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What changed in fintech regulation and policy this week?
Government decisions, new rules and policy shifts reported this week.
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The SEC's Division of Corporation Finance issued new FAQs on September 25, 2026, clarifying that token buybacks on functional crypto networks do not inherently classify tokens as securities.
Read at unchainedcrypto.com ↗03
The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) has designated artificial intelligence and tokenization as supervisory priorities for 2027 across the European Union.
Read at coindesk.com ↗04
The U.S. Senate failed to pass the Clarity Act in a 49-50 procedural vote last week, shifting crypto rulemaking from Congress to federal agencies.
Read at decrypt.co ↗05
The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) staff issued new guidance on September 24, 2026, allowing futures brokers and clearinghouses to invest customer funds in tokenized versions of permitted assets.
Read at unchainedcrypto.com ↗06
The European Banking Authority (EBA) recommended on September 24, 2026, that the European Commission expand the MiCA regulatory framework to include crypto borrowing and lending services.
Read at unchainedcrypto.com ↗07
Polymarket, a US-based prediction markets platform, has initiated a lobbying campaign in Europe as of September 2026.
Read at ft.com ↗08
The Central Bank of Kenya has proposed the National Payment System Bill, which introduces new capital requirements for fintech companies.
Read at techcabal.com ↗8 of 11 regulation and policy events are listed; the rest were ranked lower by importance and multi-source corroboration and are not shown.
What funding rounds and acquisitions happened in fintech this week?
The week’s notable investments, financing rounds, acquisitions and strategic deals.
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Binance has invested $100 million in Circle and signed a five-year commercial agreement to integrate and promote USDC across its platform.
Read at coindesk.com ↗10
UK-based fintech company Monzo is currently in acquisition talks with Nu Holdings, the parent company of Nubank.
Read at techmeme.com ↗11
PayComplete, a global provider of cash automation software and services, announced on September 25, 2026, that it has completed a transaction with new investors.
Read at finextra.com ↗12
HIFI, a New York-based stablecoin payments and tokenized assets company, raised $37 million in a Series A funding round led by Left Lane Capital.
Read at theblock.co ↗13
Airtel Money, a mobile payments business controlled by Indian billionaire Sunil Bharti Mittal, has announced plans for an initial public offering on the London Stock Exchange.
Read at theguardian.com ↗14
Paramount has reached a settlement with a coalition of US states, including California, to proceed with its USD$81bn merger with Warner Bros Discovery.
Read at exchangewire.com ↗15
The Dangote Petroleum Refinery launched an initial public offering (IPO) in Lagos, Nigeria, on September 14, 2026, valued at 63 trillion naira ($47.6 billion).
Read at techcabal.com ↗16
Ondo Finance was reportedly shopped to potential buyers following the death of its founder and CEO Nathan Allman on May 25, 2026.
Read at coindesk.com ↗8 of 20 funding and m&a events are listed; the rest were ranked lower by importance and multi-source corroboration and are not shown.
What products launched in fintech this week?
Notable product launches, releases and platform updates from the week.
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Aave V4 on the Base network has integrated seven tokenized stocks, including Apple, Nvidia, and Tesla, as collateral for USDC loans.
Read at theblock.co ↗18
Seven of the U.K.'s largest banks, including Barclays, HSBC, and NatWest, completed the world's first interbank transactions using tokenized British pound deposits.
Read at coindesk.com ↗19
Paxos Labs has launched PAXGy, a new product that allows users to earn lending yield on tokenized gold.
Read at thedefiant.io ↗20
Revolut has launched 'Pay with Smile', the UK's first facial recognition checkout system, which allows customers to pay without cards or phones.
Read at retail-systems.com ↗21
ARK Invest and Securitize have tokenized the ARK Venture Fund on the Ethereum blockchain, allowing eligible U.S. investors to purchase shares using USDC.
Read at unchainedcrypto.com ↗22
SoFi has launched live stablecoin settlement using its SoFiUSD token on the Mastercard network.
Read at theblock.co ↗23
The European Central Bank has launched a new solution called Pontes.
Read at finextra.com ↗24
Sony has filed a patent, published on September 17, 2026, describing a system that could enable tap-to-pay functionality using NFC technology on PlayStation controllers.
Read at digitaltransactions.net ↗8 of 27 product launches events are listed; the rest were ranked lower by importance and multi-source corroboration and are not shown.
