neobank

Ethena

2026-09-11 07:03:13

Ethena’s Pay rollout and approved ENA fee switch sharpen the buyback case as USDe supply recovers

Ethena is tying together stablecoin issuance, payments and token economics in a way few crypto banking products currently do. A report from Alea Research, translated by TechFlow, argues that Ethena Pay gives the protocol a direct relationship with users while keeping the economics of its own dollar product, USDe, inside the system. That structure lets Ethena fund rewards from backing income rather than relying on third-party stablecoins and external yield sources. The timing matters. USDe supply reached $4.33 billion on Sept. 4, up $436 million over 30 days, while the ENA fee switch proposal passed with 17.79 million voting power in favor and zero against. Under the approved schedule, ENA begins receiving 5% of protocol revenue once USDe supply reaches $7.5 billion, with higher tiers at $10 billion, $15 billion and $20 billion. The foundation is set to use 95% of eligible net income for ENA buybacks after activation. The report also points to Ethena Pay’s consumer features, including self-custody accounts, virtual IBANs, card payments and instant transfers, as well as a separate expansion of Ethena’s yield engine into stock perpetual basis trades. Together, those elements give USDe a spending channel and provide a clearer route from balance growth to protocol income and, eventually, ENA buybacks.

520

Primus Labs

2026-09-04 07:22:12

Primus Labs and AllScale Partner to Test Private Payroll on BNB Chain

Primus Labs, a zero-knowledge proof computing platform, has partnered with AllScale, a self-custody stablecoin neobank, to test the Private Payroll feature on BNB Chain. The feature uses zero-knowledge proofs to keep salary amounts encrypted while allowing verifiable settlements. Primus stated that the collaboration aims to add confidentiality to existing financial infrastructure, enabling institutions and privacy-conscious individuals to use confidential on-chain financial services without building a separate system.

820

Rain

2026-09-04 04:15:03

Rain Hackers Move $1.1M Stolen Funds to Tornado Cash

The attacker behind the Rain card contract exploit has cross-chain transferred approximately $1.1 million in stolen funds to Ethereum and washed them through the Tornado Cash mixer. Blockchain security firm Blockaid tracked the incident, which affected multiple crypto neobanks including Avici and Tria, impacting over 2,300 users. Rain has upgraded all vulnerable contract versions but has not yet released a full technical report explaining why some programs still used outdated contracts.

850

Ether.fi

2026-08-13 14:40:17

Ether.fi Adds Tokenized Stocks, Metals Trading and Portfolio Loans in Push to Become Crypto Bank

Ether.fi, a DeFi platform calling itself a "self-custody crypto bank," made a major expansion on Aug. 13 by adding tokenized stocks, precious metals trading, and portfolio loans that let users borrow against their holdings without selling their crypto. The portfolio loan service is powered by the Aave lending protocol on Optimism. Alongside that, Ether.fi launched a fiat account supporting more than 30 currencies and payment methods, introduced automatic buybacks of its ETHFI token, and began offering 3% cashback on card spending. Founder and CEO Mike Silagadze said the company's goal is to replace traditional banks for most users, giving them the tools and advantages previously reserved for institutional clients. As a caveat, tokenized stock and metals trading are temporarily unavailable in the U.S. and certain other markets. The platform currently reports more than 500,000 members and $2 billion in annualized transaction volume. Its clear strategy is to use self-custody, on-chain infrastructure to replicate a full banking stack — deposits, lending, card spending and investing — in the crypto world. Combined with its Cash crypto card, Ether.fi is expanding toward becoming a neobank for crypto users. That places it in direct competition with conventional banks as well as other crypto platforms that issue cards.

440

Neobank

2026-07-28 14:05:06

Report says two-thirds of neobanks lack full banking licenses, with AI in production at just 18%

A report highlighted by Consensys and MetaMask developer relations lead Francesco Andreoli says the global neobank sector is far larger, and more fragile, than many users realize. Andreoli said he tracked and verified 368 active neobanks that together report 1.46 billion users worldwide. Yet only 127 of those firms hold full banking licenses, leaving roughly two-thirds dependent on sponsor banks, e-money permissions, or banking-as-a-service infrastructure. The data points to Asia as the dominant market with 817 million users, led by China’s WeBank at more than 400 million. Europe’s Revolut, while still one of the best-known names in the segment, was cited at more than 50 million users. Andreoli also said the industry mix is shifting, with 56 surviving neobanks founded in the 2020s classified as Web3-native self-custodial apps, and another 58 operating hybrid fiat-and-crypto models. The report also challenged claims around artificial intelligence adoption. Of the 368 firms reviewed, only 67 were said to have deployed AI in production, or about 18%. Andreoli added that many of the real-world AI lending use cases are appearing in emerging markets such as Nigeria, the Philippines, Mexico, and Bangladesh rather than in Western markets.

2060

Bitget Wallet

2026-07-24 08:45:19

Neobank to Onchain Wallet: An 18-Year Financial Power Migration, Bitget Wallet Research

Bitget Wallet Research defines the past 18 years of financial innovation as a 'financial power migration,' from Neobanks to stablecoins to onchain wallets, progressively dismantling traditional banks' monopoly on accounts, payments, currency, and clearing.

810

Superform

2026-07-23 15:00:16

Superform Launches Mobile App in the U.S., Brings User-Owned Neobank to DeFi

Superform releases a mobile app for its non-custodial SuperVaults, enabling users to earn 8.4% APY on USD, BTC, and ETH. The launch marks official U.S. expansion and simplifies DeFi access for mainstream users.

490

Policy & Regu

2026-07-21 07:03:52

Who Holds the Funds, Who Bears the Rules: The Regulatory Fight Over Stablecoin Dollar Accounts

A TechFlowPost opinion article by Bitget Wallet researcher Emily Sun argues that the real battle in next-generation dollar accounts is no longer about app design or payment convenience, but about legal ownership of user funds once dollars move outside the banking system. The piece uses the July 2026 controversy over KAST’s terms of service as a case study. Under the structure described in the article, a user’s USDC top-up was defined as a “sale” rather than a deposit, shifting ownership of the funds to the company and leaving users with a claim against KAST instead of direct ownership of assets. Sun says that distinction matters most in stress scenarios such as a liquidity event or bankruptcy, when users may rank as creditors rather than asset owners. The article contrasts that model with structures used by products including Ether.fi Cash, Plasma, Avici and Bitget Wallet, which aim to keep assets under user control while splitting wallet, card-account and payment-network functions across separate regulated entities. It also reviews how the U.S., Europe, Brazil, India, Singapore and Hong Kong approach stablecoin oversight. Across those regimes, Sun’s central claim is consistent: regulators care less about wallet software itself and more about who controls the money and whose balance sheet it sits on. As stablecoin supply expands, she argues, the defining question for digital dollar accounts will be who can aggregate many forms of on-chain dollars into one trusted user experience without quietly taking ownership of customer funds.

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