Sequoia Capital is reportedly hesitant to appoint a single 'king' to manage its $9 billion hedge fund, indicating a preference for decentralized leadership in traditional finance. Meanwhile, in the crypto sector, former Citadel engineers Ian Krotinsky and Aashiq Dheeraj have raised $17 million for Fin, a stablecoin-based app designed to facilitate instant, low-cost international money transfers without the complexity of traditional systems. Fin aims to challenge incumbent banks by offering a user-friendly platform that supports large transactions and bypasses typical banking fees, leveraging stablecoins and Layer 2 blockchain technology to enable near-instant transfers. This funding round was led by Pantera Capital, with participation from Sequoia and Samsung Next, reflecting strong investor confidence in stablecoin applications amid increasing institutional adoption and favorable regulatory developments, such as the US Genius Act. Fin’s strategy includes compliance and partnerships to navigate evolving regulations, positioning itself against competitors like Circle’s USDC. In parallel, a Solana-based competitor to Ripple XRP has also raised $17 million, highlighting a growing trend of crypto startups targeting cross-border payments and stablecoin infrastructure. These developments occur alongside broader industry movements, including major companies like Visa and Mastercard testing stablecoin settlements, and traditional banks obtaining digital asset custody licenses. Overall, the crypto ecosystem is experiencing significant investment and innovation, focusing on faster, cheaper cross-border transactions, regulatory compliance, and leveraging high-frequency trading expertise from traditional finance to build robust, scalable payment solutions.