TLDR FINTECH 2026-09-10

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RAMP IN TALKS FOR NEW FUNDING AT $60B VALUATION

Ramp is reportedly discussing a new funding round at a $60 billion valuation, up from $44 billion just a few months ago and $13 billion in March 2025. The company has surpassed $1 billion in annualized revenue, says transaction volume is growing more than 170% year over year, and is leaning on AI-driven expense, procurement, and model-spend management as a major part of its growth story ahead of a potential IPO.

CHIME AGREES TO ACQUIRE STRIDE BANK FOR $590M

Chime agreed to acquire longtime partner Stride Bank for $590 million in cash, giving the fintech a national bank charter and bringing banking infrastructure in-house under the future Chime Bank, N.A. The deal is expected to be immediately accretive and generate more than $100 million in net synergies through lower partner-bank fees, cheaper funding, and expanded lending, while giving Chime tighter control over product development, compliance, and its balance sheet.

BLOCK APPLIES FOR FEDERAL TRUST BANK CHARTER

Block filed with the OCC to establish Builders Bank & Trust, an uninsured national trust bank that would provide custody and fiduciary services for assets including bitcoin and stablecoins. The move would give Block a federal framework for certain digital asset activities and adds it to a growing group of fintech and crypto companies seeking national bank charters.

PAYPAL HELPS DEVELOPERS BUILD APPLICATION-SPECIFIC PYUSD-BACKED STABLECOINS

PayPal is working with crypto specialists MoonPay and M0 on an infrastructure platform that lets developers create application-specific stablecoins backed by PYUSD. Launched in 2023, PYUSD is PayPal's own dollar-backed stablecoin, issued by Paxos Trust Company, a federally regulated national banking association. The new platform, called PYUSDx, aims to help developers launch application-specific stablecoins quickly while leveraging the core foundation of PayPal's established token.

DATA CENTER SPENDING TO REACH $32T BY 2050, PWC SAYS

PwC projects that meeting global demand for artificial intelligence will require $31.6 trillion in infrastructure investment through 2050, potentially rising to $50 trillion if adoption accelerates. The US is expected to capture nearly half of the capital, while recurring replacements of chips and other hardware will account for most of the investment. Access to reliable electricity and semiconductors will ultimately determine which regions benefit most.

DEFI: ROBINHOOD'S LEADING LAUNCHPAD STAPLED $5B OF MEMES TO STOCKS

Pons, a meme-token launchpad on Robinhood Chain, pairs new tokens against tokenized Robinhood stock tokens instead of crypto, making it the top fee-generating protocol in DeFi at $1.45M/day. The structure mirrors Olympus DAO's 2021 bonding trick, using real equity exposure as collateral to give meme coins a quoted price, with one case pushing a wrapped HIMS token to $132 versus a $28 real close.

VISA BRINGS ONCHAIN LENDING INTO EVERYDAY PAYMENTS

Visa is combining VisaNet settlement data with blockchain lending infrastructure to help stablecoin-linked card programs and fintechs access working capital, using real-time payment performance to support underwriting, collateral management, and automated repayment. The model is already live with Credit Coop, which has financed more than $2.5 billion of settlement volume with zero defaults, as Visa expands its broader stablecoin strategy across settlement, card programs, and digital asset infrastructure.

ION PARTNERS WITH COINBASE TO SUPPORT KALSHI'S EVENT CONTRACTS

ION announced that Coinbase selected its XTP for Event Contracts platform to support clearing and back-office processing for Kalshi's prediction market contracts. The partnership gives Coinbase real-time infrastructure for contract creation, resolution, settlement, high-volume onboarding, and 24/7 automated processing, with XTP already supporting Kalshi's first one million Super Bowl weekend trades.

US BANK PILOTS CUSTOM-BUILT STABLECOIN

US Bank has executed a live intrabank pilot transaction between North America and Europe that utilized the bank's proprietary US dollar-backed stablecoin, USBDC.

SPLIT PAY RAISES $125M TO BRING NET-30 FINANCING TO RENT

Split Pay raised $125 million from Khosla Ventures, Thrive Capital, and Max Levchin to let renters defer up to half of a bill for 30 days, charging 2% of the full bill plus $10 per month with no interest or late fees. The bigger bet is underwriting: Split Pay says its non-FICO model uses 50,000 variables and has achieved a 97.5% repayment rate across $350 million of originations, using rent as a high-frequency wedge to build a richer cash-flow dataset and eventually expand into broader consumer credit.

AFTER $240M BITCOIN THEFT, CRYPTO SCAMMERS' SPENDING SPREE COMES TO AN END

A group of young hackers allegedly stole more than 4,100 bitcoin by impersonating Google and Gemini representatives and manipulating a wealthy investor into revealing his security codes. Their extravagant purchases, including luxury cars, private jets, mansions and a $569,000 night out, helped attract attention before investigators traced the scheme through an exposed IP address. Eighteen people have been charged, with alleged ringleader Malone Lam expected to become the eleventh to plead guilty.

SAVVY WEALTH RAISES $100M SERIES C LED BY HALO FUND

Savvy Wealth raised a $100 million Series C led by Ryan Smith and Ryan Sweeney's Halo Fund, bringing total funding to more than $200 million. The AI-native RIA now supports 150+ independent advisors overseeing $9 billion in client assets, is approaching $100 million in ARR, and is positioning itself as an alternative to private-equity-backed RIA consolidation by giving advisors AI-powered operating infrastructure without requiring them to give up independence.

HEDGE FUND MANAGER BUILDS TRADING FIRM POWERED ENTIRELY BY AI AGENTS

Former crypto hedge fund manager Brian Kelly built Bracket22 around specialized AI agents that handle functions such as technical analysis, quantitative strategies, and workflow coordination, cutting his estimated annual labor and compute costs from roughly $5 million to $30,000 to $40,000.

FELIX PAGO RAISES $200 MILLION TO PUSH PAST REMITTANCES

The company plans to introduce lending, savings, and an AI financial assistant for Latin American immigrants living in the US.

CONSUMER TRUST IN AGENTIC PAYMENTS CONTINUES TO LAG

While consumers are increasingly using AI across the shopping journey, only 23% of US consumers trust GenAI to handle payment transactions on their behalf.