Axel Weber, the former head of the German central bank, together with a group of venture‑capital firms, is backing French fintech Spiko. The investment values Spiko at €800 million and will support its expansion into the German market.
Michael Donald, a UK businessman, has taken a senior role as chief executive of VexPay, a payments firm tied to the A7 fintech group controlled by a Moldovan oligarch and suspected of facilitating Kremlin money‑laundering.
The Ministry of Finance in Russia has made its first wage payments in the newly introduced digital ruble, marking a milestone in the Bank of Russia’s effort to integrate the central bank digital currency into the national budget process.
Lloyds Banking Group’s survey reveals that a large majority of finance leaders in the UK believe tokenization will transform financial services, highlighting faster payments and settlement as key advantages while the country develops the necessary infrastructure.
Aave founder Stani Kulechov confirmed that the Aave v3 protocol remained operational after a security breach in which a third‑party adapter was used to siphon roughly $305,000 from two Safe multisig wallets. The incident did not affect the core protocol.
Porsche has decided to terminate its Web3 initiative, including the Pioneers Circle community, because the trading volume of its 911 NFT collection dropped significantly, bringing the project to a close after under four years.
Stripe is increasing hiring at its Dublin office, providing a boost to the Irish capital after a wave of AI‑driven layoffs.
Standard Chartered expects Ethena’s USDe stablecoin to grow to a $40 billion valuation and its ENA token to hit $2 each by 2028, driven by scaling of the USDe platform and increased token buybacks.
Qonto, a French financial technology company, is launching a German‑focused growth campaign aimed at small and medium‑size businesses. The firm plans to broaden its range of financial products and work towards obtaining a banking licence, positioning itself as a one‑stop financial platform for German SMEs.
Airbnb is launching a service that lets travelers rent baby equipment and have it delivered to their rental homes in certain U.S. cities, with plans to roll out the same offering across European markets.