#584
The Great Convergence
Published:
Mar 29, 2025
Author:
Sarah Parsons Wolter
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The established lines between crypto and TradFi aren’t just blurring—they’re dissolving.
We’re entering an era where the most valuable companies in crypto won’t be standalone exchanges—they’ll be full-stack, multi-asset investment platforms. Coinbase is already leaning in, reportedly eyeing tokenized securities amid shifting U.S. regulation. It’s also in advanced talks to acquire Deribit—the world’s largest crypto options exchange by volume—as it seeks to dominate the derivatives layer and expand its institutional reach.
Not to be outdone, Kraken is spending $1.5b to acquire NinjaTrader, pulling futures, commodities, and eventually equities into its ecosystem.
Meanwhile, TradFi is making its own on-chain push. Fidelity just unveiled plans for its own stablecoin and is set to tokenize its U.S. money market fund by the end of May. That puts it in direct competition with BlackRock and Franklin Templeton, whose BUIDL and BENJI products already manage over $5b in tokenized assets.
Neobanks are getting bolder too: Revolut launched its crypto-only exchange, RevolutX, while Robinhood is doubling down on its crypto push amid soaring revenues and user growth.
As regulatory clarity improves and markets mature, the dividing lines between crypto, fintech, and traditional finance are disappearing fast. Call it convergence. Call it a land grab. Either way, everyone’s copying everyone—and the era of the everything exchange is officially underway.
Portfolio News
FinTech Collective expands European presence with takeover of Nordic manager - We are excited to announce a strategic partnership with three of Denmark’s most respected institutions: Denmark’s Export and Investment Fund (EIFO), Velliv, and Finansforbundet. This partnership will see FTC stepping in to provide management and operational oversight of Upfin, a regional fintech-focused manager; and marks a significant step in our ongoing expansion into Europe, reinforcing our commitment to supporting investing in financial services, a critical sector for Denmark and the Nordics. Read more
FinTech Collective invests in Strike - We are very pleased to announce FinTech Collective’s investment in Strike, an AI powered cybersecurity infrastructure company for financial enterprises, focused on redefining continuous pentesting. We are excited to back the team’s mission to redefine global cybersecurity, empowering security teams to identify and remediate vulnerabilities with unprecedented speed and scale. The company raised $13.5m in Series A funding, led by FinTech Collective, with participation from Greyhound Capital, Canary, FJ Labs, Carao and Galicia Ventures. Read more
Future of bank security is being written by ethical hackers - Since launching Strike, founder and CEO Santiago Rosenblatt’s team has worked to flip the paradigm from annual penetration tests. Rosenblatt, who started hacking when he was six and a half, considers himself a reformed ethical hacker: someone who uses his hacking knowledge and know-how for good. That’s what inspired him to start Strike. Read more
NYDIG expands technology capabilities with acquisition of Crusoe's bitcoin mining business - As part of the transaction, NYDIG will acquire over 270MW of power generation technology that drives the production of near-zero direct cost of electricity, expanding NYDIG's already significant role in supporting bitcoin's proof-of-work security. NYDIG will integrate and expand the world-class team that pioneered Crusoe's bitcoin mining business, supporting NYDIG's mission of advancing the modern global economy through innovation at the intersection of power, compute, and sound money. Read more
Tokenized US gold could ultimately benefit Bitcoin: NYDIG - An idea to tokenize or track US gold reserves to make their movements transparent on a blockchain won’t work in the same trustless way as Bitcoin does, but doing so could help the cryptocurrency, says Greg Cipolaro, global head of research at NYDIG. Read more
Flutterwave partners with Affinity Bank to power bank transfers in Ghana - With over 115m bank transfer payments recorded in Ghana in 2023, this move will ensure that Flutterwave businesses can now receive payments seamlessly and securely through a rapidly growing payment method. Read more
Extend announces referral agreement with Visa to deliver virtual card solutions for the emerging middle market - Extend partners with Visa to deliver virtual card solutions tailored to emerging middle-market companies, enabling secure, efficient B2B payments while helping banks deepen relationships and businesses maximize control, rewards, and productivity across existing credit infrastructure. Read more
Ocrolus and Entech partner to power AI-driven income verification for lending - By combining Ocrolus' intelligent document processing technology with Entech's loan origination platform and technology services, lenders can accelerate application reviews, automate manual steps and improve data accuracy. Read more
The Great Convergence
Crypto heading toward 'one-stop-shop' multi-asset investment platforms as M&A activity heats up - The analysts argue that the crypto derivatives market in the U.S. has significant growth potential, as offshore markets, like perpetual futures, are three to four times larger than the spot market. Meanwhile, the U.S. crypto options market is still in its early stages. However, with the SEC and CFTC becoming more supportive of crypto, the analysts expect the onshore U.S. market for both spot and derivative crypto products to expand. Read more
Fidelity plans to launch stablecoin in digital assets push - Fidelity’s planned launch is part of its expansion into the nascent market for tokenised versions of US Treasuries, having been involved in digital assets for more than a decade. Late last week it filed to launch a digital version of a US money market fund at the end of May, in direct competition with traditional asset manager rivals BlackRock and Franklin Templeton. Read more
EToro files for IPO after crypto drives 2024 revenue surge - The trading platform is aiming to raise up to $400m at a valuation of roughly $4.5b, nearly two years after shelving plans to go public via merger with a SPAC. Of note, eToro’s revenue surged to $12.6b in 2024, with 96% coming from crypto trading. It also posted a profit of $192.4m, up 1,160.7% from the year prior. Read more
