This Week in Fintech

SoFi Finalizes $5B Debt Deal with Blue Owl (TWIF 3/29) Hello Fintech Friends, Today’s newsletter is brought to you by?Visa Direct. In another sign of continued improving health of the fintech market, business banking platform Mercury* announced their $300 million Series C, led by Sequoia, on the back of growth to 200,000+ business customers, $500 million in revenue in 2024, $156 billion in annual transaction volume, up 64% year-over-year, and 10 consecutive quarters of profitability. (Disclosure: I'm a small investor.) Fintech Mercury lands $300M https://lnkd.in/euqFCEx7

Fintech in Asia is back? ~$250M raised and 5 acquisitions | TWIF - 29th Mar, 2025 Hi fintech friends,?I'm?Osborne,?investor in early stage startups. Please enjoy all the news and updates from the past week in today’s edition. If you feel TWIF brings you value, please share it with your friends (and maybe suggest they subscribe too). Help us deliver more value!?Please take 2 minutes to complete this quick survey about your fintech interests and preferences. Your feedback will directly shape our newsletter content and upcoming events to better serve professionals like you acr https://lnkd.in/eDBKpSr8

The SEC may be backing off one of its most controversial crypto proposals. Last year, the agency proposed expanding custody rules to include all client assets — including crypto. The idea: require registered investment advisers to hold assets only with “qualified custodians.” In practice: many crypto custodians didn’t meet the SEC’s definition. Critics saw it for what it was — a shadow ban. No registered adviser would be able to custody crypto, even if the client wanted it. Now? Acting SEC Chair Mark Uyeda says the agency is reconsidering the rule altogether. They’re working with the White House’s crypto task force and weighing whether to withdraw the proposal completely. It’s a rare reversal, and it matters. The rule would’ve functionally locked crypto out of the RIA ecosystem. Even Uyeda himself said in 2023: “This approach to custody appears to mask a policy decision to block access to crypto as an asset class.” This isn’t just about custody. It’s about whether U.S. regulation enables responsible crypto adoption, or tries to bury it in compliance. The SEC might not be ready to bless crypto just yet. But walking back this rule is a step toward neutrality, and that’s a win for the industry.

Axis Bank becomes the first Indian financial institution to offer near real-time, 24/7 cross-border payments in USD — powered by JP Morgan’s blockchain platform, Kinexys. The partnership uses blockchain-based deposit accounts to give Axis Bank’s commercial clients round-the-clock access to programmable payments. Read more:

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This week saw our first-ever TWIF breaking news story! Staff writer Maria covered Interledger Foundation’s $5M fund to support interoperable payments. Plus, in this week’s newsletter, we’ve rounded up big stablecoin headlines from Fidelity, Wyoming, Worldcoin, and even Trump’s latest financial venture. If you’re thinking about stablecoins (or building one!), make sure Stablecon in NYC is on your radar. Catch up on all the latest here: https://lnkd.in/dKgHqa9R

?? Send Your Scoops to TWIF Breaking (TWIF 3/28) Hello Fintech Friends, Welcome to the 2,561 new readers who’ve joined us since last week. You’re joining 165,000+ other subscribers who want to launch their own stablecoin. Today's newsletter is brought to you by Wilson Sonsini. ?? We're up to something new at TWIF – Breaking news stories. This week, staff writer Maria Najjar wrote up our first breaking story about Interledger Foundation's $5 million in new funding for interoperable payments companies. You can check out the full scoop here: https://lnkd.in/e--GxZtA

?? NMI Launches Tap to Pay on Google Play Store Payments infrastructure leader NMI has launched its new Tap to Pay solution on the Google Play Store, powered by Mastercard. The app turns any eligible Android device into a secure, contactless payment terminal — no extra hardware needed. Read more:

?? Dubai fintech YAP raises $41M to expand across Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, Ghana & Egypt. The digital banking platform partners with local banks, offering budgeting tools & real-time alerts. Read more:

Catch up on last week’s biggest news and developments in China’s fintech scene here: