Welcome to the FinTech Times, a weekly newsletter covering the biggest FinTech news from around the globe. If you want to read F|T before anyone else, make sure to subscribe using the form at the bottom of this page.
Dapper Labs launches $725 million ecosystem fund for Flow blockchain innovation (BETAKIT)
The Flow blockchain was developed by Dapper Labs, the company behind CryptoKitties and NBA Top Shot, in 2019. Powered by Cadence, an original programming language built specifically for digital assets, Flow is an open, decentralized platform created as a solution to the problem of blockchain scalability for consumer applications such as games and digital collectibles.
‘Everything Broke’: Terra Goes From DeFi Darling to Death Spiral (BNN BLOOMBERG)
On Monday, all of the mechanisms that were supposed to keep UST stable, weren’t — it fell to a low of 60 cents on that day, and reached a further low of around 20 cents in another crash on Wednesday, taking its market value down from $18.4 billion to $5 billion.
FinTech earnings week: revenues up for Nuvei, Propel, Mogo, Payfare (BETAKIT)
There was a flurry of FinTech earnings calls this week, with Payfare Inc., Nuvei Corporation, Propel Holdings, and Mogo Inc. all releasing first quarter 2022 results. All four FinTechs reported increased revenues in the first quarter.
The crypto market is shrinking (PLATFORMER)
Today, let’s talk about an obvious but under-discussed aspect of the tech world’s big push into crypto: the money keeps rushing in, and the users keep leaking out. Every day on Techmeme, headlines reflect two kinds of stories about cryptocurrency and the broader world that enthusiasts call web3.
Sage Intacct is the #1 accounting software for more than 670 financial services firms that collectively manage over $1.3 trillion AUM.
Sage Intacct allows you to maximize business performance and make strategic decisions to manage your multi-entities, different currencies, and constantly evolving compliance mandates.
Learn more about Sage Intacct, the cloud financial solution that’s ideal for financial service firms like yours.
Register here for a short demo!
Chainalysis Raises $170M at $8.6B Valuation (COINDESK)
With ever more digital asset hacks, scams and ransomware attacks grabbing global headlines, the demand for investigatory crypto tools is exploding, Chainalysis said its various tools monitor $1 trillion worth of transactions every month. It helps governments and private companies in tracking illicit crypto flows across transparent public blockchains.
White Star Capital, Coveo alum-led Lighthouse Labs closes $9.1 million CAD to build a search platform for the metaverse (BETAKIT)
Lighthouse has narrowed its focus: building a metaverse search engine that will enable users to search for places, events, friends, creators, assets, and experiences across and inside blockchain-based virtual worlds, most of which have been built on Ethereum. Through its platform, the company intends to help users locate trending activities, build communities, check where their NFTs are usable, and follow specific brands and creators.
SaaS payments infrastructure company Paddle raises $200M (VENTUREBEAT)
The SaaS boom is continuing apace by just about every estimation — Gartner predicts that end-user spending on public cloud services will hit $397 billion this year, more than a third of which will constitute SaaS. But while the benefits of cloud-hosted software are generally well-understood for the end-user, there is a whole stack of infrastructure considerations that SaaS companies have to manage, which can distract them from core product development.
Nexi, the Italian payments giant, buys Germany’s Orderbird for $140-150M to expand its SMB strategy (TECHCRUNCH)
More consolidation is apace in the world of payments: Nexi, the Italian fintech that scooped up rivals Danish-based Nets and then Italy’s SIA to create a $12.5 billion European payments giant, has made another acquisition, this time to dig deeper into financial services for small and medium businesses in the region. It has fully acquired Orderbird, a startup out of Germany that provides point of sale products and related services for restaurants and other businesses in the hospitality industry, with 14,000 active clients.
Neo Financial joins Canada’s unicorns as Peter Thiel’s Valar triples down with $185 million round (BETAKIT)
Valar first invested in Neo in 2020, leading its $25 million Series A round and $64 million CAD Series B round a year later. With total funding to date now sitting at $299 million, Neo is one of the quickest Canadian tech companies to reach unicorn status.
Coinbase warns users could lose their crypto holdings if the company goes bankrupt (BUSINESS INSIDER)
The disclosure was included in the company’s first-quarter earnings report, and that was the first time the risk factor was mentioned. It also noted that Coinbase held $256 billion in fiat currencies and virtual coins.
PayTic raises $2.95 million to help banks, credit unions centralize program management (BETAKIT)
The financing also saw the participation of Island Capital Partners, Concrete Ventures, and Outlierz Ventures. Founded in 2020 by CEO Imad Boumahdi, PayTic’s mission is to help banks, credit unions, and other financial institutions increase control, transparency, and auditability of their payment products with less effort and cost.
Bolt Built $11 Billion Payment Business on Inflated Metrics and Eager Investors (NEW YORK TIMES)
In just over three years, Bolt has soared in valuation to $11 billion from $250 million, making it a Valley success story. “There’s almost a cult of Ryan” at Stanford University, which Mr. Breslow attended, said Trevor Traina, an early investor in Bolt.
Brazilian fintech infrastructure company Dock closes on $110M in funding, now valued at over $1.5B (TECHCRUNCH)
If there’s one area that has thus far felt insulated from the global venture downturn, it’s infrastructure. Companies that offer banking as a service and help other businesses offer their own financial services and products in particular continue to rake in the dollars. The latest such company in Latin America is São Paulo-based Dock, which operates a full-stack payments and digital banking “platform” across the region, where demand for financial infrastructure that can help boost inclusion is massive.