By Phoebe Seers and Elizabeth Howcroft LONDON, Feb 25 (Reuters) - Britain's Revolut will start testing a crypto token pegged to the British pound, in a trial ‌with three small companies but no big high-street lenders, the Financial Conduct ‌Authority said on Wednesday. The trial will take place as part of the financial regulator's "sandbox" programme, which allows ​firms to trial stablecoin products in controlled conditions, it said. Britain's larger financial firms have generally been more cautious i ...

Revolut and three other firms will join the Financial Conduct Authority’s stablecoin sandbox, the regulator said. The sandbox, an ongoing project for the regulator since last year, will focus on key uses under real-world conditions, including crypto trading and payments. Alongside Revolut, Monee Financial Technologies, ReStabilise, and VVTX will participate. Monee is a digital lending platform also involved in the Bank of England’s digital securities sandbox. ReStabilise is a white-label stablecoin ser ...

The UK is still the market leader in fintech innovation. But with investment in the sector hitting a four year low, those looking to grow are looking across the pond. For many, the US is a land of fintech opportunity. American banking continues to lag behind Europe in several key areas: open banking adoption, fast payment systems, and truly mobile-native experiences. For nimble fintech businesses that have prioritised delivering a top-tier customer experience (CX), US soil is fertile ground for growth. ...

Investment Rating - The report indicates a strong positive outlook for the fintech sector, with significant growth in venture capital (VC) activity and deal values, suggesting a favorable investment environment for 2026. Core Insights - Fintech VC deal value surged in Q4 2025 to $17.3 billion, a 114.3% year-over-year increase, bringing the full-year total to $42.8 billion, the highest since 2022 [9][11] - Median fintech deal sizes increased across all stages in 2025, reflecting a shift toward larger rounds and higher capital concentration, driven by AI premiums [9][12] - B2C fintech drove Q4 megadeals, while enterprise fintech is expected to dominate investor attention in 2026 [9][13] - Exit activity reached its highest level since 2021, with $67.6 billion in total value, indicating a robust IPO and deal pipeline for 2026 [9][21] Fintech Landscape - The fintech landscape includes various segments such as alternative lending, capital markets, commercial finance, payments, and wealthtech [7] Quarterly Analysis - VC funding for fintech companies was robust in Q4 2025, with a total deal value of $17.3 billion, up 86.7% quarter-over-quarter and 114.3% year-over-year [11] - The overall median deal size in 2025 was $6 million, up 25.4% from 2024, with significant increases across all stages [12] - Enterprise fintech captured 58.3% of total fintech VC deal value in 2025, while B2C fintech saw larger deals in Q4 2025 [13] Thematic Updates - Stablecoin adoption is expected to grow significantly in 2026, with a market cap increase of 45.9% year-over-year to $299 billion [34][35] - Tokenization of real-world assets is accelerating, with major financial institutions adopting blockchain technologies for efficiency [38][39] - Prediction markets are emerging as a significant financial asset class, with weekly volumes surpassing $5 billion [45][46] Fintech VC Deal Summary - In 2025, the top fintech segments by VC deal value were credit & banking ($8.5 billion), wealthtech ($8.3 billion), and payments ($6.5 billion) [19] - Notable Q4 deals included Revolut's $3 billion round and Polymarket's $2 billion Series D [20] VC Exits - In 2025, disclosed VC exit value rose 272.2% year-over-year to $67.6 billion, with a significant number of public listings contributing to this increase [21][28] - Key acquisitions in Q4 included Xero's $2.5 billion acquisition of Melio and Ripple's $1.3 billion acquisition of Hidden Road [24][63]

一名加密交易者指控 Revolut 前员工试图以泄露其 KYC 个人信息为要挟索取加密货币赎金，并联系其 家人施压。Revolut 发言人确认，公司已将此事报告给执法机构，相关部门正在调查该前员工的涉嫌行 为。（Cointelegraph） （来源：吴说） ...

