Business

Q&A with co-founder of @toptree, Layne Schmerin

Published

6 years ago

April 18, 2020

Tell us about Top Tree and what was the idea behind Top Tree?

Basically Top Tree is a digital marketing agency through which we help people to grow and sell their products to the target audience . We design ads campaigns in such a way that it targets the audience and the ads are interesting so it attracts the audience. At Top Tree we use creative medium of ads which includes memes as you can see on our Instagram and other social media accounts.

I am from music background and before Top Tree I was working with big names like Macklemore and suddenly my brother Brandon passed away and at that point of time me and my brother Jonathan decided to start our recreational medicine company and to make people aware about medical benefits of recreational medicines we started Top Tree.

When you realised that you can work with other people and can help them out?

After initials days we realised that our techniques are very effective and the way we were promoting our recreational medicines brand was working for us . And at this point we realised that we can help out others and look at us now , we are having a network of more than 1o millions and I am glad that we are helping people in growing their brands. It feels good to be the catalyst of positive change.

You follow same ways for your every clients or you have different strategies for different clients?

Our strategies are according to the needs of our clients . All the ad campaigns are designed according to the need of the client. We target the audience according to the need of our clients and ads are basically memes and other funny contents which catches the eye of audience. The ads are planned in such a way that it delievers the message which we want to deliever andin this we attract our target audience . And this is working for us . Top Tree is having more than 1 million followers across social media platforms and people praise us for our contents . Right now we are working with many different people which includes music label “Columbia Records”, e-commerce brand (featured on Shark Tank) and the way of working is different for every project as we are working with people with diverse background and this challenges our creative mindset .

How you work and what is your approach when you get any work?

As the creative head of Top Tree whenever we get any project I like to do research about the product . Then I start to plan ad campaign and while planning everything I try to think like the target audience , like what would be catchy content , what kind of ads or memes will attract me and what I will find interesting and what will be engaging for me.This is how I work and whenever I get any project I get excited like that is my first project and I give my 100 percent .

So what is next for Top Tree?

We are going to work the way we are working and will keep on trying to do something new as marketing world keeps on changing and we can not stay stagnant thinking that we are successful now. We are working twice harder everyday as the competition is increasing day by day and we want to stay at the top of this chain .

Any piece of advice for upcoming digital marketer.

Keep on learning as it keeps on evolving . Don’t get disappointed if you are not getting success as this world takes time and you have to work hard and need to keep calm and need to have faith as your hardwork will pay off eventually. Most of the young entrepreneurs thinks that they will get instant success and when they don’t get it they loose hope and they give up, but this is not how it works keep on working you won’t get instant success but you will be successful eventually if you continue to work hard as it is a continuous process .

Business

Inside the $4.3B Quarter: What’s Fueling Black Banx’s Record Revenues

Published

4 days ago

January 16, 2026

Matthew Wiles

Every quarter brings fresh headlines in fintech, but few make the kind of impact achieved by Black Banx in Q2 2025. The Toronto-based global digital banking group, founded by Michael Gastauer, reported an extraordinary USD 4.3 billion in revenue and a record USD 1.6 billion in pre-tax profit, while improving its cost-to-income ratio to 63%.

These results not only highlight the company’s operational efficiency but also mark a pivotal moment in its journey from challenger to global leader. The big question is: what’s fueling such impressive financial performance?

Customer Growth as the Core Driver

One of the clearest engines of revenue growth is Black Banx’s expanding customer base. By Q2 2025, the platform had reached 84 million clients worldwide, up from 69 million at the end of 2024. This 15 million net gain in six months demonstrates both the attractiveness of its services and the scalability of its model.

Unlike traditional banks, which rely heavily on branch expansion, Black Banx leverages digital-first onboarding that allows customers to open accounts within minutes using just a smartphone. This approach is especially effective in regions underserved by legacy institutions, where access to affordable financial tools is in high demand.

More customers don’t just mean higher transaction volumes—they generate a compounding effect where network size, brand trust, and service adoption reinforce one another.

Real-Time Payments and Cross-Border Solutions

A major contributor to Q2 revenues is the platform’s real-time payments infrastructure. Black Banx enables instant cross-border transfers across its 28 supported fiat currencies and multiple cryptocurrencies, helping both individuals and businesses bypass the traditional bottlenecks of international banking.

