Digital Bank Revolut Focuses on European Business Operations with Key Appointment
Kuba Fast, formerly head of JPMorgan Chase's UK digital banking division Chase UK, became CEO of Revolut's European business operations. The appointment represents Revolut's strategic focus on strengthening its leadership within European markets and operations.
Investment Platform Kraken Prepares Mobile App Overhaul Centered on Intelligent AI Trading Agents
Kraken is overhauling its mobile app to center on autonomous AI trading agents that provide personalized guidance. The update positions these intelligent agents as the core element of the trading experience within the application.
The Weekender: Honey, I Shrunk the Unicorn
Startup organizational structures have shifted from traditional hierarchies with multiple departments to lean teams supplemented by external tools and AI services. Modern startups now operate with core founders supported by software platforms like Claude, Stripe, and Midjourney rather than full internal teams.
Greg Brockman Takes Over OpenAI Product Business After Fidji Simo’s Departure
Greg Brockman, OpenAI's president and co-founder, will oversee the ChatGPT product business after Fidji Simo departed in July. Brockman had already managed product responsibilities since April when Simo took medical leave.
US CBDC Ban Set to Become Law at Midnight
A four-year ban on U.S. central bank digital currency takes effect Saturday if the housing bill becomes law without presidential veto. President Trump has neither signed nor vetoed the bill that Congress approved and sent to him.
Finovate Global Israel: Autonomous AI and Cross-Border Payments
Tangos AI, an Israeli fintech specializing in autonomous AI for financial crime and fraud investigations, raised $20 million in seed funding. The funding round was led by Red.
Nubank Unit Secures Authorization to Become Mexican Bank
Nu Mexico received authorization from Mexico's financial regulator to operate as a bank and has 30 calendar days to complete its transformation. The company previously operated as a digital bank before obtaining approval from the National Banking and Securities Commission.
Delta AI Assistant Boosts Customer Satisfaction Scores 25 Points During Travel Disruptions
Customer satisfaction scores increased 25 points during travel disruptions through simplified rebooking processes and expanded self-service digital tools. Delta Air Lines implemented these enhancements, which the chief operating officer discussed during the company's June quarter earnings call.
Big Tech Doubles Down on AI Infrastructure
Five major tech companies increased their combined debt by approximately $350 billion over five years to fund artificial intelligence data center construction. Alphabet, Amazon, Meta, Microsoft, and Oracle doubled their debt load to finance these infrastructure efforts.
JPMorgan AI Agents Beat Traditional Investment Portfolios in Historical Simulations
JPMorgan Chase tested eight AI agents for capital allocation between stocks against market conditions and found all eight outperformed both a traditional 60/40 portfolio and the bank's rules-based regime model in historical simulations. The AI agents were developed by strategists including Thomas Salopek and evaluated through backtesting against established investment benchmarks.
Circle Announces Final Approval to Operate First National Digital Currency Bank
Circle received final approval from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency to operate the First National Digital Currency Bank as a national trust entity. Circle had submitted its application to the OCC on June 30.
AI Adoption Accelerates Across UK Businesses, Yet Cost Transparency Emerges as Major Hurdle
UK business adoption of AI tools has increased to 26% of companies, up from 18% in the first quarter. Cost transparency remains a significant challenge preventing wider implementation across organizations.
Nvidia Joins $100 Million Bet on Gradium Voice AI
Gradium, a voice AI model builder, raised its total seed funding to $100 million with a new extension that added Nvidia as an investor. The company plans to use the funds to accelerate AI research, product development, and international expansion.
European Parliament backs digital euro, paving way for final negotiations
The European Parliament voted to support creating a digital euro, advancing negotiations with EU member states on the central bank digital currency's design. The potential launch is targeted for 2029.
Lendable Raises $670 Million to Fuel Personal Lending Expansion
Lendable raised 500 million pounds ($670 million) by selling securities backed by unsecured consumer loans to private individuals in the U.K. The funding will support the digital lender's expansion into personal lending.
Swift Goes Live with New Blockchain-Based Ledger
A blockchain-based ledger now enables 24/7 cross-border payments using tokenized deposits across regulated forms. The shared ledger provides banks an orchestration layer to manage bank-issued tokenized deposits on their own ledgers.
