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Hey, fintech fam 💜

We are in full build mode over here — and I can feel the momentum.

Tables for the FEMMY Awards on March 2 are going fast (which makes my heart very happy), New York Fintech Week just officially entered its next era, and the conversations happening behind the scenes right now? Let’s just say… this industry is not slowing down.

If you care about where fintech is going — culturally, globally, structurally — today’s edition is for you.

Alright, there’s plenty to discuss, so let’s get into the news. ✨

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#TRENDING

What’s Up In Fintech

Every Thursday, I break down the fintech stories that matter most—grounded in my reporting, interviews with industry leaders, and what I’m seeing unfold across the industry.

#1 Alinea Invest Launches Crypto With Built-In Education Rails

Alinea Invest is adding cryptocurrency to its investing app, but with a requirement: users must complete a quiz before they can buy.

The New York-based wealth platform announced last Tuesday that it is launching crypto investing through a partnership with infrastructure provider Zerohash. At launch, users will have access to Bitcoin, Ethereum, Solana, XRP, and Binance Coin.

Before purchasing any asset, they must complete a short in-app lesson and quiz that explains what they’re investing in.

The move comes as crypto increasingly shifts from niche exchanges to mainstream investing platforms.

According to the Zerohash platform data shared through Alinea’s partnership:

• 70% of crypto transactions in 2025 occurred on traditional brokerages and investing apps, rather than crypto-native exchanges.

• 44% of investors aged 18–40 now hold crypto.

• 84% plan to increase their holdings in the next year.

• 64% of younger investors would consider leaving a platform that doesn’t offer crypto.

Crypto isn’t a rebellion against traditional finance anymore. It’s being folded into diversified portfolios.

And when something becomes “normal investing,” product design changes.

The first wave of crypto inside brokerage apps prioritized speed:

• Frictionless onboarding.

• Fast trading.

• Risk-forward culture.

Alinea is betting on something different.

“We’ve seen that crypto is often the first touchpoint for new investors,” co-founder Eve Halimi told me. “But access without context doesn’t build confidence.”

Instead of removing friction, they’re adding intentional guardrails.

Users receive:

• An AI-powered lesson on the asset

• A short quiz to confirm understanding

• Then the ability to purchase

Not gamified speculation. Guided participation.

And Alinea isn’t small anymore:

• $10.4M Series A in 2025

• $4.8M in monthly net revenue (January)

• ~$58M revenue run rate

• 2M+ downloads

• 160,000+ funded accounts

• Built with just 13 full-time employees

“Robinhood was built for traders,” co-founder Anam Lakhani said. “We’re building for investors.”

That’s the real story.

Crypto’s second act isn’t about speed. It’s about integration.

If you want the full breakdown — including the competitive positioning and what this signals for crypto’s role inside AI-native investing platforms — read the full Forbes piece here.

#2 MrBeast Just Bought a Fintech Company. Yes, Really.

The largest creator on the planet just acquired a fintech company.

Beast Industries — the holding company behind MrBeast (aka Jimmy Donaldson) — announced it is acquiring Step, the financial technology platform focused on teens and young adults.

If you zoom out, this is one of the most culturally important fintech acquisitions we’ve seen.

Because this isn’t a bank buying a fintech.

It’s a media empire buying a financial infrastructure layer. The most-watched creator on the planet now owns a financial services company.

Beast Industries has over 450 million subscribers and generates 5+ billion monthly views across channels.

That’s distribution power most fintech companies can only dream about.

Why It Matters

Step isn’t new to the fintech scene. Founded by CJ MacDonald and Alexey Kalinichenko, the company built a financial platform designed for the next generation — focusing on financial literacy, credit building, and accessible money management.

They’ve amassed 7+ million users and attracted celebrity investors like Stephen Curry, Charli D’Amelio, Justin Timberlake, Will Smith, and The Chainsmokers.

I interviewed CJ back in 2023 on Humans of Fintech, and what stood out to me then — and still does — was this:

Step wasn’t trying to be a “cool card for teens.” It was trying to be a gateway to financial adulthood.

