Fintech Podcasters Flag Banking Deregulation and Stablecoin Surge as 2025's Defining Shifts
Two prominent fintech analysts spent ninety minutes last week dissecting the year that reshaped digital finance, and their assessment suggests CFOs should brace for a 2026 defined by regulatory whiplash and crypto's creep into mainstream treasury operations.
Jason Mikula of Fintech Business Weekly and Alex Johnson of Fintech Takes recorded their annual year-end podcast episode on January 7, cataloging what they described as "major shifts in the US banking regulatory landscape" alongside the "explosive growth of interest in stablecoins." For finance leaders navigating vendor relationships and treasury strategy, the conversation offers a useful temperature check on an industry that spent 2025 lurching between hype cycles.
The podcast, titled "Fintech Recap: Wrapped," touched on several themes that have direct implications for corporate finance functions. The hosts discussed what they characterized as setbacks for open banking—the regulatory framework that was supposed to finally give consumers control over their financial data. They also explored what Mikula and Johnson called the trend of "everything seems to be gambling now," a reference to the blurring lines between fintech apps, sports betting platforms, and investment products.
Fintech IPOs made the list of discussion topics, though the source material doesn't specify which companies went public or what the market reception looked like. For CFOs evaluating fintech partnerships or considering their own companies' capital strategies, the mere fact that public market exits returned to the conversation suggests the funding environment has thawed from its 2022-2023 deep freeze.
The hosts offered predictions for 2026, though the podcast description doesn't detail what those forecasts entailed. The discussion format—a monthly series where the two analysts "unpack some of the biggest stories in fintech, banking, and crypto"—suggests their predictions likely center on regulatory developments, market structure changes, and the continued integration of blockchain-based payment rails into traditional finance.
What's notable for finance operators is the framing. The regulatory landscape didn't just "evolve" in 2025—it experienced "major shifts," according to the hosts. That language suggests more than the usual back-and-forth of rule proposals and comment periods. For companies with banking-as-a-service partnerships, embedded finance products, or exposure to stablecoin settlement rails, the implication is clear: 2025's changes weren't incremental.
The stablecoin discussion is particularly relevant as corporate treasurers increasingly encounter these instruments in cross-border payment workflows. The "explosive growth of interest" that Mikula and Johnson reference aligns with what many finance teams are seeing in vendor proposals and payment platform roadmaps. Whether that interest translates into actual adoption—and whether the regulatory framework can keep pace—remains the open question heading into 2026.
The podcast runs one hour and thirty-eight minutes, suggesting the hosts found plenty of material to work with. For CFOs short on time, the key takeaway is straightforward: the fintech infrastructure that underpins everything from payroll to procurement changed substantially in 2025, and the people who watch this space full-time think 2026 will bring more of the same.
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