Hello Fintech Friends,

Welcome to the 3,096 new readers who’ve joined us since last week. You’re joining 195,000+ other subscribers. Today's newsletter is brought to you by our friends at HSBC.

Last month, we collaborated with our friends at CB Insights to draft the first Stablecoin Market Map. The report itself featured interesting insights on the growth and health of the stablecoin venture market, which is expected to 10x this year. Check it out below:

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Please enjoy another week of fintech and banking news below.

(👍👎 Have feedback for us? Let us know. Find me at @nikmilanovic, @twifintech, and @ndm)

Fintech is evolving fast — are you keeping up? HSBC’s 2025 Fintech Report delivers critical insights into the trends shaping financial technology worldwide.

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🏦 Financial Services & Banking

President Trump signed a bill granting $1,000 investment accounts to every American newborn, aiming to promote long-term savings and financial literacy. The Treasury will manage the accounts, which will convert into IRAs when recipients turn 18.

Wells Fargo decided to exit its partnership with credit card program Bilt, which offered points for rent payments. The bank cited high costs and strategic refocusing on more profitable products, as its initial deal with Bilt required the bank yielded net negative rewards income on transactions.

Franklin Templeton's innovation head Sandy Kaul predicted all of its products will be onchain within a decade, expecting banks to issue stablecoins and tokenized cash to remain competitive.

The House GOP launched “Crypto Week” to advance legislation on stablecoins, crypto market rules, and a ban on central bank digital currencies.

💻 Fintech

🚀 Product Launches

Ramp introduced its first AI agents that automated finance operations by enforcing expense policies, eliminating unauthorized spending, and preventing fraud.

Fintech is evolving fast — are you keeping up? HSBC’s 2025 Fintech Report delivers critical insights into the trends shaping financial technology worldwide.

Find out where the industry is headed.

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📰 Other News

The founder of Increase (Stripe’s first hire) acquired a stake in Twin City Bank, triggering a public regulatory disclosure and effectively “buying” a bank.

Revolut and Octopus are weighing joining the London Stock Exchange’s new private stock market, Pisces, after attending a conference about the initiative. Revolut also enabled customers to send money to China via a partnership with Alipay, expanding its cross-border remittance services.

Circle achieved a 29‑fold year-over-year surge in USDC turnover, driven by institutional and OTC activity amid Europe’s MiCA rollout.

Kira came out of stealth to build all-in-one infrastructure for embedded fintech products — including by Vertical AI Agents and stablecoins.

Worldpay expanded its embedded payments platform, enabling software providers to integrate seamless payment capabilities directly into their products.

🤝 Partnership Corner

Credit unions and fintechs are forging stronger partnerships as they shift from rivalry to vendor‑client relationships—leveraging technology like onboarding, payments and analytics to meet digital-first member demands and streamline services.

👎 The Bad News

Robinhood faces regulatory scrutiny after tokenizing private-company shares without proper oversight, prompting investigations from SEC and FINRA.

Monzo was slapped with a £21 million fine by UK authorities for failing to apply adequate AML controls and properly monitor high-risk transactions.

Private markets platform Linqto filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy after facing growing financial pressures and liquidity issues.

Wise US settled a $4.2 million multistate enforcement action by agreeing to address deficiencies in its AML/CFT program, submit to third-party verification, and file quarterly compliance reports.

Ziglu entered administration, suspending trading and withdrawing its products amid financial distress and regulatory challenges.

Two individuals were jailed for orchestrating a $15 million crypto investment fraud targeting retail investors, resulting in significant prison sentences.

The rooftop-solar financing market froze as rising interest rates, higher construction costs, and labor shortages disrupted the Wall Street funding pipeline.