For freelancers, SMEs, and multinational clients, this means faster liquidity, reduced foreign exchange costs, and simplified global operations. The demand for real-time financial services is growing rapidly—Juniper Research projects global real-time payments turnover to hit USD 58 trillion by 2028—and Black Banx is strategically positioned to capture a significant share of this market.

Crypto Integration as a Revenue Stream

Another key revenue driver is crypto integration. While many traditional institutions remain hesitant, Black Banx embraced digital assets early and has built infrastructure to support Bitcoin, Ethereum, and the Lightning Network. In Q2 2025, 20% of all transactions on the platform were crypto-based, reflecting strong customer appetite for hybrid banking services that bridge fiat and digital assets.

Revenue comes not only from transaction fees but also from value-added services like crypto-to-fiat conversion, staking yields (4–12% APY), and blockchain-enabled payments. For customers in markets with unstable currencies, these services act as a financial lifeline, further expanding the platform’s relevance.

AI-Powered Efficiency and Risk Management

Record revenues would be less impressive if costs ballooned at the same rate. But Black Banx has proven adept at balancing growth with efficiency. Its cost-to-income ratio improved to 63% in Q2, down from 69% a year earlier, thanks to heavy reliance on AI-powered automation.

AI now drives fraud detection, compliance, and customer onboarding—areas where traditional banks often struggle with cost inefficiencies. By automating these processes, Black Banx can process millions of transactions securely while maintaining profitability at scale. This level of efficiency is rare in fintech, where high growth often comes at the expense of margins.

Regional Expansion and Untapped Markets

Geography also plays a role in fueling revenues. Much of the Q2 growth came from Africa, South Asia, and Latin America—regions where demand for mobile-first banking continues to soar. In 2024 alone, Black Banx reported a 32% increase in SME clients from the Middle East and Africa, signaling the strength of its positioning in underserved markets.

By extending services to populations previously excluded from formal banking—migrant workers, rural communities, and small businesses—Black Banx taps into vast pools of latent demand. The strategy proves that financial inclusion and profitability are not mutually exclusive but mutually reinforcing.

Diversified Revenue Streams

Another factor behind Q2’s record revenues is Black Banx’s diversified business model. Income is not tied to a single service but spread across multiple streams, including:

Transaction fees from cross-border transfers and payments.
Crypto trading and exchange services.
Premium account features for high-net-worth clients.
Corporate services for SMEs and international businesses.

This diversification insulates the company against volatility in any single segment, creating stable revenue growth even in shifting market conditions.

Michael Gastauer’s Strategic Blueprint

Behind these results is Michael Gastauer’s long-term strategy: scale aggressively but with efficiency, innovation, and inclusion at the core. His vision has always been to create a borderless financial ecosystem, and Q2 2025’s performance is evidence that this vision is not only achievable but sustainable.

By balancing mass-market accessibility with premium features, and by blending fiat with digital assets, Gastauer has positioned Black Banx as a category-defining player in global finance.

The Road Ahead: Toward 100 Million Clients

Looking forward, the company’s goal of reaching 100 million customers by the end of 2025 will likely be the next catalyst for revenue growth. More customers mean more transactions, more data insights, and more opportunities to refine and expand its service offering.

If current momentum holds, the USD 4.3 billion quarterly revenue milestone could be just the beginning of an even larger growth story. The challenge will be ensuring systems scale securely while maintaining trust in an environment where privacy and compliance are paramount.

A Record That Signals More to Come

Black Banx’s Q2 2025 performance—USD 4.3 billion in revenue, USD 1.6 billion in pre-tax profit, 84 million clients worldwide, and a lean 63% cost-to-income ratio—is more than a financial milestone. It is a signal of how the future of banking is being rewritten by platforms that are borderless, crypto-inclusive, and data-driven.

What fueled this record-breaking quarter is not one innovation but a combination of strategies—scalable onboarding, real-time payments, crypto integration, AI efficiency, and expansion into underserved regions. Together, they form a model that doesn’t just challenge traditional banking but actively builds the foundation for global dominance.

For Black Banx, the road ahead is clear: the $4.3 billion quarter is not an endpoint but a launchpad for even greater scale and profitability.