$8b crypto startup Coinbase files draft S1 to SEC in preparation of IPO - While there were some doubts about the valuation previously, many expect the market to value the firm above $8b as Bitcoin pushes to new all-time highs, institutions embrace crypto, and money is easier to get for institutions than ever before. Read more
Germany prepares to put some financial securities on the blockchain - Germany’s tech sector has hailed the government’s decision to allow some electronic-only securities—a move that paves the way for “crypto securities” to be entered into a blockchain-based register. However, with the shift initially ushering in only paperless bearer bonds—shares and mutual funds will come later—the sector says this move doesn’t go far enough. Read more
SEC charges Robinhood with misleading customers about how it makes money - Robinhood agreed to pay a $65m civil penalty, without admitting or denying the SEC’s findings. The millennial-favored trading app is best known for pioneering the “commission-free trading.” Robinhood, and the rest of the online brokerage industry, rely on what’s known as payment for order flow as their profit engine in lieu of commissions. However, the SEC order found that Robinhood provided inferior trade prices that cost customers $34.1m, even after considering the savings from not paying a commission. Read more
Affirm postpones its initial public offering - The point-of-sale lender, which had been set to begin marketing its shares to investors this coming week ahead of a December listing, now won’t go public until January at the earliest. While the reasons aren’t entirely clear, people familiar with the matter cited the extreme first-day pops this past week in the shares of DoorDash and Airbnb and delays at the SEC amid a flood of listing requests. Read more
Ruffer is the latest billion-dollar firm to bet on bitcoin - Asset manager Ruffer Investment Company is the latest “traditional finance” firm to hop on the Bitcoin bandwagon. The London-based company today said in an update to shareholders that it allocated 2.5% of its Multi-Strategies Fund to Bitcoin. According to Ruffer, Bitcoin is going to be the saving grace when the world’s major currencies struggle. Read more
CME Group announces Ethereum futures product - The product is coming to market February 8, 2021 subject to regulatory approval. It will be cash-settled and based on the firm's CME CF Ether-Dollar Reference Rate. According to CME's website, one contract will be equal to 50 ETH. Read more
Google Pay debuts cash back rewards, enabled by Fidel API - Google Pay is tapping Fidel, a UK based startup with an API that allows developers to build products and experiences on top of major card networks, to offer cash back rewards for its users as rewards are one component of the growing Google financial services ecosystem. Read more
Mastercard faces UK’s largest ever £14b class action lawsuit - The case is based on 2007 EU competition law, and marks the first mass claim made under the UK’s Consumer Rights Act – passed in 2015. The law reimburses consumers for illegal anti-competitive behavior. The claim argues that the card issuer reaped the rewards of interchange fees – charged to retailers – passed on to consumers at higher prices. Read more
How $600b could move Into Bitcoin: JP Morgan strategist - Fresh off its report that Bitcoin will continue to chip away at gold's market share, the investment bank is now predicting that Mass Mutual's recent $100m Bitcoin purchase (facilitated by FinTech Collective portfolio company NYDIG) is a precursor to $600b more of value to flow into the digital asset as pension funds and insurance companies continue to allocate. Read more
Apollo to purchase ATM company Cardtronics for $2.3b - Apollo Global Management and Hudson Executive Capital have agreed to acquire Cardtronics, a Houston-based operator of ATM machines, for $35 per share in cash in a deal that values the company at $2.3b, including debt. The purchase price marks a a 35% premium to Cardtronics' closing price Dec. 8, the final day before a joint offer was announced. The deal comes after Apollo and Hudson offered to buy the company for $31 per share. Read more
GoDaddy agrees to buy Poynt to boost digital payments technology - GoDaddy plans to pay $320m in cash at closing, along with $45m in deferred cash payments subject to various performance and employment standards in the next three years. The deal is expected to close in the first quarter of 2021. GoDaddy was interested in Poynt because of the digital shift in payments due to the pandemic, as well as in-person and online shopping converging more all the time. Read more
Co-op is using facial recognition tech to scan and track shoppers - Fascinating to see a consciously ethical not-for-profit UK retailer (Co-op) deploy tech that scans customer's faces in real-time, converts the images into numerical data and then compares them against a watchlist of known shoplifters and violent customers to see if there’s a match. Civil liberties advocates and regulators are, in-turn, watching the Co-Op. Read more
Finance chiefs face pressure to get to grips with sustainability - If presented with bird’s-eye views of oceans, forests or deserts, many chief financial officers might struggle to connect them to financial planning or cash flow management. But with pressure for companies to demonstrate their sustainability credentials, satellite imaging and other technologies are becoming increasingly relevant to the work of the CFO. Read more
Covid nudges US bank customers into digital era - America’s top banks have decided not to let a good crisis go to waste. During the pandemic, they have capitalized on their customers’ increased willingness to use digital financial services. By May, more than 45 percent of Americans had changed the way they dealt with their bank, a survey of 1,000 people by consultancy FIS found. Read more
Adyen teams with Flywire to advance vertical payments worldwide - Flywire’s customers are predominantly in the healthcare and travel industries and will benefit from Adyen’s extensive international reach and support of numerous currencies. Customers can also tap RevenueProtect, Adyen’s risk management and fraud prevention product. The tie-up between Adyen and Flywire aims to innovate and improve the payments landscape for the international verticals both firms work with. Read more
Could Amazon start a bank? The FDIC has opened the door - The FANGs and other corporate giants may soon give Wall Street a run for its money as a key U.S. regulator is smoothing the path for nonbanks to get into lending. The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. on Tuesday approved a final rule governing so-called industrial loan companies that will allow major businesses to seek banking charters while escaping capital and liquidity demands faced by dedicated financial firms. Read more
WhatsApp to rollout insurance and pension products on its platform in India - WhatsApp is set to roll out health insurance and micro-pension products on its messaging platform in India through tie-ups with licensed financial services players. Read more
Vestrata aims to shake up Europe’s private banks - The fintech start-up backed by former JPMorgan executives has raised $4m to launch their platform to attract wealth managers and private banks that are struggling to expand their businesses while also battling with rising costs and regulatory changes. Read more
Where tech workers are moving: new LinkedIn data vs. the narrative - There’s a narrative that the tech industry’s future lies in Texas and Florida with big-name tech executives moving en masse to Miami and Austin. That narrative crumbles when placed next to new LinkedIn data showing where tech workers are actually moving in 2020. The key beneficiaries of this year’s tech migration are less buzzy cities like Madison, Wisconsin; Richmond, Virginia; and Sacramento, California. Read more |
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