What’s going on here? Revolut is shifting into high gear, speeding toward a $1 billion funding round that would value the fintech firm at a spiffy $65 billion. What does this mean? That valuation would be a 44% jump from last year’s one, which already made Revolut Europe’s most valuable fintech. And the increase isn’t just down to investor hype. The firm’s pre-tax profit more than doubled last year, hitting $1.4 billion thanks to booming crypto trading and surging subscription sales. This fresh $1 billion cash raise would help Revolut’s transition from buzzy startup to full-blown financial force. Still, there’s work to do. Revolut has a lot of users – 60 million, in fact – but most don’t treat it as their main bank. And while the firm finally bagged a UK banking license last year, it’s still waiting on the green light to offer credit. Until then, Revolut’s a global fintech with plenty of hustle but still less muscle than a traditional bank. Why should I care? For markets: The fintech revolution still needs old-school trust. Revolut’s user numbers make for good headlines, but real banking power comes from getting folks to do two things: deposit their salaries and borrow money. And that’s where most digital banks hit a wall. So, impressive as Revolut’s global reach may be, its long-term success will still hinge on the traditional, less glamorous stuff. That’s securing regulatory licenses, maintaining local compliance, and convincing people to ditch their old banks and go fully digital. The bigger picture: Bitcoin’s boom is good for fintechs. Bitcoin’s recent break above $112,000 signals two things. First, that investors still have an appetite for riskier assets – regardless of sticky inflation, rising tariffs, and geopolitical tensions. And second, that crypto is becoming increasingly hard to sideline. For Revolut, it’s a win: the fintech offers crypto alongside regular banking services, see, and those higher prices will push its trading volumes up. Plus, the rally validates its early push to embed crypto into everyday finance. |