FinTech, Payments & Blockchain

Dubai – September 15, 2026 -- Bybit, the world's second-largest cryptocurrency exchange by trading volume, has officially launched Bybit AI, a conversational assistant that consolidates trading, account management and customer support into a single chat interface within its app.

Bybit AI lets users execute trades and manage accounts through natural-language commands

The assistant interprets user requests and carries out the corresponding action directly, covering Spot, Futures and Options trading, Bybit Earn, Copy Trading, Trading Bot, Loan, P2P, Bybit Card, Spot X, the Rewards Hub, and notification and subscription management.

New York – September 15, 2026 -- DoubleZero Foundation has added Kalshi's Elections and Politics markets to its DoubleZero Edge platform, extending low-latency order book delivery beyond the sports and crypto contracts it already carries for institutional and automated traders.

Midterm prediction market volume already exceeds the full 2024 cycle

More than $133 million had traded on U.S. House and Senate race contracts across major platforms as of mid-August, surpassing total volume for the 2024 congressional cycle, according to DoubleZero. The 2026 midterms are set for November 3, and the company says volume tied to the election has continued to climb since that August tally.

Dover, Del. – September 15, 2026 -- Algorand Foundation U.S. Inc. has appointed William Herkelrath as Chief Executive Officer, replacing Staci Warden after nearly five years at the helm of the public blockchain network.

Herkelrath takes over as Algorand pushes institutional and post-quantum strategy

Herkelrath officially assumed the CEO role on August 31, bringing two decades of experience across AI, enterprise software, institutional finance, and blockchain infrastructure. He previously co-founded K3 Labs, an AI-first automation platform for agent-managed workflows, and held leadership positions at Chainlink and Curv.

Jacksonville, Fla. – September 14, 2026 -- Medius has integrated Thomson Reuters ONESOURCE indirect tax determination into its AP Automation platform, allowing businesses to verify US sales and use tax on every invoice before it posts to the ERP.

Tax verification now runs inside the approval workflow before payment

As invoices move through Medius AP Automation, vendor-charged US sales and use tax is recalculated against the Thomson Reuters ONESOURCE determination engine, checking each line item jurisdiction by jurisdiction. Overcharges and undercharges are automatically flagged before payment, addressing risks for finance teams operating across thousands of US tax jurisdictions.

New York – September 14, 2026 -- EDGE Markets has partnered with Splash Sports to deploy its EDGE Connect settlement network across the platform's $21 million guaranteed NFL Survivor contest, enabling eligible players to move up to $1 million a day in and out of their accounts around the clock.

EDGE Connect replaces bank-dependent funding with real-time transfers

The closed-loop network lets eligible EDGE Boost customers fund Splash Sports accounts without the transaction limits, processing delays and fees typical of traditional banking rails. EDGE Markets says the capability is designed for players moving money on nights, weekends and ahead of Sunday kickoffs, when conventional bank transfers lag.

Dublin – September 14, 2026 -- Irish cybersecurity firm ZeroRisk has raised $10 million in Series A funding to expand its merchant risk-orchestration platform across major payment providers, with the company projecting revenue will triple in 2026 as contracted programmes move into deployment.

MiddleGame Ventures leads round with backing from existing investor Elkstone

The Series A was led by MiddleGame Ventures, with participation from Elkstone, which first backed ZeroRisk at seed stage. The capital will fund global expansion, further product development and the operational capacity needed to deploy the platform across large merchant portfolios.

Miami and Santa Monica, Calif. – September 14, 2026 -- Crossmint and Tala have launched a partnership pairing stablecoin wallet infrastructure with on-chain credit underwriting, starting with more than 1 million active customers in Mexico.

Tala embeds Crossmint smart wallets for over 1 million Mexican users

Tala is rolling out a new in-app wallet experience built on Crossmint's smart wallet and stablecoin payment infrastructure, initially for its active customer base in Mexico. Customers hold balances in a digital asset pegged to the Mexican peso on the Solana blockchain and earn rewards for on-time loan repayment. Rewards settle within seconds rather than days and can be held, spent, or converted to cash.

Tala plans to expand the wallet with additional digital asset services, including balance-based benefits and inbound cross-border transfers, and extend the model to other markets it serves.

Salt Lake City – – September 14, 2026 -- Netcraft now provides digital risk protection to seven of the top 12 U.S. financial institutions after five additional banks selected the firm in 2026, the cybercrime detection company announced. The company also serves nine of the world's top 15 banks.

Netcraft surpasses 4.1 million takedowns for 2026, exceeding its full 2025 total

Netcraft passed 4.1 million takedowns for the year in early September 2026, a figure that already eclipses its entire 2025 output. The company attributes the surge to accelerating new customer growth, rising volumes of AI-driven attacks, and expanded coverage through Preemptive Domain Disruption, Phone Scam Disruption, and enhanced social media protection.

New York – September 14, 2026 -- Eddid Securities USA Inc., a FINRA-registered introducing broker-dealer, has secured FINRA-approved correspondent clearing arrangements with tZERO Group under FINRA Rule 4311, granting its clients regulated access to digital asset securities trading and custody.

Eddid USA gains access to tZERO Securities ATS for eligible digital asset securities

Eddid USA, the U.S. subsidiary of Hong Kong-based Eddid Financial, has entered agreements with tZERO's regulated broker-dealer subsidiaries covering trading, clearing, and custody. As a subscriber to the tZERO Securities ATS, operated by tZERO Securities, LLC, Eddid USA can now facilitate customer trading in eligible securities, including digital asset securities.

Dubai – September 13, 2026 -- The Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC), the largest financial hub in the Middle East, Africa and South Asia region, has confirmed the program for the inaugural Dubai Future Finance Week, running from November 2 to 6, 2026, with more than 850 speakers and over 85 events across 14 stages in the city.

DIFC schedules 12 specialized forums under a single financial-sector platform

The event, themed "Finance Reinvented: Converging Innovation, Strategy and Purpose," is structured around six focus areas: fintech, tokenization, Islamic finance, wealth management, sustainable finance and private capital. Each forum is designed to connect global companies, market operators and regulators around a specific segment of financial-sector transformation.