Credit building. Behavioral education. Early trust.

Now layer that with MrBeast.

Jeff Housenbold, CEO of Beast Industries, framed the acquisition around financial wellness, which is great. But strategically? This is about distribution.

Mr. Beast doesn’t just have an audience.

He has:

• Extreme trust

• Behavioral influence

• A philanthropic narrative

• And the ability to move millions of people into action instantly

Traditional fintech spends millions to acquire customers through ads.

Mr. Beast has 450 million subscribers who voluntarily show up.

If even a fraction of that audience converts into Step users, this could be one of the most efficient customer acquisition plays we’ve ever seen in consumer fintech.

And here’s the bigger unlock:

Creators are no longer just marketing channels.

They’re becoming financial infrastructure owners.

The Creator Economy Is Merging With Fintech

We’ve seen creators launch funds. We’ve seen them launch CPG. We’ve seen them launch credit cards.

But outright acquisition of a fintech company? That’s a new level.

This move signals something deeper: Financial services is no longer just about banks and fintech startups.

It’s about culture.

The next wave of fintech growth may not come from another neobank trying to out-feature the last one.

It may come from creators who already own attention — and are now monetizing it through regulated financial rails.

And yes, that comes with serious responsibility.

But if executed well?

This could reshape how Gen Z and Gen Alpha engage with money entirely.

The Long Game

CJ said in the release: “Our goal has always been to improve the financial future of the next generation.”

Pair that with Beast’s philanthropic brand and scale, and you start to see the long game:

• Financial education embedded inside entertainment.

• Credit-building tools tied to influence.

• Money management becoming culturally relevant — not intimidating.

This isn’t just fintech acquiring users.

It’s culture acquiring fintech.

And whether you love it or side-eye it, one thing is clear:

The walls between media, creators, and financial infrastructure are officially gone.

Fintech is culture.

And culture just bought a bank-adjacent platform.

#3 Grab Just Bought Stash—And Built a Global Wealth Engine

Big fintech M&A is back — and this one crosses oceans.

Grab, Southeast Asia’s super app powerhouse, announced it is acquiring U.S.-based investing platform Stash in a deal valuing the company at $425 million at closing.

And this isn’t just a geographic expansion.

It’s a financial services acceleration play.

Let’s unpack it.

Why This Deal Actually Matters

Grab isn’t just a ride-hailing app anymore.

It serves 50+ million monthly transacting users across Southeast Asia, offering mobility, delivery, payments, lending, insurance, and digital banking in Singapore, Malaysia, and Indonesia.

Now it’s adding U.S. investing infrastructure to the mix.

Stash brings:

• $5 billion in AUM

• 1+ million paying subscribers

• A subscription-based model

• Adjusted EBITDA-positive performance

• Projected $60M+ EBITDA by 2028

In other words: this isn’t a struggling fintech exit.

It’s a profitable, AI-powered investing platform getting plugged into a global ecosystem.

The AI Layer Is the Real Story

At the center of Stash’s growth is its AI Money Coach — a regulated, auditable AI financial companion that helps users take real financial action.

Since launching in late 2024:

• Roughly 1 in 2 users take a positive financial action the same day

• Engagement is up nearly 40% in 2025

And critically, it’s built with compliance first.

In a world where AI agents are being duct-taped onto financial apps, Stash built its system for regulated financial services from the start.

Grab sees that.

Anthony Tan, Grab’s CEO, called this a “milestone” in Grab’s evolution as a trusted financial services provider — not just for subscription revenue, but for fintech know-how.

Translation: this is about exporting investing infrastructure globally.

Southeast Asia ↔ U.S. Innovation Flow

What I love about this deal is the direction of power.

For years, U.S. fintechs expanded outward.

Now we’re watching an APAC tech giant acquire U.S. wealth infrastructure.

And it’s happening at a moment when global fintech leaders are openly saying there is massive innovation happening outside the U.S. — particularly in embedded finance, super apps, and ecosystem-driven lending models.

