F|T: The FinTech Times – Andreessen Horowitz wants *how much* to invest in crypto?

Blockchain
Plus: Shakepay shakes its way to a $44 million Series A.

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Shakepay secures $44 million Series A led by QED Investors to roll out more Bitcoin products (BETAKIT)

To date, the startup has grown to serve over 900,000 Canadian users with only $1 million CAD in venture financing. But over the past year, Shakepay co-founder and CEO Jean Amiouny said the company realized “the opportunity is much, much bigger” than it initially thought.


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Andreessen Horowitz seeking $4.5B to invest in new crypto projects (DECRYPT)

Venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz wants $4.5 billion of funds to invest into new projects in the crypto industry.


PainWorth secures $2.1 million CAD to settle personal injury claims using machine learning (BETAKIT)

Founded in 2019 by Zouhri and Chris Trudel, PainWorth’s patent-pending software helps claimants and insurance companies reach settlements in personal injury cases more quickly and cost-effectively by analyzing relevant legislation and past cases using data science and machine learning.


Investing app Acorns, Pioneer SPAC scrap $2.2 bln merger (REUTERS)

The deal, announced in May last year, was originally expected to close in the second half of 2021 and the Irvine, California-based company was to be listed on the Nasdaq.


Canadian crypto bros can get NFT profile pics from new Twitter Blue feature (BETAKIT)

The subscription service gives users access to “power features,” such as the ability to undo Tweets, and now use NFT artworks as profile pictures.


The crypto crash has wiped out more than $1 trillion (PROTOCOL)

The price of bitcoin slipped below $36,000, down from more than $67,000 in early November.


Tech sees progress in promoting women to executive roles, but still lags behind other sectors (BETAKIT)

The review shows that compared to other industries technology companies have the second lowest number of women on boards at 74 percent. In contrast, manufacturing boasts 95 percent.


Plaid buys Cognito as it moves beyond merely connecting accounts (TECHCRUNCH)

Cognito is an interesting buy for Plaid, offering verification services for the FinTech world, which is distinct from what its acquirer is best known for.


What jobs at Apple, Xerox, and HP taught Vena Solutions COO Tina Goulbourne about building a startup (BETAKIT)

On the #CIBCInnovationEconomy Podcast, Tina Goulbourne shared how her previous jobs at global tech giants set her up for success at Vena Solutions.


Better.com’s founder returns as C.E.O. after firing 900 workers on Zoom (NEW YORK TIMES)

Vishal Garg, the Better.com founder, who fired roughly 900 of his workers via Zoom last month and then took “time off,” is returning to his position as the head of his mortgage lending company.


Boosted.ai raises $43.7 million CAD to scale AI platform for investment managers (BETAKIT)

Boosted.ai currently has a client base of over 40, attracting global asset managers as well as hedge funds and ETF providers.


Ford government could lose $2.8B over 5 years in online gambling bet, confidential report warns (CBC)

As Premier Doug Ford’s government prepares to open up the online gambling market in Ontario, there’s a warning that its plans could see the province and municipalities lose out on hundreds of millions of dollars in annual revenue.


Conduit’s ‘Stripe for DeFi’ approach bags startup $21.2 million CAD round led by Portage (BETAKIT)

After less than a year in business, decentralized finance (DeFi) startup Conduit has raised $21.2 million CAD in seed funding led by Portage Ventures and supported by Diagram Ventures, FinVC, Gemini Frontier Fund, Gradient Ventures, Inovia Capital, and Jump Capital. The Diagram company aims to become the ‘Stripe for DeFi’ by making DeFi “invisible” via its APIs.


Crypto.com says ‘incident’ was actually $30 million hack (VICE)

The cryptocurrency platform initially called the hack “an incident.”


Josh Scott

Josh Scott

Josh Scott is a BetaKit reporter focused on telling in-depth Canadian tech stories and breaking news. His coverage is more complete than his moustache.

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