Second-biggest Series A in startup history goes to stablecoins, and Wall Street VCs are all in 😳🪙; JPMorgan’s Q3 2025: premium quality at premium prices demands patience 📊🏦

FinTech is Eating the World, 21 October

Hey Everyone,

Good day & happy Tuesday! Today’s issue is super hot as we’re looking into the second-biggest Series A in startup history that went to stablecoins startup (Stripe-backed Tempo’s $500M round, why it matters & what’s next + bonus dives into how they are trying to kill SWIFT, Agentic Commerce Protocols & the ultimate list of stables resources inside), and JPMorgan’s Q3 2025 financials, or why premium quality at premium prices demands patience (breaking down their latest numbers, what they mean & whether JPM is worth your time & money + bonus reads on the banking titan inside). So let’s jump straight into the awesome stuff 🌶️

Second-biggest Series A in startup history goes to stablecoins, and Wall Street VCs are all in 😳🪙

The BIG News 🗞️ Tempo, a blockchain infrastructure platform developed through a partnership between FinTech giant Stripe and crypto venture firm Paradigm, has just raised $500 million in Series A funding at a whopping $5 billion valuation. The round was co-led by Thrive Capital and Greenoaks, with participation from Sequoia Capital, Ribbit Capital, and SV Angel, marking one of the largest venture rounds in blockchain history.

To put this into perspective, this is actually the second-largest Series A round in the history of tech startups 🤯 It falls short only of the record set by Transmit Security’s $543M Series A in 2021, which remains the highest to date based on publicly reported deals.

Let’s take a closer look at this, understand why it matters, and what to expect next.