Izakaya LimitedPrivate▼ Negative
Regulationrelevance
Izakaya Limited is ending IZAKA-YA services for Japan residents after the FSA warned it was operating unregistered crypto asset exchange business.
Impact on stocks 0
Theme Impact 3
Off-coverage companies 2
KalshiPrivate± Mixed
relevance
Kalshi is mentioned only as the U.S. prediction market firm whose executives will visit Japan for a study session; no concrete development affecting it.
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Galaxy Digital survey finds crypto VC investment up 31% quarter-on-quarter to about $5.683 billion
Galaxy Digital, a crypto financial services firm, published survey findings on September 16 covering investment trends in the crypto and blockchain sectors. In the April-to-June 2026 quarter, venture capital firms invested about $5.683 billion in private crypto and blockchain-related companies, up 31% from the previous quarter, while the number of deals rose 10% quarter-on-quarter to 384. The biggest driver of the increase was the concentration of investment capital in later-stage companies, which accounted for about 78% of total investment, and the median funding per deal also reached a record high of about $4.9 million. By sector, companies engaged in exchanges, investment and lending raised about $3.523 billion, equivalent to roughly 60% of total investment, and more than 90% of the money put into this sector went to later-stage companies. Meanwhile, investment in the decentralized finance sector came to about $478 million. By region, companies headquartered in the United States accounted for 73.5% of investment value, but US companies made up only 39.1% of deal count. About $3.9 billion was allocated to new crypto-focused funds in the April-to-June quarter, but the number of funds came to just five, the lowest level since 2019. VC investment in the first half of 2026 reached about $10.018 billion, and if that pace continues, full-year investment would come to about $20.037 billion, approaching the roughly $20.3 billion seen in 2025 while exceeding the levels of the downturn in 2023 and 2024, according to the projections.
Pagaya Adds Marqeta Founder Jason Gardner to Board After Shareholder Vote
Pagaya Technologies Ltd. added fintech and payments veteran Jason Gardner, founder of Marqeta Inc., to its Board of Directors following shareholder approval at the August annual meeting. Gardner's background in building and scaling payments platforms brings additional industry-specific governance expertise that could influence how Pagaya develops and commercializes its AI-driven financial technology offerings. His appointment does not materially alter the company's immediate drivers, but it modestly strengthens governance and payments expertise around how Pagaya builds and rolls out its products. The move comes alongside Pagaya's addition to the Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) list, following a double digit increase in earnings estimates, a recognition based on improving earnings expectations and a low price to earnings multiple relative to peers. Pagaya's narrative projects $2.0 billion revenue and $394.6 million earnings by 2029, yielding a $28.80 fair value, a 41% upside to its current price, while some of the lowest analysts expect around US$2.1 billion in 2029 revenue and US$421.7 million in earnings.
SoFi's Bank Charter Fuels Deposit Growth as Upstart and Affirm Seek Approval
SoFi Technologies is the only one of the three major fintech lenders — SoFi, Upstart, and Affirm — that currently holds a full bank charter, giving it an internal deposit base to fund loans while its rivals still rely on third-party bank partners. SoFi obtained its charter on Jan. 18, 2022, by acquiring the small California bank Golden Pacific and applying through it, and has since grown deposits from $1.2 billion in first-quarter 2022 to $45.5 billion in second-quarter 2026, with members rising from 3.9 million to 15.8 million and products from 5.9 million to 24.4 million over the same period. The company swung from a net loss of $110 million, or -$0.14 per share, four years ago to net income of $156 million, or $0.12 per share, in Q2 2026. Upstart received conditional approval for a national bank charter in July and is expected to get final approval in early 2027, while buy now, pay later provider Affirm applied for an industrial loan bank charter in January and has not yet been granted any approvals. SoFi stock is down about 36% year to date and trades at 34 times earnings and 21 times forward earnings, after returns of 116% in 2023, 54% in 2024, and 70% in 2025.