Fintech 2026

USA LAW AND PRACTICE Contributed by: Margo H.K. Tank, Michael Fluhr, Era Anagnosti, Kristin Boggiano, David Stier, Liz S. M. Caires, Adam Dubin, Emily Honsa Hicks, Kathleen Birrane and Chezelle McDade, DLA Piper LLP

2. Fintech Business Models and Regulation in General 2.1 Predominant Business Models Industry-recognised fintech verticals that currently predominate in the USA include the following: • payments – mobile devices to engage in payment transactions as an alternative to using cash or plastic credit cards; as well as point-of-sale sys - tems, business-to-business payment processing, and digital wallets for cryptocurrency and stable - coins; • online banking and lending and expanded collater - al options – the offering of traditional banking and lending services using electronic signatures and records and “control” frameworks under UCC Arti - cles 8, 9, and 12; taking digital assets as collateral; • neobanks – the development of fully digital banks, offering services through websites and apps; • embedded finance – the integration of financial services, including mobile payments, online bank - ing, lending and digital asset use into non-financial platforms; • open banking – the ability of third-party financial services providers and data aggregators to use and access bank customer data via an application programming interface (API) or other means; • decentralised finance (DeFi) – financial services and products using a blockchain for critical infra - structure, including decentralised exchanges (DEXs), borrowing/lending protocols, derivatives, staking; • fintech-driven financial wellness platforms – hedge funds and asset managers leveraging digital plat - forms to onboard clients, manage trading (using platform algorithms), provide wealth management services, automate client communications, and provide reporting; • earned wage access – allows employees to access their earned wages before a traditional pay period, often through mobile apps or platforms that con - nect directly to employer payroll systems; • tokenisation and digital assets and fractional investing – digital origination of assets such as cryptocurrency, securities, electronic chattel paper, transferable records, carbon credits, real estate and allowing investors to buy fractions of assets;

Continued Use of De Novo Bank Charters The regulatory landscape in 2025 was marked by a pronounced shift toward institutional autonomy, as the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) received 14 de novo applications for limited-purpose national trust bank charters. This influx primarily reflects a strategic pivot by fintech and digital asset firms seeking to vertically integrate regulated functions – namely payments, custody, lending, and stablecoin issuance – thereby mitigating their historical reliance on third-party banking intermediaries. This momen - tum, bolstered by the parallel pursuit of industrial loan company (ILC) charters by major technology and pay - ments companies, signals a trend that we anticipate will accelerate throughout 2026. Digital Assets In 2025, a quickly growing cadre of companies known as “digital asset treasuries” (DATs) began accumulat - ing digital assets as part of a corporate treasury strat - egy. The term is generally used to refer to a company adopting a crypto treasury strategy that purchases, holds, and deploys digital assets on its balance sheet as a primary business line. DATs may derive revenue from these digital assets in a variety of ways, including price appreciation, staking, trading, and generation of yield through DeFi protocols. DATs may raise public or private capital specifically to purchase digital assets with the proceeds of the raise. Capital-raising strate - gies for DATs include at-the-market offerings, private investments in public equity (PIPE), equity lines of credit, convertible notes, warrants, preferred equities, deSPACs, reverse mergers, and credit facilities. One-Stop Platforms Finally, many businesses that had previously provided a narrower range of products and services (includ - ing cryptocurrency trading, securities trading, predic - tion markets, and borrowing/lending) have sought to broaden their offerings to become more of a one-stop platform. In 2026 we expect to see continued expan - sion of the products and services provided by indi - vidual businesses.

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