Global

March 5, 2025 @ 3:09 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

February 2025 marked a difficult month for fintech companies (even though tech stocks in general have been seeing downward price pressure as well), with Block (NASDAQ:SQ) – once a major player in the sector—leading the charge downward, plummeting 28% in its steepest decline since 2023…. Read More

March 5, 2025 @ 3:06 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

The U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) sanctioned Iran-based Behrouz Parsarad, the sole administrator of Nemesis, an online darknet marketplace, which was subject of an international law enforcement operation and “was taken down in 2024.” Prior to its takedown by… Read More

March 5, 2025 @ 11:43 am By JD Alois  |  

The EU has launched a new “first of its kind” program designed to help female entrepreneurs. The European Investment Bank (EIB) and the European Commission have started an initiative that aims to help EU commercial banks improve access to finance for women-owned and women-led SMEs… Read More

March 5, 2025 @ 11:31 am By Omar Faridi  |  

Friendly fraud has become a pressing issue for businesses, particularly in the fast-evolving world of e-commerce. This, according to a new report released by Juniper Research. Unlike traditional fraud involving stolen payment details, friendly fraud occurs when legitimate customers dispute valid transactions, often claiming non-delivery… Read More

March 5, 2025 @ 10:24 am By JD Alois  |  

MiCA, or Markets in Crypto Assets, is a regulatory ecosystem created by the European Union. The rules provide guidance for most digital assets with the exception of digital securities. Eunice AI has announced a  MiCA whitepaper library to facilitate compliance for digital asset firms interested in… Read More

March 5, 2025 @ 8:58 am By JD Alois  |  

Sygnum Bank AG, a digital asset bank regulated in Switzerland and Singapore, has expanded its off-exchange custody platform, Sygnum Protect. Sygnum states that it was the first bank to launch off-exchange custody services for institutional traders with Sygnum Protect in early 2024. The service aims… Read More

March 5, 2025 @ 8:43 am By Omar Faridi  |  

U.S.-based spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) finally snapped an eight-day streak of net outflows on Friday (February 28, 2025), recording a modest $94 million in net inflows. The slight turnaround was primarily driven by Ark and 21Shares’ ARKB fund, which pulled in $194 million, and… Read More

March 5, 2025 @ 8:42 am By Omar Faridi  |  

The Bank of Israel released its preliminary design for the Digital Shekel System and sees public feedback. At the end of 2024, the digital shekel project reached a major milestone with the completion of a high-level design for the DS. The design document is being… Read More

March 5, 2025 @ 8:30 am By Omar Faridi  |  

PitchBook’s Q4 2024 Netherlands Market Snapshot examines the current state of the Dutch private capital market, focusing on the venture capital (VC), private equity (PE), as well as notable exit activity. Released as part of PitchBook’s ongoing analysis of global markets, the extensive research study… Read More

March 4, 2025 @ 7:44 pm By Tony Zerucha  |  

This past week, PassEntry announced a strategic investment led by Bonsai Partners and Acurio Ventures to strengthen its digital pass issuance and enhance integrations with point-of-sale (POS) systems worldwide. The company said it expects this investment to triple its customer base and expand into five countries… Read More

March 4, 2025 @ 7:41 pm By Michael Wong  |  

UAE-based Fintech Flow48 has secured $69 million in a Series A funding round comprising debt and equity, as it seeks to scale its SME financing solutions in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA). The round was led by Breega and included participation from 212,… Read More

March 4, 2025 @ 2:29 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Bitcoin Suisse is pleased to announce the addition of TON (The Open Network), OP (Optimism), ENA (Ethena) and ONDO (Ondo Finance) to its comprehensive trading and custody offering. Effective immediately, Bitcoin Suisse clients are able to trade and securely store TON, OP, ENA and ONDO,… Read More

March 4, 2025 @ 2:27 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Northleaf Capital Partners, a global private markets investment firm, today announced that it held the final closing for Northleaf Private Credit III . In aggregate, Northleaf raised more than $1 billion in “capital commitments for NPC III and separately managed accounts that invest alongside the… Read More

March 4, 2025 @ 11:36 am By JD Alois  |  

Digital banking enabler myTU says it has raised €10 Million in an oversubscribed Series A funding round. The Fintech said its original target had been €9 million. myTU raised money at a pre-money valuation of €35 million. The funding round was backed by existing investors… Read More

March 4, 2025 @ 11:27 am By Omar Faridi  |  

Flowdesk, a full-service digital asset trading and technology firm, announced the close of its $102m financing round, including equity support from existing shareholders and HV Capital as well as debt from funds and accounts managed by BlackRock. Since its launch in 2020, Flowdesk has emerged… Read More

March 4, 2025 @ 10:50 am By JD Alois  |  

Balderton Capital has led the seed round for Cino, a real-time payments Fintech. Connect Ventures also participated as well as Barney Hussey-Yeo (founder of Cleo). The company says the funding will support Cino’s launch in the UK. Based in Estonia, Cino was co-founded by two… Read More

March 4, 2025 @ 10:45 am By Omar Faridi  |  

As sustainable finance and financial inclusion continue to gain traction on a global scale, technology-powered solutions leveraging blockchain and Web3 are playing a key role in addressing traditional financial challenges. As part of this movement, Swiss blockchain company Fedrok AG, says it has been actively… Read More

March 4, 2025 @ 8:11 am By Omar Faridi  |  

Visa (NYSE: V) announced that Tap to Phone has experienced “a 200% increase over the past year, supporting millions of sellers of all sizes.” In the highest Tap to Phone countries – the U.S., UK, and Brazil – adoption rates have surged, “showing a combined… Read More

March 4, 2025 @ 8:01 am By Omar Faridi  |  

eToro, the trading and investing platform, announced that it is adding five new crypto-assets to its platform. eToro revealed that the new crypto-assets are: LayerZero (ZRO): a cross-chain messaging protocol enabling seamless blockchain interoperability. ZKsync (ZK): a Layer-2 scaling solution that boosts Ethereum’s speed and… Read More

March 4, 2025 @ 7:59 am By Omar Faridi  |  

UK Finance has released its latest Household Finance Review for Q4 2024, which explores trends in household spending, saving, and borrowing. UK Finance noted in the update that the mortgage market strengthened in Q4 2024, with both first-time buyers and home mover numbers “up by… Read More