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Portage FinTech SPAC boosts IPO target to $240 million USD, begins trading on Nasdaq (BETAKIT)
Portage Fintech Acquisition’s total gross proceeds would be $40 million more than its initial $200 million USD target.
Visa acquires Currencycloud, which makes APIs for remittances and currency transfers, in a $963M deal (TECHCRUNCH)
This price is a very decent leap from that last funding round, when sources told us the startup was valued at around $500 million.
Paystone secures $30 million from Crédit Mutuel Equity as part of plan to expand beyond North America (BETAKIT)
The all-equity round comes about six months after Paystone raised $69 million CAD from the Canadian Business Growth Fund and National Bank of Canada, and brings Paystone’s total institutional funding to $99 million.
Capchase doubles down, raises fresh $280M to provide startups with alternative to VC funding (CRUNCHBASE)
The round was led by specialty finance firm i80 Group — which also led a $60 million debt round in Capchase in January.
Square launches small business banking (REUTERS)
Square Banking will offer small businesses savings and checking accounts, as well as its existing lending offering which has been renamed Square Loans, the San Francisco-based company said.
Coinsquare brings on Tradelogiq exec, Martin Piszel, as CEO (BETAKIT)
Piszel joins Coinsquare after a significant year for the startup, which included the OSC settlement over wash trading, the switch up of its executive team and overall business, and an ownership deal with Mogo.
Ethereum co-founder says safety concern has him quitting crypto (BNN BLOOMBERG)
Anthony Di Iorio, a co-founder of the Ethereum network, says he’s done with the cryptocurrency world, partially because of personal safety concerns.
Technical debt: the other innovator’s dilemma (BETAKIT)
Microsoft Canada CSO Kevin Magee argues startup founders need to prioritize security, privacy, and compliance from the start, lest they come back to haunt them.
Robinhood is seeking a market valuation as high as $35 billion in upcoming IPO (CNBC)
Robinhood, whose longstanding mission is to “democratize” investing, is seen as the main gateway to the markets for young investors.
Clearco launches new partnership recommendation service as part of push to serve founders “beyond capital” (BETAKIT)
Earlier this month, Clearco raised $268 million CAD in a Softbank-led round, accelerating the company’s international expansion plans and overall roadmap.
In bitcoin, Black entrepreneurs see a chance to rebuild generational wealth (PROTOCOL)
Crypto and blockchain promise a route around traditional finance. That holds a special appeal for people who have experienced systemic racism regarding money.
‘A warning shot’: regulators are coming for the massive crypto loan industry (VICE)
Cryptocurrency loan giant BlockFi has been accused of selling unregistered securities by three different states.
