XRP’s Big Opening; SoFi Acquires Lendtech Start-up Peach

AI

AI to Transform Every Role in Banking, JPMorgan's Dimon says

JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon outlines how AI will reshape banking jobs, as industry leaders respond to workforce disruption and automation pressures

Mastercard: Customer Experience and Agentic AI Expectations

Michele Centemero, EVP of Services at Mastercard Europe explains how fintech approaches to agentic AI must adapt in line with consumer expectations

Venture Capital

General Catalyst just led a $63M bet on India's travel payments market

Scapia, an Indian startup that combines travel booking with co-branded credit cards and mobile payments, has raised $63 million in a funding round led by General Catalyst, with existing investors Peak XV Partners and Z47 also participating. The deal comes despite a broader slowdown in fintech deal-making.

Cryptocurrencies

XRP’s Big Opening: How Trump’s Fintech Order Could Unlock a New Era for Crypto Payments

President Donald Trump recently signed an executive order directing the Federal Reserve to review granting crypto firms direct access to United States payment rails. This historic pivot could completely redefine the utility and institutional adoption of XRP (CRYPTO: $XRP), the digital asset tied to Ripple.

Security

Akamai: Financial Services Face a Surge in DDoS Threats

New Akamai research shows how longer, more complex cyberattacks – driven by AI and geopolitics – are reshaping financial security priorities

Research

CEO Says Firing the Entire HR Dept Helped Turn Company Around

After his company Bolt lost 97% of its value, Ryan Breslow gutted it, saying HR was “creating problems that didn’t exist.”

Policy

5 Takeaways from Trump’s Executive Order on Fintech and Regulatory Frameworks

The executive order directs Federal financial regulators to review existing policies to “facilitate innovation and greater competition in the provision of financial services.” Even more directly, the order calls upon regulators to “take steps to encourage innovation by, and growth of, fintech firms and federally regulated institutions of all sizes.”

The “fintechs and friends” framing of the executive order is in and of itself telling. After years of trying to strike a balance between the needs of incumbent banks and financial services providers and insurgent fintech innovators, the EO suggests a potential shift from “containment” of fintech innovation to outright enablement.

Acquisition

SoFi acquires lendtech start-up Peach

This is SoFi's third acquisition this year, building on its previous deals for Composer and Primary Bid.