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Tokenization's deal pipeline

The week that was

🚨 Deals deals deals

Credit score

Quote of the week

The SEC's new path for trading tokenized U.S. stocks could spur a new phase of dealmaking between traditional finance and crypto firms.

Why it matters: Companies that pair regulated securities-market functions with crypto distribution will have an advantage in serving a broader market.

Driving the news: The SEC on Thursday issued five-year, conditional exemptions that allow qualifying blockchain-based venues and liquidity providers to trade tokenized U.S. stocks.

State of play: Companies are buying transfer agents, investing in crypto venues and pursuing the licenses required to trade tokenized securities.

Crypto exchange Bullish agreed in May to acquire transfer agent Equiniti from Siris for $4.2 billion, adding the shareholder registry and corporate-action infrastructure behind nearly 3,000 issuers.

Intercontinental Exchange made an undisclosed minority investment in OKX in March at a $25 billion valuation. The partnership includes planned distribution of NYSE tokenized equities to OKX customers, subject to approval.

Ondo Finance agreed last year to acquire Oasis Pro and its broker-dealer, alternative trading system and transfer-agent registrations, giving the tokenization company a regulated U.S. market entry point.

Zoom in: Partnerships and financings are filling out the market alongside M&A.

The London Stock Exchange partnered with Payward this month to explore tokenized public equities, settlement and asset servicing.

Tokenized-market infrastructure provider tZERO raised an undisclosed round this week from investors including ICE as it considers a strategic transaction.

What we're watching: The exemptions' five-year term and unanswered questions about issuer participation could favor partnerships, minority investments and targeted acquisitions over larger platform deals.

1 big thing: Tokenization's deal pipeline

This week's funding news spanned lending, insurance, accounting and financial crime.

💼 Portage raised $600M for a new fintech fund. Go deeper

🏢 Luzern Risk raised $45M for captive-insurance services. Go deeper

🏗️ Adaptive raised $30M for construction accounting. Go deeper

🛡️ Footprint raised $25M for financial-crime AI. Go deeper

🛠️ Rebuild raised $13M for insurance-claims software. Go deeper

💸 Wayflyer secured $50M to grow its lending business. Go deeper

2. The week that was

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👉 GO HERE TO CATCH UP on all the fintech deals this week.

Tabby, a Saudi BNPL company, raised $233m in Series F funding at a $6.5b valuation led by insider Blue Pool Capital. Other backers include HSG, Wellington Management and Arbor Ventures. Go deeper

American Savings Bank, a Honolulu-based lender owned by Hawaiian Electric Industries (NYSE: HE), raised $129m in its IPO. It priced 8.1m shares at $16, versus plans to offer 7.5m shares at $15-$17. It will list on the NYSE (ASBH). Go deeper

Grab (Nasdaq: GRAB) agreed to acquire a majority stake in Singaporean BNPL provider Atome for $1.49b in cash. Atome backers include SoftBank and Warburg Pincus. Go deeper

3. 🚨 Deals deals deals

a collage of checks, a bar graph and a handshake

⚖️ The DOJ said Binance customers funneled Iranian oil money. (WSJ)

Related: Binance expanded its wealth-management platform. (CNBC)

📺 Prediction markets are becoming media companies. (Wired)

💳 Monzo launched a metal card that invests cash back. (Tech.eu)

🤖 Anthropic launched a Claude tool for financial advisers. (Reuters)

🇬🇧 Ramp launched in the U.K. with ElevenLabs as a client. (Tech.eu)

🪙 How Erebor's stablecoin deal backfired. (The Information)

🇮🇳 India will begin charging for larger UPI transactions. (TechCrunch)

🏦 Lineage Bank rebranded as Harpeth. (PYMNTS)

📉 Pulley shut down, transitioning customers to Carta. (Business Insider)

4. Credit score

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 "We have the choice between selling in a small market with few buyers, or in a gigantic market with a huge number of buyers."

— Revolut founder Nik Storonsky, on why the company is pursuing a dual U.S.-U.K. IPO listing

5. Quote of the week

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September 19, 2026

1 big thing: Tokenization's deal pipeline