Fintech Stacks

Intuit just bought a billing startup, Schwab posted record numbers and still got sold, and Kraken’s parent is buying a European bank. We break down what each deal says about where fintech is headed. Short, sharp, and no fluff.

Bank of America took a $1.2 billion compliance hit while sitting on 25.7 million Zelle users, Morgan Stanley turned the IPO boom into a record $232 billion wealth haul, and BlackRock quietly became a software company with $15.5 trillion behind it. We break down what each earnings report says about where fintech and Wall Street are actually colliding. Come for the numbers, stay for the Costco jokes.

Earnings season is open, and Citi managed to beat estimates and still get sold. We also dig into Visa’s nine-year wait for a yes from China’s central bank and what Stripe’s Privy is really doing with AI agents on the XRP Ledger. Short on hype, long on numbers.

Ramp reportedly just raised $1.85 billion at a $60 billion valuation, and we break down why its biggest rival already cashed out for a fraction of that. Then we head to Lagos, where OPay is eyeing a NYSE listing with $91 million in half-year profit. We close with Coinbase, Robinhood and Kalshi getting sidelined in Michigan, and what it means for prediction markets.

Wise just told about 4,000 customers it handed them the wrong tax numbers for four years, and now it’s picking up the bill. We also dig into Musk’s claim that Grok can run your Shopify store and SoFi’s new crypto card for Mexico. Three stories, one theme: who holds the keys, and who pays when things break.

A congressional panel says Webull's China ties are a national security risk, and the stock took the hit. Robinhood is putting $25 million of Bitcoin on its own balance sheet, and Anchorage Digital bought Routable to own the fiat last mile. We break down what each move says about who really holds the money and where the plumbing runs.

Gen just built an insurance site for AI agents, BNY is reportedly eyeing Kraken's infrastructure, and stablecoin startup Rain wants a federal trust bank charter days after community bankers sued the OCC. We break down what's confirmed, what's rumor, and what it means for the plumbing under fintech.

Brazil's first round blew past the polls and sent Nubank up more than 13%, so we break down what the runoff means for the stock. Then we dig into the community bankers' lawsuit against the OCC over crypto bank charters, and why Coinbase and Circle are in the middle of it. We finish with Monarch buying MBI, the budgeting app's move into the plumbing banks run on.

A fired founder is one inspector's certification away from retaking his board, JPMorgan just picked up an SEC censure, and Webull signed on to X's Cashtag program. We break down what actually happened, what the numbers say, and why each one matters for fintech investors. No fluff, just signal and a few jokes.

Coinbase, Mastercard, Visa and Stripe just launched a stablecoin while still backing USDC, so we break down who's actually winning that pie. Then we cover Nubank's reported Monzo denial and what a 10% gut check from shareholders tells you about big-swing M&A. We finish with Stripe's Parafin deal and why a private company keeps buying everything in sight.