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CoinSmart to seek monetary damages from Coinsquare following collapse of acquisition deal (BETAKIT)
While CoinSmart has accepted that the deal will no longer proceed, the startup reiterated its position that Coinsquare “had no legal basis” to terminate the transaction. CoinSmart said it plans to pursue the matter further in court.
PayPal to cut 2,000 jobs in push to trim costs (BNN BLOOMBERG)
The cuts, which will affect about 7 percent of employees, will take place in the coming weeks, Chief Executive Officer Dan Schulman told employees in a memo. “While we have made substantial progress in right-sizing our cost structure, and focused our resources on our core strategic priorities, we have more work to do,” Schulman said.
As Clearco and Wayflyer struggle, Paperstack secures $9 million in equity, debt to fuel pivot into e-commerce lending (BETAKIT)
In January 2022, Paperstack began offering revenue-based financing to online sellers. It fuelled its first million dollars worth of loans using a combination of equity funding, personal savings, and traditional bank loans (both personal and business) obtained by company co-founders, CEO Assel Beglinova and CTO Vadim Lidich.
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Thrive Capital said to lead potential investment in Stripe (THE NEW YORK TIMES)
Thrive has committed $1 billion, which would value the payments provider Stripe at about $55 billion to $60 billion, people with knowledge of the matter said.
CIBC Innovation Banking president Mark McQueen to depart for “next adventure” (BETAKIT)
When McQueen will be officially leaving CIBC, and who his successor might be, is unclear at this time. McQueen has been leading CIBC Innovation Banking since the bank acquired Wellington Financial in 2018.
Uniswap temperature check spurs feverish backroom maneuvering among crypto VC heavyweights (THE BLOCK)
The fight involves venture capital firms a16z and Jump, which back LayerZero and Wormhole, respectively. A source with knowledge of the process told The Block that a16z, which has 15 million voting tokens, could not participate in the temperature check due to the custodial set-up of its tokens.
How to grow investment in women-led startups (BETAKIT)
Women are less likely to get funded and are woefully underrepresented in both the startup founder and venture capital (VC) ranks. However, we’re approaching what might later be called a tipping point.
Britain sets out plans to regulate crypto industry in wake of FTX collapse (CNBC)
In a widely-anticipated industry consultation launched Tuesday, the government proposed a number of measures aimed at bringing regulation of crypto asset businesses in line with that of traditional financial firms.
Invest Ottawa’s 10th birthday party comes with over $6.6 million in funding to support Area X.O (BETAKIT)
The federal funding comes alongside an additional $1.25 million of in-kind contributions in technology, expertise, and services from partners including Ansys, a US-based engineering simulation software company.
Egyptian financial services provider MNT-Halan valued at $1B in $400M funding (TECHCRUNCH)
The round includes $260 million in equity financing and $140 million through two securitized bond issuances secured within the past year, investments that will now see MNT-Halan command a post-money valuation of about $1 billion.
Tech-related roles dominate Indeed’s best jobs list in Canada for 2023 (BETAKIT)
Tech-related roles dominated the ranking this year, making up 13 of the top 20, demonstrating that workers with specialized technical skills are still highly sought after in the job market despite the continuum of layoffs sweeping across the tech sector.
Personal Finance Startup Stash Names New CEO, Liza Landsman (BUSINESS INSIDER)
The financial-technology company, which offers investing, trading, and savings features for its 2 million users via a subscription-based model, announced Liza Landsman as its new CEO on Thursday. Landsman has held leadership roles at Citigroup, BlackRock, E-Trade, Jet.com, and, most recently, New Enterprise Associates, where she served as a general partner.
Nuula sold to Nav Technologies following collapse of Series A round (BETAKIT)
Nuula CEO Mark Ruddock wrote that “the vast majority” of Nuula’s technology team, in addition to its core data science, accounting, and marketing talent from its Canadian office, rejoined Nav at the acquisition close in December.
Upstart to Lay Off 365 Employees, 20% of Staff (WALL STREET JOURNAL)
Upstart Holdings Inc. said it is laying off about 365 employees, or 20% of the company's staff, and halting the development of its small business loan product as it looks to slash costs and streamline operations.
