Revolut, the UK-based fintech, just posted impressive 2025 results: profit before tax surged 57% to $2.3 billion (£1.7 billion), while revenue climbed 46% to $6 billion (£4.5 billion). This marks its fifth straight year of net profitability, with a healthy pre-tax margin of 38% up from 35%.

Customer numbers hit 68.3 million up 30%, balances grew 66% to $67.5 billion, and transaction volume reached $1.7 trillion. The headline “crypto engine” is a nod to Revolut’s long-standing crypto-friendly positioning—it has offered buying, selling, staking, and now a dedicated exchange (Revolut X) since early days.

Crypto trading forms part of its broader Wealth segment which also includes equities, commodities, etc. In the annual report, Wealth generated £663 million ~$876 million in revenue, or about 14.7% of the total mix, up 31% year-over-year. Crypto isn’t broken out separately, but the segment’s growth historically ties to crypto trading volumes and fees.

Eleven different product lines each cleared ~$135 million in revenue, showing solid diversification. Interest income benefited from higher customer savings balances, while fees from cards, subs, and FX scaled with user activity. Revolut built crypto directly into a sleek mobile app for retail users, with low barriers, instant access, staking on 15+ assets, stablecoin conversions, and even a pro-grade exchange (Revolut X with competitive fees).

It secured a MiCA license in Europe for regulated crypto services, allowing seamless expansion across the bloc. This “embedded” approach turns crypto from a niche into a sticky feature that boosts engagement and fee income without needing separate infrastructure.

Traditional banks face several structural hurdles: Legacy banks operate under stricter risk frameworks and often view crypto as volatile or compliance-heavy. Adding full trading/staking requires new licenses, custody setups, anti-money-laundering enhancements, and capital buffers—processes that can take years.

Big banks run on mainframes and branch-heavy models; integrating real-time crypto trading with fiat banking isn’t plug-and-play. Revolut’s app-first, API-driven stack lets it iterate fast and offer unified balances (fiat + crypto). Banks prioritize stability for deposits and lending.

Crypto exposes them to price swings, 24/7 settlement issues, and reputational risk. Revolut’s younger, tech-savvy users; many using it as primary or secondary bank actively seek crypto exposure. No branches means lower overhead, allowing Revolut to subsidize or aggressively price crypto features to drive volume.

In prior years notably 2024, crypto trading fees were a clearer profit booster amid bull market volumes. In 2025, with a more mature revenue base, Wealth/crypto contributes meaningfully but sits alongside interest, cards, and business services—reducing reliance on volatile trading alone.

Revolut is now pushing harder into traditional banking territory: doubling its loan book to £2.2 billion, launching credit cards/overdrafts in the UK, and eyeing the US with a bank charter application. It’s evolving from “crypto-friendly challenger” toward a full-spectrum digital bank. The $2.3B profit reflects smart scaling of a digital-first model that bundles payments, FX, savings, wealth (crypto included), and now lending.

Crypto remains a differentiator that attracts users and generates high-margin fees, but the “engine” works because Revolut moves at fintech speed with regulatory agility that most incumbents simply can’t match without massive reinvention. Expect more competition as other neobanks and even some banks add crypto-lite features, but full replication; still a tall order.

Germany Economy Facing Period of Subdued Growth Amid Persistent Structural Challenges

Germany’s economy is facing a period of subdued growth amid persistent structural challenges, including a significant skilled worker shortage.

Recent forecasts from major institutions and business groups paint a picture of modest recovery in 2026 after years of stagnation or contraction, but with clear headwinds from demographics, geopolitics, and slow adaptation to technological shifts.

Growth Forecasts for 2026

Forecasters generally expect slow to moderate GDP growth in 2026, often in the range of 0.6% to 1.2%, depending on the source: The ifo Institute projects 0.8% growth for 2026, citing adaptation challenges to innovation, bureaucratic hurdles, outdated infrastructure, and negative impacts from US tariffs on exports dampening growth by an estimated 0.6 percentage points.

The German Chamber of Industry and Commerce (DIHK) forecasts around 1% growth, describing the economy as “stuck” and calling for reforms to achieve a sustainable upswing. The European Commission anticipates 1.2% in 2026 following near-stagnation of 0.2% in 2025, driven partly by public spending but offset by trade tensions.

Other projections include the Bundesbank at 0.6% for 2026 with a slow start, OECD around 1%, and Goldman Sachs at 1.1% or higher with fiscal boosts. These figures represent a modest improvement over recent weak performance, supported by fiscal stimulus on infrastructure, defense, and household transfers. However, risks from geopolitical uncertainty, weak foreign demand especially exports, high energy costs, and sluggish investment remain prominent.

Growth potential is structurally limited, estimated around 0.7–0.8% in some analyses, down from historical levels. The labor shortage continues as a major long-term constraint, even as the economic slowdown has temporarily eased some pressures: Recent surveys show the share of companies reporting difficulties finding qualified workers has declined to around 22.7%, thanks to weaker demand during the slowdown.

Despite this cyclical relief, 83% of companies expect negative impacts from labor shortages in the coming years, driven by demographics: the working-age population is shrinking as baby boomers retire, with more workers exiting the labor market than entering for the first time in 2026.

Estimates suggest ongoing gaps of hundreds of thousands of positions, particularly in healthcare, IT, engineering, skilled trades, manufacturing, and sales. Projections indicate a need for ~300,000 foreign skilled professionals annually to sustain the economy.

Unemployment has risen to levels not seen in over a decade in some reports, yet mismatches persist—shortages coexist with joblessness due to skills gaps, not overall labor surplus. The labor force is expected to decline noticeably ~40,000 in 2026 per some estimates.

Longer-term outlooks warn of millions fewer skilled workers by the 2030s–2040s without intervention, exacerbating bottlenecks in growth sectors. Fiscal expansion; defense and infrastructure spending, real wage growth supporting consumption, and some stabilization in industry. Demographic aging, bureaucracy, energy transition costs, trade uncertainties, and slow productivity gains amid technological change; AI is noted as both a disruptor and potential mitigator.

The shortage is largely structural rather than purely cyclical, worsened by an aging population and skills mismatches. Immigration, upskilling, incentives for longer working hours, and reduced red tape are frequently cited as needed responses.

Overall, while 2026 may bring slight stabilization or mild growth, forecasters emphasize that without deeper reforms to boost labor supply, productivity, and business dynamism, Germany risks prolonged underperformance relative to more dynamic competitors. The skilled worker deficit remains one of the biggest risks to realizing even these modest projections.