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Ledn raises $70 million in Series B funding, plans launch of Bitcoin-backed mortgages (BETAKIT)
Hot on the heels of its $36.1 million CAD Series A raise in May, Ledn Inc. announced it has raised $70 million USD ($90.3 million CAD) in Series B funding in an all-equity round.
Thoma Bravo agrees to buy Bottomline for about $2.6 billion (BNN BLOOMBERG)
Private equity firms and large payments processors have been hunting for deals in the sector, which has been consolidating for years as businesses and individuals migrate away from cash.
WealthTech startup PureFacts raises $37 million to pursue acquisitions (BETAKIT)
The Canadian Business Growth Fund (CBGF) led the round with participation from The Bank of Nova Scotia, and Round13 Capital.
Institutional bitcoin broker NYDIG valued at $7B in whopping $1B funding round (COINDESK)
WestCap is leading what appears to be the largest funding round in crypto history.
New mandate letter gives Minister Champagne long to-do-list for Canadian tech and innovation (BETAKIT)
The letters came two months after Trudeau announced his new, post-election cabinet on October 26. The shuffle followed the September election, which saw the prime minister lose some of his cabinet ministers.
Crypto bank Anchorage raises $350 million in new funding from KKR, Goldman Sachs, and others (THE BLOCK CRYPTO)
Anchorage Digital, a federally chartered crypto bank in the U.S., has raised $350 million in a Series D funding round.
SVB report finds Canadian venture activity reached new heights in 2021 (BETAKIT)
Canada is set to finish off 2021 with a new record for venture capital deals, according to Silicon Valley Bank’s State of the Markets report for the fourth quarter of 2021.
Narwhal Project Canadian accelerator ranking shows need for improvement compared to US counterparts (BETAKIT)
Well known for its annual list highlighting Canada’s fastest-growing tech companies, The Narwhal Project has created a new index ranking Canada’s accelerators, and shared details with BetaKit about its new accelerator program, which has been operating in stealth over the past year.
Brazilian consumer credit startup Open Co raises $115M in SoftBank-led round (TECHCRUNCH)
Open Co was created earlier this year by the merger of Geru, an eight-year-old online lender, and Rebel, a four-year-old startup using AI and bank account data to underwrite risk and assess clients’ financial health.
Wealthsimple sells UK book of business as FinTech giant focuses solely on Canada (for now?) (BETAKIT)
It was a busy week for Wealthsimple, which announced that it has sold its United Kingdom book of business to Moneyfarm, completing a transition it began earlier this when it sold its United States (US) book of business to focus its efforts on Canada. The startup also shared a pricing change to its Trade service designed to simplify US trades. Is Wealthsimple gunning to build Canada’s FinTech super app?
How the global “phenomenon” of impact investing is heating up in Canada (BETAKIT)
In a recent BetaKit Live, Blair Miller, Managing Partner of the TELUS Pollinator Fund for Good, Chenny Xia, the CEO of Pollinator Fund portfolio company Gotcare, and Amit Bouri, the CEO of the Global Impact Investing Network (GIIN), looked back on how impact investing has developed globally, the growth of impact investing in Canada, and what it means to scale impact.
Scoop: Crypto investor Katie Haun leaving Andreessen Horowitz (AXIOS)
Katie Haun, one of the world’s most influential crypto venture capitalists, is leaving Andreessen Horowitz to form her own firm.
Nuvei shares drop amid short seller report (BETAKIT)
Nuvei saw its share price fall rapidly after a short-seller report from Spruce Point Capital Management, which also recently targeted Lightspeed Commerce, accused Nuvei of covering up a pattern of business failures, lack of organic growth, and “web of relationships with individuals connected to major Ponzi Schemes and alleged fraudulent activities.” Nuvei has since called the report “intentionally misleading,” adding that it “draws inaccurate conclusions.”
German revenue-based financing platform Re:cap raises $111.5M Seed round (TECHCRUNCH)
The growth capital has come from pan-European VCs Felix Capital and Project A Ventures, with participation from existing investor Entrée Capital.