, a payment gateway connecting crypto with traditional fiat currencies. The collaboration leverages dLocal’s local payment infrastructure to support  Alchemy Pay’s expansion in Latin America, starting with instant bank… Read More

October 24, 2025 @ 6:25 pm By Tony Zerucha  |  

African fintech Moniepoint has raised more than $200 million in equity financing in a recently closed Series C funding round. The investment will fuel its ongoing mission to serve businesses and their customers across Africa and the global diaspora. The round was led by Development… Read More

October 24, 2025 @ 11:31 am By Tony Zerucha  |  

MGT, a vertically AI-native neo-insurer built to modernize commercial P&C insurance for small businesses and their agents, has closed an oversubscribed $21.6 million Series B funding round. The round was led by new investors Mubadala Capital with participation from Clocktower Ventures, Tacora Capital and existing… Read More

October 24, 2025 @ 11:26 am By Tony Zerucha  |  

lemlist, a sales engagement platform, has acquired AI platform Claap. Claap, valued between $15 million and $30 million, transforms every sales conversation into actionable insights and context-aware AI agents. With the self-funded acquisition, lemlist will now provide sales teams with AI-generated actionable insights based on… Read More

October 24, 2025 @ 8:31 am By Tony Zerucha  |  

Epiminds, founded by Swedish entrepreneurs Elias Malm and Mo Elkhidir, has announced its public launch from stealth alongside $6.6 million in funding led by Lightspeed Venture Partners with participation from EWOR, Entourage, and angels, including the former CMO of Booking.com. In 12 weeks from ideation,… Read More

October 24, 2025 @ 3:25 am By Tony Zerucha  |  

Shippo, a shipping platform for e-commerce businesses, this week announced the launch of its direct integration with TikTok Shop – just in time for peak season, the busiest time of year for e-commerce merchants. For TikTok Shop sellers, the holiday rush brings both opportunity and… Read More