What financial results were reported in fintech this week?
Earnings, guidance and other financial results reported this week.
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Digital lender Moneyview launched its ₹1,092 Cr IPO in India, which was subscribed 1.44 times by the end of the first day of bidding on September 24, 2026.
Read at inc42.com ↗26
Airtel Money, an African digital financial services platform, plans to list its existing shares on the London Stock Exchange.
Read at wsj.com ↗27
African mobile payments company Airtel Money is preparing to file for an initial public offering on the London Stock Exchange.
Read at finextra.com ↗28
South African app-only bank Bank Zero reached its first break-even month in August 2026, five years after its public launch.
Read at techcabal.com ↗29
Dogecoin reached an intraday high of $0.1059 on September 22, 2026, following the announcement of trading partnerships between X and platforms including Gemini, Kraken, Coinbase, Moomoo, and Interactive Brokers.
Read at decrypt.co ↗30
Circle sold 1,237,011 shares to Binance at a price of $80.84 per share, representing a five percent discount to the September 17 closing price.
Read at thedefiant.io ↗What court rulings and legal actions hit fintech this week?
Court rulings, filings and legal actions reported this week.
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On September 25, 2026, a federal appeals court ruled against Kalshi, denying its appeal regarding sports betting contracts in Ohio and Tennessee.
Read at theblock.co ↗32
A US appeals court ruled on Friday, September 25, 2026, that prediction market operator Kalshi's sports contracts do not qualify as 'swaps' under the Commodity Futures Trading Commission's exclusive jurisdiction.
Read at techmeme.com ↗33
The state of New York has initiated legal action against Polymarket US, alleging that the platform is operating as an unlicensed gambling service.
Read at thedefiant.io ↗34
New York Attorney General Letitia James and Governor Kathy Hochul filed a lawsuit on September 24, 2026, against QCX LLC, operating as Polymarket US, alleging the platform functions as an unlicensed gambling operation.
Read at unchainedcrypto.com ↗35
The New York Attorney General's office filed a lawsuit against Polymarket US on September 24, 2026.
Read at bloomberg.com ↗36
An investigation by the Financial Times revealed that the Russian fintech company A7 allegedly exploited Swift controls to facilitate billions of dollars in payments for Russian state-owned entities.
Read at finextra.com ↗37
The U.S. Department of Justice and the Manhattan U.S. attorney’s office are investigating whether Binance Holdings Ltd. violated U.S. sanctions on Iran by allowing prohibited trading on its platform.
Read at gizmodo.com ↗38
U.S. federal prosecutors from the Manhattan U.S. attorney's office and the Justice Department are investigating whether Binance knowingly allowed trades that violated U.S. sanctions on Iran.
Read at decrypt.co ↗What research was published in fintech this week?
New research findings and studies published this week.
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Researchers Clara Shikhelman, Mikhail Komarov, and Aleksei Moskvin from the firm [alloc] init have proposed a system called Shielded Bitcoin.
Read at coindesk.com ↗40
Morgan Stanley and Oliver Wyman published a report projecting that the market for tokenized assets could reach $2.3 trillion by 2030.
Read at thedefiant.io ↗41
A study by Visa indicates that the intent to adopt stablecoins among U.S. consumers increases from 36% to 56% when bank-level consumer protections are provided.
Read at theblock.co ↗42
Yusuf Qasim, president of payments optimization at Zelis, discussed findings from the company's second annual state of the healthcare financial experience report.
Read at fiercehealthcare.com ↗43
Misha Komarov, founder of the research firm [alloc] init, announced the development of a Zcash-style private transaction pool for Bitcoin that operates without requiring a soft fork.
Read at unchainedcrypto.com ↗What incidents and outages hit fintech this week?
Incidents, outages and safety events reported this week.
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Cryptocurrency exchange Bitget reported a theft of $351.6 million from its hot and warm wallets, discovered on the evening of September 24, 2026.
Read at bleepingcomputer.com ↗45
Cryptocurrency exchange Bitget suffered a security breach on September 24, 2026, resulting in the unauthorized transfer of over $350 million in assets from its hot wallets.
Read at decrypt.co ↗2 of 10 incidents and safety events are listed; the rest were ranked lower by importance and multi-source corroboration and are not shown.