From Silicon Valley to Zurich to London, fintech’s big shifts keep stacking.
Brex just became the first global corporate card to support stablecoin payments, Wealthfront finally filed its IPO after 17 years, and Bite Investments bagged $25M to modernize private markets.
Meanwhile, Klarna’s bumpy post-IPO ride is testing investor patience, and London’s FinTech LIVE spotlighted real-time payment systems shaping the industry’s next rails.
1) Brex Becomes the First Corporate Card to Accept Stablecoins
Brex just staked out a first in the corporate card world: instant balance payments in stablecoins. The San Francisco fintech will let customers pay card balances and move funds using Circle’s USDC – with auto-conversion into dollars and plans to add more stablecoins soon.
Unlike debit-based rivals, Brex is pushing stablecoin functionality into its credit framework, letting companies reconcile payments monthly while still moving money 24/7.
The timing isn’t random. With the GENIUS Act now setting U.S. rules for stablecoins, firms from Stripe to PayPal are rolling out their own rails.
Brex’s pitch is simple: own the infrastructure, give customers speed, and make stablecoin settlement as easy as swiping a corporate card.
2) Wealthfront Files for IPO, Riding a Profitable Streak
After 17 years and more than a few pivots, robo-advisor pioneer Wealthfront is finally going public.
The Palo Alto firm, which manages $88.2B for 1.3M customers, revealed in its S-1 that it pulled in $308.9M in revenue and $194.4M in net income for fiscal 2025 – making it one of the rare fintechs hitting the market with real profits in hand.
It plans to list on Nasdaq under the ticker WLTH.
Wealthfront helped define the robo-advisory model alongside Betterment, before banks like Morgan Stanley and Bank of America followed suit. A 2022 deal for UBS to acquire the company for $1.4B collapsed as fintech valuations soured.
Now, with a $75B Revolut and Klarna’s rollercoaster IPO fresh in mind, all eyes are on whether Wealthfront can convince investors that automated investing isn’t just a niche product but a durable growth story.
3) Bite Investments Secures $25M to Scale Private Market Tech
London’s Bite Investments just banked $25M in growth capital from NewSpring, with one clear goal: drag private markets into the modern age.
Its flagship platform, Bite Stream, is pitched as a single portal for everything fund managers and investors need – onboarding, comms, reporting, portfolio views, the kind of tools that have long been fragmented across clunky, legacy systems.
With global alternative assets ballooning past $20T, the pitch is simple: retailization is coming, and investors need better pipes.
CEO William Rudebeck calls this the “next chapter” for Bite, as it scales its team and expands globally.
For NewSpring, the bet is that the platform becomes the default operating system for alternative managers, closing gaps that have slowed down the sector for years.
4) PalmPay Breaks Into CNBC & Statista’s Top 300 Fintechs
PalmPay just made CNBC and Statista’s 2025 list of the world’s Top 300 Fintechs, a first for the Nigeria-based payments app.
The recognition matters: PalmPay has become one of West Africa’s go-to digital wallets, handling everyday transfers, bill payments, and merchant transactions for millions of users. For years, African fintechs have been powering huge volumes but flying under the radar of global rankings.
This shows the narrative is shifting – investors and analysts are finally putting African payments players on the same map as their Western and Asian peers.
5) London Turns Spotlight on Real-Time Payments at FinTech LIVE
At FinTech LIVE London 2025, the Digital Payments Forum brought together banks, regulators, and tech providers to hash out the future of 24/7 settlement.
Global digital payments are expected to top $20 trillion this year, with mobile transactions on pace to cover nearly 80% of that volume by 2025. Add in the rise of stablecoins and central bank digital currency pilots, and the industry’s message was blunt – instant, programmable settlement is no longer optional.
London was less about “what if” and more about “how fast.”
