Key Takeaways
- Alpaca raised $135M months after its $150M Series D, bringing recent funding to $285M for its brokerage API infrastructure
- Flex closed $70M Series B1 and plans to double headcount to 200 by year-end with stablecoin payment rails across 76 countries
- Stablecoin infrastructure dominated the week, with Velocity, Cyclops, and Mercado Bitcoin all securing rounds focused on crypto treasury and settlement
Alpaca, the brokerage infrastructure provider valued at $1.15 billion, closed a $135 million round led by Peak XV Partners. The raise came just six months after its $150 million Series D, signaling continued investor appetite for API-first financial plumbing despite a choppy funding environment.
The round was one of eleven fintech raises announced this week, collectively totaling over $400 million. Stablecoin infrastructure and embedded finance dominated the deal flow, with companies like Flex, Velocity, and Cyclops all securing capital to build payment rails and treasury tools for businesses moving money across borders.
Why Alpaca keeps raising
Peak XV led the $135 million round with participation from Elefund, Opera Tech Ventures (BNP Paribas Group's venture arm), and Unbound. Alpaca provides the backend that lets any app offer stock trading, from neobanks to payroll platforms. Think of it as AWS for brokerage: developers call an API, and Alpaca handles clearing, execution, and regulatory compliance.
The company has now raised $285 million in seven months. That cadence suggests either aggressive expansion plans or strong customer pull. Either way, institutional investors like BNP Paribas backing a Series D+ round indicates confidence in the embedded investing thesis: eventually, every financial app will let users trade.
Flex doubles down on stablecoin rails
Flex closed a $70 million Series B1 led by Ryan Smith and Ryan Sweeney's Halo Fund. Portage Ventures, Wellington, Crosslink Capital, and others participated. The round came months after a $60 million Series B in December 2025, bringing total equity to $180 million and total debt to $300 million.
The company targets middle-market businesses with a product called Flex Global: stablecoin payment rails, wallets, institutional USD accounts, and multi-currency accounts spanning 76 countries. Flex plans to double headcount from 110 to over 200 by year-end. That hiring pace, combined with expansion into private credit and ERP, positions Flex as a multi-product finance platform rather than a single-use payment tool.
Blockchain infrastructure gets institutional backing
ADI Chain raised $50 million for what it calls "sovereign-grade Layer-2 infrastructure." The funds will go toward network infrastructure, ecosystem expansion, developer incentives, and institutional integrations. The pitch: help organizations move critical financial services onto blockchain without building the infrastructure themselves.
Velocity, a stablecoin treasury and settlement platform, raised $38 million in a round led by Dragonfly and FirstMark. Coinbase Ventures, Ripple, and QED Investors also participated. Velocity works with merchants, payment providers, and financial institutions looking to cut settlement times and eliminate prefunding requirements. Total capital raised now sits near $50 million since May 2025.
Cyclops confirmed a $20 million Series A led by Nava Ventures. The round included Circle, Coinbase Ventures, and Javier Perez, former President of Mastercard. The company is focused on stablecoins, though specific product details remain sparse.
AI compliance and voice enter the picture
Hadrius, which describes itself as an "agentic compliance provider," raised $27 million in a Series A led by CRV. Y Combinator and Pathlight Ventures participated. By end of 2026, Hadrius plans to extend AI capabilities across the full compliance spectrum. For fintech teams, automated compliance is a cost center worth attacking: manual KYC and AML workflows eat engineering time and slow launches.
Rime raised $24 million in a Series A led by M13, with Twilio Ventures participating. The conversational platform supports close to 100 million monthly phone calls. CEO Lily Clifford said funds will expand Rime's conversational dataset and add staff.
Regional players raise capital
Tether invested $20 million in Mercado Bitcoin, Brazil's largest crypto exchange. Founded in 2013, Mercado Bitcoin serves 4.5 million users with crypto trading, tokenized investments, lending, stablecoin payments, and cross-border financial services. The investment signals Tether's interest in Latin American stablecoin adoption.
Infinia raised $13.5 million led by Bain Capital and Variant Fund for digital financial infrastructure. UAE proptech Keyper confirmed an $11 million Series A led by Speedinvest to help renters convert annual payments into monthly digital payments. Saudi AI hardware firm Think raised $8 million in a pre-seed round for liquid-cooled multi-GPU compute nodes.
Glacis Labs, a crypto infrastructure provider, confirmed a $6.8 million seed round.
What the week's deals have in common
Three themes run through these raises. First, stablecoins are no longer a crypto sideshow. Flex, Velocity, Cyclops, and Mercado Bitcoin all cite stablecoin rails as core infrastructure. Second, embedded finance keeps pulling capital. Alpaca's thesis that any app can offer trading is now conventional wisdom among VCs. Third, compliance automation is becoming investable. Hadrius raised $27 million for AI-powered compliance, a category that barely existed three years ago.
Logicity's Take
The concentration of stablecoin-focused raises this week is not accidental. As cross-border settlement costs remain stubbornly high for traditional rails, fintechs are betting that stablecoins offer a faster path to real-time settlement than waiting for correspondent banking to modernize. For fintech teams evaluating treasury infrastructure, the question is no longer whether to support stablecoins, but which provider to back. Velocity and Flex are now direct competitors in this space, and both have deep-pocketed investors. Watch for pricing pressure as they chase the same middle-market customers.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does Alpaca do?
Alpaca provides brokerage infrastructure via API, allowing any app to offer stock trading without building clearing, execution, or compliance systems from scratch.
How much has Alpaca raised in total?
Alpaca raised $135 million in July 2026 and $150 million in January 2026, totaling $285 million in recent funding. The company is valued at $1.15 billion.
What is Flex Global?
Flex Global offers stablecoin payment rails, wallets, institutional USD accounts, and multi-currency accounts across 76 countries for middle-market businesses.
Which investors led the largest rounds this week?
Peak XV led Alpaca's $135 million round. Halo Fund led Flex's $70 million Series B1. ADI Chain's $50 million round investor was not disclosed.
Why are stablecoins attracting fintech investment?
Stablecoins enable faster, cheaper cross-border settlement compared to traditional correspondent banking, making them attractive for treasury operations and international payments.
Another recent fintech infrastructure raise focused on emerging payment rails
Need Help Implementing This?
If your team is evaluating embedded finance or stablecoin infrastructure for your product, reach out to us at Logicity. We track this space daily and can help you navigate vendor selection.
Source: Crowdfund Insider
Huma Shazia
Senior AI & Tech Writer
Produced with AI assistance and reviewed by the Logicity editorial team. Learn more in our Editorial Policy.
