A group of major U.S. banks is joining forces to develop a blockchain designed specifically for the banking industry. The initiative marks a major step in traditional finance’s shift from experimenting with blockchain to building shared infrastructure around it. A bank-controlled network could potentially support faster settlement, tokenized assets and more efficient movement of money between financial institutions. The development is particularly significant because blockchain adoption is no longer limited to crypto-native companies or isolated pilots at individual banks. Instead, major U.S. institutions appear increasingly interested in creating common infrastructure that can operate at industry scale. If successful, the project could accelerate the tokenization of traditional financial assets and reshape how banks move value behind the scenes.

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Q2 2026 Quarterly FinTech Insights

Key Insights:

- Public Markets & IPO Pause

IPO Slowdown: Public-market activity dropped sharply following Q1’s five U.S. IPOs ($2.0B raised).

Overall Volume: Total FinTech deal volume fell for the 3rd consecutive quarter to $42.2B (lowest since Q4 2024).

International Listings: International IPO activity was minimal, totaling ~$0.2B combined from OnEMI Technology Solutions and Sunmi.

- Private Capital & Mega-Rounds

Private Funding Rebound: Private financing rose to $17.7B (vs. $16.1B in Q1 2026 and flat YoY vs. Q2 2025).

Capital Concentration: Growth was heavily skewed toward six $500M+ megadeals ($4.2B volume). Excluding these, underlying financing declined.

Deal Count Drop: Overall deal count fell 14% Q-o-Q to 696 deals (down 29% YoY). However, 43 deals topped $100M+ (highest quarterly total since Q3 2022).

Stage Breakdown:

Seed & Series A: Stable at 230 deals ($2.8B).

Series B+: Up to 74 deals ($7.8B) vs. $6.7B in Q1.

Top Sector & Investors: Financial Management Solutions led early and late stages. Andreessen Horowitz led VC activity (22 new, 34 total H1 deals). Coinbase Ventures and Tether were top strategic investors. Corporate participation hit 37% overall and 56% in Crypto/Blockchain.

- Unicorns & Major Financing Rounds

New Unicorns (Q2): Corgi ($2.6B), D360 ($1.6B), KreditBee ($1.5B), Slash ($1.4B), nesto ($1.05B), and Farther ($1.0B).

Valuation Increases: Ramp ($44B), Airwallex ($11B), AlphaSense ($7.5B), Alan ($6.3B), and Mercury ($5.2B).

Largest Rounds:

CRED ($900M Series H)

Ramp ($750M Series F)

Ebury ($742M Strategic)

Alan ($550M Series G)

Clip ($500M Late-Stage)

- M&A Activity ($24.3B Total Volume)

M&A stepped down from 2025’s pace with zero $15B+ transactions, but strategic acquirers drove key infrastructure consolidation:

Bullish \ Equiniti ($4.2B): Market infrastructure meets tokenization.

Nuvei \ Payoneer ($2.75B): Cross-border payments and stablecoin-enabled commerce consolidation.

Wafra \ Navitas ($1.9B): Sponsor appetite for specialty finance.

Other Notable Deals: Adyen / Talon.One ($880M), PayPay / T&D Financial Life ($840M), CoStar / Zonda ($800M), Amex / TheFork ($700M), Kraken / Reap ($600M), and Kraken / Bitnomial ($550M).

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Curated News

💳 Payments

Helcim Raises C$53M as Canadian Banks Exit SMB Payments
Helcim has raised C$53 million as Canadian banks retreat from parts of the small-business payments market. The funding gives the fintech an opportunity to capture merchants left underserved by traditional financial institutions.
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UK Government Pushes Bank of England to Support Payment Innovation
The UK government is urging the Bank of England to support greater innovation in payment systems. The move highlights growing pressure on regulators to modernize payment infrastructure while encouraging fintech competition.
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Visa Expands Support as Financial Industry Enters New AI Era
Visa is expanding support for clients and the wider industry as organizations adapt to AI-driven cybersecurity challenges. The initiative highlights the growing importance of securing payment infrastructure as financial services become increasingly AI-enabled.
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Swift Extends Deadline for Structured Address Migration
Swift has accepted a community request to extend the migration timeline for structured addresses in ISO 20022 payment messages. The change gives financial institutions more time to adapt their payment infrastructure to the new messaging standard.
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DBS and Stripe Team Up on AI-Powered Cross-Border Payments
DBS and Stripe are partnering on AI and cross-border payments across Asia. The collaboration combines banking infrastructure with fintech technology as both companies explore the next generation of international commerce.
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🏦 Banking

