Fintech Highlights — May 2026

A quieter month for headline-grabbing deals — most of the action was in cross-border crypto banking infrastructure rather than any single blockbuster story.

Crypto-friendly banks kept finding creative regulatory paths. 

United Texas Bank, which became a dominant processor of dollar payments for overseas crypto exchanges after Silvergate and Signature collapsed, switched its charter to fall under the OCC instead of the Federal Reserve — a move that carries over an existing enforcement order but gives the bank a regulator more aligned with its crypto-heavy business model, and clears the way for it to offer digital asset custody.

Stablecoin and exchange consolidation continued across borders.

Tether bought SoftBank's 26% stake in crypto treasury company Twenty One Capital. South Korean lender Hana Bank invested $670 million into Dunamu, the parent of crypto exchange Upbit — another sign of traditional banks buying their way into crypto infrastructure rather than competing against it. And MoonPay acquired Dawn Labs to build out trading infrastructure for prediction markets and digital assets.

Also this month: 

• National Australia Bank acquired UK payments startup Banked;
• Airwallex raised new funding at roughly a $12 billion valuation; and
• Elliptic, the blockchain analytics firm, raised $120M at a $670M valuation with backing from Deutsche Bank and JPMorgan.