Nasdaq is partnering with Payward to build infrastructure that enables traditional securities to be issued and traded as blockchain-based assets
TLDR Fintech 2026-03-12
News & Trends
Nasdaq teams up with Kraken to expand tokenization infrastructure (2 minute read)
Nasdaq is partnering with crypto exchange Kraken’s parent company Payward to build infrastructure that enables traditional securities to be issued and traded as blockchain-based assets. The collaboration will use Payward’s xStocks platform to move equities from institutional trading systems onto blockchain networks, reflecting growing institutional interest in tokenized financial markets. As regulators gradually open the door to digital asset infrastructure, major exchanges are positioning tokenized stocks as a pathway toward always-on markets with faster settlement and new forms of shareholder engagement.
Meta veteran and Sequoia partner aim to raise over $1 billion for new firm (2 minute read)
Sequoia partner Ravi Gupta and former Meta chief revenue officer John Hegeman are raising at least $1B for a new holding company called Ithaca Holdings. The firm plans to acquire a public or private company and modernize its technology stack, potentially with AI, to improve operations rather than simply layering AI onto legacy businesses. The effort reflects a growing Silicon Valley trend where investors buy traditional service businesses (like accounting or legal) and transform them using AI-driven workflows.
Revolut gets full license approval from UK (4 minute read)
After a four-year wait, Revolut has secured full authorization to operate as a bank in the UK, allowing the fintech to expand beyond payments into core banking products. The approval enables the company to offer loans, mortgages, credit cards, overdrafts, and insured savings accounts while bringing deposits under the Financial Services Compensation Scheme. With roughly 13 million UK customers and 70 million globally, the milestone strengthens Revolut’s push to become a global financial platform as it also pursues a US banking charter and targets 100 million users worldwide.
𝕏 Money early public access will launch next month (1 minute read)
X Money will begin early public access next month, according to a short announcement from Musk. The feature is expected to expand X Corp.’s push to turn its social platform into an “everything app” with integrated payments and financial services. If successful, the rollout could position X as a direct competitor to digital wallets like PayPal and Cash App within the social media ecosystem.
Deep Dives & Reports
The “Cursor Moment” for finance and Excel may be arriving (5 minute read)
New AI models are beginning to meaningfully interact with Excel spreadsheets and financial models, a capability that many analysts say could represent a “Cursor moment” for finance workflows. Tests by hedge fund analyst Brett Caughran suggest GPT-5.4 Thinking can now analyze spreadsheets well enough to become part of real investment workflows, a leap from earlier models that struggled with structured financial data. The shift highlights a growing divide between users who build AI-driven agents and automation pipelines and those who still treat AI primarily as a search or writing tool.
2026: The year everyone became a bank (4 minute read)
A growing number of fintech and crypto companies are pursuing US banking charters to gain direct control over financial infrastructure rather than relying on partner banks. Neobanks like Revolut, bunq, Nubank, and PayPal see charters as a way to scale globally and deepen customer relationships, while crypto firms such as Circle, Kraken, and Ripple view them as a path to regulatory legitimacy and institutional trust. A banking license also unlocks benefits like direct access to payment rails, reserve backing, digital asset custody, and tokenization, while reducing exposure to sponsor-bank and third-party risk that has long defined the fintech partnership model.
What does Stripe at $160B mean for traditional IPOs? (15 minute read)
Beyond payments, Stripe has positioned aggressively around crypto and agentic commerce as a catalyst for online spend. It acquired stablecoin orchestration platform Bridge for $1.1B, wallet infrastructure provider Privy, and is building Tempo, a payments-focused L1 blockchain being tested by Visa, Nubank, and Klarna. Its latest tender offer at $159B is a 74% increase from last year.
Launches & Products
Microsoft Copilot Cowork: A new way of getting work done (4 minute read)
Copilot Cowork is a new Microsoft 365 capability designed to move Copilot beyond answering questions and toward executing tasks across workplace apps like Outlook, Teams, Excel, and documents. Cowork converts a user’s request into a plan, runs workflows in the background, and pulls context from emails, meetings, and files to complete work such as scheduling meetings, preparing customer decks, and compiling research. Built with enterprise security controls and a multi-model architecture that includes Anthropic’s Claude, the feature is currently in research preview with broader rollout planned through Microsoft’s Frontier program.
Harvey launches Agent Builder for complex legal workflows (3 minute read)
Harvey’s Agent Builder is a new tool that lets legal teams create custom AI agents to automate multi-step legal work such as due diligence, contract review, and memo drafting. The platform already processes 400K+ agentic queries daily, extracts 20M+ legal terms, and powers 25K+ custom workflows, and Agent Builder expands this by allowing firms to create reusable agents tailored to internal processes. The tool also introduces scheduled background agents and human-in-the-loop checkpoints, enabling more autonomous execution while keeping lawyers in control.
Airwallex launches Yield in US (3 minute read)
Airwallex is bringing its treasury management product, Yield, to US businesses, allowing companies to automatically move idle balances into money market funds to earn higher returns. The feature, which has already surpassed $1 billion in assets under administration globally, lets businesses sweep cash into a JP Morgan government money market fund while maintaining immediate liquidity inside the Airwallex platform. By embedding treasury management directly into its financial stack, Airwallex is positioning itself alongside fintech platforms like Stripe, Brex, and Wise that help companies generate yield on operational cash.
Miscellaneous
Abu Dhabi’s Judan buys majority stake in Alpha Wave Global (2 minute read)
Abu Dhabi’s new $237B financial-services platform Judan is acquiring a 50.1% stake in Alpha Wave Global, an alternative asset manager with ~$29B AUM and investments in companies including SpaceX, Anthropic, and OpenAI. The deal deepens Gulf sovereign exposure to AI and tech while helping Alpha Wave expand initiatives like an AI-native life insurance business. The move is part of a broader push by Abu Dhabi, led by Sheikh Tahnoon, to build global financial and AI influence through large strategic acquisitions.
Mastercard builds virtual C-suite of AI agents for SMEs (2 minute read)
Mastercard is developing an AI-powered virtual C-suite for small businesses, promising the kind of strategic support usually reserved for large corporations. The payments giant says that each agent will act as a digital executive, aiding in key responsibilities from finance to security to marketing, giving business owners deeper views into their operations.
Quick Links
Airwallex says it saved customers $1.3B as ARR hits $1.2B (2 minute read)
Airwallex says its global payments and financial infrastructure platform saved customers $1.3B in fees in 2025, helping the company reach $1.2B in ARR with 85% y/y growth.
JPMorgan Payments AI tool validates 550 data points each night (2 minute read)
JPMorgan is using artificial intelligence across its payments infrastructure to monitor transactions and flag anomalies that could signal risk or operational issues.
Mastercard signs big names to crypto partner programme (2 minute read)
Mastercard has signed up 85 partners - including PayPal, Ripple, and SoFi - to a new crypto partner programme.