Group 1 - Robinhood has submitted a preliminary registration statement to the SEC to launch the Robinhood Ventures Fund I (RVI Fund), aimed at providing retail investors access to investments in private companies [2][4] - The RVI Fund plans to raise $400 million by issuing 40 million shares at an initial price of $25 per share, with 35 million shares issued by RVI and 5 million shares sold by Robinhood Markets [4] - The fund has locked in seven companies as underlying assets, including Databricks, Revolut, and Airwallex, with plans to acquire shares in Stripe post-IPO [6][8] Group 2 - The RVI Fund is structured as a closed-end fund under the Investment Company Act of 1940 and will be publicly traded on the NYSE under the ticker RVI [4] - Databricks, a key asset, achieved a valuation of $134 billion after a $5 billion funding round in February 2026, while Revolut reached a valuation of approximately $47 billion by 2025 [8][9] - Airwallex has raised over $900 million since its inception and was valued at $9.2 billion in 2025, while Oura and Ramp also feature as significant investments within the fund [9][10] Group 3 - The establishment of the RVI Fund is seen as a potential disruption to the private equity market, allowing retail investors to participate in high-growth opportunities previously dominated by wealthy individuals and institutions [2][11] - Concerns have been raised regarding the risks associated with retail investors entering the private market, with some industry experts labeling the fund's potential issuance as reckless [13] - Despite the risks, Robinhood's founder emphasized that retail investors are eager to pursue such opportunities, particularly in the AI sector [14]

Mexico’s digital financial company Plata has received final approval from the National Banking and Securities Commission (CNBV) to operate as a full bank, concluding a three-year application process. The regulatory clearance allows Plata to expand beyond its existing credit card business, which serves 3 million active users entirely through a mobile app. Plata’s latest funding round valued the firm at $3.1bn, reported Bloomberg. The institution operates without physical branches and plans to broaden it ...

Group 1 - Robinhood has announced the launch of Robinhood Ventures Fund I (RVI), aimed at providing individual investors access to a basket of private companies, addressing imbalances in capital market access [1][2] - The fund will be listed on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) under the symbol RVI and will include companies such as Revolut, Oura, Ramp, Databricks, Airwallex, Mercor, and Boom, with plans to expand the portfolio to include more firms like Stripe [2][4] - RVI is designed to be accessible to a broad range of investors without accreditation requirements or minimum investment thresholds, charging a management fee but no performance fees, and offering daily trading liquidity subject to market conditions [4][5] Group 2 - The initiative aims to resolve longstanding inequities in capital markets, as stated by Robinhood CEO Vlad Tenev, but has raised skepticism regarding the risks of investing in private companies [5][6] - RVI provides exposure to private growth companies, a segment traditionally dominated by institutional capital, and operates as an SEC-registered, exchange-listed vehicle [6][7] - The fund's underlying holdings are private companies with valuations based on infrequent funding rounds, which may not reflect real-time market conditions until a new funding event occurs [7][8]

Core Insights - Robinhood is launching Robinhood Ventures Fund I to provide retail investors access to private market investments, which have traditionally been reserved for institutional investors [3][4] - The fund will be listed on the NYSE and will allow retail investors to trade shares of the fund while investing in late-stage private companies [4][6] Fund Structure and Holdings - The fund's portfolio includes significant allocations to companies such as Databricks (23.24%), Revolut (14.30%), and Mercor (14.23%), indicating a focus on enterprise software, fintech, and AI-driven sectors [3][4] - The fund will raise capital through an IPO, and the capital will be used to acquire stakes in private companies, with liquidity provided through the publicly traded shares of the fund [4][6] Investment Potential - Databricks, the fund's largest holding, was valued at approximately $43.4 billion in September 2023, with expectations of reaching a valuation of around $130 billion, representing a potential upside of over 300% [7] - The structure allows retail investors to gain exposure to private market investments without minimum investment requirements or liquidity issues, thus democratizing access to high-growth opportunities [6][7]

When you look at New Bank and Revolute moving both aggressively into the US, if you were to put money on who's going to do better, who would do better. I think I have to go with David. Wow.Why. Because I think Nick's challenge right now might be that he is so distributed. I mean, he's trying to go for the whole world, right. I mean, he's launching in Dubai, he's launching in India, he's launching everywhere.You know, banking is not your standard tech company. It's difficult. And so, I just wonder if he's li ...