Deutsche Bank Selects Thought Machine for Major Core Banking Overhaul
Deutsche Bank has selected Thought Machine for a major overhaul of its core banking systems. The project highlights the continued modernization of legacy banking infrastructure at one of Europe’s largest financial institutions.
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Banks Explore Blockchain Infrastructure as Industry Collaboration Grows
The push by U.S. banks to develop shared blockchain infrastructure signals a deeper shift toward collaborative digital banking rails. Rather than simply adopting individual blockchain products, institutions are exploring common infrastructure that could support multiple financial use cases.
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Banks Look for Ways to Prevent Vulnerable Adults From Being Underbanked
The banking industry is examining how financial institutions can better serve vulnerable adults who remain underserved. The issue highlights the need for more inclusive banking products and stronger access to essential financial services.
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💼 Fintech

Socure Hits $5.2B Valuation and Acquires AI Fraud Platform
Socure has reached a $5.2 billion valuation following a new investment while also acquiring AI fraud platform Fravity. The combination gives Socure additional capital and technology as competition around AI-powered identity verification and fraud prevention intensifies.
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Experian Brings Conversational Credit Card Browsing to ChatGPT
Experian is bringing credit-card browsing into ChatGPT, allowing users to explore card options conversationally. The integration shows financial-product discovery moving toward AI interfaces rather than traditional search and comparison tools.
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Brookwood Launches AI-Powered Investment Intelligence Platform
Brookwood Investment Group has partnered with Amplify to launch the Brookwood Intelligence Platform. The platform aims to turn investment data and analysis into more accessible intelligence for financial professionals.
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Multiplier Raises $6M to Build AI for Asset Managers
Multiplier has raised $6 million in seed funding to develop AI tools for asset managers. The funding reflects continued investor interest in specialized AI applications for financial workflows.
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Advent and Stripe End Pursuit of PayPal
Advent and Stripe have ended their pursuit of PayPal, bringing an end to speculation around a potential transaction. The development removes a potentially transformative deal from the payments and fintech M&A landscape.
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🪙 Crypto

MoonPay Lets AI Agents Handle Crypto Lending on Solana
MoonPay has launched an integration allowing AI agents to handle crypto lending on Solana. The development combines two rapidly developing trends—agentic AI and decentralized finance—while pushing crypto transactions toward greater automation.
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RQD Raises $74M as Wall Street Prepares for Tokenized Markets
Clearing firm RQD has raised $74 million as Wall Street prepares for increasingly tokenized markets. The funding highlights growing demand for financial infrastructure capable of supporting blockchain-based securities and settlement.
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Solana Posts Best Month Since 2024 Ahead of Major Governance Vote
Solana is having its strongest month since 2024 as the network approaches a major governance vote. The momentum highlights renewed investor interest in the blockchain and its future development direction.
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Binance Founder Says Bitcoin Could Overtake Gold
Binance founder Changpeng Zhao says Bitcoin could eventually overtake gold during the next crypto bull run. The prediction reflects continued debate over Bitcoin’s potential role as a major alternative store of value.
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HashKey H1 Revenue Rises 20.6% as Trading Grows
HashKey reported a 20.6% increase in first-half revenue as trading activity expanded. The results point to continued growth for crypto businesses with established trading and digital-asset infrastructure.
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Fiat Republic and ClearBank Target MiCA Safeguarding for Digital Assets
Fiat Republic and ClearBank are partnering to support MiCA safeguarding requirements for European digital-asset platforms. The collaboration highlights the growing demand for compliant banking infrastructure as Europe’s crypto regulatory framework takes effect.
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⚖️ Regulation

U.S. Treasury Creates Quantum Readiness Unit
The U.S. Treasury has established a unit focused on preparing for the potential impact of quantum computing. The initiative highlights growing concern that advances in quantum technology could eventually affect financial cybersecurity and encryption.
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Brink’s-NCR Atleos Deal Faces UK Competition Probe
The UK’s competition authorities are investigating Brink’s proposed acquisition of NCR Atleos. The review adds regulatory uncertainty to a major transaction involving ATM and cash-management infrastructure.
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🌍 Other

Nasdaq Verafin Partners With Q6 Cyber on Dark-Web Fraud Intelligence
Nasdaq Verafin and Q6 Cyber are partnering to provide financial institutions with intelligence on fraud activity across the dark web. The collaboration aims to help banks identify emerging threats before they translate into customer losses.
Source

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Payments Wrap Up

U.S. Banks Join Forces to Build Their Own…