May 16, 2025 @ 5:41 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

UniCredit, the pan-European commercial bank, and Google Cloud  announced the signing of an MoU outlining a 10-year agreement to accelerate UniCredit’s digital transformation. This collaboration will see UniCredit draw on Google Cloud’s best-in-class infrastructure, AI, and data analytics solutions to “streamline its digital architecture and… Read More

May 16, 2025 @ 4:02 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

On May 16, 2025, Galaxy Digital Holdings Ltd. (TSX:GLXY) (NASDAQ:GLXY)began trading on the Nasdaq Global Select Market, marking a significant milestone for the company and the broader digital asset industry. The company’s shares opened at $23.50 closing at $22.80 after topping $25 a share. Galaxy… Read More

May 16, 2025 @ 2:49 pm By JD Alois  |  

Apple Pay, Apple’s (NASDAQ:AAPL) digital wallet product, was reportedly offline for some users. According to Downdetector, Apple Pay experienced an outage from around 11 AM to 2 PM ET. This apparently impacted purchases and funds transfers. Comments appear to indicate that no specific region was… Read More

May 16, 2025 @ 2:33 pm By Tony Zerucha  |  

A new consumer credit behavior study released by i2c breaks down generational activity while providing direction for service providers. The study asked the following questions: How many cards do consumers have, and how much of their primary card’s credit are they using? What do consumers… Read More

May 16, 2025 @ 2:31 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Balance, the financial infrastructure platform for B2B commerce, announced the launch of Instant Bank Connection, a new capability powered by Real-Time Payment (RTP) rails that “simplifies ACH setup for buyers and speeds up payments to merchants—improving cash flow and reducing processing costs.” Although ACH is… Read More

May 16, 2025 @ 12:23 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Sygnum, a global digital asset banking group, announced the expansion of its credit offerings by adding staked Solana (SOL) as eligible collateral for its Swiss Franc, Euro, Singapore dollar, and US dollar-denominated Lombard loans. This allows Sygnum clients to unlock liquidity “from their staked Solana… Read More

May 16, 2025 @ 12:16 pm By JD Alois  |  

The IPO market is cracking open. This week, eToro listed its shares on the Nasdaq, and Chime filed an S-1 indicating its intent to float its shares as well. Klarna may be moving forward on its paused public listing as well. There appears to be… Read More

May 16, 2025 @ 11:58 am By Omar Faridi  |  

The Bank of London is reportedly under investigation by the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA), raising serious concerns about its long-term ability to maintain operations. The probe, disclosed in the bank’s recently filed accounts—submitted months behind schedule—centers on “historical matters” predating a significant ownership change in… Read More

May 16, 2025 @ 11:24 am By Omar Faridi  |  

Nekuda, a startup building infrastructure for agentic payments, announced a $5M funding round led by Madrona Ventures with participation from global financial services providers including Amex Ventures and Visa Ventures. The funding will accelerate Nekuda’s mission to “enable AI agents to make secure, autonomous online… Read More

May 16, 2025 @ 10:35 am By Omar Faridi  |  

Libre, the on-chain infrastructure purpose-built for regulated real-world assets (RWAs) has brought its Libre Gateway to the Avalanche network, starting with the tokenization of the Laser Carry Fund (LCF). This integration marks yet another milestone in “expanding institutional access to tokenized financial products on public… Read More

May 16, 2025 @ 10:23 am By Omar Faridi  |  

Chainlink, the “standard” for onchain finance, Kinexys by J.P. Morgan, the financial services firm’s blockchain business unit, and Ondo Finance, the real-world asset tokenization specialist, announced the completion of a cross-chain Delivery versus Payment (DvP) test transaction. The transaction utilized blockchain deposit accounts “on Kinexys… Read More

May 16, 2025 @ 9:22 am By Omar Faridi  |  

FalconX, the institutional digital asset prime broker, announces a strategic partnership with Standard Chartered, an international cross-border banking group. In the first phase of the partnership, Standard Chartered will provide a suite of banking services to FalconX globally, “strengthening the platform’s offerings for institutional clients.”… Read More

May 16, 2025 @ 9:01 am By Omar Faridi  |  

Perplexity announced that it has partnered with PayPal to power agentic commerce across its Perplexity Pro platform. Starting this summer in the U.S., consumers can “check out instantly with PayPal or Venmo when they ask Perplexity to find products, book travel, or buy tickets.” Aravind… Read More

May 16, 2025 @ 8:21 am By Omar Faridi  |  

Affirm (NASDAQ: AFRM), the payment network that empowers consumers and helps merchants drive growth, and Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ: COST), the world’s third-largest retailer, announced a multi-year partnership naming Affirm as “a pay-over-time provider for Costco.com in the U.S.” Costco members shopping online can use… Read More

May 16, 2025 @ 7:20 am By Omar Faridi  |  

Following a review of the market, Lloyds Banking Group (LBG) has selected Moneyhub to categorize and enrich all retail and non-retail transactions across LBG’s customer base and brands, “including Lloyds, Halifax, Scottish Widows and Bank of Scotland.” This will support customers to understand what they… Read More

May 16, 2025 @ 7:18 am By Omar Faridi  |  

Wintermute, one of the world’s algorithmic trading firms and OTC desks, announced the establishment of its U.S. headquarters in New York City. As a player in the digital assets market, Wintermute’s U.S. headquarters will “strengthen the firm’s presence in the world’s largest financial market.” Wintermute’s… Read More

May 16, 2025 @ 7:16 am By Omar Faridi  |  

OakNorth – the digital bank for entrepreneurs, has provided a $15.5m loan to Virginia-based real estate investor, Rooney Properties. Established in 2013 and headquartered in Arlington, the firm “has experience underwriting, acquiring, entitling and developing commercial real estate across the Washington DC metro area.” Having… Read More

May 16, 2025 @ 7:15 am By Omar Faridi  |  

Crypto Blockchain Industries (CBI), Euronext Growth Paris: FR0014007LW0 – ALCBI, and Blockware, a Bitcoin mining firm, have entered into an initial “long-term” partnership agreement to operate Bitmain ASIC miners (ASICs) on the Bitcoin network and “acquire Bitcoin at a discount.” Blockware will deploy and “operate… Read More

May 15, 2025 @ 4:27 pm By JD Alois  |  

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) continues to reverse the damaging policies enacted by the SEC during the Biden Administration. Today, the SEC announced that it has withdrawn the previous guidance on Broker-Dealers and the custody of digital assets. The SEC Division of Trading and… Read More

May 15, 2025 @ 3:59 pm By JD Alois  |  

The current definition of an Accredited Investor has long been understood to be misdirected, disenfranchising millions of potential investors. Today, the definition defines an individual as “Accredited” based on a wealth metric. Broadly, this means earning over $200,000 a year ($300,000 if married) or having… Read More