2026 Fintech Sector Spotlight (J.P. Morgan)

Summary

• More bank charters were filed in 2025 than the prior three years combined, as higher rates accelerate the fintech push for bank charters.p.5
• Real-time payments saw record growth, with daily average value up +405% and number of participants up +55% year over year.p.6
• The global stablecoin market capitalization surged past $300 billion in 2025, while monthly transaction volumes approach $1 trillion.p.7
• Fintech's share of U.S. venture dollars hit 13.4% in Q1 2026, and Series B+ deals accounted for 22% of fintech deals, up from just 7% three years ago.p.10
• AI-enabled startups now account for nearly half of all fintech deals, up from 25% two years ago.p.12
• BCG estimates the embedded finance total addressable market across the U.S., Canada and Europe at roughly $185 billion, and 91% of SaaS companies expect embedded payments to play a larger role in 2026.p.15

Key insights

1. Tokenized market capitalization may reach $2 trillion by 2030 according to a McKinsey analysis.p.7
2. Monthly prediction market transactions grew nearly 2,500% and venture funding hit $2.7 billion in 2025, with 99% invested in just two startups.p.11
3. ChatGPT shopping referrals grew +747% year over year, showing AI platforms becoming part of the purchasing journey.p.12
4. Platforms processing $250M+ annually may face meaningful margin compression under revenue-share payments models.p.14
5. Fintech IPOs surged back in 2025, with wealth/asset management (57%) and payments (35%) leading 1-year price performance.p.18
6. Five $1B+ acquisitions in 2025 alone exceeded the combined total from 2021-2024.p.19
7. Global Payments' acquisition of Worldpay, at $24.3 billion, was among the select J.P. Morgan-led transactions.p.17