Fintech Highlights - 8/26/2025

Here's what we've been watching this week 👇

Pinned to the Top

BNY and Goldman Sachs are aiming to manage reserve assets for stablecoin issuers, the latest move by banks to serve the sector following the passage last month of U.S. stablecoin legislation.

BNY filed on Monday seeking SEC approval to launch a fund, called “BNY Dreyfus Stablecoin Reserve Funds,” that’s intended to be held by stablecoin issuers as reserves backing their stablecoins. The fund plans to invest only in assets, such as Treasury bills, cash and repo, that were approved under the Genius Act.

Goldman also filed for a similar fund, called “Stablecoin Reserves Fund,” this month. Shares of the fund are expected to be held primarily by “one or more stablecoin issuers as all or a portion of the reserve assets that back the stablecoins,” the filing says.

The giant pool of assets underlying stablecoins are appealing for asset managers and banks. The stablecoin reserve funds are akin to the money market funds the banks’ already run, making it cheap and easy for them to offer the funds to back stablecoins. The biggest stablecoin issuers, Tether and Circle, currently have $167 billion and $68 billion in their outstanding stablecoins, respectively.

Having big banks manage the underlying assets could also help stablecoin issuers boost investor confidence. BlackRock already provides such services for Circle, the issuer of USDC, through its “Circle Reserve Fund,” which makes up about 85% of Circle’s stablecoin reserves. Tether has said its stablecoin reserves are managed by Cantor Fitzgerald.

The BFD

Illustration: Brendan Lynch/Axios

 Football season is nearly upon us, and Robinhood is ready for kickoff.

• 📊 🏈 The trading app said today it's adding NFL and college football prediction markets, marking a major expansion of the fast-growing space.
• 🔥 Football is the most popular U.S. sport for betting, giving Robinhood a chance to tap huge demand.

🗣️ "The revolution of prediction markets as a viable competitor to state-regulated sports betting — and as a legal offering in states with no regulated sports betting — is happening at a breakneck pace," gambling industry analyst Dustin Gouker wrote in his newsletter The Closing Line.

The big picture: Robinhood launched prediction market access via Kalshi in March.

• ⚖️ Regulation remains the big question, as Kalshi has fought to keep its sports markets alive through the CFTC, and without sports gambling licenses from individual states.
• Meanwhile, rival Polymarket is pursuing U.S. access through an acquisition.

M&A

Figure, a consumer lending platform led by Mike Cagney (ex-SoFi), filed for an IPO that Renaissance Capital estimates could raise $400m. It reports $29m of net income on $191m in revenue for the first half of 2025, and plans to list on the Nasdaq (FIGR). Figure has raised around $425m, most recently in 2021 at a $3.2b valuation, from backers like DST Global, Ribbit Capital, DCM, and Norgan Creek Digital.  More here ->

CSI agreed to acquire Apiture, a provider of digital banking solutions to U.S. financial groups. CSI backers include TA Associates, Bridgeport Partners, Centerbridge Partners, and CFT Capital Partners. Apiture had raised around $70m from Live Oak Ventures, Truist Ventures, Live Oak Bank, Pinnacle Bank, SunTrust Bank, Pinnacle Financial Partners, T. Rowe Price, and Bankers Healthcare Group. More here ->

Starling Bank, a London-based neobank that's raised nearly $1b, agreed to buy U.K. accounting startup Ember, which had raised $14m from backers like Valar Ventures, Viola Fintech, and Shapers.  More here ->

Carlyle agreed to buy wealth platform Intelliflo from Invesco for $205m, per Financial News.  More here ->

Fintech

Casca, an SF-based loan origination platform, raised $29m in Series A funding. Its mission is to modernize the lending process—especially for small businesses—by replacing decades-old, manual underwriting workflows with intelligent, automated systems. More here ->

Investtech

Midas, a Turkish investment platform, raised $80m in Series B funding.  It is considered Turkey’s premier retail investment app, offering cost-efficient access to multiple markets, innovative trading features, and a slick user experience—all while commanding strong investor confidence and pushing toward further expansion. More here ->

Proptech

Kasa, an SF-based provider of flexible accommodations, raised $40m. It operates as a hospitality brand and operator that partners with real estate owners—such as multifamily buildings, boutique hotels, and vacation homes—to transform units into professionally managed lodging experiences called “Kasas." More here ->

From the Stash

Thread Bank chief digital officer to lead embedded banking efforts - Thread Bank named Marty Miracle as its first chief digital officer to scale its embedded banking business.  “Our embedded banking strategy is centered around innovation while keeping a community feel,” Chief Executive Chris Black told Bank Automation News. “As we execute more integrations, Marty is here as chief digital officer to ensure sound deliver. More here ->

Gen AI saves FIs hours by generating equities reports - The financial services industry is deploying generative AI throughout operations and investment banking is realizing high returns.  Agentic AI can enhance operations across all financial institutions including:  Banks;  Insurers;   Asset managers;  Private equity shops; and  Brokers.   Chip giant Nvidia, for one, has seen a sharp rise in the use of its agentic AI model application. More here ->

Deel Cinches Victory in a Rippling-linked Lawsuit - Payroll startup Deel has cinched a victory in a case linked to its larger battle with Rippling. A judge in Florida on Monday dismissed a case that was filed earlier this year against Deel.

The action was filed by a court-appointed receiver to a Ponzi operation that the Securities and Exchange Commission says ripped off elderly church members. Deel was accused of facilitating payments for the scheme. The suit was filed with the assistance of a Florida-based Rippling investor, Tom Grady, who represents Rippling in licensing and regulatory matters. It was accused of a range of failures relating to compliance with anti-money laundering regulations. More here ->

Tether Hires Ex-White House Crypto Adviser Bo Hines - Tether, the biggest stablecoin issuer, said it has hired Bo Hines, the former White House crypto executive director, to advise the company on its U.S. strategy and expansion. Hines, 29, announced his surprise resignation from the White House on Aug.9 to return to the private sector. A deputy of David Sacks, President Trump’s crypto and AI czar, Hines had served as a liaison between the White House and the crypto industry. More here ->

Jack Henry signs 51 new core deals in its fiscal 2025 - Jack Henry signed 51 new core deals during its fiscal 2025 ended June 30.   “Additionally, we signed 37 contracts to move existing in-house core clients to our private cloud, including 11 in Q4,” Chief Executive Greg Adelson said Aug. 20 during the tech provider’s fourth-quarter earnings call. More here ->

Digitalization, AI table stakes in banking, BBVA says - BBVA Argentina, a subsidiary of BBVA which serves South America, is revamping its tech stack to ensure the bank stays competitive against rising fintechs.  “Digitalization, which was previously a competitive advantage, has now become a market standard,” Chief Executive Jorge Alberto Bledel said during the bank’s second-quarter earnings call Aug. 20. More here ->

CFPB seeks comments on bank fees as consumer-data rule reworked - The US Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is seeking answers to questions around bank fees and customer authorization as it reshapes a rule governing personal-finance information after JPMorgan Chase & Co. proposed charging outside parties to access the data. More here ->

Japan Financial Giant SBI Expands Into Tokenized Stock Trading - Japanese financial services conglomerate SBI Holdings is teaming up with Singapore blockchain firm Startale Group to build a new trading platform for tokenized stocks—digital assets backed by shares in publicly traded companies.

Tokyo-based SBI, which oversees more than 11 trillion yen ($74 billion) in assets, said Friday that its new joint venture with Startale will launch a trading platform focused on tokenized stocks, which are blockchain-backed tokens that represent the value of public company shares. More here ->

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