In November, Brazil's central bank began enforcing a rule that bars Nubank from using the "bank" label in its domestic branding because the country's largest fintech does not hold a banking license. Nubank, which serves 110 million customers and is valued at more than $80 billion, is now considering buying a smaller licensed institution such as Banco Digimais SA to avoid the lengthy licensing process. Regulators have tightened rules as they move to close loopholes and address rising fraud risks in Brazil's fast-growing fintech sector.

Coinbase has selected Chainlink's Cross-Chain Interoperability Protocol as the exclusive bridge for its wrapped assets, including cbBTC, cbETH, cbDOGE, cbLTC, cbADA, and cbXRP. The token set is valued at about $7 billion. Launched in beta in 2023, CCIP is designed to streamline deployment of these assets to additional blockchains.

On 11 December 2025, Klarna began a research collaboration with Privy to explore how a consumer-focused crypto wallet could fit into its long-term financial ecosystem. The Swedish fintech, valued at just over $12 billion, is examining wallet infrastructure and user experience after launching its KlarnaUSD stablecoin with Tempo and Bridge. At the same time, Klarna is expanding Apple Pay support, membership tiers and international retail and travel partnerships to broaden its payments footprint.

Nexo said it has agreed to acquire Argentina-based Buenbit to support a regulated expansion across Argentina, Peru, and Mexico, with the deal still subject to regulatory approval. Buenbit, which is registered with Argentina’s securities regulator (CNV), has processed more than $2 billion in volume and added over 40,000 active users in the final months of 2025, according to the company. Clients are expected to gain access to Nexo’s savings, credit, and trading products once the transaction closes.

Tokenized gold has exceeded $4 billion in market value, with products such as PAX Gold and Tether Gold increasingly used for savings and wealth protection in regions facing currency devaluation and limited banking access, according to CoinGecko data. New partnerships and platforms in Africa, Asia, and Sub‑Saharan markets are enabling fractional gold ownership, faster cross‑border transfers, and FX swaps. At the same time, regulatory uncertainty, custodial risk, and limited user education remain major obstacles to wider adoption.

On December 11, 2025 in Abu Dhabi, HAI Group announced CORE.3, a Web3 risk intelligence platform built around a Probability of Loss (PoL) metric for digital asset projects. The initial release covers 50 projects, with plans to scale to over 1,000. The platform uses more than 100 data points to quantify security, operational, financial, and compliance risks.

On December 10, Norges Bank said it will not for now recommend launching a digital krone, arguing that Norway’s existing payment system already delivers secure, efficient and low‑cost transactions. After several years of trials on both retail and wholesale CBDC models, the bank concluded that the benefits remain uncertain and global standards are not yet ready. It left open the possibility of revisiting a CBDC if international developments or future payment needs change.

Revolut and Trust Wallet rolled out instant crypto purchases for EU users, with assets delivered directly into Trust Wallet for self-custody. The integration supports RevolutPay, debit cards, and bank transfers, with 0% Revolut Pay fees in some cases and possible network or third‑party charges. Supported assets include Bitcoin, Ethereum, Solana, USDC, and USDT.