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After losing $10,000 in crypto, Staging Labs co-founder developing solutions to protect digital assets (BETAKIT)
“Our aim is to act as the ultimate line of defense for crypto, enhancing user safety even after the confirmation process has started, regardless of whether it was initiated by the user themselves or as a result of phishing and malicious activities,” said Staging Labs co-founder François Le Nguyen.
Stripe raises new funding that values it at $50 billion (THE NEW YORK TIMES)
Stripe said on Wednesday that it had raised new funding that values it at $50 billion, down from $95 billion in 2021.
The fall in Stripe’s valuation reflects a difficult period for start-ups. Over the past year or so, as interest rates and inflation rose and the global economy began to soften, start-up funding — which had been fed by low interest rates and cheap money — declined.
Regulators force Silicon Valley Bank Canada into liquidation, paving way for auction (BETAKIT)
The order was approved on Wednesday after The Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions Canada (OSFI) took over permanent control of SVB Canada.
OSFI said the restructuring is meant to be done “in a way that best serves the interests of its creditors and will allow operations of the Silicon Valley Bank to continue in Canada.”
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Signature Bank closure deals another blow to crypto industry
(BNN BLOOMBERG)
Signature began to retreat from digital assets in the wake of the blowup of the FTX exchange but still had $16.5 billion in crypto-related client deposits as of March 8.
The shutdown comes soon after the twin collapses of Silvergate Capital Corp. and Silicon Valley Bank. All the banks were, at least at one point, counted among the US’s most crypto-friendly financial institutions.
As regulators take over SVB Canada, companies still have questions about impact (BETAKIT)
Beyond companies with SVB Canada lines of credit, SVB’s collapse is set to impact startups that have their US banking with SVB, or ostensibly Canadian companies that are legally domiciled in the US for tax purposes and use SVB.
Sam Bankman-Fried received billions from FTX-related entities (CRUNCHBASE)
Disgraced FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried and other related executives received $3.2 billion in payments and loans, mainly from FTX-related crypto hedge fund Alameda Research, according to FTX’s new managers.
CVCA CEO: Tech still needs influx of capital given possible investor pullback, even as liquidity concerns calm (BETAKIT)
CVCA CEO Kim Furlong and a host of other industry leaders have called on the feds to quell a possible “full-blown” liquidity crisis in the country’s tech sector following SVB's collapse. While Furlong admits regulators have assuaged SVB liquidity concerns for now, she argues the need remains for the government to hasten its spending.
Justice Department probes collapse of Do Kwon’s TerraUSD stablecoin (THE WALL STREET JOURNAL)
The Securities and Exchange Commission filed a civil fraud lawsuit last month against Mr. Kwon and Singapore-based Terraform Labs accusing Mr. Kwon and the firm of misleading investors about the risks of TerraUSD, a so-called stablecoin designed to maintain a price of $1.
The coin lost its peg in May 2022, causing a chain reaction that wiped out some $40 billion in market value and cost some investors their life savings.
Venture funding surged in Québec and Alberta tech sectors over 2022, bucking national trend (BETAKIT)
According to new data from briefed.in, Alberta tech companies raised a collective $675 million in 2022, an 89 percent increase from 2021 and a 121 percent increase from 2020. In Québec, venture funding totalled $2.3 billion in 2022, a 21 percent increase from 2021 and a 76 percent increase from 2020.
Rippling raises $500 Million in emergency funds after SVB fails
(BNN BLOOMBERG)
The emergency round facilitated by Greenoaks Capital gives Rippling the same valuation it fetched in a fundraising last year, despite a market correction that’s prevented most startups from raising money at favorable terms.
The deal came together in about 12 hours after Rippling went scrambling when it couldn’t get $300 million that was frozen at SVB when it collapsed on Friday, according to Rippling co-founder Parker Conrad.
BDC appoints Sévrine Labelle as head of $100 million Thrive Lab for women entrepreneurs (BETAKIT)
Labelle is focused on meeting with ecosystem players to understand where BDC’s Lab might be able to fill gaps for women-led companies. She noted that the Lab will likely work with partner organizations—from support groups and accelerators to venture funds—on education and co-investment opportunities.
