Chris Skinner's blog

Shaping the future of finance

Reading

Things worth reading: 27th February 2026

Things we’re reading today include … Fintech company Block lays off 4,000 of its 10,000 staff, citing gains from AI What’s Next for Klarna After US$1bn in Revenue U.K. ‘buy now pay later’ regulation signals end of ‘Wild West’ fintech loans system The crypto winter is not over, with the cryptocurrency market following the sentiment…

Things worth reading: 26th February 2026

Things we’re reading today include … Revolut eyes $100bn valuation with fresh share sale Trump’s draconian bank decree to expose illegal migrants sparks Wall Street panic Wall Street Should Worry More About AI Than Crypto, As Anthropic’s Latest Announcement Hammers IBM Stock Bitcoin miners pivot to AI and HPC as cryptocurrency market slumps Norway’s Verdane…

Things worth reading: 25th February 2026

Things we’re reading today include … Stripe valued at $159bn Stripe considering PayPal acquisition Allica Bank to become UK’s latest fintech unicorn, following $155M funding round My daughter is struggling to find work too, says Bank of England chief economist Three strategic priorities for banking CROs in 2026 HSBC annual pre-tax profit drops over 7%,…

Things worth reading: 24th February 2026

Things we’re reading today include … Revolut: Inside Nik Storonsky’s $75bn fintech empire still waiting for its crown What’s Next for Klarna After US$1bn in Revenue? Worked to death: inside the banking sector’s toxic culture Crypto.com wins conditional approval for national trust bank charter Inside the Bank of England’s gold vault Robinhood hit by cryptocurrency…

Things worth reading: 23rd February 2026

Things we’re reading today include … Attacker gets into France’s database listing all bank accounts, makes off with 1.2 million records Data breach at fintech firm Figure affects nearly 1 million accounts Police warning over fake £20 notes The rise of Polymarket, the cryptocurrency-based betting site for current events Deutsche Bank’s AI says it’s coming…

The Finanser’s Week: 16th February – 22nd February 2026

This week’s main discussions include … The future is right here, right now In the last day, I’ve been blown away by two developments coming out of China. One is an AI movie sequence that’s only 15 seconds long; the second was the Spring Festival celebration to welcome the New Year of the Fire Horse….

Things worth reading: 20th February 2026

Things we’re reading today include … The 50 Hottest Fintech Startups In 2026 Sky News gains rare access to Bank of England’s gold vaults Santander looks to scale up global investment bank ECB sanctions J.P. Morgan for misreporting capital requirements eBay launches Pay by Bank in the UK Klarna CEO: AI set to Cut Workforce…

Things worth reading: 19th February 2026

Things we’re reading today include … How Fintech is Transforming the 2,000-Year Red Packet Tradition Can investors ignore the FTSE 100’s next big bank? France says 1.2 million bank accounts exposed in database breach World’s oldest bank to take over Mediobanca You can bank on it – the branch manager is back Oxford Researcher Warns…

Things worth reading: 18th February 2026

Things we’re reading today include … Google’s Take on the Future of Fintech: Beyond Neobanks and BNPL JPMorgan Chase plans branch opening spree as peers bet on in-person banking ECB President Lagarde to leave bank before end of her eight-year term, FT reports Big Bank CEOs received serious pay bumps in 2025 Mastercard and Visa…

Things worth reading: 17th February 2026

Things we’re reading today include … European FinTech investments dropped by 11% YoY amid market uncertainties in 2025 UK bank bosses plan to set up Visa and Mastercard alternative amid Trump fears ECB fines Crédit Agricole for failing to address climate risk Lloyds investigating after using staff’s bank account data in pay talks Owners of…