Startups are facing a moment of reckoning in the current economic climate, and today one of the more promising in the world of fintech has cracked under the pressure. Railsr, the London, U.K. embedded finance startup formerly known as Railsbank and once worth nearly $1 billion, announced today that it has been acquired by a shareholder consortium; and as part of the deal, it’s going into administration so that it can continue as a going concern as it restructures, TechCrunch.com reported.

UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s deal to solve the bitter dispute with the European Union over Northern Ireland’s trading arrangements has sparked hope in the City of London that the two sides could finally formalize a pledge to work together on setting rules for banks and financial markets, Bloomberg News reported. The so-called memorandum of understanding on financial rules may seem like a fairly low bar for such economically-tied neighbors. But in the recent history of post-Brexit relations, it would count for progress.

Britain's markets regulator and police have swooped on suspected illegal crypto cashpoints (ATMs) across east London as authorities step up attempts to disrupt unregistered businesses deemed high risk for consumers, Reuters reported. The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), which last month launched a similar crackdown in the northern English city of Leeds, said on Wednesday it was reviewing evidence gathered from "a number of sites" and might take further action.

Railsbank Technology Ltd., a onetime darling of the UK payments scene that says it’s raised more than $100 million from investors, may be sold off through an insolvency process as it faces mounting financial and regulatory problems, Bloomberg News reported. Directors are close to selling Railsbank through a pre-pack administration, a form of bankruptcy that involves lining up a buyer beforehand, according to people familiar with the matter. The London-based company has appointed restructuring firm Alvarez & Marsal to advise on the process. A sale hasn’t been finalized and may not occur.

The leader of Northern Ireland's Democratic Unionist Party Jeffrey Donaldson said on Monday he had set up a group to consult on views on the Windsor Framework deal agreed between Britain and the European Union last month, Reuters reported. "The group will comprise both members of our party as well as independent thinkers who have standing within the broader community," he said in a statement. "The group will work independently and will provide me with a report by the end of March." Read more.

Britain and the European Union have reached a new agreement on post-Brexit trading arrangements for Northern Ireland, raising hopes that more than six years of wrangling over the U.K.’s departure from the bloc may finally come to an end, the Associated Press reported. The deal, announced Monday by British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, is designed to replace existing rules that have been criticized for effectively creating a customs border between Northern Ireland and the rest of the United Kingdom, weakening the region’s links to Britain.

UK taxpayers will be on the hook for as much as £200 billion ($240 billion) of potential losses from the Bank of England’s quantitative easing program after the Treasury lodged plans to cover any future shortfall with parliament last week, Bloomberg News reported.

A new deal agreed between Britain and the European Union to amend the Northern Ireland Protocol will allow the Stormont assembly to stop EU laws applying in the province, British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said on Monday, Reuters reported. "Many had called for Stormont to have a say over these laws. But the 'Stormont break' goes further and means that Stormont can in fact stop them from applying in Northern Ireland," Sunak told a news conference.

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and European Union leader Ursula von der Leyen are set to hold face-to-face talks, with expectations high they will seal a deal to resolve a thorny post-Brexit trade dispute, the Associated Press reported. That would mark a breakthrough after months of bitter wrangling that has soured U.K.-EU relations, sparked the collapse of the Belfast-based regional government and and threatened to set back Northern Ireland's decades-old peace process. In a joint statement on Sunday the U.K.