Former Fed Chief Ben Bernanke Joins Anthropic’s Watchdog Group
Ben Bernanke joined Anthropic's Long-Term Benefit Trust, an independent oversight body monitoring the company's responsible AI development. Bernanke served as Federal Reserve Chair from 2006 to 2014 and won the Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences in 2022.
Dinari Teams Up with tZERO to Bring Tokenized US Equities to Broker-Dealers
Dinari and tZERO Group partnered to provide broker-dealers a regulated framework for offering tokenized U.S. equities through a single integration point. Dinari's dShares are digital tokens representing ownership in U.S. companies.
Banks Turn Stablecoin Safety Into a Selling Point
Banks are positioning regulated custody services as a key advantage for stablecoins in the institutional market. Traditional financial institutions already offer regulated custody, payment infrastructure, and treasury services that corporate treasurers value.
Binance Wallet Integrates Plume’s Yield Vault, Opening Institutional-Grade RWA Opportunities to Self-Custody Users
Binance Wallet users can now access Plume Network's nBASIS vault, which offers institutional-grade yields through tokenized strategies from asset managers Bitwise and Invesco. The integration brings real-world asset opportunities to self-custody wallet users through a major cryptocurrency wallet ecosystem.
Swift Says Blockchain based Transfers, Payments Ready to Go, Pilots Network with 17 Banks
Swift has launched a blockchain-based payments network supporting 24/7 transfers with tokenized deposits, with 17 banks piloting the service. The network is now operational and ready for global implementation across participating financial institutions.
Circle Invests in Digital Asset Intelligence Firm Elliptic, Pursues Agentic Regulation
Circle Ventures invested in Elliptic, a digital asset intelligence firm. Elliptic joined Circle's Agentic Design Partner Program to help shape compliance approaches.
Jet Bank Takes Off as Albania’s Digital-Only Bank, Launched on Backbase’s AI Native Banking OS
Jet Bank launched as Albania's first fully digital-only bank on June 25, 2026, built on Backbase's AI-native Banking OS and licensed by the Bank of Albania. The institution released its mobile application upon beginning operations.
Brazil’s Nubank Now Among Most Widely-Used Digital Banking Platforms in Latin America
Nubank has become one of the most widely-used digital banking platforms in Latin America for primary banking services among Brazilians. The status is based on fourth quarter 2025 research by NPS Prism at Bain Company.
AI-based fincrime startup Tangos raises $20 million
Tangos AI, a financial crime prevention platform, raised $20 million in seed funding led by Red Dot Capital Partners. The round included participation from Leaders Fund, Clarim Ventures, VentureIsrael, Signal Fire, Clutch Capital, and Selah Ventures, plus a strategic investment from Bright Data.
Banks to pilot live transactions on Swift's blockchain-based shared ledger
Seventeen banks from six countries will pilot live transactions on Swift's blockchain-based shared ledger using tokenized deposits. The pilot enables 24/7 payment availability and improved liquidity efficiency across participating institutions.
Nium Acquires Cypher to Bridge Fiat and Crypto
Nium acquired Cypher to combine cross-border payments infrastructure with crypto-native non-custodial wallet and issuing capabilities. This merger creates infrastructure for compliant money movement between fiat and digital assets.
Crypto Advocates Push Senate to Pass CLARITY Act Before August Deadline
The CLARITY Act faces an August 7 deadline for Senate passage to establish federal cryptocurrency standards instead of fragmented state regulations. CFTC Chairman Michael Selig stated on July 8 that passage is critical and described the effort as near completion.
‘Agentic Regulation’ Hackathon Supported by Global Organizations Aims to Build AI Tools for Regulators
A hackathon focused on building AI tools for regulators launched with support from global organizations to develop agentic regulation capabilities. The Cambridge Digital Innovation and Regulation Initiative hosted the first-of-its-kind event as the financial industry increasingly adopts AI to enhance services and efficiency.
Thought Machine Secures $41 Million in Funding; Tops $100 Million Revenue Milestone
Thought Machine secured $41 million in funding from a Tier 1 bank client in May. The core banking technology firm has surpassed $100 million in annual revenue.