Exits & Deep Reads

Who's afraid of the big bad market? (TWIF 5/4)

Hello Fintech Friends,

Fintech and crypto companies continue registering to go public – global volatility or no.

A surprising story dropped this week that crypto issuer Ripple, issuer of the XRP token with a $129 billion market cap, offered to buy rival stablecoin issuer Circle for a price of $4-5 billion, which Circle rejected as too low. Circle previously attempted to go public via SPAC in 2022 at a $9 billion valuation, and has grown since then.

Is this the last we'll hear of the story? What would the right price be? Is any of this true? The reporting sources so far are, uh, unconventional.

Please find another week of fintech exits and deep reads below.

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

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📖 Reads of the Week

☯️ Exits

💻 IPOs & SPACs

Crypto investment fund Galaxy – famously one of the high-profile backers of Terra / Luna – announced its intention to list on Nasdaq on May 16, positioning itself as a major player in the digital asset space. Galaxy reported $1.5 billion in equity capital and a 300% increase in revenue during its latest company earnings.
KKR-backed InCred entered talks with advisers regarding a potential $470 million initial public offering, signaling expansion plans for the Indian financial services company.
Digital Asset Acquisition Corp priced its initial public offering at $150 million, marking another significant SPAC entry into the financial markets.

🤝 M&A - Fintech

Silver Lake and P2 considered a $5 billion-plus exit of Blackhawk, evaluating options to divest from the payments company after their investment period.
F2 Strategy expanded its market reach through the acquisition of MD Solutions, specifically targeting emerging wealth firms to enhance its service offerings.
LendingClub acquired Cushion's AI-powered spending intelligence platform, strengthening its financial technology capabilities and customer service offerings.
AngelList acquired Tome, a remote AI-powered contract review platform.

🏦 M&A - Bank and FinServ

Italy's Mediobanca offered to buy Banca Generali in a €7 billion share deal, making a strategic move to expand its wealth management operations in the Italian banking sector.

INTEREST BEARING STABLECOINS
(or Old Banker Yells at Cloud)

For anyone who knows me, I am going to say the least surprising thing ever: I have been paying attention to the progress of the Stable act, the Genius act, and the discussion around stablecoin regulation intently. I… pic.twitter.com/lxsZKjmMO2
— Austin Campbell (@CampbellJAustin) April 30, 2025

💡

Sponsored Content

Do you have RSUs, private investments or fund carry? Do you own crypto? Do you have one or more rental properties? Establishing a proper estate plan is a critical step to protecting your family and assets. Steward combines AI with expert attorneys to create a bespoke estate plan for you at a fraction of what you’d pay a traditional lawyer.

Members of This Week in Fintech receive $1,000 off through 5/31/2025. Click here to learn more now.