Latest FinTech & Blockchain News
ICE Completes $600M Investment in Polymarket, Fulfilling $2B Commitment
Intercontinental Exchange (ICE), NYSE operator, injected $600 million into Polymarket as part of a $2 billion total commitment announced in October 2025. This builds ICE's decentralized finance portfolio and positions it as Polymarket's exclusive global distributor of event-driven data for institutional markets. ICE also plans $40 million purchases of Polymarket securities from existing holders.
Swift Advances Shared Ledger for Tokenised Deposits to MVP Stage
Swift is developing infrastructure for a shared ledger enabling 24/7 interoperable cross-border payments using tokenised deposits, with design completed by over 40 institutions including JP Morgan and HSBC. The MVP is planned to go live with real-world transactions this year, following a September 2025 announcement. This blockchain-based solution aims to integrate with banks' systems.
9fin Achieves Unicorn Status with $170M Series C Funding
UK data analytics firm 9fin raised $170 million in Series C led by HarbourVest, valuing it at over $1.3 billion after previous $50 million Series B. Funds will boost AI capabilities, proprietary datasets, and US growth, totaling over $250 million raised. It joins the UK unicorn club in fintech.
Coinbase CLO: Stablecoin Yield Deal Under CLARITY Act Very Close
Coinbase's Paul Grewal stated on Fox Business that negotiations on the CLARITY Act's stablecoin yield provisions are nearing a deal, expecting Senate Banking Committee markup post-Easter recess. The March draft bans passive yields but allows defined activity rewards, with revisions pending industry input. This could be a major US crypto breakthrough before 2026.
Qover Secures Growth Capital from CIBC for AI and Platform Expansion
Insurtech Qover received additional funding from CIBC to invest in its orchestration platform, AI, and infrastructure, serving 15 million users including Revolut and Monzo. It projects 55 million users by end-2026 and aims for 100 million protected by 2030. This supports global safety net infrastructure.
Better Money Raises $10M Seed for Stablecoin Clearinghouse
US stablecoin infrastructure startup Better Money secured $10 million seed led by a16z crypto, with participants like BoxGroup and The Fintech Fund. The funding will create a stablecoin clearinghouse. Investors include notable figures like Patrick McHenry.
Brazil's UnblockPay Bags $4.5M Seed to Expand Stablecoin Operations
UnblockPay, a Brazilian stablecoin banking platform, raised $4.5 million seed led by Prelude, processing R$300 million (~$60M) in first-year volume. Funds will expand operations, product development, and compliance. Backers include Plug and Play and Wintermute.
Canadian FinTech Funding Surges 52% YoY in Q4 2025 to $1.6B
Canadian FinTech saw $1.6 billion across 18 deals in Q4 2025, up 52% from Q4 2024, with average deal size at $89.1 million showing investor confidence. Micruity raised $20 million Series A for retirement data infrastructure, one of the quarter's largest. This marks the strongest quarter recorded.
Micruity Secures $20M Series A for Retirement Income Data Infrastructure
Canadian FinTech Micruity raised $20 million Series A co-led by Rebalance Capital and Nationwide Ventures for modernizing 401(k) data infrastructure targeting US retirement market gaps. Backers include J.P. Morgan and TIAA Ventures. It addresses accumulation-to-income distribution needs for 100M+ Americans.
PayPal Struggles with Slowing Growth and Losing Market Share
PayPal's branded checkout growth slowed to 1% in Q4, missing earnings expectations amid competition from Apple and Google wallets, with shares down over 20% since January. The company invests $400 million in checkout improvements and sees growth in Venmo and BNPL. Over five years, shares dropped 80% as the industry matures.
ICE Launches Polymarket Signals Tool for Institutional Traders
In February 2026, ICE launched Polymarket Signals and Sentiment, providing normalized crowd-sourced probability data as structured feeds for traders. This follows ICE's October 2025 role as exclusive distributor of Polymarket's event-driven data. The $2B investment emphasizes financial data infrastructure over prediction markets.