AI and Crypto Are Converging — and It Might Redefine the Internet Itself; The Spend Management AI Maturity Model; Payments Revenue in a New Economic Era
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Deep Dive of the Week
CB Insights’ Fintech 100 2025 — Decoded for Builders
In this edition of Fintech Wrap Up, I’m digging into CB Insights’ Fintech 100 — not to applaud shiny logos, but to decode what this year’s picks actually say about where money and product are moving. Fintech in 2025 isn’t about flashy apps anymore. The era of cheap money and consumer buzz has given way to a focus on building the bedrock of financial services. As CB Insights warns, momentum has “shifted from the front end to the foundation” – think data plumbing, compliance robots, and payment rails – rather than another Curve or Revolut clone. Under the hood, AI has become table stakes. Bots are no longer just cute chat interfaces; they’re doing real work (reconciling books, scanning for fraud, doling out loans). At the same time crypto is maturing: stablecoins and tokenization are creeping into everyday business finance, far from the speculative frenzy of 2017. The 2025 Fintech 100 winners – 26 countries, 60 outside the US – spotlight this “boring” shift, with an average headcount growth of 61% versus a fintech norm of 13% (good luck catching up!).
This week’s reports
The Real Stablecoin Revolution Isn’t Payments — It’s Credit
1️⃣The Real Stablecoin Revolution Isn’t Payments — It’s Credit
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