🚀 PayPal's banking play, Visa doubles down on stablecoins with $3.5B run rate, and Esusu hits unicorn status helping renters build credit. The stablecoin market just crossed $310B as traditional finance embraces blockchain rails.
Fintech industry moves
PayPal applies to launch industrial bank for small business lending
PayPal filed applications with Utah regulators and the FDIC to establish PayPal Bank, a dedicated entity focused on small business lending. This marks PayPal's push into traditional banking infrastructure after years of operating as a fintech platform.
What this signals: PayPal is moving from payments platform to full-stack financial institution. Industrial bank charters let fintechs take deposits and make loans without full bank regulation. If approved, PayPal gains direct access to the Federal Reserve system and can compete with traditional banks on their own turf.
Kirill Lazarev, CEO and Founder at Lazarev.agency: "PayPal's bank charter application shows the blurring line between fintech and traditional banking. Industrial bank charters are controversial because they sidestep some regulations, but they give PayPal what it really needs: direct deposit relationships with small businesses. That's how you lock in customers long-term."
Thinkwise Credit Union partners InvestiFi for digital investment tools
Thinkwise Credit Union integrated InvestiFi's investment platform into its mobile and online banking, adding embedded investment tools and financial education resources for members.
Why embedded finance matters: Credit unions traditionally lag in investment offerings. InvestiFi's platform lets them compete with neobanks by embedding investing directly where users already bank. It's the API economy playing out in real-time.
Oleksandr Koshytskyi, Lead Designer at Lazarev.agency: "Embedded investing is table stakes now. Users expect to invest where they bank. The UX challenge is making complex investment decisions feel simple and integrated. If the interface feels like you're leaving to use a different product, the integration failed."
Visa launches Stablecoins Advisory Practice to drive payments innovation
Visa launched its Stablecoins Advisory Practice, offering banks, fintechs, and merchants guidance on stablecoin strategy and implementation. The practice has completed over 20 global engagements and reports $3.5 billion in annualized stablecoin settlement volume as of November.
The big picture: With 130+ stablecoin-linked card programs in 40+ countries, they're building stablecoins into core payment infrastructure. The advisory practice signals that enterprise adoption has moved from "if" to "how."
Investments, fundings, valuations
Esusu, platform for renters to build credit scores, valued at $1.2 billion
Esusu raised $50 million at a $1.2 billion valuation, bringing total funding to over $200 million. The platform now powers 5 million rental units, covering 12 million people and $100 billion in annual lease volume. Esusu helps renters build credit by reporting rent payments to credit bureaus.
The opportunity: 45 million Americans rent, but rent doesn't count toward credit scores in most cases. Esusu turns the largest monthly expense for many Americans into a credit-building tool, creating a path from renter to homeowner.
Kirill Lazarev, CEO and Founder at Lazarev.agency: "Rent reporting solves a real problem: creditworthy renters locked out of homeownership because traditional scoring ignores their payment history. Scale matters here, at $100B in lease volume, they have the data to prove credit models work."
Chaince Digital secures $6.14M funding for AI and semiconductor expansion
Chaince Digital Holdings raised $6.14 million in a private placement to expand its AI and semiconductor infrastructure. The company operates at the intersection of digital finance, tokenization, and regulated capital markets, delivering solutions in distributed computing and brokerage services.
Why crypto meets chips: AI and crypto mining both need massive compute power. Chaince is betting that tokenized infrastructure makes distributed computing markets more efficient. If they execute, they own a piece of both AI infrastructure and digital asset trading.
Databricks raises $4B at $134B valuation as AI business heats up
Databricks raised over $4 billion in Series L funding at a $134 billion valuation, up 34% from $100 billion three months ago. The data intelligence company is proving that some former startups have no intention of going public when they can raise ungodly amounts privately.
The IPO alternative: Why go public when private capital is plentiful and valuations are rising? Databricks is betting it can stay private longer, avoid public scrutiny, and maintain control. At a $134B valuation, they're already bigger than most public tech companies.
Oleksandr Koshytskyi, Lead Designer at Lazarev.agency: "Databricks' valuation surge reflects AI hype, but their fundamentals are real. Data infrastructure for AI is the picks-and-shovels play. Every company building AI needs data pipelines, warehousing, and governance. That's unsexy infrastructure that prints money. The valuation assumes continued AI adoption, which is a reasonable bet."
Venture investing highlights
Lightspeed raises record $9B in fresh capital
Lightspeed Venture Partners announced a $9 billion fundraise, its largest ever. After the 2021 bubble failed to yield strong returns, LPs are concentrating capital with established firms with proven track records. Lightspeed was an early investor in Rubrik, Netskope, and Navan, all recent IPOs.
Why mega-funds matter: When venture capital contracts, money flows to proven winners. Lightspeed's $9B haul signals that top-tier VCs can still raise massive funds despite broader market challenges. For entrepreneurs, this means capital is available, but you need to pitch the right firms.
StartupLab locks in €32M to fight Norway's pre-seed funding crunch
Oslo-based StartupLab closed a €32 million fifth fund to combat Norway's pre-seed funding crunch. The accelerator issues €250K-€500K checks to 20-25 startups annually for 8-10% stakes. Backed by KLP, Investinor, and Telenor, the fund is twice the size of its previous one, with €30 million earmarked for climate tech.
Kirill Lazarev, CEO and Founder at Lazarev.agency: "Pre-seed markets are local. Norway's funding crunch shows that even wealthy countries struggle with early-stage capital formation when tax policy and exits don't align. StartupLab is doing the hard work of building an ecosystem. Climate tech earmark is smart: play to Norway's energy transition strengths."
Kibo Ventures' €150M fund targets 25 deeptech deals across Europe
Spanish VC firm Kibo Ventures achieved an €80 million first close on its fourth fund, targeting a €150 million hard cap by Q2 2026. The fund focuses on deeptech startups in defense, space, and AI across Poland, the Baltics, and beyond. LPs include BBVA Spark, Mahou's founding family, and the European Investment Fund.
Danylo Dubrovsky, Senior UX/UI designer at Lazarev.agency: "Deeptech UX is uniquely challenging. You're designing interfaces for hardware-software hybrids where users are often engineers or defense contractors. The design must prioritize precision, reliability, and edge cases. Beauty matters less than clarity under stress."
What's coming next week
Stablecoin adoption accelerates, more fintech-bank partnerships emerge, and we'll track which AI infrastructure plays are sustainable versus hype. Traditional finance is moving faster on blockchain than anyone expected.
We at Lazarev.agency help teams design AI-first UX from copilots to decision engines. And if you’re operating in fintech, where trust, risk, and conversion collide, this is where our work goes deepest.
🔥 Stay sharp. Stay with Lazarev.agency, your AI design agency for fintech.
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