Grab has already proven it knows how to:

• Use behavioral and ecosystem data to underwrite

• Serve informal economy workers

• Build financial rails for the underserved

Stash has proven it knows how to:

• Monetize retail investing via subscription

• Deploy AI inside regulated environments

• Drive daily financial behavior change

Put those together, and you don’t just have geographic expansion.

You have a potential template for globalized, AI-powered financial guidance.

And Notice What’s Not Happening

Stash isn’t being absorbed and rebranded.

Post-closing, it remains a standalone U.S. entity.

That’s strategic.

Grab gets:

• High-margin recurring revenue

• Investing infrastructure

• AI compliance design

• U.S. regulatory expertise

Stash gets:

• Balance sheet strength

• Long-term capital

• A technology powerhouse behind it

• Optionality to expand into Southeast Asia later

This is ecosystem-building, not consolidation for the sake of scale.

The Bigger Signal

For fintech leaders watching this:

1. Subscription-based wealth models are attractive again.

2. AI-native investing tools are moving from “nice feature” to core differentiator.

3. The next wave of fintech M&A may be cross-border, not domestic.

We’re entering a phase where financial services companies are less defined by geography and more by infrastructure capability.

Grab didn’t just buy Stash.

It bought a global wealth blueprint.

And if the super app model ever extends deeper into investing and long-term financial planning across emerging markets, this deal will look like the moment that strategy crystallized.

_{MARK YOUR CALENDARS}

Let’s keep you booked and busy. Every Thursday, I share fintech events worth adding to your calendar— both IRL and online.

_{MONDAY, MARCH 2}

[NEW YORK] ​Celebrate Women’s History Month at the FEMMYs

On March 2 in New York City, we’re celebrating Women’s History Month with the Second Annual FEMMY Awards—a gala-style evening honoring the women actually building the future of fintech.

The FEMMYs are produced by The Academy of Fintech, a community I built around one core belief: the most enduring fintech businesses are built through relationships, trust, and proximity. That’s exactly how I built Fintech Is Femme—side by side with the women in this community.

The Academy is our digital and IRL home for doing that work together.

Membership includes:

• A private Slack of operators, founders, investors, and leaders

• Monthly virtual salons and masterclasses with the women shaping the industry

• Consistent access to rooms where relationships compound into real opportunities

If you’ve been waiting for the right moment to step deeper into the fintech ecosystem—this is it.

Join us by attending the FEMMYs, hosting a table, or becoming part of The Academy of Fintech in the way that feels right for you.

If you’re interested in a table, please REPLY TO THIS EMAIL or reach out to me directly, and I will get you all set up.

_{APRIL 28-30}

[NEW YORK] Fintech Is Femme produces the Official New York Fintech Week Conference 2026

The rumors are true: Fintech Is Femme is leading and producing the official New York Fintech Week Conference—and we’re putting our own spin on the largest gathering of fintech leaders in the financial capital of the world.

To anchor NY Fintech Week, we’ve created: FTW: NYC Fintech Week, a first-of-its-kind, 3-day conference experience built around earned trust, cultural relevance, and real business outcomes. The program brings together Fintech Is Femme’s media-powered community, Fiat Growth’s deal-flow ecosystem, and Frances Zelazny of Identity Strategies as the week's independent authority on identity and security.

Across three cornerstone events—The Fintech Summit by Fiat Growth, The Fintech Is Femme Leadership Summit, and The Fintech Security Summit—FTW convenes the founders, operators, investors, and global brands actively shaping the next generation of financial services.

Early bird tickets are now live. Grab yours while they last.

_FINTUNES

🎵 Cardi B - Pretty & Petty 

Mood of the week.

_{LET’S CONNECT}

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📚 Increase your expertise by ordering your copy of my book, Fintech Feminists: Increasing Inclusion, Redefining Innovation, and Changing the Future for Women Around the World.

That wraps up today’s edition—thanks for reading! Until next week, keep innovating and challenging the status quo. See you Tuesday!

Love,

Nicole 💜