Industry News
Private equity is coming for America’s $12t in retirement savings - During the meeting attended by Blackstone Inc., UBS Group AG, Neuberger Berman and others, participants assembled a manifesto articulating private equity’s rightful position in 401(k) plans, including in the default portfolios for workers who don’t select their own investments. Read more
JPMorgan says quantum experiment generated truly random numbers - JPMorgan has generated and certified truly random numbers using a quantum computer, a world-first with potential applications for security and trading. The certified random numbers can provide verifiable proof for high-stakes industries like critical infrastructure and financial services, and could be used in applications like cryptography, lottery, and auditing. Read more
Millions of student borrowers are at risk of credit-score falls - More than nine million student-loan borrowers are set to see their credit scores drop in the first half of this year, according to Federal Reserve Bank of New York estimates published this week. The hits are expected after borrowers failed to resume payments with the end of pandemic-era relief on loans. Read more
Robinhood, moving beyond meme stocks, now wants to be your bank - Robinhood will roll out checking and savings accounts later this year to its paying “Gold” subscribers, but with a few twists. The Menlo Park, California-based firm aims to be less of a traditional bank for its customers and more of a private banking-like experience, according to Deepak Rao, vice president and general manager of Robinhood Money. Read more
Affirm forms BNPL pact with JPMorgan payments - With this partnership, Affirm’s solutions become available to merchants on the J.P. Morgan Payments network in the U.S., letting them offer the company’s buy now, pay later (BNPL) plans at checkout. According to the companies’ announcement, the collaboration is happening amid increased adoption of Affirm’s services, with its active customer numbers reaching a record 21m, up 23% year over year. Read more
Trump family venture plunges deeper into crypto with new ‘stablecoin’ - World Liberty’s USD1 will be backed by short-term U.S. Treasurys, U.S. dollar deposits, and other cash equivalents, the company said this week. The token will be issued on the Ethereum network and a blockchain created by Binance, the crypto exchange that has sought to forge closer ties to the president’s family. Read more
Tether is in talks with 'Big Four' firm about reserve audit, CEO says - Tether has issued more than $140b worth of its dollar-pegged cryptocurrency and said for years that it will release an audit. Its token is designed to keep a constant value, something Tether says it does by holding dollar-denominated reserves for every token it creates. An audit would help Tether improve the transparency of its reserves, which are currently subject to quarterly reports but not a full audit. Read more
‘Failure sucks’: How PayPal cofounder Max Levchin is building an ‘Affirm mafia’ - Levchin, who has helped Affirm leavers launch startups, says he would love to see an “Affirm mafia” in the future. By the time PayPal was 13 years old, its founders’ second companies were already taking off, he notes. “I’m waiting for our own SpaceX or Tesla or something that we can say, ‘well, it eclipsed the birthplace.” Read more
JPMorgan Chase and Walmart introduce embedded finance for marketplace sellers - The solution lets merchants selling products through the retailer’s marketplace platform accept and make payments and manage their cash flow. JPM now has embedded finance partnerships with more than 20 clients and expects that number to double over the next year, enabling the direct integration of banking and credit products into retail platforms, presenting the opportunity for new revenue streams. Read more
Dun & Bradstreet enters into definitive agreement to be acquired by Clearlake Capital Group - Dun & Bradstreet Shareholders will receive $9.15 per share in cash, with the transaction valued at $7.7 b, including debt. The deal is expected to close in the third quarter, subject to shareholder approval and regulatory clearances. Read more
Select Financings
Abound - San Francisco based finance app for Indians living in the US raised $14m in Seed funding led by NEAR Foundation. Read more
Arlo - New York based AI-powered health insurance platform for small businesses raised $4m in Seed funding led by Upfront Ventures. Read more
Burbank - UK based payments platform for card-present authentication raised £5m in Seed funding led by Mouro Capital. Read more
BuildOps - Los Angeles based platform for commercial contractors raised $127m in Series C funding led by Meritech Capital Partners. Read more
Capital Markets Gateway - New York based equity capital markets workflow platform raised $30m in Series C funding led by StageDotO. Read more
EDGE Boost - New York based banking platform for responsible gambling raised $17.2m in Seed funding led by Bullpen Capital. Read more
Enza - Abu Dhabi based banking infrastructure startup raised $6.75m in Seed funding led by Algebra Ventures and Quona Capital. Read more
Firenze - Manchester based embedded finance platform raised £2.5m in Seed funding led by Outward VC. Read more
Jolly - New York based workforce optimization platform for frontline employees raised $16.5m in Series A funding led by Zach Kirkhorn. Read more
Lumber - San Francisco based construction workforce management platform raised $15.5m in Series A funding led by Foundation Capital. Read more
Mendel - Mexico City based corporate spend management platform raised $35m in Series B funding led by Base10 Partners. Read more
Mercury - San Francisco based digital banking startup raised $300m in Series C funding led by Sequoia Capital. Read more
Rain - New York based stablecoin-powered card issuing platform raised $24.5m in new funding led by Norwest Venture Partners. Read more
RockFi - Paris based private wealth management platform raised €18m in Series A funding led by Partech. Read more
Silna Health - New York based AI platform for insurance approvals raised $22m in Series A funding led by Accel and Bain Capital Ventures. Read more
Sympera AI - New York based agentic AI platform for relationship banking raised $10m in Seed funding led by Nyca Partners and Viola Ventures. Read more
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